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HISTORY 

^"^    OF 

YOUNGSTOWN 

AND  ""1 

THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

1  OHIO 


^ 


BY 
JOS.  G.  BUTLER,  JR. 


VOLUME  I 


PUBLISHERS 

AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

CHICAGO  AND  NEW  YORK 

1921 

I 


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28^;*  A 


CX>PYRIGHT  1921 

BY 

AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 


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PREFACE 


?o 


In  this  work  a  conscientious  effort  has  been  made  to  present  the  his- 
tory of  Youngstown  and  the  Mahoning  Valley  in  accurate,  complete  and 
chronological  form. 

One  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago  this  region  was  a  dense 
wilderness.  It  lay  beyond  the  frontiers  of  civilization  and  was  known 
only  to  a  few  adventurous  men  who  visited  it  occasionally  for  trading, 
hunting,  or  similar  purposes,  or  perhaps  traversed  it  in  pursuit  of  sav- 
ages. This  valley  has  since  become  one  of  the  most  populous  and  im- 
portant sections  of  the  United  States. 

The  manner  in  which  such  a  change  was  brought  about,  the  people 
who  .  accomplished  it  and  the  conditions  amid  which  they  lived  and 
worked,  are  described  in  these  volumes. 

Writing  local  history  is  always  a  difficult  and  usually  a  thankless 
task.  The  historian  has  few  dependable  sources  of  information  and  en- 
counters the  universal  tendency  of  human  nature  to  regard  as  most 
important  that  in  which  each  individual  is  most  deeply  interested.  Such 
sources  of  information  as  do  exist  are  not  infrequently  inaccurate  or 
highly  colored  by  imagination.  To  ascertain  the  true  facts  requires 
painstaking  investigation,  which  often  discloses  the  frailty  of  human 
memory.  The  author  has  found  his  own  memory,  extending  over  a 
period  of  more  than  sixty  years  and  usually  dependable,  proven  inac- 
curate in  a  number  of  instances  by  such  investigation. 
>  •   It  is  to  be  expected  that  not  everyone  who  reads  this  history  in  the 

light  of  recollection  or  of  previous  records  will  be  satisfied  with  its 
accuracy,  or  find  therein  recorded  every  detail  which  seems  of  impor- 
tance. The  period  covered  and  the  number  and  variety  of  activities 
described  necessarily  excluded  mere  tradition  and  nonessentials.  It  has 
been  written  for  the  general  public,  which  the  author  hopes  will  find  it 
as  complete  and  accurate  as  is  humanly  possible,  considering  the  length 
of  time  with  which  it  deals  and  the  fragmentary  nature  of  the  docu- 
ments from  which  it  has  been  compiled — chiefly  meager  records  left  by 
men  no  longer  living. 

The  biographical  volumes  contain  principally  sketches  of  men  who 
are  active  in  the  various  communities  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  at  this 
time,  but  with  these  will  be  found  complete  land  accurate  data  concerning 
those  whose  lives  and  work  have  formed  an  important  part  in  the  history 
of  the  past.  Every  effort  has  been  made  to  secure  accuracy  in  these 
sketches,  which  contain  much  valuable  information  concerning  the  life 
and  progress  of  this  section.  Few  local  biographical  collections  have  been 
so  complete. 

The  preparation  and  publication  of  these  volumes  was  undertaken 

iii 


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iv  PREFACE 

solely  in  order  that  memory  of  the  virtues  and  achievements  of  those 
to  whom  we  owe  the  development  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  might  be 
rescued  from  oblivion  and  serve  as  an  inspiration  for  those  who  are 
now  upon  the  stage  or  who  are  yet  to  come  upon  it.  Consciousness  that 
this  task  has  been  accomplished,  with  such  appreciation  as  it  may  receive 
from  the  public,  is  the  only  recompense  the  author  desires  or  will  re- 
ceive, as  all  the  revenue  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  history  will  be 
devoted  to  its  publication. 

It  is  fitting  that  special  acknowledgment  be  made  of  the  assistance 
rendered  by  Mr.  Raymond  J.  Kaylor  and  Mr.  Albert  A.  Reilly,  who  have 
done  much  of  the  work  involved  in  the  assembling  of  the  data  and  its 
arrangement.  Without  their  energy,  enthusiasm  and  professional  skill, 
no  history  so  complete  and  accurate  would  have  been  possible,  especially 
in  view  of  accidental  injuries  sustained  by  the  author  during  the  period 
of  its  preparation. 

Acknowledgment  is  also  due  to  others  who  rendered  valuable  assist- 
ance by  the  loan  of  historical  documents  or  illustrations,  making  avail- 
able sources  of  information  that  might  otherwise  have  been  overlooked. 
Among  these  are  Mrs.  Stanley  Caspar,  daughter  of  the  late  John  M. 
Edwards,  who  had  been  for  many  years  a  tireless  enthusiast  in  behalf 
of  local  history;  Hon.  W.  T.  Gibson,  John  Tod,  Miss  Louisa  M.  Ed- 
wards ;  L.  M.  Stanley,  editor  of  the  Alliance  Review ;  William  H.  Baldwin, 
Joseph  L.  Wheeler,  superintendent  of  the  Reuben  McMillan  Library ;  the 
Niles  and  Warren  public  libraries,  chambers  of  commerce  at  Warren,  Niles 
and  Youngstown,  Hon.  B.  F.  Wirt,  the  Mahoning  Valley  Historical  So- 
ciety, and  many  other  persons  and  organizations. 

Col.  F.  M.  Ritezel,  editor  of  the  Warren  Chronicle,  loaned  numerous 
illustrations  that  could  not  have  been  otherwise  obtained,  and  Henry  A. 
Butler  rendered  valuable  assistance  in  a  number  of  ways. 

Publications  from  which  valuable  data  was  obtained  include  the 
Youngstown  Vindicator,  the  Youngstown  Telegram,  the  Warren  Chron- 
icle, the  Warren  Tribune,  "Williams'  History  of  Trumbull  and  Mahon- 
ing Counties"  (1882),  Howe's  "History  of  Ohio,"  Fischer's  "Pennsyl- 
vania Germans,"  "Historical  Collections  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,"  histories 
of  the  Youngstown  Police  and  Fire  Departments,  and  numerous  others. 

The  Author. 


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INTRODUCTORY 


Having  been  honored  with  a  request  that  I  write  an  introduction  for 
this  history,  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  look  over  advance  proofs.  With- 
out claiming  any  particular  ability  as  a  literary  critic,  I  believe  that  in 
these  volumes  the  history  of  Youngstown  and  the  Mahoning  Valley  has 
been  presented  in  concise  and  readable  form,  with  as  much  detail  as  is 
necessary  or  advisable  in  such  a  history.  As  to  accuracy  I  am  in  a 
position  to  judge  only  from  memory  covering  a  part  of  the  period  with 
which  the  history  deals,  and  some  part  in  the  activities  which  it  describes. 
The  name  of  the  author  is,  however,  sufficient  assurance  on  this  point 
and  the  reader  will,  I  believe,  find  that  the  story  has  been  told  in  an 
interesting  way. 

It  is  a  record  in  which  every  native  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  may  well 
take  pride.  The  transformation  of  the  forest  into  a  fertile  and  pros- 
perous farming  community,  and  later  into  one  of  the  busiest  and  most 
progressive  industrial  areas  in  the  world,  was  accomplished  by  strong 
and  virtuous  men  and  women,  who  came  here  in  search  of  independence 
and  the  opportunity  to  make  a  home.  Without  such  pioneers  this  task 
would  have  been  impossible.  It  is  well  for  us  to  pause  occasionally  to 
recall  these  forefathers  of  ours,  honor  their  memory  and  emulate  their 
virtues. 

But  it  is  of  the  author  rather  than  of  his  book  that  I  prefer  to  speak 
in  the  limited  space  allotted,  the  more  so  because  in  looking  over  its 
pages  I  have  found  nothing  to  indicate  the  part  played  by  him  in  the 
story  he  has  told  except  occasional  mention  of  his  name  in  connection 
with  numerous  enterprises  and  a  few  personal  reminiscences.  There  is 
nothing  to  tell  what  manner  of  man  Mr.  Butler  is,  what  he  has  done  in 
the  development  of  this  locality,  or  of  the  services  he  has  rendered  to 
the  community  through  a  long  and  busy  life.  Without  some  record  of 
his  activities  a  history  of  Youngstown  and  the  Mahoning  Valley  would 
be  incomplete. 

Joseph  Green  Butler,  Jr.,  was  born  at  Temperance  Furnace,  Mercer 
County,  Pennsylvania,  December  21,  1840.  His  parents  were  Joseph 
Green  Butler  and  Temperance  (Orwig)  Butler.  His  childhood  was  spent 
about  this  little  furnace,  and  his  boyhood  at  Niles,  where,  at  the  age  of 
thirteen,  he  entered  the  service  of  James  Ward  &  Company  as  a  clerk 
in  their  general  store.  He  was  later  a  bookkeeper  in  this  store,  and  still 
later  office  manager  at  the  iron  mill.  From  1863  until  1866  he  was  agent 
for  Hale  &  Ayer  in  charge  of  their  interests  at  Youngstown,  and  in  the 
latter  year  became  associated  with  David  Tod,  William  Ward  and  Wil- 
liam Richards  in  the  erection  of  a  blast  furnace  at  Girard.  It  will  thus 
be  seen  that  Mr.  Butler  was  a  successful  ironmaster  before  many  of 


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vi  INTRODUCTORY 

those  now  prominent  in  that  industry  were  born.  In  1878  he  formed  an 
active  connection  with  the  Brier  Hill  Iron  &  Coal  Company,  a  famous 
old  concern  which  preceded  the  Brier  Hill  Steel  Company.  Mr.  Butler 
has  been  continuously  associated  with  these  interests  until  the  present 
time  and  he  is  still  vice  president  of  the  Brier  Hill  Steel  Company.  He 
has  been  connected  with  the  Tod  family  in  these  enterprises  for  three 
generations,  and  among  his  present  business  associates  are  sons  and 
grandsons  of  men  with  whom  he  began  his  career. 

During  the  past  fifty  years  Mr.  Butler  has  had  a  prominent  part  in 
almost  every  enterprise  of  note  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  He  helped  to 
organize  the  first  steel  company  in  Youngstown,  as  well  as  many  other 
local  industrial  corporations.  He  has  been  president  of  the  Mahoning 
Valley  Manufacturers'  Association,  the  Bessemer  Pig  Iron  Association, 
the  American  Pig  Iron  Association,  the  Youngstown  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce and  similar  organizations,  in  all  of  which  he  rendered  important 
service.  For  years  he  has  been  a  director  of  the  American  Iron  &  Steel 
Institute,  the  Cleveland  &  Mahoning  Valley  Railroad,  the  Erie  Railroad, 
and  scores  of  other  institutions  which  have  had  a  part  in  the  development 
of  this  region. 

In  spite  of  these  activities  Mr.  Butler  has  always  found  time  to  take 
an  interest  in  movements  of  a  public  character,  whether  they  were  for 
the  benefit  of  his  community  or  for  that  of  the  country  at  large.  He 
has  been  on  terms  of  personal  friendship  with  a  number  of  presidents 
of  the  United  States,  statesmen  of  national  reputation,  and  even  notables 
in  foreign  lands.  He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  every  presidential 
campaign  since  and  including  the  election  of  Lincoln.  Among  iron  and 
steel  manufacturers  in  this  country  there  are  none  whom  he  cannot  call 
his  friends.  Throughout  his  life  he  has  never  been  too  busy  to  do  what 
he  thought  should  be  done,  and  he  has  never  started  anything  that  he 
did  not  finish.  Of  special  note  among  monuments  to  his  energy  and 
persistence  are  the  National  McKinley  Birthplace  Memorial  at  Niles  and 
the  splendid  art  gallery  which  he  has  erected  for  Youngstown. 

Not  the  least  interesting  of  Mr.  Butler's  versatile  work,  if  we  con- 
sider the  limited  opportunities  of  his  school  days  and  the  intensely  prac- 
tical field  in  which  his  business  success  was  achieved,  are  his  literary 
efforts  and  his  fine  collection  of  pictures  and  books.  For  many  years 
he  has  been  almost  the  only  conservator  of  local  history,  and  he  has 
been  conspicuous  in  his  desire  to  provide  for  the  people  opportunities 
for  enjoyment  of  art  and  music.  His  generosity  and  desire  to  help 
others  are  better  known  to  his  friends  than  to  the  general  public,  al- 
though these  qualities  have  won  for  him  wide  recognition  as  a  genuine 
philanthropist. 

Probably  the  finest  fruit  of  Mr.  Butler's  life  is  a  multitude  of  ap- 
preciative and  affectionate  friends.  Many  men,  through  ability,  indus- 
try and  persistent  effort,  acquire  wealth  and  reputation.  It  is  only  a 
few  who  are  able  to  attain  to  these  things  in  large  degree  and  at  the 
same  time  inspire  universal  esteem.  When  a  man  can  accomplish  all  of 
these  and,  reaching  a  ripe  old  age,  still  preserve  an  indomitable  spirit 


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INTRODUCTORY  vii 

of  youth,  as  Mr.  Butler  has  done,  he  has  encompassed  about  all  that  is 
really  worth  while  in  life. 

In  this  work,  one  of  the  many  tasks  which  Mr.  Butler  has  under- 
taken without  desire  or  expectation  of  pecuniary  reward,  he  has  re- 
corded the  activities  of  many  men  who  deserve  honor  and  gratitude  from 
the  generations  for  whose  welfare  their  labors  paved  the  way.  Among 
them  there  are  few  whose  lives  are  more  worthy  of  honor  or  emulation 
than  his  own. 

J.  A.  Campbell. 


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CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 
Prehistoric  Times  and  Peoples i 

CHAPTER  II 
Indian  Tribes  and  Times 8 

CHAPTER  III 
Latin  or  Anglo-Saxon 20 

CHAPTER  IV 
Early  Land  Grants  and  the  Connecticut  Western  Reserve 24 

CHAPTER  V 

The  Connecticut  Western  Reserve — Sale,  Survey  and  Settlement 
of  Northeastern  Ohio 31 

CHAPTER  VI 
THE  PIONEERS  AND  THEIR  SUCCESSORS 

The  People  of  the  Mahoning  Valley — Their  Origin,  National 
Characteristics,  Religious  Affiliations  and  Motives  in  Cod- 
ing Here ; 60 

CHAPTER  VII 
THE  FOUNDING  OF  YOUNGSTOWN  IN  1797 

Its  First  Settlers  and  Its  Early  Growth — the  McMahon-Captain 

George  Tragedy — Youngstown  to  1802 88 

ix 


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CHAPTER  VIII 

PIONEER  DAYS  OF  THE  WESTERN  RESERVE 

Who  the  Pioneers  Were  and  What  They  Did — Their  Joys  and 
Sorrows  in  Transforming  a  Wilderness 118 

CHAPTER  IX 

THE  WOMEN  PIONEERS 

Heroic  Wives  and  Mothers  to  Whom  Present  Civilization  Owes  a 
Great  Debt — Something  About  Their  Trials  and  Achieve- 
ments   154 

CHAPTER  X 

YOUNGSTOWN  FROM  1802  TO  1840 

The  County  Seat  War  of  1800  to  1810 — Youngstown  and  Trumbull 
County  in  the  War  of  1812 — Beginning  of  the  Iron  Industry 
in  the  Mahoning  Valley — Inception  and  Construction  of  the 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  Canals 158 

CHAPTER  XI 

YOUNGSTOWN  FROM  1840  TO  1865 

The  Growth  and  Decline  of  the  Pennsylvania  &  Ohio  Canal — 
The  Third  County  Seat  War  and  the  Creation  of  Mahoning 
County — The  Beginning  of  Youngstown  as  a  Manufacturing 
Center — The  First  Railroad — Youngstown  in  Civil  War 
Days * 180 

CHAPTER  XII 

YOUNGSTOWN  FROM  1865  TO  1890 

Business  Activity  After  the  Civil  War — The  Abandonment  of 
the  Village  Form  of  Government  and  the  Incorporation  of  the 
City — The  Successful  Fight  for  the  County  Seat — City  Ex- 
tension and  Improvements 200 


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CHAPTER  XIII 

YOUNGSTOWN  FROM  1890  TO  1910 

Change  in  the  Form  of  City  Government — Beginning  of  the  Steel 
Industry  and  the  Panic  of  1893 — Mill  Creek  Park  Founding — 
Presidential  Campaign  of  1896  and  Ending  of  the  Panic — 
Spanish-American  War  Days — Depression  of  1907 — Close  of 
First  Decade  of  Century 218 

CHAPTER  XIV 

YOUNGSTOWN  FROM  1910  TO  1920 

The  Business  Depression  of  1913-15 — The  Record-Breaking  Flood 
of  1913 — Revival  of  Business  Following  the  Outbreak  of  the 
World  War — Grade  Crossings  Elimination  Progress — Youngs- 
town  of  Today 238 

CHAPTER  XV 

CIVIL  GOVERNMENT  IN  YOUNGSTOWN 

Days  of  the  "Town"  Meeting — Incorporation  of  the  Village  and 
First  Village  Election — Youngstown  as  a  City — History  of 
the  Police  and  Fire  Departments 260 

CHAPTER  XVI 

YOUNGSTOWN'S  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM 

Founding  of  First  School  in  the  Village  and  Township  and 
Growth  of  School  System — Institution  or  Public,  or  Union, 
Schools  in  1851 — Origin  and  Growth  of  Parochial  Schools — 
Private  School  System  and  Business  Colleges 283 

CHAPTER  XVII 

YOUNGSTOWN  IN  THE  RELIGIOUS  WORLD 

Story  of  the  Early  and  the  Later-Day  Activities  of  the  Various 
Denominations  —  History  of  the  Founding  of  Individual 
Churches  302 


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xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

YOUNGSTOWN  IN  THE  PROFESSIONS 

One  Hundred  and  Twenty  Years  of  Medicine  and  Surgery — The 
Legal  Profession  in  Early  Days  and  Since  the  Organization 
of  Mahoning  County — Newspapers  Past  and  Present — The 
Newer  Professions  331 

CHAPTER  XIX 

BUSINESS  ACTIVITIES  IN  YOUNGSTOWN 

Wholesale  and  Retail  Houses — The  Automobile  Business — 
Youngstown  Banks — Building  and  Loan  Companies — Public 
Utilities,  Private  and  Municipal 354 

CHAPTER  XX 

PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  OF  YOUNGSTOWN 

Organizations  that  Exercise  a  Profound  Influence  for  Higher 
Community  Life — Fraternal  and  Beneficial  Organizations — 
Historical  and  Old  Fair  Societies — Public  Parks  and  Play- 
grounds  374 

CHAPTER  XXI 

WARREN 

Founding  of  this  Historic  Western  Reserve  Settlement  in  the 
Closing  Years  of  the  Eighteenth  Century — Winning  of  the 
County  Seat  and  Battle  and  Fight  to  Retain  It — Warren  in 
Civil  War  Days — Warren  in  Modern  Times 403 

CHAPTER  XXII 

Warren  in  the  Twentieth  Century — A  Story  of  Marvelous  In- 
dustrial Development  Wrought  by  Progressive  Residents — 
Warren's  Business,  Educational,  Religious  and  Political  Life 
— History  of  Warren  Township  Outside  City 434 


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CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

NILES 

Karly  History  of  the  Metropolis  of  Weathersfield  Township — 
Heaton's  Industries  that  Marked  the  Beginning  of  the  City — 
Middle  Day  Industrial  Activity — the  Financial  Crash  of  1874 
— Modern  Niles,  a  Growing  and  Busy  Industrial  City 471 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

STRUTHERS 

Founding  of  Settlement  That  Has  Developed  Into  an  Enterpris- 
ing City — Early  Days  and  Gradual  Growth  to  Village  and 
Twentieth  Century  Industrial  Center — Struthers  in  a  Busi- 
ness, Educational  and  Religious  Way 494 

CHAPTER  XXV 

GIRARD 

Story  of  the  Liberty  Township  Metropolis  and  Connecting  Link 
Between  Youngstown  and  Upper  Mahoning  Valley  Municipal- 
ities— Early  Day  Hamlet  that  Has  Seen  Growth  of  the  Canal, 
Railroads  and  Industrial  Works — Religious  and  Educational 
History — Girard  Today,  in  a  Business  Way  and  Otherwise.  .502 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

LOWELLVILLE 

Lower  Mahoning  Valley  Village  One  of  the  Oider  Municipali- 
ties of  Mahoning  County — Rise  to  Prominence  Comes  with 
the  Development  of  Iron  and  Coal  Industries  and  Building 
of  Canal — Church,  School,  Business  and  Civil  History 511 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

HUBBARD 

Story  of  the  Settlement  of  the  Township  and  Its  Early  Days — 
First  Events — Rise  of  the  Coal  Industry,  Founding  of  Hub- 
bard Village  and  Story  of  Its  Activities — Church,  School  and 


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xiv  CONTENTS 

Industrial    History — Coalburg    and    Other    Parts   of    Town- 
ship  518 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 
EAST  YOUNGSTOWN 

Story  of  the  Development  of  the  Infant  Municipality  of  Ma- 
honing County — Remarkable  Industrial  Growth  in  Twenty 
Years — Early  Days  in  East  Youngstown — Municipality  in 
1920    528 

CHAPTER  XXIX 

SEBRING 

One  of  the  Younger  Municipalities  of  Mahoning  County  and 
One  of  the  Most  Prosperous — The  Pottery  Center  of  the  Ma- 
honing Valley — Church,  School  and  Political  History  of  the 
Town  539 

CHAPTER  XXX 

TOWNSHIPS  OF  MAHONING  COUNTY 

Historical  Sketches  of  the  Fourteen  Political  Subdivisions  of 
the  County — Settlement  and  Pioneer  Activities — Educa- 
tional and  Religious  Activities — Interesting  Personalities — 
Villages  of  County 544 

CHAPTER  XXXI 

TOWNSHIPS  OF  TRUMBULL  COUNTY 

Story  of  the  Settlement  and  Early  Activities  in  the  Pioneer 
County  of  Northeastern  Ohio — Growth  of  the  County  During 
the  Nineteenth  Century — Agricultural,  Religious  and  Edu- 
cational History — Village  of  the  County 599 

CHAPTER  XXXII 

INDUSTRY  IN  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Its  Humble  Beginnings,  Early  Vicissitudes  and  Gradual  Develop- 
ment Along  Various  Lines 651 


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CONTENTS  xv 

CHAPTER  XXXIII 

RECENT  INDUSTRIAL  GROWTH 

Conditions  and  Incidents  Connected  with  the  Tremendous  De- 
velopment of  the  Iron  and  Steel  Industries  in  the  Mahoning 
Valley  During  the  Last  Twenty  Years — Brief  Sketches  of 
the  More  Important  Establishments  of  Today 697 

CHAPTER  XXXIV 

TRANSPORTATION  IN  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Indian  Paths — Route  Taken  by  First  Settlers — The  Mahoning 
as  a  Waterway — Development  of  Roads — The  Ohio  &  Penn- 
sylvania Canal  —  Construction  of  Railroads  —  Trolley 
Lines    752 

CHAPTER  XXXV 

ORE  AND  COAL  MINING 

Mineral  Deposits  of  the  Mahoning  Valley — Ore  and  Coal — 
Source  of  Native  Ores  and  Distribution  of  Coal  Seams — Their 
Discovery,  Exploitation  and  Final  Exhaustion 767 

CHAPTER  XXXVI 

OIL  AND  GAS  PRODUCTION 

Oil  at  First  Made  from  Coal — Later  Found  in  Several  Parts  of 
the  Mahoning  Valley — Gas  Production 772 

CHAPTER  XXXVII 

THE  MAHONING  VALLEY  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Contributions  of  its  People  and  its  Industries  to  the  Momentous 
Conflict  of  1914-18 775 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII 
Personal  Reminiscences 810 


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J 


INDEX 


Abbott,  C.  K.,  I,  628 

Abbott,  C.  S.,  I,  309,  449 

Abbott,  David,  I,  58,  106 

Abbott,  John  L„  III,  791 

Abraham,  Simon,  I,  174 

Acheson,  N.  B-,  I,  339 

Ackman,  J.  M.,  I,  307 

Ackowanothia,  speech  of  Delaware  In- 
dian chief  (1758),  I,  14 

Ada  (now  Mary),  furnace,  erected 
(1845),  Wilkes,  Wilkinson  &  Com- 
pany, Lowellville,  capacity  twenty 
tons,  I,  667 

Adams,  Asael  E.,  I,  241,  355,  359,  706 
723,  730,  733.  793;  II,  1 

Adams,  Asahel,  Sr.,  I,  406,  440,  524 

Adams,  Augustus,  I,  634 

Adams,  Comfort  A.,  I,  462 

Adams,  David  A.,  I,  473 

Adams,  D.  J.,  I,  438 

Adams,  Fred  W.,  I,  433,  439;  III,  582 

Adams,  Mrs.  F.  W.,  I,  801 

Adams,  G.  H.,  I,  648 

Adams,  Whittlesey,  1, 406;  sketch  of,  I, 
459 

Adgate,  Elias,  I,  589 

Adgate,  John  H.,  I,  58,  405,  439,  466, 
618 

Adovasio,  Louis,  II,  366 

Aetna  Foundry  &  Machine  Company, 
1,744 

Aetna-Standard  Iron  and  Steel  Com- 
pany, I,  696 

African  Methodist  Episcopal  Churches 
in  Youngs  town,  I,  327 

Agriculture,  as  first  permanent  indus- 
try in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  I,  653- 
657;  pioneer  plowing  and  reaping,  I, 
654;  standard  livestock  and  crops,  I, 
655 

Ague,  Frederick,  I,  103 

Ahn,  A.  A.,  I,  508 

Aiken,  E.  F.,  I,  328 

Ainge,  W.  Ely,  II,  300 

Akron,  I,  420 

Akron  Maderite  Tire  and  Rubber 
Company,  Newton  Falls,  I,  609 

Akron  Manufacturing  Company,  I,  710 

Alan,  J.  S.,  I,  517 

Alber,  R.  J..  I,  541 

Albert  Street  Colored  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  Youngstown,  I,  327 

Albright,  A.  E.,  I,  541,  542 
Albright,  Mrs.  Charles,  I,  539 
Alcorn,  Joseph  L.,  Ill,  638 


Alderdice,  George  F.,  I,  714;  III,  706 

Alderdice,  Winslow,  I,  679 

Alderman,  Timothy,  I,  614 

Alexander,  David,  I,  661 

Alexander,  Fred  H.,  II,  94 

Alexander,  George  W.,  II,  94 

Alexander,  Robert,  I,  174 

Alexander,  Walter  G.,  I,  444;  II,  274 

Alford,  Ruth,  I,  619 

Alinskas,  Felix,  I,  313 

Allen,  David  A.,  Ill,  554 

Allen,  Harvey,  I,  620 

Allen,  Walker,  I,  517 

Allen,  William,  I,  570 

Allen,  William  H.,  Ill,  476 

Alliance  Gas  &  Power  Company,  I,  543 

Allison,  E.  E:,  I,  539 

Allison,  Ralph  H.,  I,  782;  III,  457 

Alloway,  George  W.,  Ill,  709 

Allwardt,  C.  H.,  I.  639 

Alsand,  Andrew  P.,  I,  745 

Altdoerffer,  C.  M.  L.,  II,  339 

Alton,  Benjamin,  I,  649 

Altshuler,  M.,  I,  300 

Amales,  N.,  I,  740 

American  Belting  Company,  I,  749 

American  Bridge  Company,  I,  674 

American  Committee  for  Devastated 
France,  I,  791 

American  Iron  &  Steel  Institute,  I, 
690,  691 

American  Jewish  Relief  Committee,  I, 
790 

American  Legion:  Youngstown  Post, 
I,  791,  796;  Posts  in  Trumbull 
county,  I,  801 

American  Pig  Iron  Association,  I,  815 

American  Red  Cross,  I,  777,  784,  790; 
local  service  by,  I,  788;  Mahoning 
Chapter,  I,  787;  Trumbull  county 
chapter,  I,  796;  Trumbull  county 
auxiliaries,  I,  797 

American  Relief  Administrator  Euro- 
pean Children's  Fund,  I,  791 

American  Sheet  &  Tin  Plate  Company, 
1,496 

American  Sintering  Company,  Hub- 
bard Plant,  I,  521 

American  Steel  Hoop  Company,  I,  673, 
684,  688,  696,  715 

American  Tar  Products  Company,  I, 
748 

American  Tube  &  Iron  Company,  I, 
673 


xvn 


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XV111 


INDEX 


N, 


American   Welding   &   Manufacturing 

Company,  I,  746 
Amerikai-Magyar  Hirlap,  I,  349 
Amish,  I,  72 
Amusements,  I,  143 
Anna  furnace,  erected  (1869),  Struthers 

Iron    Company,   Struthers,   capacity 

fifty-six  tons,  I,  495,  668,  732 
Anderson,  Charles  H.,  I,  522 
Anderson,  David,  I,  208,  577;  III,  404 
Anderson,  David  F.,  I,  241;  II,  291 
Anderson,  George,  I,  320 
Anderson,  John  A.,  Ill,  741 
Anderson,  John  U.,  I,  718;  III,  403. 
Anderson,  W.  Noble,  I,  343 
Anderson,  William  S.,  I,  208,  342,  371, 

578,  763;  III,  705 
Andrews,  Benjamin,  I,  634 
Andrews,  Chauncey  H.,  1, 193,  201,  208, 

212,  262,  346,  360,  477,  673,  683,  733f 

763,  817;  death  of,  I,  361,  733;  III, 

529 
Andrews,  Mrs.  C.  H.,  I,  379 
Andrews,  C.  H.  &  Company,  I,  616 
Andrews,  (C.  H.)  &  (W.  C),  (1876): 

daily  coal  mining  capacity  1,100  tons, 

1,769 
Andrews  &  Company's  Stove  Works,  I, 

675 
Andrews  &  Hitchcock  Iron  Company, 

I,  699,  704,  730,  733 
Andrews    &    Hitchcock    (1875):    daily 

coal  mining  capacity  450  tons,  I,  769 
Andrews  Bros.  &  Company,  I,  478,  673, 

683,  707,  708,  730 
Andrews,  James,  I,  605 
Andrews,  Lawrence  G.,  I,  673 
Andrews,  Rollin  C,  III,  774 
Andrews,  R.  L.,  I,  371,  763 
Andrews,  Upson  A.,  I,  730;  III,  479 
Andrews,  Wallace  C,  I,  477,  673 
Andrews,  Willard  C,  III,  773 
Andrews,  William  M.,  Ill,  479 
Anti-Tuberculosis  League,  I,  258 
Antonelli  Marco,  II,  81 
Antonelli,  Thomas  E.,  Ill,  681 
Apostolic  Christian  Assembly,  Girard, 

1,509 
Applegate,  James,  I,  166,  605 
Applegate,  Jesse,  I,  523 
Arbuckle,  Mrs.  A.  W.,  I,  787 
Architects  of  Youngstown,  I,  344 
"Arks,"  early  freight  boats.  I,  754 
Armenian  and  Syrian  Relief  Commit- 
tee, I,  790 
Arms,  Bell  &  Company,  I,  674 
Arms  Brothers,  I,  477 
Arms,  F.  O.,  I,  360 
Arms,  Mrs.  C.  D.,  I,  379 
Arms,  Myron  I.,  I,  337,  378,  398,  684, 

725,  734;  II,  1 
Arms,  Mrs.  Myron  I.,  I,  337 
Arms,  Myron  II,  I,  464,  744;  II,  2 
Arms,  Warner,  III,  463 
Arms.  Wilford  P.,  I,  360,  726;  II,  2 
Arms,    Warner    &    Company    (1876): 


daily  coal  mining  capacity  80  tons, 
I,  769 

Arms,  Wick  &  Company,  I,  673 

Armstrong,  Sylvester  H.,  Ill,  414 

Arner,  Caleb  B.,  Ill,  456 

Arner,  Joseph,  I,  582 

Arner,  Ray  C,  III,  544 

Arnold,  Dan  H.,  I,  276 

Arrel,  George  F.,  I,  342,  359;  II,  312 

Arrel,  John,  I,  548 

Arrel,  Margaret  J.,  II,  72 

Arrel,  William  M.,  II,  72 

Arrel  Limestone  Company,  I,  513 

Arrell,  Grace  T.,  I,  337 

Arter,  Theodore  J.,  II,  245 

Ashbaugh,  Clarence  V.,  I,  803 

Ashland  blast  furnace,  I,  603 

Ashland  Furnace  No.  1,  erected  (1858), 
Jonathan  Warner,  Mineral  Ridge,  ca- 
pacity twenty- two  tons,  I,  668 

Ashland  Furnace  No.  2,  erected  (1862), 
Jonathan  Warner,  Mineral  Ridge,  ca- 
pacity twenty-one  tons,  I,  668 

Ashley,  B.  F.,  I,  314 

Asnhe  Emeth  (Jewish)  Congregation, 
Youngstown,  I,  324 

Ashtabula,  I,  159 

Ashtabula  County,  I,  46;  organized,  I, 
149;  formed,  I,  161 

Ashtabula  Historical  and  Philosophical 
Society,  I.  44 

Ashtabula  Turnpike,  I.  755 

Ashtabula,  Warren  and  East  Liverpool 
Railroad,  I,  423 

Ashtabula,  Warren  &  East  Liverpool 
Railroad  Company,  I,  760 

Ashtabula.  Youngstown  &  Pittsburg 
Railroad!  Company,  I,  762 

Asper,  Joel  F.,  I,  426,  459 

Associated  Bible  Students,  Youngs- 
town, I,  330 

Associated  Presbyterian  Church,  Se- 
ceder  Corners,  I.  606 

Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary  (Ruthenian  Greek  Catholic) 
Parish,  Youngstown,  I,  313 

Atkins,  M.  R.,  I,  552 

Atkins,  Samuel  J.,  I,  672 

Atkinson,  John,  III,  565 

Atlantic  furnace,  I,  707 

Atlantic  &  Great  Western  Company,  I, 
193 

Atlantic  &  Great  Western  Railway,  I, 
761 

At  water,  Caleb,  I,  51 

Atwood,  Ichabod,  I,  557,  559 

Aubel,  Samuel  M.,  II,  343 

Aulbach,  John,  III,  669 

Augustine,  Daniel,  I,  568 

Austin,  Benajah,  I,  469 

Austin,  Calvin,  I,  58,  405,  437,  466 

Austin,  Eliphalet,  I,  58 

Austintown  Center,  I,  575 

Austintown  Township,  Mahoning 
county,  I,  106,  574-5/7;  schools  and 
churches  of,  I,  576 

Avery,  Frederick  B.,  I,  310 


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xix 


Aviation  Day,  Youngstown,  I,  338 
Ayers,  Herbert  C,  I,  672 

Backenstos,  Mrs.  Charles,  I,  786 

Backman,  Morris,  I,  719 

Bacon,  Carson,  I,  556 

Bacon,  Enos,  I,  626 

Bacon    M.,  I,  627 

Bacon,  Samuel,  I,  626 

Badal,  Samuel  S.,  II,  27 

Badger,  Henry  L.,  I,  449 

Badger,  Joseph,  I,  123,  171,  303,  561, 
624,  626,  641,  645,  650 

Baechler,  Samuel,  I,  318 

Bailey,  Clyde  L.,  Ill,  565 

Bailey,  Curtis  L.,  Ill,  718 

Bailey,  C.  L.,  I,  782 

Bailey,  James  K.,  I,  207,  346 

Bailey,  N.  P.,  I,  448 

Bailey,  Seth  L.,  Ill,  564 

Baird,  Charles  A.,  I,  339;  III,  498 

Baird,  George  A.,  I,  707 

Baird,  S.  J.,  I,  339 

Baird,  W.  J.,  I,  522 

Baker,  E.J.  L.,  1,611 

Baker,  Lawrence,  I,  275 

Baker,  Lewis,  I,  589 

Baker,  Mrs.  R.  S.,  I,  294 

Bakody,  John,  I,  509 

Bakody,  Theophilus  W.,  Ill,  632 

Bakody,  William,  II,  253 

Baldwin,  Benjamin  P„  II,  92 

Baldwin,  Caleb,  I,  58,  105,  115,  303,  559 

Baldwin  Camp  No.  2,  Sons  of  Vet- 
erans, I,  394 

Baldwin,  C.  L.,  I,  574 

Baldwin,  Dudley,  I,  423,  760 

Baldwin,  D.  I.,  I,  192,  262 

Baldwin,  Eli,  I,  166,  572,  582;  II,  86 

Baldwin,  Frank  L.,  I,  272;  III,  459 

Baldwin,  F.  F.,  I,  628 

Baldwin,  George,  I,  201 

Baldwin,  G.  N.,  I,  739 

Baldwin,  Jesse,  I,  503;  II,  87 

Baldwin,  Jesse  N.,  I,  479;  II,  254 

Baldwin,  L.  S.,  I,  497 

Baldwin,  Mrs.  H.  C,  I,  465 

Baldwin,  Timothy  D.,  Ill,  807 

Baldwin,  William  H.,  I,  358,  384,  693; 
III,  785 

Ball,  A.  C,  I,  737 

Ball,  C.  E.,  I,  327 

Balogh,  Valentine,  I,  313,  501 

Baltimore  &  Ohio  system,  I,  762 

Bandy,  Lewis  A.,  Ill,  435 

Bane,  James  M.,  Ill,  676 

Bane,  Mary  E.,  Ill,  677 

Bane,  Thomas  H.,  I,  319 

Bank  buildings,  I,  256 

Banks,  Fred  W.,  II,  124 

Banks  of  Niles,  I,  480 

Banner,  Robert  J.,  Ill,  474 

Banning,  A.,  I,  624 

Baptist  Churches  and  Missions  in 
Youngstown,  I,  314-317;  Warren,  I, 
445;  Girard,  I,  508;  Hubbard,  I,  523; 
Canfield,  I,  563;  Hartford  Center,  I, 


624;  Orangeville,  I,  624;  Vernon 
Center,  I,  634;  East  Mecca,  I,  637 

Barb,  William,  I,  638,  650 

Barber,  Albert,  I,  598 

Barber,  John,  I,  598 

Barclay,  I,  645 

Barclay,  Francis,  I,  192,  262 

Barclay,  William,  I,  202,  262 

Bard,  George  P.,  I,  750;  III,  711 

Bardwell,  Andrew,  I,  403 

Bardwell,  Reuben,  I,  403 

Barge  canal  for  ore  and  coal,  I,  253, 
765 

Barger,  Frank,  I,  598 

Barker,  Clare  H.,  II,  283 

Barnes,  Elijah,  I,  625 

Barnes,  Mivert  J.,  Ill,  459 

Barnett,  James,  I,  428 

Barney,  J.  C,  I,  444 

Barnum,  Eli,  I,  620 

Barnum,  Wayne  T-,  III,  800 

Barnum,  William  P.,  I,  342;  III,  762 

Barr,  William  H.,  I,  365;  III,  656 

Barrett  Company,  I,  748 

Barringer,  Eben,  I,  565 

Barry,  John  P.,  I,  241,  312;  III,  537 

Barthofemew,  Tamar,  I,  616 

Bartlett,  N.  N.,  I,  615 

Bartlett,  Roswell,  I,  646 

Bartolette,  E.  C,  I,  591     . 

Barton,  G.  M.,  I,  573 

Barstow,  Joseph,  I,  636 

Bascom,  A.  L.,  I,  627 

Bascom,  G.  M.,  I,  636 

Bascom,  James,  I,  646 

Base  Hospital  No.  31,  I,  788,  802 

Bate,  Herbert,  III,  731 

Bate,  W.  C,  I,  610 

Bate,  W.  G.,  Ill,  775 

Bates,  A.  V.,  I,  624 

Bates,  F.  E.,  I,  650 

Batman,  L.  G.,  I,  320 

Battles,  John,  I,  475 

Bauch,  John,  I,  454 

Baugh,  F.  B.,  I,  715;  death  of,  I,  716 

Baugh,  H.  J.,  I,  716 

Baughman,  Abraham,  I,  638 

Baughman,  Andrew,  I,  638 

Baughman,  Henry,  I,  638 

Baum,  George,  I,  584 

Baumgardner,  Charles,  I,  543 

Baxter,  Edward,  I,  633 

Baxter,  John,  II,  96 

Bazetta  Township;  settlement  and  gen- 
eral description  of,  I,  626 

Beach,  Liebus,  I,  624 

Beadling,  William  E.,  Ill,  685 

Beal,  William  P.,  II,  145 

Bear,  George  W..  I,  493 

Beard,  Alexander  W.,  Ill,  738 

Beard,  Henry,  I,  589 

Beard,  James,  I,  610 

Beard,  Ralph  A.,  I,  342,  344 

Beardsley,  Almus,  II,  88 

Beardsley,  Hiram  J.,  I,  567;  II,  87 

Beardsley,  Philo  A.,  II,  89 

Beardsley,  Willis  L.,  Ill,  440 


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INDEX 


Beatty,  Samuel,  I,  195,  424 

Beatty,  W.  H.,  I,  542 

Beaver,  John  F.,  I,  423 

Beaver  Township,  I,  586-589:  schools 

of,  I,  588 
Beavertown,  Mahoning  County,  I,  99 
Bechtel,  Milton  W.,  I,  799,  801;  III, 

738 
Beck,  Frank  E.,  Ill,  729  < 

Beck,  Joseph  J.,  II,  59 
Becker,  F.  C,  I,  63,  317,  579.  612 
Becker,  Peter,  I,  295,  312 
Becker,  Rachael  K.,  I,  785 
Bedell,  Chester,  III,  421 
Bedell,  Isaac,  III,  422 
Bedford   township,   Cuyahoga  county, 

Bee'be,  James  E.,  II,  152 

Beecher,  Walter  A.,  I,  361,  395 

Beeghly,  Leon  A..  II,  192 

Beers,  W.  L.,  I,  328 

Begel,  John,  I,  515 

Beggiani,  N.  S.,  I,  313 

Beggs,  Joseph,  I,  568 

Beggs,  Parteridge,  II,  391 

Beight,  Jonathan,  I,  597 

Beight,  William,  II,  298 

Beil,  E.  H.,  I,  371 

Beil,  Eva,  I,  613 

Beil,  John,  II,  117 

Belden,  David,  I,  640 

Belden,  H.  C,  I,  678 

Bell,  David,  I,  414 

Bell,  Delos  M.,  Ill,  781 

Bell,  Ella,  I,  799 

Bell,  Ella  M.,  I,  796 

Bell,   Renick   M.,   I,   726;    II,   219 

Bellaire    Steel    Company,    I,   696 

Belmont,  August,  I,  707 

Belmont  Avenue  Branch  of  Y.  W.  C. 
A.  (Colored),  I,  387 

Belmont  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  Youngstown,   I,  307 

Beloit   (Smithfield  Station),  I,  593 

Belvidere,    I,    585 

Beman,    Rufus,    I,   644 

Bench  and  Bar,  pioneer  laws  of  West- 
ern reserve,  I,  106;  Lawyers  of  Ma- 
honing county  (See  also  Courts),  I, 
340-343;  first  session  of  court  in  the 
Youngstown  Courthouse,  I,  342; 
lawyers  of  Trumbull  county,  I,  455- 
60;  famous  damage  suit  against  Bris- 
tol township,  I,  639;  rolling  mill  case 
of   Edwards   v.   Tyrrell,   I,   670. 

Bender,  A.  F.,  I,  611 

Benedict,  George  B.,  Ill,  647 

Benedict,  William  F.,  Ill,  556 

Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  Youngstown,  I,  391 

Bennet,  W.   L.,   I,  509 

Bennett,  F.  M.,  I,  328 

Bennett,  James  H.,  I,  781 

Bennington,  John  M.,  Ill,  526 

Bentley,  Adamson,  I,  414,  445,  451 

Bentley,  Anson  G.,  II,  246 


Bentley,  A.  G.  &  Company,  Niles,  I, 

477,  480:  failure  of,  I,  684 
Bentley,  A.  J.,  I,  486,  739,  800 
Bentley,  Augusta  Zug,  I,  388 
Bentley,  Frank  F.,  I,  739;  II,  246 
Bentley,   Jeffrey,   I,  622 
Bentley,  Martin  V.,  Ill,  513 
Bentley,  Robert,  I,  355,  382,  386,  398, 

512,  513,  706.  722,  723,  730,  731,  734. 

784,  789;   III,  763 
Bentley,  Mrs.  Robert,  I,  387,  784,  794 
Benton,  John,  I,  640 
Benton,  Thomas,  I,  593 
Benton  Exchange,  I,  593 
Bentzel,  William,  I,  597 
Bereny,  Girard  S.,  Ill,  476 
Berlin  Center,  I,  585 
Berlin  storage  basin,  I,  233 
Berlin    Township,    I,    584-86;    schools 

and  churches  of,  I,  585 
Berry,  Leonora,  I,  311 
Bertillon  system  adopted,  I,  277 
Bertolini,  Arthur,   II,  370 
Berwind,  Edward  J.,  I,  710 
Bessemer  (village),  I,  729 
Bessemer  Coal  &  Coke  Company,   I, 

710 
Bessemer  Iron  Association,  I,  690 
Bessemer  Limestone  Company,  I,  513, 

727;  its  brick  plant,  I,  728 
Bessemer  Limestone  &  Cement  Com- 
pany, I,  513,  729 
Bessemer    Pig    Iron    Association,    I, 

814 
Best,  David,  I,  306 
Best,  H.  D.,  I,  500 
Betcher,  L.  A.,  I,  515 
Bethel    United    Evangelical    Church, 

Loy's  Corners,  I,  509 
Bethlehem  Church,  Boardman  Town- 
ship, I,  574 
Bethlehem  Lutheran   Church,   I,  319 
Bettiker,  William,   I,  626 
Beymon,  W.  H.,  I,  316 
Bidwell,  L.  G.,  I,  644 
Bidwell,  Riverius,  I,  644 
Bierce,  Frederick,  sketch  of,  I,  461 
Bierman,  Mrs.  E.  F.,  I,  785 
Big  Mill,  I,  672 
Biggers,  James  W.,  Ill,  586 
Biggert,  F.  C,  I,  721 
Billings,  Carolina,  I,  623 
Billmer,  Bessie  J.,  I,  796 
Birchard,  Matthew,  I,  443,  455;  sketch 

of,  I,  456 
Birrell,  A.  G.,  I,  643 
Bishop,  George  S.,  I,  365,  545,  555 
Bishop,  H.  A.,  I,  750 
Bissel,  John  P.,  I,  115,  518,  567,  568, 

569 
Bissel,  Joseph,  I,  139,  569 
Bissell,  Fitch,  I,  462 
Bissell,  Warren,  I,  173 
Biwabik  Mining  Company,  I,  712;  Lake 

Superior  region,  I,  713 
Bixler,  Harry  Z.,  Ill,  798 
Black,  Andrew  E.,  I,  496 


Digitized  by 


Google 


INDEX 


xxi 


Black  band  ore,  Mineral  Ridge,  I,  665 

Blackburn,  Leonard,  I,  643 

Blacksnake  Indians,  I,  95 

Blackstone,  Thomas  G.,  I,  507,  601;  II, 
14 

Blair,  Harry  M.,  I,  505 

Blase,  W.  L.,  I,  353 

Blase,  Mrs.  W.  L.,  I,  353 

Blast  furnaces  (see  ironmaking),  I, 
658 

Bliss,  William  E,  II,  186 

Bloch,  Henry,  I,  323 

Bloch,  Samuel,  I,  323 

Block  Gas  Mantle  Company,  I,  750 

Block  Schoolhouse,  Vienna  township, 
I,  617 

Blockson,  James  B.,  I,  344 

Blockson,    James    E.,    I,   341 

Bloemker,  R.  W.,  I,  453 

Bloomfield  Center,  I,  648 

Bloomfield  township;  pioneers  of,  I, 
647;  first  marriage  in,  I,  647;  first 
white  child  born  in,  I,  647;  organiza- 
tion, villages,  schools,  churches,  etc., 
I,  648 

Blott,  E  B.,  I,  505 

Blue,  Herbert  T.,  I,  563,  591 

Board  of  Charter  Commissioners,  I, 
266 

Board  of  City  Commissioners  abol- 
ished, I,  264 

Board  of  Trade  Improvement  Associa- 
tion, Newton  Falls,  I,  609 

Boardman,  Charles,  I,  572 

Boardman,  Charles  A.,  I,  304 

Boardman,  David  S.,  I,  571 

Boardman,  Elijah,  I,  571,  572 

Boardman,  Henry  M.,  I,  207 

Boardman,  Homer,  I,  571 

Boardman,  Mabel,  identified  with  the 
Red  Cross,  I,  572,  784 

Boardman,  I,  309 

Boardman  Center,  I,  572,  573 

Boardman  township,  Mahoning  county, 
I,  104,  106;  First  Episcopal  church 
in  county  formed  in,  I,  308;  history, 
571-74;  early  industries  of,  I,  572; 
schools  of,  I,  573;  churches  of,  I, 
574 

Boardman  Woods,  I,  573 

Boards  of  City  Commissioners,  I,  269- 
272 

Boards  of  Public  Safety,  I,  272 

Boards  of  Public  Service,  I,  272 

Bode,  George,  II,  263 

Boddy,  J.  T.,  I,  330 

Boehme,  Adolph  J.,  II,  19 

Boehme,  E.  A.,  I,  317 

Boetticher,  J.  E.,  I,  601 

Boggess,  Oscar,  I,  327 

Boland,  George,  I,  517 

Bolin,  Candace,  III,  652 

Bolin,  James,  III,  652 

Bollinger,  J.  H.,  I,  600 

Bonnell,  Annie,  I,  378 

Bonnell,  Henry  O.,  I,  346,  689,  692, 
817;  death  of,  I,  360;  III,  587 


Bonnell,  J.  Fearnley,  I,  723;  III,  770 
Bonnell,  John  M.,  Ill,  770 
Bonnell,  William,  I,  182,  671 
Bonnell,  William  F.,  I,  396,  398 
Bonnell,  William  S.,  Ill,  769 
Bonnell,  W.  Scott,  I,  360,  361,  730 
Bonnell,  Woods  &  Jordan,  I,  773 
Bonsall,  Edward,  I,  590 
Booker    T.    Washington    Settlement, 

Youngstown,  I,  330 
Boorn,  Ernest  C,  III,  437 
Booth,   Charles   H.,   I,  398,   706,   721, 

726,  730,  731,  789;  III,  724 
Booth,  Mrs.  C  H.,  I,  337 
Booth,  George  B.,  I,  523;  death  of,  I, 

Booth,  Lloyd  (the  elder),  I,  720;  III, 

724 
Booth,  Lloyd,  I,  744;  III,  767 
Booth  (Lloyd)  Company,  I,  720,  721 
Booth,  Millard  &  Company's  foundry, 

I,  6/5 
Bordelis,  James,  I,  803 
Borrell,  Joseph,  I,  518 
Borton,  T.  E,  I,  731 
Bossert,  Lewis,  II,  310 
Boster,  E.  Gordon,  I,  643 
Boston,  John  K.,  I,  515 
Boswell,  I,  592 
Bostwick,  L.  L,  I,  565 
Bostwick,  Shadrach,   I,  305,  559  562; 

death  of,  I,  306 
Bostwick  W.  W.,  I  739 
Bostwick  Steel  Lath  Company,  I,  739 
Bosworth,  Marcus,  I,  611,  649 
Bothwell,  J.  Howard,  II,  355 
Botsford,  James  L,  I,  692,  828 
Bouton,  Enoch,  I,  303 
Bowen,  Noah,  I,  646 
Bowen,  William,  I,  440 
Bowen,  William  F.,  I,  438;  III,  414 
Bower,  H.  H.  I,  517 
Bowles,  John,  I,  630 
Bowles,  Samuel,  I,  580 
Bowman,  Comfort  C,  II,  386 
Bowman,  David,  I,  589 
Bowman,  Hugh,  I,  584 
Bowman,  Isaiah,  I,  190 
Bowyer,  Thomas,  I,  649 
Boy  Scouts  Headquarters,  I,  377 
Boy  Scout  movement,  I,  780 
Boyd,  Andrew,  I,  605 
Boyd,  Benjamin  F.,  I,  740 
Boyd,  E  C,  I,  623 
Boyd,  E  J.,  I,  439 
Boyd,  F.  R.,  I,  629 
Boyd,  G.  C,  I,  576 
Boyd,  James,  death  of,  I,  447 
Boyd,  M.  C,  I,  744 
Boyer,  Guy  S.,  I,  542 
Boyer,  Joseph,  I,  727 
Bovlan,  J.  D.,  I,  546 
Brace,  Jonathan,  I,  38,  42,  608,  619 
Braceville    Auxiliary,    American    Red 

Cross,  I,  798 
Braceville  Center,  I,  620 
Braceville  Township:   Pioneers  of,   I, 


Digitized  by 


Google 


XX11 


INDEX 


619;  organization  and  schools  of,  I, 
620:  churches  of,  I,  621 

Brandel,  C.  O.,  Ill,  700 

Braden,  D.  W.,  I,  645 

Braden,  George  C,  I,  435,  465,  799;  II, 
358 

Braden,  William,  I,  391 

Bradford,  Joshua,  I,  620 

Bradley,  James,  I,  634 

Brainard,  Asahel,  I,  621 

Brainard,  H.  B.,  I,  565 

Brainard,  Ira,  I,  549 

Braman,  Harry  S.,  II,  197 

Brandon,  Roy  F.,  Ill,  635 

Brandyberry,  M.  D.,  I,  328 

Brant,  Captain  (Indian  chief),  I,  45 

Brant,  John  J.,  I,  706;  II,  219 

Braun,  A.  E.,  I,  720 

Braunberns,  Edward  H.,  I,  440;  III, 
464 

Bray  C.  W.,  I,  720 

Bray,  Thomas  J.,  I,  710;  II,  132 

Breaden,  Jeremiah,  I,  570 

Brennan,  James  A.,  II,  366 

Brenner,  Carl,  III,  769 

Brenner,  E.  Alberta,  I,  468 

Brenner,  John,  III,  643 

Brenner,  John,  III,  768 

Brenner,  Judson,  III,  643 

Brick,  Robert,   I,  42 

Brickley,  William,  I,  577 

Brickman,  Andrew  J.,  I,  575 

Brier  Hill,  I,  214;  absorbed  by  Youngs- 
town,  I,  263 

Brier  Hill,  coal,  first  shipment  of,  I. 
181 

Brier  Hill  coal;  best  in  valley,  I,  769 

Brier  Hill  Coal  Company,  Church  Hill, 
I,  606 

Brier  Hill  Coke  Company,  I,  712 

Brier  Hill  Furnace  No.  1  erected 
(1847),  James  Wood  &  Company, 
Youngstown,  capacity,  twenty-five 
tons,  I,  667 

Brier  Hill  Iron  Company,  I,  711 

Brier  Hill  Iron  &  Coal  Company,  I, 
181,  193,  667,  699,  711,  712,  769 

Brier  Hill  Steel  Company,  I,  181,  479; 
Girard,  I,  504;  Youngstown,  three 
furnaces,  daily  capacity,  500  tons,  I, 
668;  plant  moved  from  Akron  to 
Brier  Hill,  I,  710;  name  assumed  I, 
711;  acquisitions  after  1912  incorpo- 
ration, I,  712;  by-products  and  raw 
materials  of,  I,  /13;  first  officers,  I, 
714;  subscriptions  by  to  War  Chest 
Fund,  I,  792 

Brier  Hill  vein,  I,  768 

Brigham,  Lemuel,  I,  190,  565 

Bright,  Stanley,  I,  629 

Brinker,  Harry  L.,  II,  24 

Brisbine,  J.  M.,  I,  520 

Bristol  Center  (See  Bristolville),  I,  638 

Bristol  Township,  I,  638;  schools  and 
churches  of,  I,  639 

Bristolville  Auxiliary,  American  Red 
Cross,  I,  797 


Bristolville  Station,  I,  638 
Brockett,  Hervey,  I,  488 
Brock  way,  I,  622 
Brockway,  Aaron,  I,  622,  633 
Brockway,  Bion  W.,  Ill,  695 
Brockway,  Edward,  I,  58,  621 
Brockway,  O.  P.,  I,  578 
Brockway,  Roxy,  I,  645 
Brockway,  Titus,  I,  59,  621,  622 
Brockway     Methodist     Episcopal 

Church,   I,  624 
Brody  Jacob  G.,  Ill,  557 
Bromley,  Stevens,  I,  330 
Bronson,  Alfred,  I,  625 
Bronson,  Tracy,  I,  581 
Brookfield    Auxiliary,    American    Red 

Cross,  I,  798 
Brookfield   Center,  I,  614 
Brookfield  Congregational  Church,   I, 

615 
Brookfield  Grange,  I,  615 
Brookfield  Station,  I,  614,  617 
Brookfield  Township:  early  settlement 

and    political    organization,    I,    614; 

schools  and  churches,  I,  615 
Brooks,  Charles,  I,  60l 
Brooks,  G.  W.,  I,  334 
Brooks,  J.  J.,  I,  330 
Brooks,  J.  W.,  I,  441 
Brooks,  Peter  C,  I,  647 
Brown,  Arthur,  I,  611. 
Brown,  D.  Web,  I,  349 
Brown,  Ebenezer  N.,  Ill,  648 
Brown,  Edmond  L.,  I,  307,  360 
Brown,  Edmond  L.,  I,  692,  II,  180 
Brown,  Ensign  N.,  I,  343;  II,  227 
Brown,  Ephraim,  I,  150,  647 
Brown,  Frank  L.,  I,  271,  272;  III,  710 
Brown,  Frederick  C,  II,  223 
Brown,  Frederick  H.,  I,  304 
Brown,  F.  W.,  I,  451 
Brown,  G.  W.,  I,  583 
Brown,  Harvey  O.,  Ill,  562. 
Brown,  Henrietta,  I,  307 
Brown,  Henrietta  A.,  I,  376 
Brown,  Henry,  I,  103 
Brown,  James,  I,  511 
Brown,  James  E.,  Ill,  648 
Brown,  John,  a  Western  Reserve  Man, 

I,  152 
Brown,  John,  Jr.,  I,  152 
Brown,  Joseph  H.,  I,  182,  360,  671;  II, 

180 
Brown,  J.  A.,  I,  579 
Brown,  Max,  I,  324 
Brown,  McPherson,  I,  782,  799 
Brown,  Nathaniel  E.,  II,  69 
Brown,  Richard,  I,  182,  201,  202,  262, 

307,  337,  375,  376,  671,  817;  III,  499 
Brown,  Robert,  I,  470 
Brown,  Thomas,  I,  182,  671 
Brown,  Wesley,  I,  329 
Brown  William  L.,  I,  348 
Brown,  William  O.,  II,  95 
Brown  Memorial  Methodist  Episcopal 

Church,  Youngstown,  I,  308,  327 


Digitized  by 


Google 


INDEX 


xxm 


Brown,   Bonnell  &   Company,   I,   182, 

495,  671,  672,  675,  707,  708,  724 
Brown   Iron   Works,  I,  686 
Browne,  P.  H.,  I,  295,  312 
Brownlee  Family,  II,  385 
Brownlee,  James,  I,  152,  190,  565 
Brownlee,  James  A.,  II,  385 
Brownlee,  Ray,  I,  571 
Brownlee,  William  W.,  II,  204 
Brownlee,  W.  R.,  I,  566 
Brownlee  Woods  United  Presbyterian 

Church,  Youngstown,  I,  322 
Bruce,  George  O.,  Ill,  710 
Bruce,  John,  I,  583 
Brunswick,  Max,  I,  387 
Brunswick,  Max  E.,  II,  378 
Brush,   Perlee,   I,    114,  283,   340,   524, 

550 
Bryson,  Hugh,  I,  653 
Bubb,  C.  C,  I,  470 
Buchheit,  Joseph,  III,  714 
Buchwalter,  Jay,  I,  444:  III,  524 
Buck,  E.  A.,  I,  579 
Buck,  John  A.,  II,  396 
Buckeye  Building  and  Loan  Company, 

Sebring,  I,  541 
Buckeye  Record,  I,  350 
Buckley,  Lewis  P.,  I,  196,  424 
Budd,  John,  I,  626 
Buechner,  W.  H.f  I,  781 
Buechner,  W.  L.,  I,  335 
Buehrle,  Albert  H.,  Ill,  491 
Buehrle,  John,  III,  490 
Buhl  Steel  Company,  I,  696 
Bundy,  Moses,  I,  649 
Bunn,  Fred  S.,  I,  248;  death  of,  I,  337 
Bunts,  William  C,  I,  341,  344 
Burch,  H.  H.,  I,  328 
Burden,  Albert  J.,  I,  745 
Burden,  David  E.,  I,  342 
Burg  Hill,  I,  622,  633 
Burg  Hill  Station,  I,  622 
Burgess,  Harvey  A.,  Ill,  465 
Burke,  Mrs.  James  E.,  Ill,  666 
Burke,  Peter  J.,  II,  3 
Burkey,  A.  E.,  I,  343 
Burkholder,  S.  M.,  Ill,  478 
Burnett,  E.  P.,  coal  mine,  I,  520,  521 
Burnett,  Henry,  I,  151 
Burnett,  Silas,  I,  518 
Burnett,  Stephen  F.,  I,  192,  262,  266 
Burnett,  William,  It  518 
Burnett  coal  mine,  I,  520 
Burnham,  Jedediah,  I,  643 
Burr,  Timothy,  I,  616 
Burrows,  J.  B„  I,  198,  427 
Burton,  R.  L.,  I,  593 
Burton,  Thomp,  I,  346,  350 
Bush,  G.  S„  I,  591 
Bushnell,  Daniel,  I,  624 
Bushnell,  Eunice,  I,  634 
Bushnell,  Seth  A.,  I,  425 
Bushnell,  Sterling  G.,  I,  624 
Bushnell,  William,  I,  166 
Business  colleges,  I,  301 
Business  uncertainties  of  1918-1920,  I, 

248 


Butler,  Albert  N.,  II,  268 

Butler,  B.  M.,  I,  327 

Butler,  Edward  T.,  Ill,  552 

Butler,  Henry  A.,  I,  382,  784;  III,  704 

Butler,  Mrs.  Henry  A.,  I,  796 

Butler,  Joseph  G.,  Jr.,  I,  V 

Butler,  J.  N.,  I,  438 

Butler  Art   Institute,  I,  256,  379-382; 

description  of  building,  I,  380 
Button,  A.  L.,  I,  718 
Butts,  Addison  E.,  Ill,  733 
Butzel,  Henry  M.,  I,  727 
Byard,  Grant  W.,  II,  269 
Byers,  A.  M.,  death  of,  I,  731 
Byers,   A.   M.   Company,   I,  504,  688, 

731 
Byers,   A.    M.   Company,   Girard,  one 

furnace  of  300  tons  daily  capacity, 

I,  668 
Byers,  E.  M.,  I,  732 
Byers,  J.  F?,  I,  720,  732 
Byler,  John  T.,  I,  328 

Cabin-making,  I,  126 

Cadwallader,  Septimus,  I,  618 

Cahn,  L.  H.,  I,  387 

Cahn,  Mrs.  L.  H.,  I,  387 

Cailor,  Frank  E.,  I,  781;  II,  297 

Caldwell,  I,  99 

Caldwell,   Belinda   (Conner),  III,  794 

Caldwell,  Hugh,  I,  510 

Caldwell,  Hugh  J.,  I,  444 

Caldwell,  James,  I,  844:  III,  794 

Caldwell,  James  E.,  I,  754 

Caldwell,  John,  I,  38,  42 

Caldwell,  J.  A.,  I,  348 

Caldwell,  J.  M„  I,  563 

Caldwell,  Mary,  I,  769 

Caldwell,  P.  T.,  L  288 

Calhoun,  Andrew,  I,  577 

Calhoun,  Samuel,  I,  577 

Calibera,  Joseph,  I,  S01 

Calla,  I,  589 

Callahan,  James,  I,  589 

Callahan,  William,  I,  589 

Callender,  Martha,  I,  442 

Callow,  John  J.,  Ill,  667 

Calvary  Baptist  Church,  Youngs- 
town (formerly  Brier  Hill),  I,  314, 
316 

Calvin,  Anthony  B.,  I,  264:  II,  359 

Calvin,  Freeman  W.,  Ill,  782 

Calvin,  Henry  R.,  Ill,  533 

Calvin,  Jacob  B.,  I,  591 

Calvin,  James,  I,  151,  319 

Calvin,  John  R.,  Ill,  783 

Calvin,  Mrs.  G.  O.,  I,  785 

Cameron,  George  D.,  I,  706 

Camp,  A.  B.,  I,  504 

Camp,  D.  W.,  I,  678 

Camp  Sherman  Community  House,  I, 

Campaign  of  1896,  I,  223 

Campbell,  Alexander,  I,  319,  446,  451, 

523 
Campbell,  Andrew,  I,  555 
Campbell,  Bales  M„  1,  264,  362 


Digitized  by 


Google 


XXIV 


INDEX 


Campbell,  Bruce,  I,  596 

Campbell,  Bruce  R.,  I,  497 

Campbell  (Bruce)  Company,  I,  773 

Campbell,  B.  M.,  I,  365 

Campbell,  Charles,  I,  556 

Campbell,  Daniel,  II,  201 

Campbell,  D.,  I,  546,  567 

Campbell,  George,  I,  605;  II,  110 

Campbell,  George  C,  I,  739 

Campbell,  George  L.,  II,  110 

Campbell,  J.  A.,  I,  355,  604,  700 
706,  783,  789,  815;  II,  4 

Campbell,  J.  Clyde,  II,  237 

Campbell,  Leroy  D.,  II,  388 

Campbell,  L.  J.,  I,  733,  779,  796;  II, 
338 

Campbell,  L.  L.,  I,  490,  780 

Campbell,  Marie,  I,  788 

Campbell,  Neal,  I,  311 

Campbell  Mrs.  Robert  L.,  I,  786 

Campbell,  W.  C  I  490 

Campbell  Walter  L.,  I,  212,  268,  346 

Campbell,  Park,  I,  499 

Camp  field  (see  Can  field)  township,  I, 
557 

Canada,  named  by  the  Iroquois,  I,  22 

Canal  boats  described,  I,  758 

Canfield,  Edward  G.,  I,  341,  344 

Canfield,  Henry  J.,  sketch  of,  I,  340 

Canfield,  Judson,  I,  556,  609;  sketch  of, 
I,  557;  III,  457 

Canfield,  J.  W.,  I,  559 

Canfield,  Samuel,  I,  556 

Canfield,  I,  117,  152,  159,  163,  184,  188, 
206,  308,  309,  341 ;  first  postmaster  of, 
I.  114;  anti-removal  convention  at,  I, 
207;  made  seat  of  Mahoning  county, 
I,  191;  loses  county  seat  to  Youngs- 
town,  I,  208;  fights  removal  of 
county  seat  to  Youngstown,  I,  209; 
churches  of,  I,  561 

Canfield  (Village),  consolidated  Can- 
field  Village  School  District,  I,  560; 
incorporation  of,  and  present  status, 
I,  565;  its  newspaper,  I,  566;  finan- 
cial institutions  of,  I,  567 

Canfield  Township,  Mahoning  County, 
I,  106;  original  stockholders  and  sur- 
vey of,  I,  556;  first  permanent  set- 
tlers of,  I,  557;  first  schools  and 
Union  School  district,  I,  559;  politi- 
cal history,  I,  563;  discovery  of  coal 
oil  in,  I,  772 

Canfield  Herald,  I,  463 

Canfield  High  School,  I,  561 

Cantwell,  John  F.,  I,  219,  264,  276 

Cantwell,  John  R,  Sr.,  II,  39 

Captain  George  (Indian  chief),  I,  107, 
108,  109,   111 

Carabelli,  Onorato,  II,  388 

Carbon  Limestone  Company,  I,  513, 
729 

Cardwell,  Foster  M.,  Ill,  560 

Carew,  George  J.,  I,  342,  385;  III,  782 

Carey,  C.  E.,  I,  443 

Carlton,  Francis  I,  404 

Carlton  John,  I,  612 


Carman,  W.  C,  I,  343 

Carnegie  Company,  McDonald,  I,  604 

Carnegie  mills,  I,  232 

Carnegie  Steel  Company,  Youngstown, 
I,  503,  672,  683,  692,  696;  plant  ab- 
sorbed by  city  I  266;  starting  of 
units  of  its  Ohio  works  I,  714; 
changes  in  management  of,  I,  715; 
McDonald  Mills  of,  I,  716;  subscrip- 
tions by  to  War  Chest  Fund,  I,  792 

Carnegie  Steel  Company,  Youngstown, 
six  furnaces,  daily  capacity  500  tons; 
Niles  furnace,  daily  capacity,  150 
tons,  I,  668 

Carney,  Martin  J.,  II,  379 

Carney,  Michael  C,  I,  537 

Carney  P.  J.,  I,  529 

Carnick  Brothers  III,  490 

Carnick,  Jacob,  III,  490 

Carnick,  Robert,  III,  490 

Carroll,  Reuben,  I,  266 

Carroll,  William  L.,  II,  118 

Carson,  George  F.,  I,  601,  612;  III, 
772 

Carson,  George  W.,  Ifl,  674 

Carson,  Paul  E.,  II,  158 

Carter,  A.  L.,  I,  601 

Carter,  Erastus,  I,  634 

Carter,  P.  L.,  I,  603,  604 

Carter,  Thomas,  I,  476,  684 

Carter,  William  B.,  II,  252 

Carter,  William  M.,  Ill,  559 

Cartier,  Jacques,  I,  21,  22 

Cartwright,  Charles,  I,  627 

Cartwright,  James,  I,  368,  627 

Cartwright,  Samuel,  I,  492 

Cartwright,  McCurdy  &  Company,  I, 
672,  675 

Cartwright-McCurdy  Mill  (now  Lower 
Union  Carnegie  Steel  Company),  I, 
715 

Case,  Asa,  I,  644 

Case,  A.  B.,  I,  601 

Case,  Leonard,  I,  109,  162,  408,  413 

Case,  Mary,  I,  287 

Case,  Meshach,  I,  404 

Casement,  John  S.,  I,  195,  424 

Casey,  J.  J.,  I,  782 

Casey,  William,  I,  276 

Cash,  H.  L.,  I,  510 

Caskev,  Herbert  K.,  I.  383 

Cassidy,  Henry,  I,  274 

Cassidy,  H.  A.,  I,  569 

Casterline,  Silas,  I,  634 

Castle  William  (see  Cotgreave  build- 
ing), I,  414 

Cathplic  Churches  of  Youngstown,  I, 
311,  312,  313;   Lowellville,  I,  515 

Catholic  Parochial  Schools,  I,  294 

Catholic  Service  League,  I,  385 

Centenary  A.  M.  E.  Church,  Youngs- 
town, I,  327 

Centennial  state  celebration,  I,  232 

Center  of  the  World,  bridge,  Brace- 
ville  township,  I,  621 

Central  Bank  and  Trust  Company,  I, 
362 


Digitized  by 


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INDEX 


XXV 


Central  Christian  Church,  Youngs- 
town,  I,  320;  Warren,  I,  451;  Hub- 
bard, L  523 

Central  Savings  and  Loan  Company, 
I,  364 

Central  Square  School,  I,  288 

Central    Union    Telephone    Company, 

I,  373 

Century  Building,  I,  256 

Chaffee,  A.  R.,  I,  424 

Chaffee,  O.  W.,  I,  727 

Chalker,  James,  I,  630 

Chalker,  James,  Jr.,  death  of,  I,  630 

Chalker,  Newton,  benefactor  to  South- 

ington  Center,  I,  631 
Chamberlain,  B.  B.,  I,  178,  420 
Chamberlin,  Frank  F.,  Ill,  781 
Chamberlin,  Mrs.  R.  N.,  I,  786 
Chambers,  John,  I,  628 
Champion,  Henry,  I,  42 
Champion    Auxiliary,    American    Red 

Cross,  I,  797 
Champion  Center,  I,  629 
Champion  Grange.  I,  629 
Champion,  Henry,  I,  628 
Champion  township:  early  settlers  and 

organization  of,  I,  628;  schools  and 

churches  of,  I,  629 
Cham  plain,  I,  22 

Chandonne,  August,  I,  734;  II,  116 
Chaney,  Novetus  H.,  I,  241,  290,  378; 

II,  351 

Chapman,  Charles  C,  I,  275 

Chapman,  Lettie,  I,  623 

Charter  Commission,  I,  241 

Chase,  H.  B.,  I,  241 

Chase,  Philander,  I,  309 

Chelekis,  George,   III,  450 

Chesney,  Samuel,  I,  411,  440 

Chidester,  Hezekiah,  I,  582 

Chidester,  William,  I,  162,  413 

Chiefs  of  Police,  I,  276,  277 

Children  of  Israel  (Jewish)  Congrega- 
tion, Youngstown,  I,  323 

Childs,  J.  J.,  I,  444 

Chiropractors  and  Optometrists  of  Ma- 
honing Valley,  I,  353 

Chirichigno,  Gerard  C,  II,  234 

Christ,  Abraham,  I,  595 

Christ  Church  (Episcopal),  Warren,  I, 
448 

Christ  English  Lutheran  Congrega- 
tion, Niles,  I,  489 

Christian  and  Missionary  Alliance, 
Youngstown,  I,  330;  Warren,  I,  455 

Christian  (Disciples  of  Christ) 
Churches,  Youngstown,  I,  319; 
Warren,  I,  451;  Girard,  I,  508;  Low- 
ellville,  I,  515;  Canfield,  I,  563;  Four 
Mile  Run,  1,  577;  North  Jackson 
(Jackson  Center),  I,  579;  Greenford, 
I,  591;  Mineral  Ridge,  I,  603;  New- 
ton Falls,  I,  611;  Brookfield,  I,  615; 
Payne's  Corners,  I,  617;  Braceville 
township,  I,  621;  Hartford  Center,  I, 
624;  Fowler  Township,  I,  626; 
Champion,    I,   629;    Gwillington,    I, 


631;  Vernon  Center,  I,  634;  East 
Mecca,  I,  637;  North  Bristol,  I,  639; 
Farmington  Center,  I,  641;  Bloom- 
field  Center,  I,  649 

Christy,  Matthias,  I,  617 

Christy,  Wade,  I,  779 

Chryst,  Charles  C,  II,  242 

Chubb,  William  A.,  I,  545;  II,  84 

Chuey,  Andrew,  II,  42 

Chuey,  John  E.,  II,  42 

Chuey,  Mary,  II,  42 

Chuey,  Michael  B.,  II,  42 

Chuey,  Stephen  J.,  II,  42 

Chuey  Brothers,  II,  42 

Church,  Catherine,  I,  629 

Church,  Jonathan,  I,  59.  405,  440 

Church,  John  R.,  I,  566 

Church,  John  W.,  I,  341 

Church,  Josiah,  I,  405 

Church,  Nathaniel,  I,  556;  leads  party 
surveying  Canfield  township,  I,  556 

Church  Hill,  I,  605 

Church  Hill  Coal  Company,  I,  606 

Church  Hill  Coal  Company  (1875): 
daily  coal  mining  capacity  450  tons, 
1,770 

Church  of  Christ  in  Warren,  I,  447; 
Sebring,  I,  542 

Church  of  England  Men,  I,  68,  69 

Church  of  God  congregation,  New 
Springfield,  I,  597 

Church  of  God  and  Saints  of  Christ, 
Youngstown,  I,  330 

Church  of  the  Brethren,  Youngstown, 
I,  329 

Church  of  the  Covenanters,  Youngs- 
town, I,  328 

Churches,  Youngstown,  I,  302-330; 
Warren,  I.  445-55;  Niles,  I,  487; 
Struthers,  I,  500;  Girard,  I,  507; 
Lowellville,  I,  514;  Hubbard,  I,  522; 
Sebring,  I,  542;  Canfield,  I,  561; 
Jackson  Township,  I,  579;  Milton 
Township,  I,  581;  Ellsworth  Town- 
ship, I,  583;  Berlin  Township,  I,  585; 
Springfield  Township,  I,  597;  Lib- 
erty Township,  I,  606;  Lordstown 
Township,  I,  613;  Vienna  Township, 
I,  617;  Howland  Township,  I,  619; 
Braceville  Township,  I,  620,  621; 
Fowler  Township,  I,  625;  Champion 
Township,  I,  629;  Southington 
Township,  I,  631;  Johnston  Town- 
ship, I,  636;  Bristol  Township,  I,  639 

Churchill,  Amzi,  I,  647 

Citizen- News  Company,  I,  349 

Citizen,  The,  I,  349 

Citizens  Bank  Company,  Sebring,  I, 
541 

Citizens  Loan  and  Savings  Association, 
Niles,  I,  480 

Citizens  Savings  Bank,  Warren,  I,  438 

Citizens  Savings  Bank  and  the  Warren 
Savings  Bank  Company,  I,  438 

City  Clerks,  I,  267-273 

City  Park,  Warren,  I,  469 


Digitized  by 


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XXVI 


INDEX 


City  Rescue  Mission,  Youngstown,  I, 
330 

City  Trust  and  Savings  Bank,  I,  362 

Civil  Government  in  Youngstown,  I, 
260 

Civil  War,  participation  of  Mahoning 
Valley  in,  I,  194;  toll  of  death  in 
Youngstown  village  and  township, 
I,  198;  Warren  and  Trumbull  coun- 
ty in,  I,  424;  Morgan's  raid  described, 
I,  818 

Civil  war  memorial,  Southington,  I, 
631 

Claiborne,  Robert  B„  I,  310 

Clapp,  Carroll  F.,  I,  740;  III,  779 

Clapp,  Warren  I,  636 

Clarence  Hyde  Post  No.  278,  Ameri- 
can Legion,  I,  801 

Clark,  Mrs.  Arner,  I,  468 

Clark,  A.  M.,  I,  248,  784,  789 

Clark,  Cecil,  I,  650 

Clark,  C.  H.,  I,  339 

Clark,  Colin  R.,  I,  780,  788 

Clark,  Edward  R,  I,  742;  III,  494 

Clark,  Isaac,  I,  649 

Clark,  Joseph,   I,  649 

Clark,  J.  C,  I,  384 

Clark,  Lucy,  I,  442 

Clark,  Raymond,  I,  536 

Clark,  Silas  C,  I,  565 

Clark,  S.  L.,  I,  343 

Clark,  Walter,  I,  563 

Clark,  William  C,  I,  443,  448 

Clarke,  Ida  M.,  I,  378,  784;  III,  707 

Clarke,  John  H.,  I,  342,  348,  376;  III, 
707 

Clarke,  Talcott,  I,  803 

Clarke,  T.  S.,  I,  719 

Clash,  Mrs.  R.  F.,  I,  785 

Clay,  Carl,  III,  440 

Clay,  Maurice  C,  III,  439 

Clay,  W.  C,  I,  591 

Clearing  of  the  land,  I,  654 

Cleaveland,  Camden,  I,  105,  260 

Cleaveland,  Moses,  I,  10,  42,  43,  46,  49, 
50,  89;  first  experience  with  Indi- 
ans, I,  45,  49 

Clegg,  Charles  R.,  Ill,  807 

Clegg,  George  R.,  Ill,  507 

Clegg,  Samuel  B.,  I,  307;  III,  806 

Cleland,  J.  M.,  I,  555 

Cleland,  W.  M.,  I,  626 

Clemens,  Charles  £.,  II,  361 

demons,  Lester  J.,  Ill,  666 

Clemson,  W.  P.,  I,  593 

Clendennen,  David,  I,  174,  494,  661 

Cleveland,  Camden,  I,  58,  117 

Cleveland,  I,  48,  52,  56,  59,  159,  175; 
survey  of  commences,  I,  50;  in  1798, 
I,  54 

Cleveland  township,  Cuyahoga  county 
(See  Cleveland),  I,  42,  53 

Cleveland  &  Mahoning  Railroad,  I, 
192,  423:  sketch  of,  I,  760;  completed, 
I,  761,  763 

Cliff,  Ray  Y.,  I,  736;  III,  586 

Cliffe,  C.  S.,  I,  508 


Clingan,  A.  Lamoin,  II,   105 

Clingan,  F.  F.,  I,  525 

Clingan,  French,  III,  531 

Clingan,  Thomas  O.,  II,  323 

Clinker,  Christian,  I,  586,  587 

Clinton,  William,  I,  616 

Close,  F.  A.,  I,  316 

Clothing,  I,  155 

Clybourn,  C.  A.,  I,  639 

Clyde,  E.  V.,  1,  353 

Coal:  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  I,  769; 
mines  of  Trumbull  county  in  1870 
and  1880,  I,  770;  status  of  Mahoning 
Valley  mines  in  1875,  I,  770;  mining 
of  in  Mahoning  Valley,  a  past  indus- 
try, I,  771 

Coal  oil:  discovery  of,  in  Mahoning 
Valley,  I,  772 

Coal  strike  of  1919,  I,  250 

Coalburg  village,  I,  526-27 

Coale,  William  L.,  I,  439,  440,  797;  III, 
545 

Cobb,  Rollin  A.,  I,  438,  748:  III,  516 

Cobbledick,  Melville  W.,  II,  148 

Cobbs,  Thomas  L.,  Ill,  479 

Coblentz,  John,  I,  586,  587 

Coburn,  Carrie,  I,  498 

Cochran,  Chauncey  A.,  II,  224 

Cochran,  Lucius  E.,  I,  477,  673,  683, 
692;  II,  224 

Codville,  William,  I,  447 

Coffee,  Isaac  E.,  I,  341 

Coit,  Daniel  L.,  I,  567 

Coit,  Joseph,  I,  582,  584 

Coitsville,  Mahoning  County,  I,  106; 
(Village),  founding  of,  I,  568 

Coitsville  Center,  I,  570 

Coitsville  township,  Mahoning  county, 
I,  104:  pioneers  of,  I,  567;  organiza- 
tion of,  with  churches,  I,  569;  schools 
of,  I,  570 

Coleman,  W.  M.,  I,  371 

Coleman,  Shields  &  Company,  I,  689 

Coler,  Henry  E.,  Ill,  637 

Coler,  S.  A.,  II,  203 

Collar,  Aaron,  I,  163,  414 

Colleran,  James  P.,  I,  364;  II,  39 

Collier,  Leo  J.,  II,  68 

Collins,  George,  III,  792 

Collins,  John,  I,  618 

Collins,  R.  W.,  I,  571 

Collins,  Robert,  III,  793 

Collins,  T.  F.,  I,  555 

Colored  Baptist  Churches  in  Youngs- 
town, I,  316 

Colucci,  Stephen,  II,  151 

Columbiana  Cooperage  Company,  I, 
541 

Commercial  National  Bank,  I,  361 

Commission  form  of  government 
(1891),  I,  263 

Committee  for  Relief  in  Near  East,  I, 
791 

Common  Pleas  Court,  I,  292 

Community  Building,  Newton  Falls,  I, 
610 


Digitized  by 


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j 


INDEX 


XXVll 


Community  Corporation,  Youngstown, 
I,  382  m 

Community  Service  Society,  I,  377 

Community  Social  Hygienic  Clinic,  I, 
.258 

Community  Welfare  Missions,  Youngs- 
town, I,  329 

Company  D,  Fifth  Ohio  National 
Guard,  I,  433 

Company  H,  Fifth  Regiment,  Ohio 
National  Guard,  in  Spanish-Ameri- 
can War,  I,  227 

Conant,  Philip  B.,  I,  342 

Concord  Baptist  Church  (see  First 
Baptist  Church),  I,  411,  445 

Cone,  Calvin,  I,  161 

Congregational  church,  I,  79,  123;  in 
Youngstown,  I,  324;  Can  field,  I.  561 ; 
Boardman  Township,  I,  574;  Hart- 
ford Center,  I,  624;  Mineral  Ridge, 
I,  603;  Vernon  Center,  I,  634;  East 
Mecca,  I,  637;  West  Farmington,  I, 
641;  Farmington  Center,  I,  641;  Gus- 
tavus  Center,  I,  645;  Mesopotamia 
township,  I,  650 

Conkling,   Roscoe,   I,  431 

Con  Ian,  James,  I,  311,  452 

Connecticut:  people  of  settle  Wyom- 
ing Valley,  I,  27;  Ohio  lands  re- 
served in  cessions  to  General  Gov- 
ernment, I,  30 

Connecticut  charter,  I,  25,  26 

Connecticut  Land  Company  organ- 
ized, I,  38,  49,  52,  55,  89,  90,  116, 
119;  meetings  of,  at  Hartford,  I,  40; 
members  of,  I,  41;  directors  of,  I, 
42;  confirms  CleavelandTs  Indian 
treaty,  I,  46;  total  acreage  in  Wes- 
tern Reserve,  I,  54;  conveys  to  John 
Young  site  of  Youngstown,  I,  92; 
partition  holdings  in  Western  Re- 
serve, I,  102,  116 

Connecticut  State  Legislature,  disposes 
of  Western  lands,  I,  35 

Connecticut  Western  Reserve  (see 
also  Western  Reserve),  I,  30 

Connell,  Thomas  E.,  I,  781 

Conner,  William  G.,  I,  93 

Connor,  John  J.,  II,  301 

Connor,  W.  P.,  I,  334 

Conroy,  Stephen  S.,  II,  196 

Considine,  J.  L.,  I,  750 

Continental  Supply  Company,  I,  706 

Conway,  E.  J.,  I,  452 

Cook,  Alexander,  I,  553 

Cook,  Alfred  C.  II,  52 

Cook,  A.  J.,  I,  523 

Cook,  Charles  C,  sketch  of,  I,  332 

Cook,  Chauncey  C,  I,  583 

Cook,  Mrs.  Etta,  I,  787 

Cook,  Jacob,  I,  565,  589 

Cook,  Rebekah  A.,  I,  491 

Cook,  Thomas,  I,  326 

Cooking,  I,  155 

Coombs,  M.  E.,  I,  715,  716 

Coon,  Jacob,  I,  552 

Coopack,  Aaron,  I,  593 


Cooper,  Dahl  B.,  I,  342,  781;  II,  243 

Cooper,  Dave  N.,  Ill,  497 

Cooper,  David,  I,  568 

Cooper,  John  A.,  II,  215 

Cooper,  John  G.,  II,  228 

Cooper,  J.  A.  &  D.  P.  Gear  Company, 
I,  495 

Cooper,  Samuel  F.,  Youngstown's 
first  superintendent  of  schools,  I,  287 

Cooper,  Mrs.  Samuel  1\,  1,  287 

Cope,  C.  L.,  I,  563 

Cope,  W.  G.,  I,  545 

Copland,  David,  I,  746 

Corbin,  William  F.,  II,  287 

Corduroy  bridges,  I,  753 

Core,  John,  I,  303 

Core,  Thomas,  I,  615 

Corey,  Ebenezer,  I,  568 

Corey,  Frank  E.,  I,  610 

Cornelius,  Ralph  E.,  I,  358,  360,  731;  II 
251 

Cornelius,  William,  I,  347 

Cornell,  A.  B.,  I,  288,  335,  395,  667 

Cornell,  George  B.,  II,  295 

Cornersburg  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  Youngstown,  I,  308 

Corns  Iron  Company,  Liberty  Town- 
ship, I,  676,  688 

Cortland,  I,  626;  village  government, 
schools,  churches,  I,  627 

Cortland  Auxiliary,  American  Red 
Cross,  I,  797 

Cortland  Christian  Church,  I,  627 

Cortland  Herald,  I,  627 

Cortland  Savings  and  Banking  Com- 
pany, I,  627 

Cortland  Steel  Tube  Company,  I,  627 

Cosel,  William,  II,  367 

Cotgreave,  William,  I,  414 

Cotgreave,  William  VV.,  I,  466 

Cotgreave  Building,  Warren,  I,  414 

Cotton,  Joshua  T..  I,  171 

Council  Rock,  I,  92,  94,  400 

Councilmen  of  Youngstown,  I,  267-274 

Countryman,  H.  I.,  I,  497 

County  fair  association  organized,  I, 
176,  656 

County  Infirmary,  Champion  town- 
ship, I,  629 

County  Jail  in  Quinby  house,  Warren, 
1,409 

County  seat  dispute,  1809-1810,  I,  162; 
removal  of  (1840),  I,  185  (see  also 
Mahoning  County,  Youngstown),  I, 
413,  414 

Coursen,  W.  M.,  I,  536,  570 

Courts,  first  court  of  general  quarter 
session  of  the  peace,  I,  58;  first  court 
of  Quarter  Sessions,  I,  260;  Munici- 
pal Court  created,  I,  264;  Criminal 
Court  Judges,  I,  272;  Municipal 
Court  Judges,  I,  273;  Probate  Court 
of  Mahoning  County,  I,  344;  early 
meeting  places  for,  I,  414 

Court  House:  first  in  Warren  burned 
before    completed,    I,    413;    that    of 


Digitized  by 


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XXV111 


INDEX 


1815-16;    Warren,    I,    418;    1854,    at 

Warren,  I,  422 
Covenanters,  I,  62 
Cover,  J.   B.,  I,  536 
Covington  Street  School,  I,  288 
Cowden,  Hugh  T„  I,  555;  II,  107 
Cowden,  Isaac,  I,  549 
Cowden,  Smith,  death  of,  I,  282 
Cowdery,  Nelson  A.,  II,  49 
Cowles,  Betsy  M.f  I,  152 
Cowles,  Giles,  I,  648 
Cowles,  Solomon,  I,  630 
Cowley,  Hugh,  I,  276 
Cox,  Jacob   Dolson,   I,  424,  444,  455, 
462;   sketch   of,   I,  459;   explains  why 

Governor  Tod  was  not  renominated. 

I,  826 
Cox,  L.  M.,  I,  565 
Coy  Brothers,  III,  541 
Coy,  Emerson  W.,  Ill,  541 
Coy,  Irvin  W.,  Ill,  541 
Coy,  Lewis  D.,  Ill,  533 
Coy,  Wesley  H.,  Ill,  541 
Crab  Creek,  I,  215 
Cracraft,  John  W.,  I,  342 
Craft,  A.  N„  I,  307 
Craft,  Frank  W.,   Ill,  741 
Craft,  M.,  I,  627 
Craig,  Eugene  F.,  Ill,  575 
Craig,  John  M.,  I,  432 
Craig,  Kittie,  I,  491 
Craig,  R.  J.,  I,  649 
Cramer,   J.    D.,    I,    521 
Crandall,  Charles  N.,  I,  307 
Crandall,  Margaret,  III,  608 
Crandall,   Nelson,   I,  711;   II,  216 
Crandall   Park,   I,  402 
Crandon,  E.,  I,  506 
Cratsley,  Albert  B.,  Ill,  417 
Cratsley,  John,  I,  626 
Cratsley,  John  C,  I,  438;  II,  317 
Craver,    Alvin   W.,    I,   264,   272,   273; 

II,  203 
Crawford,  Alexander  L.,  I,  722 
Crawford,  Moses,  I,   115 
Crawford,  Alexander   &   Company,   I, 

512 
Crawford   &   Howard,   I,   193,  665 
Crebs,  Christian,  I,  587 
Creed,  Edward  W.,  II,  315 
Creed,  Frank  R.,  Ill,  492 
Creed,  Glen  R.,  I,  582 
Creighton,  William   R.,   I,   195,  424 
Creps,  Sidney  R.,  II,  46 
Crerar,  John,  I,  707 
Criminal  Court  Judges,  I,  272-273 
Crippen,  C.  I.,  I,  351 
Crittenton      Home      for      Unmarried 

Mothers,  Youngstown,  I,  258,  339 
Crocker,  E.  R.f  I,  634 
Croninger,  William,  I,  628 
Crooks,  William,  I,  404,  440 
Crosby,  Obed,  I,  633,  634 
Cross,  Cassius  E.,  II,  210 
Cross,  H.  B.,  I,  745 
Cross,  John  S„  III,  625 
Crotty,  D.  B.,  I,  489 


Crouse,  Jacob,   I,  586,  587 
Crouse,   Kollin,   I,  544 
Crow,  Charles,  I,  492;  II,  325 
Crow,  Eugene,  I,  532 
Crowell,   Harriett,   I,  647 

Cr£Ktll9Joh?*  l>   178'  420'  W,  462, 

623,  671;  sketch  of,  I,  458 
Crowther,  Benjamin,  III,  523 
Crowther,  Charles  E.,  Ill,  523 
Crowther,  Edgar  C,  III,  523 
Crowther,  John,  I,  667 
Crowther,  Joseph  H.,  Ill,  524 
Crowther,  Joseph  J.,  Ill,  523 
Crowther,  Joshua,   III,  523 
Crum,  Samuel,  I,  613 
Crumbacher,  John,  I,  587 
Crutchley,  G.  R.,  I,  591 
Cullaton,  M.,  I,  345 
Culler,  Albert,  I,  591 
Cullinan,  Joseph  S.,  I,  749 
Culp,   S.    B.,    I,  631 
Culp,  Samuel  D.,  Ill,  416 
Cummings,  John,  I,  638,  642 
Community  Hall,  East  Youngstown,  I, 

Cunningham,  Jesse,  II,  103 
Cunningham,  J.    S.,   I,   335.   375 
Cunningham,  William,  I,  614 
Cunningham,  William  H„   I,  537;  II, 

30 
Currie,  W.  R.,  I,  326 
Curtis,  Joel   E.,   I,  614 
Curtis,  Joseph,  I,  619 
Curtis,  Joseph  W.,  I,  447 
Curtis,  Myron  S.,  II,  241 
Curtis,  William  B.,  Ill,  690 
Curtis,  Zenas,  I,  640 
Cushwa,  Charles  B.,  I,  742;  II,  278 
Cuyahoga  county  organized,  I,  149 

Dabney,  J.,   I,  637 

Dabney,  Nathaniel,  I,  103,  112 

Daily  Morning  News,  I,  350 

Daily  News,  I,  347 

Daily  Times,  I,  350 

Daily  and  Weekly  Herald,  I,  350 

Dalby,  William  A.,  Ill,  780 

Dalleske,  Albert  C,  III,  562 

Dally,  Charles,  I,  405,  406,  676 

Dally,  Isaac,  I,  405 

Dally,  John,  I,  405 

Dalton,  H.  G.,  I,  706 

Dalzell,  Clifton   H.,  I,  229 

Dalzell,  James  J.,  I,  365;  II,  60 

Damascus,  I,  591 

Damascus  Academy,  I,  592 

Dame,  F.  L.,  I,  371 

Dana,  Junius,  I,  444 

Dana,  Lynn  B.,  I,  444;  II,  170 

Dana,  William  D.,  I,  444 

Dana's  Musical  Institute,  I,  444 

Danforth,  Charles  W.,  Ill,  770 

Dangerfield,  James,  I,  182,  671 

Daniels,  Martin,  I,  636 

Daniels,  Samuel,  I,  411 

Darley,  William   G.,  I,  442 

Darr,  J.  W.,  I,  505 


Digitized  by 


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INDEX 


XXIX 


Darrow,  D.  R.,  III,  797 

Darrow  Garden  Co.,  The,  III,  797 

Darrow,  James  G.,  Ill,  797 

Darrow,  Nathan  B.,  I,  617 

Darrow,  Ralph  H.,  I,  555;  III,  797 

Daugherty,  Bert  G.,  II,  307 

Dave  (Warren's  famous  horse),  I,  133 

Daves,  David,  I,  324 

David,  L.  B.,  I,  637 

Davidson,  Benjamin,  I,  58,  59,  404,  405 

Davidson,  Daniel  A.,  II,  44 

Davidson,  F.  C,  I,  322 

Davidson,  George  H.,  I,  574 

Davidson,  Harry,  I,  543 

Davidson,  I.  M.,  I,  323 

Davidson,  James,  I,  215,  607 

Davies,  John  L.,  I,  324 

Davies,  William  I.,  I,  241,  361;  II,  292 

Davis,  A.  Lincoln.  I,  320 

Davis,  C.  R.,  I,  621 

Davis,  David  E.,  I,  359,  723,  734 

Davis,  Fred  H.,   Ill,  543 

Davis,  George  Y.,  Ill,  434 

Davis,  Harry  L.,   Ill,   551 

Davis,  Henry  C,  II,  321 

Davis,  Henry  W.,  Ill,  542 

Davis,  J.  Boyd,  I,  490 

Davis,  \   E.,  I,  749 

Davis,  John  R.,  I,  363,  376;  III,  468 

Davis,  John  W.,  I,  344 

Davis,  Joseph  R.,  Ill,  577 

Davis,  Ralph  G.,  Ill,  468 

Davis,  Samuel,  I.  589 

Davis,  Thomas  G,  III,  506 

Davis,  Thomas  L.,  Ill,  671 

Davis,  Thomas  W.,  I,  324 

Davis,  W.  J.  T.,  I.  727 

Davis  Mining  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany,   I,   576 

Davis,  David,  III,  506 

Davison,  Benjamin,  I,  439,  609 

Davison  &  McCleary,  I,  678 

Daw,  Lane,  I,  317 

Dawson.  H.  Preston.  II,  154 

Dawson,  I.  N.,  I,  440 

Dawson,  Joseph,  I,  636 

Dawson,   Nancy,  I,  636 

Dawson,  William  B.,  I,  341,  345,  349, 
566 

Day,  George  E.,  I,  706 

Day,  William  F.,  I,  554 

Dechend.   Harry,   I,  349 

Deerfield;  Center  of  Mingoe  Tribe, 
I,  12 

Deetrick,  James  W.,  II,  328 

Deetrick,  J.  Wilbert,  I,  707,  710 

De  Ford,  Union  C,  I,  343;  II,  293 

De  Forest  Sheet  &  Tin  Plate  Com- 
pany,  I,  479,  709 

De  Groodt,  Sherman  H.,  II,  146 

Dehn,  William,  I,  499 

Dehn,  William,  Jr.,  II,  109 

DeHoff,  G.  W.,  I,  576 

Deibel,  Christopher,  I,  363,  688;  II, 
146 

Deibel,  Christopher  W.,  II,   146 

Deibel,  Edward  J.,  Ill,  484 


Deibel,  Oscar  G,  II,  146 

DeLaney,  Victor  W.,  II,  60 

Delawares,  I,  13,  14 

Delightful,  I,  630 

Dellenbaugh,  I,  593 

Delzell,  O.  V.,  I,  592 

Demingr,  Mrs.  Zell  H.,  I,  463 

Demmil,  George,   I,  496 

Dempsey,  Samuel,  I,  474 

Denman,  Walter  R.,  I,  746 

Dennett,  John  L.,  I,  734;  II,  189 

Dennig,  C.  A.,  I,  489 

Dennison,  Florinda,  II,  361 

Dennison,  James  H.,  II,  360 

Dennison,  John,  I,  605 

Dennison,  John  W.,  II,  192 

Dennison,  Myron  E.,  I,  358:  II,  5 

Dennison,  Mrs.  M.  E.,  I,  387 

Dennison,  Samuel,  I,  172 

DeNormandie,  Frank  L.,  II,   132 

Dent,  F.  R.,  I,  305 

Dentistry  (dental  surgery)  in  Youngs- 
town,  I,  339 

Depane,  Wilbur,  I,  591 

Depew,  Daniel,  I,  581 

Derr,   Daniel,   I,  678 

De  Soto,  I,  21 

Detchin,  Benjamin  C,  I,  803 

Detchon,  A.  O.,  Ill,  791 

Detchon,  James  B„  III,  804 

Detchon,  Oswald,  II,  339 

Detchon,  Sarah  S.,  II,  339 

Detweiler,  Jacob,  I,  586 

DeVaux,  P.  F.,  I,  631 

DeVenne,  John,  111,511 

DeWolf,  Joseph,  I,  624,  633 

DeWolf,  Ruhamah,  I,  644 

Dickey,  Fanny,   I,  442 

Dickey,  J.  W.,  I,  217 

Dickey,  James  W.,  I,  263 

Dickey,  Martha,  I,  442,  443 

Dickey,  Ray,  I,  779 

Dickey,  Raymond  V.,  II,  213 

Dickhaut,  Chester  A.,  I,  349 

Dickinson,  Mrs.  C.  W.,  I,  468 

Dickson,  Alexander,  III,  745 

Dickson,  Harry  J.,  Ill,  746 

Dickson,  James  M.,  Ill,  757 

Dickson,  Rebecca,  III,  757 

Dickson,  William,  I,  562 

Dickson,  W.  J.,  I,  565 

Diehl,  Jefferson,  III,  547 

Dietrich,  Dale,  II,  179 

Dill,  G.  M.,  I,  522 

Dill,  S.  J.,  I,  371 

Dilley,  E.  O.,  I,  460 

Dillon,  A.  H.,  I,  779 

Dilworth,  I,  645 

Dimond,  Robert  W.,  II,  296 

Dingledy,  John,  II,  299 

Dingledy,  William  G,  II,  247 

Directors  of  Public  Safety,  I,  273-274 

Directors  of  Public  Service,  I,  273-274 

Disciples  of  Christ  (see  Christian) 
Churches,  I,  319 

Disciples  (Christian)  Churches,  South- 
ington  township,  I,  631 


Digitized  by 


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XXX 


INDEX 


Diser,  Oscar   E.,   I,  537;   III,  767 

Dittmar,  M.  T.,  I,  499 

Dixie,  coal  oil  town,  I,  773 

Dixon,  James  M.,  I,  208 

Doan,  Nathaniel,  I,  55 

Doane,  C  E.,  I,  743 

Dobbins,  R.  B.,  I,  334 

Dobson,  R.  T.,  I,  347 

Doddridge,  Joseph,  I,  67 

Doeright,  G.  A.,  I,  750,  751;  II,  255 

Doeright,  J.  A.,  I,  750 

Dollar  Savings  Bank,  Niles,  I,  480 

Dollar  Savings  &  Trust  Company, 
Struthers,  I,  497 

Dollar  Savings  and  Trust  Company, 
Youngstown,  I,  358,  359 

Donald,  John  H.,  I,  190 

Donaldson,  Andrew,  I,  628 

Donnelly,  Joseph,   I,  343 

Dornan,  William  G.,  II,  293 

Double,  William,  III,  740 

Doubleday,  Charles,  I,  197,  427 

Doud,  James,  I,  117,  260,  557,  563 

Dougherty,  Charles  W.,  II,  367 

Dougherty  &  Brennan,  II,  366 

Doughton,  Frank,  I,  520 

Doughton,  Frank  A.,  II,  169 

Doughton,  John  C,  III,  528 

Doughton,  Stephen,  III,  527 

Douglas,   Jacob   M.,   I,   309 

Douglass,  Robert,  I,  500,  607 

Downer,  Earl  B.,  II,  376 

Downs,  Herbert  G.,  Ill,  707 

Downs,  W.  H.,  I,  629 

Draa,  James,  I,  492 

Drabkin,  Samuel,  II,  262 

Drake,  Samuel  D.,  II,  42 

Draper,  John  W.,  Ill,  778 

Dray,  M.  M.,  I,  645 

Drennen,  William,  I,  678 

Dress,  I,   135 

Dressel,  Evan  C,  I,  585 

Drissen,,  Charles  H.,  I,  525:  II,  332 

Druhot,  R.  L.,  I,  585.  592,  594 

Dryos  'Mike,    I,   555 

DuBois,  G.  W.,  I,  449 

Dubosh,   Francis,   I,  313 

DuChanois,  Charles  F.,  II,  137 

Dudley,  George  E.,  I,  307,  784,  789; 
III,  401 

Duesing,  Herman,  I,  264 

Duesing,  Herman  F.,  II,  214 

Dumars,  James,   I,  345,  462 

Duncan,  I,  89,  99 

Duncan,  James,   I,  447,  500,  515,  607 

Dunkards  Church,  Springfield  town- 
ship, I,  597 

Dunlap,  Cyrus,  I,  93 

Dunlap,  E.  G.,  I,  371 

Dunlap,  Elton  G.,  II,  171 

Dunlap,  James,  I,  613 

Dunnavant,  William  W.,  Ill,  472 

Dunstan,  John,  II,  328 

Durbin,   Lorene,   I,  533 

Durr,  B.  E.,  I,  586 

Durr,  Michael,  I,  589 

Durst,  E.  E.,  I,  629 


Durst,  William,  I,  628 

Dutterer,  Frederick,  I,  586 

Dutterer,  Michael,  I,  586 

Dutton,  Charles,  I,  115;  sketch  of,  I, 

331 
Dutton,  Charles  C,  I,  653 
Dwyer,  P.  C.  N.,  I,  467 
Dyar,  Ralph  M.,  I,  727 
Dye,  James  E.,  Ill,  608 
Dyer,  Lucius,  I,  275 
Dyke,  C.  B.,  I,  294 
D.  and  M.  Cord  Tire  Company,  I,  470, 

746 

Eagle  furnace,  erected  (1846),  W.  M. 
Philpot  &  Company,  Youngstown, 
capacity  twenty-eight  tons,  I,  181, 
665,  666,  667,  672 

Eagles,   I,  256 

Earle,  Jacob,  I,  620 

Early,  Addie  B.,  Ill,  736 

Early,  Lucy  D.,  Ill,  734 

Eason,  Beulah,  I,  641 

East  Alliances,  I,  594 

East  Federal  Street,  I,  257 

East  Lewistown,  I,  587 

East  Mecca,  I,  636,  637 

East  Mecca  Auxiliary,  American  Red 
Cross,  I,  797 

East  Ohio  Gas  Company,  I,  373,  774 

East  Youngstown,  history  of,  I,  528- 
38;  incorporated  as  village,  I,  529; 
industrial  riot  at,  I,  530-31;  churches 
and  social  welfare  activities,  I,  533; 
schools  of,  I,  535;  public  affairs  of, 
I,  536 

East  Youngstown  riot,  I,  243 

Eastern  Ohio,  I,  125  , 

Eastlake,  George  B.,  II,  133 

Eaton,  Daniel,  I,  174,  494;  sketch  of, 
I,  602 

Eaton,   James,   I,   174 

Eaton,  John  W.,  I,  481;  II,  114 

Ebert,   Edgar  P.,  I,  318 

Ebey,  Samuel  L.,  I,  490 

Ebinger,  E.  G.,  I,  525 

Eckert,  Myron  H.,  I,  353;  II,  314 

Eckman,  Ambrose,  I,  502,  506;  II,  183 

Eckman,  John,  I,  411 

Eckman  Coal  Company,  II,  183 

Eden,  Albert  J„  I,  543,  594 

Eden  Grange,  I,  613 

Eddy,  Ira,  I,  649 

Education:  first  schools  and  teachers, 
I,  114;  school  code  of  1825,  I,  137: 
school  facilities  of  Youngstown  and 
Poland  (1818),  I,  176;  Youngstown's 
first  teacher,  I,  283;  school  organiza- 
tion in  village  and  township,  I,  284; 
first  Youngstown  school  house,  I, 
284;  second  school  house  built  in 
Youngstown  (1826),  I,  285;  Union 
school  system  (1849),  I,  286  Youngs- 
town's first  board  of  Education 
and  superintendent  of  Schools,  I, 
287;  Catholic  parochial  schools  of 
Youngstown,  I,  294-297;  Evangelical 


Digitized  by 


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INDEX 


XXXI 


Lutheran  parochial  schools,  297-300; 
Hebrew  schools,  300;  business  col- 
leges, 301;  Warren's  Schools,  I,  442- 
44;  Warren  schools  organized,  I,  443; 
schools  of  Niles,  I,  489;  schools  of 
Niles  Union  District,  I,  490;  Struth- 
ers  School  District,  I,  497;  Schools 
of  Girard,  I,  509;  Lowelville  Schools, 
I,  «516;   Hubbard  township  and  vil- 
lage contest  school  control,  I,  524; 
school  system  of  township  and  vil- 
lage, I,  525;  schools  of  East  Youngs- 
town,  I,  535;  schools  of  Sebring,  I, 
541;    school    system    of    Mahoning 
County,  I,  545-  schools  of  Poland, 
Township,   I,  550;   schools  of   Can- 
field  township,  I,  559;  Canfield  Vil- 
lage school  district  created,  I,  560; 
schools   of    Coitsville    Township,    I, 
570;  school  of  Boardman  township, 
I,  573;  schools  of  Austintown  town- 
ship,   I,    576;    schools    of    Jackson 
Township,  I,  578;  schools  of  Milton 
Township,   I,   581;   schools  of   Ells- 
worth Township,  I,  583;  schools  of 
Berlin  township,  I,  585;  schools  of 
Beaver  Township,  I,  587;  schools  of 
Springfield  Township,  I,  596;  schools 
of  Liberty  Township,  I,  607;  schools 
of    Lords  town    Township,    I.    613: 
schools    of    Howland   Township,    I, 
619;  schools  of  Braceville  Township, 
I,    620;    schools    of    Fowler    Town- 
ship,   I,   625;    schools   of   Champion 
Township,  I,  629;  schools  of  South- 
ington  Township,  I,  631;  schools  of 
Vernon  Township,  I,  633;  schools  of 
Johnston  Township,  I,  635;  schools 
of  Bristol  Township,  I,  639 
Edwards,  Benjamin  W.,  I,  746;  II,  282 
Edwards,  Mrs.  B.  W.,  I,  468 
Edwards,  C.  Perry,  I,  264 
Edwards,  Edward  R„  II,  329 
Edwards,  John  D.,  Ill,  750 
Edwards,   John    M.,    I,   91,    101,   263, 

341,  345,  395;  III,  591 
Edwards,  John  S.,  I,  58,  105,  106,  111, 
162,  166,  167,  358,  410,  416,  649,  671; 
death  of,  I,  171;  first  lawyer  on  the 
Western    Reserve;    first  resident  of 
the  Reserve  elected  to  Congress,  I, 
405;  sketch  of,  I,  455 
Edwards,  Joseph  R.,  Ill,  633 
Edwards,  J.  Howard,  I,  347;  III,  657 
Edwards,  Pierpont,  I,  51,  405,  649 
Edwards,  W.  A.,  I,  348 
Edwards,    William,    I,   518 
Edwards,  William  F.,  I,  746;  II,  241 
Edwards,  William  J.,  I,  456 
Edwards,  William  M.,  Ill,  515 
Egler,   Andrew   G.,   II,    157 
Ehle,  J.   H.,  I,  318 
Eib,  Peter,  I,  587 
Eich,  M.  L.,  I,  597 

Eighty-Eighth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, Civil  War,  I,  197 


Eighty- Fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try (Civil  War),  I,  196,  426 
Eighty-Seventh  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try (Civil  War),  I,  196,  426 

Eighty-Sixth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try (Civil  War),  I,  196,  426 

Elder,  James  F.,  Ill,  604 

Elder,  John  M.,  I,  480;  II,  272 

Elder,  S.  J.,  I,  636 

Eldred,  H.  B.,  I,  143 

Eldredge,  David,  I,  52 

Electric  Alloy  Steel  Company,  I,  732 

Electric  light  first  used  in  Youngs- 
town,  I,  675 

Electric  railway  lines,  in  Mahoning 
and  Shenango  Valleys,  I,  765 

Electricity  introduced,  I,  217 

Elizabeth  Furnace,  I,  475,  682 

Elks  Club  Building,  I,  256 

Elliott,    I,  99 

Elliott,  Charles,  I,  553 

Elliott,  D.  S.,  I,  345 

Elliott,  Frank,  III,  438 

Elliott,  Frank  K,  I,  465 

Elliott,  Richard  J.,  I,  162,  413,  572 

Elliott,  W.  A.,  I,  611 

Ellis,  J.  H.,  I,  643 

Ellston,    W.    R.,    I,    637 

Ellsworth  Center,  I,  583,  584 

Ellsworth  Station,   I,  584 

Ellsworth  township,  Mahoning  County, 
I,  106,  582-84;  schools  and  churches 
of,  I,  583 

Elser,  R.  E.,  I,  553,  597 

Elton,  Albert,  II,  386 

Elwinger,  Harry  H.,  I,  542 

Ely,  Justin,  I,  608 

Ely,  William,  1,  51,  630,  631 

Emanuel  Evangelical  Lutheran  Con- 
gregation, I,  454 

Emanuel  (Jewish)  Congregation, 
Youngstown,  I,  323 

Emanuel  Lutheran  Church,  New 
Springfield,  I,  597 

Emery,  Edward  E.,  II,  261 

Emma  Street  Mission,  Youngstown, 
1,330 

Empire    Steel    Company,    I,    479,   712 

Engineers'  Club,  I,  351 

Enon  Station,  I,  761 

Ensign,  Charles  A.,  II,  373 

Ensign,  J.   N.,   I,  610 

Ensign,  Seth  I.,  I,  639 

Enterprise  Iron  Works,  I,  672 

Episcopalians  (see  also  Church  of 
England  Men),  I,  68 

Episcopal  Churches  of  Warren,  I,  448 

Episcopal  Diocese  of  Ohio  organized, 
I,  309 

Episcopal  Seminary,  Warren,  I,  442 

Epstein,   Max,  I,  746 

Epworth  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
Youngstown,  I,  307 

Equity  Savings  and  Loan  Company, 
I.  364 

Erb,  Clarence  F.,  Ill,  615 


Digitized  by 


Google 


XXX11 


INDEX 


Erie  Lodge,  No.  3,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  I,  465 

Erie  Lodge,  No.  47,  Free  and  Accepted 
York  Masons,  I,  465 

Erie  Railroad,  I,  193,  423,  502,  761, 
763 

Erie  Railroad  Company  plan  offered 
for  crossings  elimination,  I,  252 

Eries,  crushed  by  the  Iroquois,  I,  9 

Erskine,  George  G.,  II,  100 

Erskine,  Robert,  II,  101 

Erwin,  Robert,  I,  415 

Escheldon,  William,  I,  803 

Eschliman,  J.  C,  I,  576 

Estabrook,   David   R.,    Ill,   654, 

Estabrook,  John   B.,  I,  439;   III,  654 

Estabrook  Family,  III,  654 

Estep,  E.  J.,  I,  341 

Euclid  Township,  Cuyahoga  County, 
I,  42,  50,  53 

Evangelical  Association,  New  Spring- 
field, I,  597;  North  Lima,  I,  588; 
Liberty  Township,  I,  607 

Evangelical  Church,  West  Austin- 
town,  I,  576 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  North 
Lima,  I,  588;  Sebring,  I,  542;  Stru- 
thers,  I,  501;  Youngstown,  I,  317 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Parochial 
Schools,  I,  297 

Evanik,  Thomas  Z.,  I,  803 

Evans,  Benjamin,  II,  117 

Evans,  Daniel  H„  I,  304- 

Evans,  David,  I,  276 

Evans,  D.  J.,  I,  510 

Evans,  Ernest,  III,  515 

Evans,  Joseph,  II,  377 

Evans,  J.  Reid,  I,  720 

Evans,  Lionel,  II,  53 

Evans,  Mason,  I,  346,  347,  361,  377, 
378,  398,  742;  III,  750 

Evans,  Mrs.  Mason,  I,  337 

Evans,  Owen,  I,  202,  262,  275,  276 

Evans,  Richard  L.,  I,  608 

Evans,  Roger,  I,  817 

Evans,  Thomas,  I,  324 

Evans,  Thomas  J.,  Ill,  603 

Evans,  William  T.,  Ill,  774 

Evans,  W.  L.,  I,  526 

Evening  News,  I,  346 

Evening  Register,  I,  346 

Everett,  S.   L.,  I,  348 

Evergreen  Presbyterian  Church,  I, 
305 

Everitt,  J.  D.,  I,  634 

Ewalt,  Jacob  H.,  I,  439,  748;  II,  228 

Ewalt,  Robert  W.,  II,  66 

Ewalt,  Z.  T.,  I,  619 

Ewing,  Frank  R.,  Ill,  410 

Ewing,  George,  I,  579,  581 

Ewing,  George  A.,  II,  393 

Ewing,  Harry  G.,  II,  14 

Ewing,  Harvey  R.,  I,  594;  III,  399 

Ewing,  J.  Calvin,  I,  344;  III,  423 

Ewing,  J.   C,  I,  517 

Ewing,  James  G.,  II,  13 

Ewing,  James  R.,  II,  397 


Ewing,  John,  I,  577,  578;  III,  422 
Ewing,  Samuel  O.,  I,  517;  II,  46 
Experimental  Farm  in  Can  field  Town- 
ship, I,  656 
Eyler,  George,  I,  318 

Fair,  William  F.,  II,  27 

Falcon  blast  furnace,  I,  182 

Falcon  Bronze  Company,  I,  750     * 

Falcon  furnace,  I,  193,  475,  665,  671, 
724;  erected  (1856),  Charles  How- 
ard, Youngstown,  capacity  fifty  tons, 
I,  668;  erected  (1859),  James  Ward 
&  Company,  Niles,  capacity  twenty- 
eight  tons,  I,  668 

Falcon  Foundry  and  Machine  Works, 
1,674 

Falcon  Iron  and  Nail  Company,  I, 
476,  676,  682,  683,  684 

Falcon  Mill,  I,  478 

Falcon  Steel  Company,  I,  479,  744 

Falcon  Works,  I,  477 

Fansler,  John,  I,  638 

Faris,  Jacob  M.,  II,  19 

Farley,  J.  T.,  I,  327 

Farmdale,  I,  643 

Farmdale  Auxiliary,  American  Red 
Cross,  I,  798 

Farmers  National  Bank  of  Canfield,  I, 
567 

Farmers'  Savings  and  Loan  Company 
of  Canfield,  F,  567 

Fannin gt on  Center,  I,  640 

Farmington  Grange,  I,  641 

Farmington  township:  early  settlers 
and  villages  of,  I,  640 

Farrell,  Charles  Y.,  Ill,  673 

Farrell,  Frank  C,  II,  199 

Farrell,  John  E.,  II,  147 

Farrell,  Lee  R.,  Ill,  497 

Farrelly,  John  W.,  I,  526,  III,  743 

Fassett,  A.  D.,  I,  349,  522 

Fatherless  Children  of  France,  I,  790 

Faunce,  E.  A.,  I,  627 

Faust,  Charles  F.,  I,  597 

Faust,  Elias  M.,  Ill,  486 

Federal  Building,  I,  256 

Federal  Machine  &  Welder  Company, 
I,  746 

Federal  Savings  and  Loan  Company, 
I,  364 

Federal  Steel  Company,  I,  817 

Federal  Street,  Youngstown,  I,  201 

Federated  Churches  of  Greene  Town- 
ship, I,  647 

Federation  of  Jewish  Charities,  I,  387 

Federation  of  Roumanian  Jews, 
Youngstown,  I,  330 

Fee,  William  A.,  II,  349 

Fehr,  C.  H.,  I,  325 

Felton,  Susanna,  I,  378 

Fenton,  Thomas  L.,  I,  581 

Fenton,  William,  I,  404 

Fenton,  W.  B.,  I,  735 

Fentzer,  F.  E.,  I,  621 

Ferguson,  Edwin  C,  II,  169 

Ferguson,  William,  I,  190,  344;  sketch 
of,  I,  341 


Digitized  by 


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INDEX 


XXXlll 


Ferrando,  Michael,  III,  677 

Ferris,  J.  Arthur,  II,  352 

Ferry,  Leman,  I,  647 

Fetzer,  Philip,  I,  587 

Fialla,  Michael,  I,  365 

Fifteenth    Ohio    Independent   Battery, 

I,  198,  427 

Fifty-First    Ohio    Volunteer    Infantry 

(Civil  War),  I,  196 
Fifty-Second  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry 

(Civil  War),  I,  196 
Filius,  Charles,  I,  740,  801 
Fillius,  Charles,  I,  439,  782;  III,  793 
Fillius,  George  T.,  I,  799;  III,  794 
Financial  institutions  of  Girard,  I,  504 
Finch,  Albert  R.,  II,  25 
Finney,   Drayton  J.,   I,  480,  481,  486; 

II,  106 

Finnical,  Charles,  I,  610 

Finnish  Lutheran  Congregation,  I,  454 

Finsterwald,  H.  J.,  I,  625 

Fire  department,  I,  264,  278-282;  chiefs 
of  volunteers,  I,  279-281 ;  of  full  paid 
department,  279-282;  full  paid  men 
displaces  volunteers,  I,  281;  motor- 
ization of,  I,  282 

Fire  Lands,  I,  32,  34,  37 

Firestone,  F.  A,  I,  454 

First  actual  settlement  on  the  Western 
Reserve  (Youngstown),  I,  89 

First  agricultural  fair  in  the  Mahoning 
Valley,  I,  654 

First  Baptist  Church,  Sebring,  I,  542 

First  Baptist  Church,  Warren,  I,  411, 
447 

First  Baptist  Church,  Youngstown,  I, 
314 

First  bar  iron  manufactured  in  Ohio, 
I,  472,  660 

First  blast  furnace  in  Mahoning  Val- 
ley, I,  471,  658 

First  burial  in  Youngstown,  I,  113 

First  Catholic  parish  in  Cleveland  dio- 
cese, I,  311;  in  Youngstown,  I,  311 

First  Catholic  services  in  Youngstown, 
I,  311 

First  Christian  Church,  Hubbard 
Township,  I,  523 

First  Christian  Church,  Lordstown 
Center,  I,  613 

First  Christian'  Church  of  Niles,  I,  488 

First  Christian  Church,  Youngstown, 
I,  319 

First  church  founded  on  the  Western 
Reserve,  I,  303 

First  Church  of  Christ,  Scientist,  War- 
ren, I.  455 

First  Church  of  Christ,  Scientist, 
Youngstown,  I,  328 

First  clergyman  of  Youngstown,  I, 
113 

First  coal  mine  in  the  Mahoning  Val- 
ley, I,  769 

First  coal  shipped  from  the  Mahoning 
Valley,  I,  769 

First  Congregational  Church,  Newton 
Falls,  I,  611 


First  election,  I,  261 

First  finishing  mill  in  Ohio,  I,  182 

First   finishing  mill   in   the   Mahoning 

Valley,  I,  671 
First  Grand  Jury  of  Trumbull  county, 

I,  58 
First  grist  mill  at  Warren,  I,  406 
First  hook  and  ladder  company,  I,  278 
First  hotel  keepers,  I,  59 
First   house   built  at   Youngstown,    I, 

97 
First  law  cases,  I,  59 
First  lawyer  of  Youngstown,  I,  106 
First    marriage    ceremonies:    on    the 
Western  Reserve,  I,  114;  in  Youngs- 
town,  I,  303;    Ellsworth   Township, 
I,    582;    Berlin    Township,    I,    584; 
Brookfield  Township,  I,  614;   Hart- 
ford    Township,     I,     622;     Fowler 
Township,      I,      625;      Southington 
Township,    I,    630;    Vernon    Town- 
ship, I,  633;  Johnston  Township,  I, 
635;    Farmington   Township,    I,   640 
First     Methodist     Episcopal     Church, 
Warren,  I,  450;  Niles,  I,  487;  Girard, 
I,    507;    Sebring,    I,    542;    Washing- 
tonville,  I,  590 
First     Methodist    Protestant    Church, 

Youngstown,  I,  327 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (see 
Trinity  M.  E.  Church)  of  Youngs- 
town, I,  306 
First   mill   built  in   Mahoning  Valley, 

I,  102 
First    National    Bank    of    Girard,    I, 

504 
F"irst    National    Bank,    Newton    Falls, 

I,  610 
First  National  Bank,  Warren,  I,  438 
First   National  Bank,  Youngstown,   I, 

358 
First  National  Bank  and  Dollar  Sav- 
ings and  Trust  Company,  I,  359 
First  white  child  born  on  the  Western 
Reserve,  I,  55;  Youngstown  child  of 
record,    I,    112*    of    Warreji    (after- 
wards   Mrs.    William    Dutchin),    I, 
405;     Coitsville    township,    I,    567; 
Austintown  township,  I,  575;  Jack- 
son    township,     I,     578;     Ellsworth 
township,    I,    582;    Berlin   township, 
I,  584;   Brookfield  township,  I,  614; 
Vienna  township,   I,  616;    Howland 
township,  1,618;  Braceville  township, 
I,  620;    Hartford   township,   I,  622; 
Fowler  township,  I,  625;  Champion 
township,  I,  628;  Southington  town- 
ship,   I,    630;    Bristol    township,    I, 
638;  Farmington  township,  I,  640 
First  newspaper  of  the  Western   Re- 
serve, I,  415 
First  Ohio  Light  Artillery,  I,  428  . 
First  Ohio  narrow  gauge  railroad,  I, 

762 
First   permanent   settlers   in   Western 
Reserve,  I,  54  


Digitized  by 


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XXXIV 


INDEX 


First  physician  and  surgeon,  Youngs- 
town,  I,  115 

First  postal  route  to  Youngstown,  I, 
274 

First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Lowell- 
ville,  I,  514 

First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Niles, 
I,  488 

First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Warren, 
I,  448 

First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Youngs- 
town, I,  303 

First  Presbyterian  Church,  Youngs- 
town, I,  113 

First  Primitive  Methodist  Church, 
Youngstown,  I,  326 

First  Reformed  Church  of  Warren,  I, 
453 

First  Reformed  Church,  Youngstown, 
I,  325 

First  religious  ceremonies  at  Warren, 
I,  410 

First  religious  organization  in  Niles, 
I,  487 

First  schoolmaster,  I,  114 

First  sermon  delivered  in  Western 
Reserve,  I,  113 

First  session  of  court  in  the  Youngs- 
town courthouse,  I,  342 

First  speigel  iron  made  in  America, 
I,  711 

First  Spiritualistic  Church,  Youngs- 
town, I,  328 

First  steam  saw  and  grist  mill  in 
Mahoning  Valley,  I,  678 

First  tavern  in  Warren  licensed,  I,  411 

First  Trumbull  County  lawyer,  I,  455 

First  tube  mill  in  the  Mahoning  Val- 
ley, I,  674 

First  Unitarian  Church,  Youngstown, 
I,  327 

First  United  Presbyterian  Congrega- 
tion, Youngstown  (see  Tabernacle 
United  Presbyterian  Church),  I,  321 

Fish,  Max,  II,  58 

Fisher,  George  E.,  II,  30 

Fitch,  Andrew,  I,  190 

Fitch,  Andrew  G.,  I,  568 

Fitch,  Cook,  I,  559 

Fitch,  David,  I,  572 

Fitch,  Edward  E.,  I,  566 

Fitch,  Frances,  I,  785 

Fitch,  Frank,  III,  418 

Fitch,  Jesse  B.,  II,  82 

Fitch,  John  H.,  I,  359,  576;  III,  806 

Fitch,  J.  H.,  Jr.,  I,  742 

Fitch,  K.  M.,  I,  438 

Fitch,  Thomas,  I,  583 

Fitch,  William  H.,  I,  306 

Fitch,  Zalmon,  I,  438,  559 

Fithian,  Decker  R.,  I,  532;  III,  470 

Fithian,  James  B.,  II,  44 

Fithian,  John  A.,  II,  50 

Fitz  Simons,  Thomas  G.,  Jr.,  II,  176 

Flad,  Erie  L.,  II,  153 

Fleming,  A.  O.,  I,  382 

Fleming,  David,  I,  462 


Fleming,  Thornton,  I,  306 

Flesher,  J.  W.,  I,  307 

Flick,  Andrew,  I,  563 

Flick,  Bert,  II,  18 

Flick,  John,  I,  563 

Flickinger.  K.  C,  I,  598 

Flood  of  March,  1913,  I,  239 

•Flora,  Alexander  N.,  I,  439,  718;  III, 

405 
Florence,  Carl,  I,  586 
Flouring  Mills:  early  ones  and  descrip- 
tion of,  I,  657 
Flower,  Edward,  I,  803 
Flowers,  Isaac,  I,  614,  616 
Flowers,  Isaac,  Jr.,  I,  616 
Flowers,  Lavinia,  I,  616 
Floyd,  Hiram  B.,  I,  287 
Fly  (Youngstown's  famous  bay  mare), 

I,  133 
Flynn,  Martin  F.,  Ill,  784 
Flynn,  William  J.,  Ill,  649 
Fobes,  H.  J.,  I,  601 
Foley,  Edna,  I,  379 
Folsom,  Nathan  B.,  I,  714;  III,  572 
Foote,  Levi,  I,  625 
Foote,  Lydia,  I,  625 
Force,  Manning  F.,  I,  196 
Forcier,  Robert  W.,  Ill,  768 
Ford,  Arabella,  I,  335 
Ford,  Edward  L.,  I,  692,  706,  714,  732; 

III,  508 
Ford,  Mrs.  Edward  L.,  I,  310,  784 
Ford,  F.  C,  I,  320 
Ford,  Grace  V.,  I,  444 
Ford,  Harriett  W.,  I,  385 
Ford,  James  R.,  I,  710 
Ford,  John,  I,  437 
Ford,  John  S.,  Ill,  763 
Ford,  Mrs.  John  S.,  I,  387 
Ford,  John  W.,  I,  363,  382  , 
Ford,  Josephine,  I,  788 
Ford,  Seabury,  I,  148 
Ford,  Tod,  I,  739 
Fordyce,  George  L.,  I,  337,  355,  377, 

378;  III,  496 
Forsyth,  Nate  H.,  II,  380 
Forsythe  Scale  Works,  I,  675 
Foreign  Legion,  I,  779 
Fort  Ancient,  I,  3 
Fort  Duquesne,  I,  22,  23 
Fort  Industry,  treaty  of,  I,  33 
Fort  Stanwix  grant,  I,  30 
Forty-First  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry, 

I,  425 
Forty-Second  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry 

(Garfield's  regiment),  I,  426 
Forward,  Samuel,  I,  470,  650 
Foster,  William  H.,  I,  398,  725,  726; 

III,  659 
Foster  Memorial  Presbyterian  Church, 

1,305 
Fostoria  Glass  Company,  I,  472,  479 
Fourteenth  Ohio  Independent  Battery, 

I,  427 
Fourth  of  July  (1800),  at  Warren,  I, 

410 
Fout,  George  B.,  I,  533 


Digitized  by 


Google 


INDEX 


XXXV 


Fowler,  Abner,  I,  624 

Fowler,  Abner,  Jr.,  I,  625 

Fowler,  Charles  C,  I.  566 

Fowler,  Charles  N.,  I,  335;  sketch  of, 

I,  332 
Fowler,  Chauncey  R.,  I,  559 
Fowler,  Dana  B.,  I,  566 
Fowler,  H.  M.,  I,  566 
Fowler,  Jonathan,  I,  59,  106,  547,  548, 

549 
Fowler,  Manning  A.,  I,  426 
Fowler,    Rachel    B.,    the    first    white 

child  born  in   Poland  Township,   I, 

548 
Fowler,  Samuel,  I,  624 
Fowler      Auxiliary,      American      Red 

Cross,  I,  798 
Fowler  Center,  I,  625 
Fowler  Township;  pioneers  of,  I,  624 

early  settlers,  villages,  schools,  and 

churches  of,  I,  625 
Fowler's,  I,  549 
Frack,  Sarah  G.,  II,  326 
Frampton,  David  A.,  II,  123 
Frampton,  Jay  T.,  I,  650; 
Franche,  Nicholas,  I,  515 
Francis,  John  P.,  Ill,  505 
Francis,  William  C,  III,  505 
Francis,  William  M.,  Ill,  505 
Franco,  Victor,   III,  560 
Frandsen,  Lawrence,  III,  728 
Frank,  I.  W.,  I,  721 
Frankle,  Almon  M.,  Ill,  511 
Frankle,   Mrs.   A.   M.,   I,  387 
Franklin   and  Warren   Road   railroad, 

I,  762 
Fraser,  Abner  L.,  I,  310,  796 
Fraternal   Societies  of  Girard,  I,  506; 

Niles,  I,  486 
Frazier,  S.  R.,  I,  321 
Freeh,  John,  II,  40 
Freeh,  John  Q,  II,  195 
Frederick,  Lyman  B.,  I,  552;  II,  202 
Frederick,  Michael,  I,  589 
Frederick,  Roy  E.,  I,  545;  II,  202 
Fredericksburg,  I,  581 
Free  Church,  Lowellville,  I,  514 
Free  Democrat,  I,  345 
Free  Methodist  Church,  Youngstown, 

I,  328 
Free    Methodist    Church,    Sharline,    I, 

569 
Free  Press,  I,  350 
Freed,  James  A.,  I,  394,  604 
Freeman,  Francis,  I,  411,  442,  466,  619 
Freeman,  Ralph,  I,  619 
Freeman,  Robert,  I,  620 
French,  Brazilla,  I,  591 
French,  Elijah,  I,  591 
French,  George  W.,  I,  707 
French,  Shirley  S.,  I.  726;  II,  258 
French,  Thomas,  I,  591 
French;  Established  along  Great  Lakes 

and  Mississippi  Valley,  I,  22 
French  Pottery  Company,  I,  738 
French  voyageurs,  I,  54 
French  and  English  War,  end  of,  I,  16 


Frick,  Henry  C,  I,  486 

Friedman,  Henry,  III,  610 

Friedman,  Samuel  L,  I,  498;  II,  348 

Friedrich,  Fred  G.,  II,  304 

Friends  Church,  Damascus,  I,  592 

Frisbie,  Lemuel,  I,  630 

Frisby,  Luther,  I,  649,  650 

Fritchman,  Emerson  B.,  Ill,  580 

Front  Street  (Central)  School,  I,  286 

Froom,  Harry  A.,  Ill,  660 

Full    Gospel    Church,   Youngstown,   I, 

329 
Fuller,  D.  E.,  I,  316 
Fuller,  Harvey,  I,  182,  671 
Fuller,  Howard,  I,  634 
Fuller,  Ira  L.,  sketch  of,  I,  458 
Fullerton,  C.  S.,  I,  614 
Fullerton,  John,  I,  579 
Fulton.  D.  C,  I,  322 
Funk,  Frank  W.,  I,  351;  II,  364 
Furness,  H.  B.,  I,  444 

Gahris,  W.  I.,  Ill,  689 

Gailey,  Robert,  I,  384 

Gaither,  Charles  T.,  II,  142 

Galbraith,  A.  A.,  I,  517 

Galbreath,  W.  Wilson,  I,  743;  II,  223 

Gale,  W.  A.,  I,  626 

Galehouse,  D.  W.,  I,  545 

Gallagher,  Charles  E.,  II,  43 

Game  drive  (Medina  county),  I,  139 

Gamewell  fire  and  police  alarm  system 

introduced,  I,  276 
Gandy,  Henry  D.,  I,  614 
Gardner,  John,  I,  524 
Gardner,  William,  I,  721 
Garfield,  I,  592 
Garfield,  Abram  J.,  Ill,  798 
Garfield,  James  A.,  I,  211,  426,  430,  455, 

Garghill,  James  P.,  Ill,  468 

Garlick,  Henry  M.,  I,  347,  358,  359, 
382,  720,  731,  734,  735;  III,  399 

Garlick,  R.  G.,  I,  192,  262 

Garlick,  Richard,  I,  398,  706,  723,  750, 
764;  II.  334 

Garlick,  Theodatus,  sketch  of,  I,  332 

Garrison,  C.  F.,  I,  731;  II,  155 

Gary  Dinners,  as  means  of  averting  in- 
dustrial panic,  I,  815 

Gas,  manufacture  of,  I,  675  , 

Gas  (natural),  in  Mahoning  Valley,  I, 
773t  774 

Gaston,  George,  I,  522 

Gates,  John  W.,  I,  707 

Gates,  Thomas,  I,  25 

Gault,  Andrew,  I,  577  578,  579 

Gault,  Gibson  J.,  Ill,  403 

Gault,  J.  Ford,  1,579 

Gault,  John,  I,  579;  III,  614 

Gault,  Robert  E.,  II,  396 

Gault,  W.  G.,  I,  345 

Geauga  county  formed,  I,  149;  created, 
I,  161 

Gee,  Nicholas,  I,  583 

Geesman,  Wilbur  H.,  Ill,  552 

Geiger,  C.  T.,  I,  574 


Digitized  by 


Google 


XXXVI 


INDEX 


Geiger,  Daniel  A.,  I,  439,  746;  III,  581 
Geiger,  Fred  L.,  Ill,  713 
Geitgey,  Harry  H.,  I,  364;  III,  455 
General  American  Tank  Car  Corpora- 
tion, I,  746 
General    Clay    Forming    Company,    I, 

541,  738 
General  Electric  Company,  I,  680 
General    Fire   Extinguisher   Company, 

I,  744 
General  Fireproofing  Company,  I,  725; 

subscriptions  by  to  War  Chest  Fund, 

I,  792 
General  Synod  Lutherans,  Lordstown, 

I,  613 
Gentz,  Henry,  I,  350 
Georges,  Ferdinand,  I,  25 
Gerenda,  J.  M.,  I,  313 
Gerenday,  Ladislaus,  I,  305 
Germans,  I,  70,  71 
Gerringer,  David,  I,  587 
Gerrity,  John,  II,  175 
Gessner,  George  H.,  II,  289 
Geuss,  Louis,  I,  467 
Gibbons,  B.  F.,  I,  339 
Gibbons,  Richard  P.,  I,  312 
Gibbons,  W.  J.,  1,295,311 
Gibson,  George  A.,  I,  308 
Gibson,  James,  sketch  of,  I,  105 
Gibson,  Minnie,  I,  377 
Gibson,  R.  D.,  I,  386 
Gibson,  Samuel,  I,  803 
Gibson,  William  T.,   I,  241,  264,  344, 

362,  376,  781;  II,  344 
Giddings,  Jonathan,  I,  571 
Giddings,  Joshua  R.,  I,  152,  169,  455 
Giddings,  Thomas,  I,  633 
Giering,  Charles  C,  II,  79 
Giering,  Louis,  II,  79 
Gifford,  Charles  A.,  II,  297 
Gilbert,  A.  S.,  I,  627 
Gilbert,  David  R.,  I,  440;  III,  576 
Gilbert,  Edgar  A.,  I,  782;  II,  354 
Gilbert,  George  B.,  II,  353 
Gilbert,  Jacob,  I,  586,  587 
Gilbert,  Paul,  I,  543 
Gilder,  Lamont  N.,  II,  43 
Gildersleeve,  Obediah,  I,  644 
Gilgen,  Charles  W.,  I,  517,  355 
Gillen,  Austin  P.,  I,  337;  III,  408 
Gillen,  Barney  J.,  I,  441;  III,  464 
Gillen,  John  J.,  II,  285 
Gillen,  William  W.,  Ill,  408 
Gillette,  L.  M.,  I,  353 
Gillmer,  Gipson  P.,  II,  57 
Gillmer,  J.  J.,  I,  440  . 
Gillmer,  Thomas   I.,  I,  460,  465;  III, 

579 
Gilmer,  E.  W.,  I,  747 
Gilmer,  T.  H.,  I,  439,  747 
Gilson,  Eleazar,  I,  557,  753 
Gilson,  Samuel,  I,  114,  556,  754 
Gilson,  Samuel  W.»  I,  341 
Gingery,  John  G.,  Ill,  640 
Gintert,  William,  I,  621 
Girard,  I-,  163;  history  of,  I,  502-510; 

industries  of,  I,  503;  financial  institu- 


tions of,  I,  504;  postal  and  corporate 
matters,  I,  506;  fraternal  societies,  I, 
506;  schools  of,  I,  509;  incorporated 
as  village,  I,  510;  early  industries  at, 
I,  686 

Girard  furnace,  erected  (1867),  Girard 
Furnace  Company,  Girard,  capacity 
fifty  tons,  I,  668 

Girard  Board  of  Trade,  I,  505 

Girard  Community  Corporation  (for- 
merly Girard  War  Board),  I,  505 

Girard  Home  Savings  and  Loan  Com- 
pany, I,  505  , 

Girard  Iron  Company,  I,  503,  686,  731 

Girard  Public  Library  Association,  I, 
506 

Girard  Savings  Bank,  I,  504 

Girard  Stove  Works,  I,  503 

Glass,  Alexander,  I,  710 

Glass,  John,  I,  587 

Glass,  Mathias,  I,  585,  586 

Glass,  Willis  W.,  I,  470;  II,  165 

Glassco,  George  M.,  Ill,  466 

Gleason,  John  L.,  I,  507 

Glenn,  Henry  R.,  Ill,  626 

Glenwood  Children's  Home,  I,  388,  389 

Glidden,  Charles  E.,  I,  342;  sketch  of. 
I,  459 

Globe  Foundry  and  Machinery  Com- 
pany, I,  476,  684 

Gloeckle,  George,  III,  714 

Gluck,  Albert  L.,  Ill,  751 

Gluck,  George  D.,  II,  298 

Gluck,  Louis  I,  359 

Goder,  Peter,  I,  587 

Goist,  William  H.  O.,  Ill,  519 

Goldman,  S.,  I,  324 

Goldsmith,  W.  B.,  II,  190 

Good,  Jacob  H.,  Ill,  562 

Good  Hope  Baptist  Church  (colored), 
Youngstown,  I,  317 

Goode,  Walter  S.,  I,  320 

Goodrich,  C.  D.,  I,  506 

Goodridge,  David  J.,  Ill,  630 

Goodwillie,  David,  I,  500,  607 

Gordon,  James  B.,  II,  308 

Gordon,  M.  L.,  I,  455 

Gorham,  Nathaniel,  I,  647 

Gorman,  Frederick  L.,  Ill,  403 

Gorman,  Leo  G.,  Ill,  472 

Gorton,  Robert  E.,  I,  740;  III,  436 

Goshen  Center,  I,  592 

Goshen  Township,  I,  591,  593;  schools 
and  churches  of,  I,  592 

Gosnell,  Leonard  J.,  I,  803 

Goucher,  Mary  H.,  II,  29 

"Governor  Tod,"  first  steam  fire  en- 
gine, I,  278,  281     . 

Gow,  Henry,  I,  346  '  "\ 

Graber,  Samuel  C,  II,  271  *  ' 

Grable,  M.  J.,  I,  611       -         .    -   ': 

Grace    African     Methodist    Episcopal 

1    Church,  Warren.  I,  455 

Grace  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church, 
Youngstown,  I,  318,  328 

Grace  furnace  No.  1,  erected  (1859), 
Brier   Hill   Iron  &  Coal   Company, 


Digitized  by 


Google 


fNDEX 


xxxvtl 


Youngstown,  capacity  forty  tons,  I. 
668,  711 
Grace   furnace   No.  2,  erected   (1860), 
Brier   Hill  Iron   Company,  Youngs- 
town,  capacity  thirty-five  tons,  I,  668, 

Grace    Methodist     Episcopal     Church, 

Youngstown,  I,  307 
Grade  crossings  elimination,  I,  251 
Graf,  John  H.,  I,  588 
Graham,  Albert  C,  III,  573 
Graham,  C.  G.,  I,  610 
Graham,  Michael,  I,  555 
Graham,   Richard   N„   I,  371;   II,   175 
Graham  William   R.,  I,  344;  III,  754 
Graham,  William  T.,  I,  710 
Grand  Lodge  of  Ohio,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  I,  389,  466 
Graney,   John  J.,   I,  781 
Granger,  Erastus,  I,  403 
Granger,  Gideon,  I.,  160,  412,  575,  577 
Granges  in  Mahoning  County,  I,  544 
Grant,  Albert  M.,  I,  385 
Grant,  Hugh  W.,  I,  337,  338,  355,  362, 

363,  793;  III,  534 
Grant,  Jesse  R.  (father  of  Ulysses  S.), 

I,  175 
Grant,  Roswell,  I,  653 
Grant,  Roswell  M.,  I,  132,  142 
Grasselli    Chemical    Company,    I,    748 
Gray,  Ernest  C,  I,  647 
Gray,  John  E.,  Ill,  568 
Gray,  Robert,  I,  517 
Gray,  Stephen,  I,  539 
Gray,  W.  S.,  I,  287 
Greatrake,  A.,  I,  446 
Greek   Catholic   Church,  Youngstown, 

I,  313;  Struthers,  I,  501 
Greek     Orthodox     Congregations     in 

Youngstown,  I,  326 
Greek    Orthodox   Roumanian   Church, 

Youngstown,  I,  326 
Green  Auxiliary,  American  Red  Cross, 

I,  798 
Green,  J.  H.,  I,  610 
Green  Township,  I,  589-91,  schools  and 

churches  of,  I,  590;  early  industries, 

organization,  etc.,  I,  646 
Greene,  Gardiner,  I,  645;  first  marriage 

in,  I,  646;  first  white  child  born  in, 

I,  646 
Greene  Village,  I,  188,  646 
Greenberg,  Louis,  II,  135 
Green  ford,  I,  589 
Greenford     Evangelical     Lutheran 

Church,   I,  590 
Greenstein,  Samuel,  I,  455 
Greenville  Mill,  I,  715 
Greenwood,  D.,  I,  524 
Greenwood,  Ira,  I,  618 
Greer,  F.  G.,  I,  339 
Gregg,  E.  E.,  I,  522 
Gregory,   Edwin  S.,  I,  292 
Gregory,  J.  I.,  I,  542 
Gremel,  E.  P.,  I.  300 
Gressle,   C.  W.,  I,  746 
Grey,  R.  A.,  I,  622 


Gridley,  Nathaniel,  I,  556 

Griffin,   Maurice   F.,   I,  248,  313,  338; 

II,  50 
Griffin,  William,  II,  153 
Griffing,  A.  C,  I,  619 
Griffis,  Merrill,  I,  618 
Griffis,  William,  I,  618 
Griffith,  A.  W.,  I,  716 
Griffith,  David  F.,  I,  344;  II,  172 
Griffith,  H.  E.,  I,  610. 
Griffith,  L  R.,  I,  641 
Griffith,  I.  T.,  I,  489 
Griffith,   Lynn   B.,    Ill,  460 
Griffith,  Samuel  C,  I,  262 
Grimes,  Mathew  J.,  Ill,  749 
Grimm,  E.  A.,  I,  799,  801 
Grimm,  Edward  A.,  II,  167 
Grimm,  J.  C,  I,  613 
Grimmesey,  Orris  R.,  I,  435,  465;  III, 

498 
Grinnell,  Russell,  I,  59,  745 
Grise,  Albert  C,  I,  598 
Grist  Mills,  I,  130,  early  in  Mahoning 

Valley,   I,  658 
Griswold,  G.  H.,  I,  644 
Griswold,  Solomon,  I,  58 
Griswold,  Stanley,  I,  571 
Griswold,   Sylvester  G.,   I,  403 
Griswold,  Wells  J.,  I,  789 
Griswold,  Wells   L.,   I,  293,  378,  382, 

789,  793;   II,  245 
Griswold,  William  T.,  II,  383 
Grose,  James  H.,  I,  714,  715;  II,  134 
Grossman,  J.  B.,  I,  323 
Ground  clearing,  I,  129 
Grove,  Wendell,  I,  575 
Grub,  Harry  A.,  I,  628 
Grubb,  Ode  J.,  I,  781,  789 
Guarnieri,  Albert,  II,  244 
Guarnieri,  John  C.,  Ill,  713 
Guarnieri,   Lewis   L.,   II,  244 
Guarnieri,  Katheryn  T.,  Ill,  713 
Guentner,  A.   L.,   II,  38 
Guggenheim,  Harry,  III,  447 
Guggenheim,  M.  U.,  I,  388 
Guggenheim,  Mrs.  M.  U.,  I,  337,  387 
Guild,  Lois,  I,  649 
Guild,  Otis,   I,  649 
Guisler,  Mrs.  S.  H.,  I,  786 
Gunder  M.  H.,  I,  586 
Gunder.   Mrs.  H.  M.,  I,  787 
Gunn,  Ann,  I,  55 
Gunn,  Elijah,  I,  54 
Gust,  J.  R.,  I,  683 
Gustavus  Academy  I,  645 
Gustavus    Auxiliary,    American     Red 

Cross,  I,  798 
Gustavus  Grange,  I,  645 
Gustavus  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 

Gustavus  Center,  I,  645 
Gustavus  township;   early  settlers  of, 

I,  644;   first  white  child  born  in,   I, 

644 
Gustavus  village,  I,  188,  645 
Guthman,   Irvin  W.,   II,   173 
Guthman,  Leo,  I,. 353;   III,  463 
Guthrie,  James,  I,  620 


Digitized  by 


Google 


XXXV111 


INDEX 


Guthrie,  W.  F.,  I,  727 
Gutknecht,  William  J.,  Ill,  508 
Guttridge,  James,  II,  174 
Guy,  Charles  H.,  II,  65 

Hadley,  Levi,  I,  406,  676 

Hadley  Woolen  Mill,  I,  677 

Hadsell,  C.  C.  &  Son,  I,  627 

Haefke,  Herman  C,  II,  155 

Hagan,  Philip,  I,  264,  817 

Haggart,   G.   S.,   I,   542 

Hahn  William  I,  I,  589 

Haible,  G.  A.,  I,  619 

Haines,  Selden,  I,  341 

Hake,  John  J.,  II,  193 

Halfhill,  Frank  B.f  II,  374 

Hall,  Albert  S.,  I,  197;  death  of,  I,  426 

Hall,  Arthur  G.,  Ill,  777 

Hall,  Barry  B.,  I,  314 

Hall,  Clement,  I,  314 

Hall,  Furnace,  I,  707 

Hall,   Gilbert   B.,   Ill,  712 

Hall,  Hiram  A.,  I,  287,  288 

Hall,  Jesse  H.,  II,  334 

Hall,  Jesse  and  Sons,  I,  521,  676 

Hall  Machine  Works,  I,  541 

Hall,  T.  K.,  I,  358 

Hall,  William,  I,  411 

Hall,  William  B.,  I,  784;  III,  561 

Hall,  W.  H.,  I,  677 

Hall,  Wyllys,  I,  310 

Halliday,  Jesse,  I,  608 

Halls,  Joseph  A.,  II,  70 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  I,  147 

Hamilton   David  C,   I,  529,  536;   III, 

617 
Hamilton,  Dorcas  A.,  II,  73 
Hamilton,  George  E.,  I,  517;  II,  73 
Hamilton,  Harry  C,  II,  300 
Hamilton  Homer,  I,  201,  202,  262;  II, 

301 
Hamilton,  J.  K.,  I,  334 
Hamilton,  Manuel,  I,  192,  262 
Hamilton,  Homer  &  Company,  I,  674 
Hammaker,  W.  EM  I,  307 
Hamman,  James  J.,  I,  278 
Hammon,  John,  I,  638 
Hammond,  Gerald  F.,  II,  201 
Hamory,  G.  V.,  I,  532;  III,  489 
Hand,   Edward,   I,  88 
Handel,  Fred  B.,  Ill,  430 
Handwork,  R.  E.,  I,  579 
Haney,  George  W.,  II,  158 
Hanford,  William,  I,  636 
Hanko,  J.  M.,  I,  305 
Hanley,   Michael,   I,  803 
Hanna,    Howard   M.,  Jr.,   I,  710 
Hanna,  L.  C,  I,  707 
Hanna,  Mark,  I,  817 
Hanna,  Mark  A.,  I,  828 
Hannah  furnace,  I,  475,  682,  707 
Hannahs,  Almira,  I,  641 
Hannan,  Michael  C,  III,  493 
Hannon,  Matthew  A.,  Ill,  558 
Hanson,  J.   B.,  I,  618 
Hapgood,  George  N.f  I,  462;  death  of, 

I,  462 


Harber,  Joseph,  I,  319 

Hardesty,  Thomas  W.,  III.  616 

Hardesty,  William  T.,  I,  717;  III,  602 

Harding,  James  S.,  II,  392 

Hardy,  Thomas,  I,  577 

Harkelrode,  H.  H.,  I,  579 

Harkness,  Charles  W.,  I,  692 

Harlow,  Elizabeth,  I,  389 

Harman,  John,  I,  587 

Harmon,  Heman  R.,  I,  426,  473,  603 

Harmon,  John  B.,  I,  460;  III,  595 

Harmon,  Julian,  I,  443,  463,  464 

Harmon,  Reuben,  I,  471 

Harmon,  Reuben,  Jr.,  sketch  of,  I,  602 

Harned,  Nathan,  I,  303 

Harper,  John,  I,  628 

Harper,  W.  O.,  I,  317 

Harrington,  Carrie,  I,  799 

Harrington,  C.  A.,  I,  460 

Harrington,  Deborah,  I,  646 

Harrington,  John,  I,  645,  646 

Harrington,  John  T.,  I,  717,  718,  726, 

731 
Harrington,  William,  I,  645,  646 
Harris,  Barnabas,  I,  166,  568 
Harris,  Mrs.  E.  C,  I,  785 
Harris,  S.  D.,  I,  442 
Harris  Automatic  Press  Company,  I, 

479 
Harris,  Blackford  &  Company,  I,  673, 

683 
Harris  and  Blackford  Mill,  I,  476,  477 
Harrison,  B.  B.,  I,  508 
Harrison,  Henry,  I,  145 
Harrison,  Joshua  L.,  I,  309 
Harsh,  Henry,  I,  414 
Harsh,  Jacob,  I,  411 
Harshman,  W.  H.,  I,  633 
Hart,  A.  W.,  I,  610,  611 
Hart,  Alvin  W.,  Ill,  728 
Hart,  Bert  A.,  Ill,  776 
Hart,  Charles,  I,  707 
Hart,  Charles  W.,  Ill,  470 
Hart,  F.  S.,  I,  641 
Hart,  Glen,  I,  615 
Hart,  Joseph,   I,  644 
Hart,   Seth,   appointed   superintendent 

of  second  surveying  party,  I,  51 
Hart,   William,   I,  42 
Hartenstein,  Fred  A.,  I,  273,  355,  364 
Hartenstein,    Harry    H.,    death    of,    I, 

277 
Hartford,  A.  W.,  I,  371 
Hartford  Academic  Institute,  I,  623 
Hartford     Auxiliary,     American     Red 

Cross,  I,  797 
Hartford  Center,  I,  622 
Hartford  colony,  I,  26 
Hartford  Company  (coal  oil  producer), 

I,  772 
Hartford  Grange,  I,  623 
Hartford  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 

I,  624 
Hartford  township,  Mahoning  County, 

I,  49;  pioneers  of,  I,  621;  villages  of, 

I,  621;  schools  of,  I,  623 
Hartsel,  William,  I,  344 


Digitized  by 


Google 


INDEX 


XXXIX 


Hartshorn,  Rolla  P.,  I,  359,  398;  II,  6 

Hartzell,  Charles  M.,  Ill,  475 

Hartzell,  Emanuel,  I,  387 

Hartzell,  Ike  M.,  Ill,  646 

Hartzell,  Jesse  M.,  Ill,  432 

Hartzell,  John,  I,  586 

Hartzell,  John  C,  III,  580 

Hartzell,  Roy  L.,  I,  353 

Hartzell,  Sol,  I,  388 

Hartzell,  Sol  MM  I,  782 

Harvey,  James  W.,  I,  514 

Harvey,  Leon  A.,  I,  328 

Harvey,  M.,  I,  489 

Haseltine,  Robert  M.,  I,  661 

Haseltine,  William  B.,  I,  627 

Haselton,  I,  94,  215;  absorbed  by 
Youngstown,  I,  263 

Haselton  furnace  Xo.  1,  erected  (1867), 
Andrews  &  Bros.,  Youngstown,  ca- 
pacity forty  tons,  I,  668 

Haselton  furnace  No.  2,  erected 
(1868),  Andrews  &  Bros.,  Youngs- 
town, capacity,  sixty  tons,  I,  668 

Haskell,  Moses,  I,  613 

Hastings,  J.  R.,  I,  719 

Hatch,  James,  I,  630 

Hathaway,  H.  R.,  I,  642 

Haun,  R.  M.,  I,  492 

Hauser,  Ed  L.,  I,  504,  505;  II,  191 

Hauser,  Elizabeth  J.,  I,  465 

Hawder,  James,  I.,  99 

Hawk,  Ernest  E.f  III,  503 

Hawk,   Otis   E.,   II,  322 

Hawkins,  F.  B.,  I,  353 

Hawkins,   H.  W.,  I,  533 

Hawkins,  Lewis,  I,  582 

Hawkins,  W.  O.,  I,  307 

Hawn,  M.  A.,  I,  586 

Hawn,  Nathan,  I,  587 

Haworth,  Lester  C,  II,  367 

Hayden,  Chester,  I,  342,  553 

Hayden,  J.,  I,  637 

Hayden,  W.  H.,  I,  365,  782 

Hayes,  M.  E.,  I,  781 

Hayes,  Richard,  I,  166,  416,  622,  624, 
634 

Hayes,  Rutherford  B.,  I,  196,  844 

Hayes,  Titus,  I,  103 

Hayford,  C.  P.,  I,  646 

Haynes,  Clyde  H.,  Ill,  573 

Hazen,  I.  R.,  I,  786 

Hazen,  William  B.,  I,  425 

Hazlett,  Harry,  I,  779 

Hazlett,  John  P.,  I,  739 

Heacock,  Isaac  B.,  Ill,  431 

Head,  Jonathan,  I,  347 

Headley,  Joseph,  I,  636 

Headley,  J.  W.,  I,  628 

Heasley,  Henry,  I,  182,  671 

Heasley,  James  E.,  II,  236 

Heaton,  Daniel,  I,  471,  549,  658,  660, 
661;  III,  593 

Heaton,  Isaac,  I,  618,  662,  831;  sketch 
of,  I,  663 

Heaton,  James,  I,  471,  472,  473,  474, 
549,  618,  658,  662,  670,  681,  833;  estab- 


lishes industries  at  Niles,  I,  660;  III, 

593,  656 
Heaton,  John,  I,  473,  662;  III,  594 
Heaton,  Maria  E.,  Ill,  656 
Heaton,  Warren,  I,  473,  663,  681 ;  death 

of,  I,  475 
Heaton  Brothers,  I,  660;  III,  593 
Heaton  Family,  I,  602 
Heaton  &  Robbins,  I,  663,  681 
Hea ton's  dam,  I,  472 
Heaton's  furnace,  I,  473 
Heberding,  John,   I,  782 
Hebrew   Congregation    of  Warren,   I, 

455 
Hebrew  Schools,  I,  300 
Hebrew    Welfare    Association,    I,   793 
Hebrews,  I,  80 
Hebron    Lodge    No.    55,    Independent 

Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  I,  390 
Heck,   Solomon   J.,   II,   78 
Heckert,    Benton    M.,    Ill,  623 
Hecklinger,  George  T.,  I,  440;  II,  241 
Hedges,  Shalor  H.,  II,   149 
Heedy,  Henry  W.,  II,  68 
Heindel,  Daniel  A.,  II,  47 
Heindel,    Norman,    II,   252 
Heiner,  John,  I,  192,  262,  266 
Heinselman,  David,  I,  264 
Heintzleman,  H.,  I,  574 
Hellenic    Greek    Orthodox    Congrega- 
tion, I,  326 
Heller  Bros.  Company,  I,  181 
Helman,   David   L.,   Ill,  574 
Helman,  Wilhelmina,  III,  574 
Heltzel,  John   N.,  Ill,  678 
Helz,  Marie,  I,  802 
Hemminghaus,   C,   I,   524 
Hempel,Roy,  E.,  111,524 
Henderson,   Andrew   M.,   I,  344;   III, 

408 
Henderson,  G.  M.,  I,  307 
Henderson,  James  A.,  II,  125 
Henderson,  John  M.,  II,  239 
Henderson,  William  M.,  II,  353 
Henry,  Charles  F.,  II,  355 
Henry,  F.  J.,  I,  312 
Henry,  John,  I,  613 
Herbert,  Henry,  I,  610,  799 
Herbert,  Paul  J.,  111,637 
Hercules  Powder  Company,  I,  521,  729 
Herod.  Percy  L.,  I,  501 
Herold,   J.,    I,   325 
Heron,  William  W.,  Ill,  715 
Herrick,  Myron  T.,  I,  483 
Heslep,  James,  I,  622 
Heslip,  John,  I,  321 
Hess,  Lawrence  J.,  II,  65 
Hesson,  W.  F.,  I,  561 
Hetrick,  Cowden,  I,  536 
Hetzel   Form   and    Iron    Company,    I, 

609 
Hewitt,  Abram  S.,  I,  817 
Hewitt,   Orris   O.,   I,  739;   II,  73 
Heywood,  William  H.,  II,  206 
Hezlep,  George,  I,  644 
Hezlep,  James,  I,  274 
Hezlep,  John,  I,  549 


Digitized  by 


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jd 


INDEX 


Hickock,  Lemuel,  I,  636 
Higby,  Beecher  P.,   II,  368 
Higgins,  H.  P.,  I,  646 
Higgins,  Orin,  I,  508 
Higginson,    C.    H.,    I,    326 
Higley,  Brainard  S.,  I,  266,  341 
Higley,   Joseph   N.,   I,   652;    III,   426 
Hill,  B.  M.,  I,  293 
Hill,  Jared,   I,  634 
Hill,  John  ].,   I,  498 
Hill,  J.  J.,  I,  497 
Hill,  J.  W.,  I,  613 
Hill,  L.  E.,  I,  588,  597 
Hill,  Phineas,  I,  92,  96,  100,  101,  114 
Hill,  Roger,  I,  685 
Hill  &  Medbury,  I,  677 
Hilliard,  Jesse  A.,   Ill,  693 
Hillman,  H.  W.,  I,  639 
Hillman,  James,  I,  59,  89,  97,  102,  109, 
166,  171,  275,  284,  409,  602,  653,  754; 
meets     Young     party     on     site     of 
Youngstown,  I,  96;  as  a  trader,  I,  99; 
most  prominent  Youngstown  pioneer, 
I,    100;    constable    of    Youngstown 
township,  I,  106 
Hillman   Camp   No.   10,  Sons  of  Vet- 
erans, I,  394 
Hillman      Street      Christian      Church, 

Youngstown,  I,  320 
Hillman  Street  School,  I,  288 
Hills,   G.  T.,   I,  353 
Himrod,  David,  I,  666 
Hirrirod,  Vincent  C,  I,  667 
Himrod      Avenue      Baptist      Church, 

Youngstown,   I,  316 
Himrod  Furnace   Company,  I,  667 
Himrod  furnace  No.  1,  erected  (1859), 
Himrod  Furnace  Company,  Youngs- 
town,   capacity    thirty-five    tons,    I, 
193,  668 
Himrod  furnace,  No.  2,  erected  (1860), 
Himrod  Furnace  Company,  Youngs- 
town,   capacity    thirty-five    tons,    I, 
"193,  668 
Himrod  furnace,  No.  3,  erected  (1868), 
Himrod  Furnace  Company,  Youngs- 
town, capacity  forty  tons,  I,  668 
Hinchman,   Henry,  I,  591 
Hinckley,  Samuel,  I,  614 
Hine,   Ada   G.,   II,   15 
Hine,  Mrs.  A.  P.,  I,  786 
Hine,  Bildad,  I,  609 
Hine,  C.  D.,  I,  343,  398,  706 
Hine,   Daniel,   I,  634  . 
Hine,   Daniel,   Sr.f   I,  635 
Hine,  David,  I,  560 
Hine,  Elizabeth,  I,  635 
Hine,    Homer,    I,    106,    162,    166,    173, 

653;  sketch  of,  I,  340 
Hine,  Homer   H.,   I,  341 
Hine,  Nancy,  II,  15 
Hine,  Samuel,  Jr.,  I,  635 
Hine,  Samuel  K.,  I,  505,  732;  III,  607 
Hinely,  Samuel  S.,  Ill,  617 
Hineman,  John,   I,  549 
Hines,   Asa,   I,  627 
Ilinkley,  Samuel,  I,  42,  51 


Hirshberg,  Bernard,   I,  377,  378;   III, 

766 
Hirshberg,  Mrs.  Bernard,  I,  387 
Historical  Collections  of  the  Mahoning 

Valley,  1876,  I,  395 
Hitchcock,  A.,  I,  616 
Hitchcock,  Frank,  I,  337,  355,  733,  781; 

II,  141 
Hitchcock,  John,  III,  475 
Hitchcock,  Julia  A.,   I,  374,  375 
Hitchcock,  Peter,  I,  455 
Hitchcock,    Reuben,    I,   423,    760 
Hitchcock,   William  J.,   I,   337;   death 

of,  I,  733;  II,  141 
Hitchcock,  William  J.,  Jr.,  II,  142 
Hochadel,  Joseph  H.,  II,  185 
Hodges,  J.  M.,  I,  327 
Hoffman,  Benjamin  F.,  I,  341,  459 
Hoffman,  Harry  C,  I,  365;  II,   113 
Hoffman,  Henry  H.,  I,  481;  II,  357 
Hoffmaster,  Charlotte  S.,  II,  28 
Hoffmaster,  Jonas  H.,  II,  28 
Hoffmaster,  Lawrence  P.,  II,  180 
Hogan,  B.  L.,  I,  492 
Hohloch,  J.  Fred,  III,  751 
Hohn,  Adam,  I,  595 
Hoke,  Ethan  A.,  I,  587 
Hoke,  George,  I,  587 
Holaway,  L.  L.,  I,  479 

Holbrook,  Daniel,  I.  51 
Holbrook,  Horace,  I,  463 

Holcomb,  John  R.,  I,  275 
Holden,  A.  P.,  I,  631 

Hole,  Israel  P.,  I,  592 

Hole,  Jacob,   I,   592 

Holeton,  Charles  R.,  Sr.,  II,  319 

Holland,  Benjamin,  I,  175 

Holland  Land  Company,  I,  398 

Holley,  John  M.,  I,  43 

Holliday,   Jesse,    I,   412,    580 

Holliday,  J.  Hugh,  I,  327 

Hollingsworth,  Elliott  W.,  I,  192,  195, 
262,  424 

Hollingsworth,  John  F.,  I,  192,  262 

Hollister,  Joshua,  I,  556,  557 

Hollister,  W.  P.,  I,  562 

Holloway,  Bert,  I,  493 

Holloway,  Harry  H.,  II,  24 

Holloway,  James  W..  Ill,  788 

Holloway,  Leonard,  II,  187 

Holloway,  William  I,  II,  24 

Holloway,  W.  T.,  I,  785 

Holly,  George  F.,  Ill,  501 

Holly,  John  M.,  I,  48 

Holmes,  Alice  D.,  I,  301 

Holmes,  John,  I,  327 

Holmes,  Robert,  I,  317 

Holmes,   Uriel,   I,  42,    103,  616,  621 

Holmes,  Uriel,  Jr.,  I,  51 

Holstein,  Herman  C,  II,  139 

Holt,  Otis,  I,  353 

Holton,  C.  R.,  I,  605 

Holton,  Napoleon  B.,  II,  337 

Holy  Name  of  Jesus  (Slovak  Catholic) 
Parish,  Youngstown,  I,  313 

Holy  Trinity  Roman  Catholic  Church 
(Slovak),  Struthers,  I,  501 


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Holy  Trinity  (Ruthenian  Greek  Cath- 
olic) Parish,  Youngstown,  I,  313 

Holzworth,  William  C,  II,  34 

Home  Building  and  Loan  Company, 
I,   363 

Home  for  Aged  Women,  I,  389 

Home  Savings  &  Loan  Building,  I, 
256 

Home  Savings  and  Loan  Company, 
Xiles,  I,  480 

Home  Savings  and  Loan  Company  of 
Youngstown,  I,  364  (Struthers 
Branch),  I,  497 

Homestead  strike,  I,  220 

Honterus  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church,  Youngstown,  I,  319 

Hood,    Charles    R.,    Ill,   699 

Hood,  Thomas,  I,  628 

Hooper,  Mrs.  George,  I,  787 

Hooper,  H.  Russell,  II,  161 

Hoover,  Delbert  E.,  Ill,  758 

Hoover,  Guy,  I,  579,  583 

Hope  Mills,  I,  511 

Hopewell  (first  blast  furnace  in  Ma- 
honing Valley),  I,  174 

Hopewell  furnace,  on  Yellow  Creek, 
I,  549 

Hopewell  (rebuilt),  furnace,  I,  660 

Hopkins,  George  L.,  Ill,  566 

Hoppe,   Henry  H.,   Ill,  467 

Horch,  Mike,  I,  639 

Horn,  McClellan,  III,  651 

Horn,    Roger,    I,    555 

Hornberger,  Melvin  J.,  II,  259 

Home,  Clair  F.,  II,   110 

Home,  Joseph  K.,  II,  109 

Horner,  William,  I,  279 

Horse  racing,  great  ice  contest  between 
Youngstown  and  Warren,  I,  133 

Horth,  Albert  J.,  Jr.,  Ill,  485 

Horton,   J.   F.,   I,   522 

Horton,  John  M.,  I,  594,  737;  III,  689 

Horton,  M.  B.,  I,  647 

Hosington,  H.  R.,  I,  448 

Hoskins,  L.   E.,   I,  603 

Hoskinson,  C.  E.,  I,  615 

Hosmer,  Edward  H.,  I,  274 

Hospitals  of  Youngstown,  I,  337-339 

Hostetler,  C.  K.,  I,  329 

Hotchkiss,  John,  I,  736;  III,  429 

Houck,  George,  I,  587 

Hough,  John  A.,  II,  153 

Houston,  Andrew  D.,  Ill,  660 

Houston,  Archibald  W.,  I,  707 

Houston,  Hugh  B.,  I,  499 

Houston,  William,  I,  569 

Hover,  Ezekiel,  I,  608,  609 

Howard,  Charles,  I,  193,  665,  724 

Howard,  Charles  C,  III,  466 

Howard,  Chester,  I,  648 

Howard,  Edward  D.,  I,  345,  462 

Howard,  Horton,  I,  591 

Howard,  Ida,  I,  328 

Howard,  L.  U.,  I,  517 

Howe,  Alfred  F.,  II,  97 

Howe,  Thomas,  I,  647 

Hower,  D.  L.,  I,  600 


Howland,  Joseph,  I,  42,  618,  645 

Howland  Auxiliary,  American  Red 
Cross,  I,  798 

Howland  Springs,  I,  618 

Howland  township,  coextensive  with 
city  of  Warren,  I,  440;  early  settle- 
ment of,  I,  618;  schools  and  churches 
of,   I,  619 

Hoyt,  E.  W.,  I,  440 

Hoyt,  James  H.,  I,  483 

Hubbard,  Dwight,  I,  288 

Hubbard,    E.   S.,    I,    192,   262 

Hubbard,  Nehemiah,  I,  518 

Hubbard,  Paul  H.,  Ill,  483 

Hubbard:  History  of,  I,  518-20; 
founded  on  coal  mines,  I,  520;  in- 
corporation of,  decline  and  revival, 
I,  521;  its  Board  of  Trade,  banks, 
churches,  etc.,  I,  522;  churches  of,  I, 
522;  schools  in,  I,  524;  new  high 
school  building,  I,  525;  public  affairs 
of,  I,  526 

Hubbard  Banking  Company,  I,  522 

Hubbard  Enterprise,  I,  522 

Hubbard  furnace  No.  1,  erected  (1868), 
Andrews  &  Hitchcock,  Hubbard, 
capacity  fifty  tons,  I,  668 

Hubbard  furnace  No.  2,  erected  (1872), 
Andrews  &  Hitchcock,  Hubbard, 
capacity  sixty  tons,  I,  668 

Hubbard  Post  No.  51,  American  Le- 
gion, I,  802 

Hubbard  Rolling  Mill  Company,  I,  521 

Hubbard  township,  Trumbull  county, 
I,  106;  original  owners  of,  I,  518; 
poineer  settlers  and  industries  of,  I, 
519;  civil  organization  and  coal 
mines  of,  I,  520;  schools  in,  I,  524; 
made  into  school  district,  I,  525 

Hubler,  Jesse  S.,  Ill,  638 

Hudnut    Herbert,  I,  304 

Hudson,  I,  59 

Hudson,  David,  I,  58 

Hudson,  J.  F.,  I,  345 

Huett,  H.,  I,  613 

Huge,   C.   F.  W.,  I,  318 

Hughes,  Alfred  R.,  I,  371,  746,  799; 
III,  672 

Hughes,  Catherine,  III,  683 

Hughes,  I.  Lamont,  I,  715,  716 

Hughes,  James  W.,  I,  585 

Hughes,  Joseph,   I,  440 

Hughes,  Robert,  I,  162,  413,  616 

Hughes  Family,  III,  683 

Hufin,  George  W.,  I,  448 

Hulin,  L.  U.,  I,  592 

Hull,  E.  K.,  I,  346 

Hull,  Harold  H.,  I,  344;  II,  267 

Hull,  Harold  S.,  I,  735 

Hull,  Jerome,   I,  545,  590;   II,  380 

Hull,  R.  E.,  I,  345,  346,  350 

Hull,  William,  surrenders  Detroit,  I, 
168 

Hum,  D.   L.,   I,  634 

Humason,  Isaac,  I,  616 

Humason,  Joel,  I,  616 

Humes,  J.  W.,  Ill,  728 


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INDEX 


Hummason,  Jacob,  I,  614 

Humphrey,  Nathan  O,,  I,  459 

Hunsicker,  Alvin,  I,  735 

Hunsicker,   J.    D.,    I,   597 

Hunt,  Charles  R.,  I,  440 

Hunt,  Floyd  C,  II,  83 

Hunt,    Helen,    I,   468 

Hunt,  Henry  M.,  II,  83 

Hunt,   Seymour,   I,  636 

Hunter,  James,   I,  306 

Hunter,  John  S.,  I,  511 

Huntington,  Samuel,  I,  106,  340,  466, 
605 

Huntington,  Samuel,  governor  of  Ohio, 
I,    148 

Huntley,  O.  A.,  I,  649 

Hurd,   B.   H.,   I,  633 

Hurd,  Herman  M.,  I,  710;  III,  648 

Hurd,  L.  J.,  I,  633 

Hurd,  Seth,  I,  630 

Hurlbert,  William  G.,  I,  739;  III,  518 

Hurlbert,  William  G.,  Jr.,  I,  739 

Hurlbert,  W.   H.,   I,  440 

Hurley,  Joseph  P.,  I,  312 

Hussey,   Henry,   I,  537 

Hutchings,  William  A.,  II,  181 

Hutchins,  E.  E.,  I,  262 

Hutchins,    Francis    E.,    I,    192,   341 

Hutchins,  John  I.,  197,  286,  427; 
sketch  of,   I,  458 

Hutchins,  Joseph,  I,  443 

Hutchins,  Samuel,  I,  616 

Hutson,  J.  S.,  I,  447 

Hutton,  H.  L.,  I,  627 

Hutton,  Lewis,  III,  759 

Huxley,  Jared,  I,  208 

Huxley,  Jared   P.,   Ill,  446 

Huxley,  J.  P.,  I,  344 

Hvizdak,  Andrew,  I,  319 

Hyde,  Washington,  II,  230 

Hyde  (Clarence)  Post  No.  278,  Ameri- 
can Legion,  I,  801 

Hyland,  Michael  F.,  Ill,  407 

Ice  racing,  I,   133-135 

Iddings,  Louis  J.,  I,  424 

Iddings,   Louis   M.,   I,  418 

Iddings,  Richard,  I,  121,  411,  442,  470 

Iddings,  S.  C,  I,  439 

Iddings,  Warren,  sketch  of,  I,  460 

Iddings  Park  Auxiliary,  American  Red 
Cross,  I,  798 

Ideal  Grange,  Johnston  township,  I, 
636 

Iden,  O.  R.,  I,  593 

Ilgenfritz,   Carl   A.,   Ill,  491 

Ilgenfritz,   John,   I,   598 

Illustrations:  Council  Rock  in  Lincoln 
Park,  Youngstown,  I,  12;  Original 
Land  Division  in  Ohio,  I,  34;  Map 
of  Northwest  Territory,  I,  43;  Map, 
Western  Reserve,  I,  52;  John 
Young,  Founder  of  Youngstown,  I, 
93;  James  Hillman,  I,  99;  Original 
Town  Plat  of  Youngstown,  I,  104; 
Map  showing  development  of  Ohio 
counties,  1799,  I,  113;  Emigrating  to 


New  Connecticut,  1817-1818,  I,  120; 
Type  of  pioneer  home,  I,  127;  Map 
of  Ohio  counties  in  1802,  I,  165; 
Youngstown  in  1830,  I,  176;  Penn- 
sylvania and  Ohio  canal  scene  at 
Sfpring  Common  Bridge,  I,  183; 
Youngstown  in  1846,  I,  190;  Long 
Youngstown's  leading  hotel,  I,  194; 
West  Federal  Street  scene  in  1869, 
I,  203;  Central  Square  in  1870,  I, 
210;  Wick  Avenue  in  the  70s,  I,  215; 
CTOup  of  buildings  familiar  in 
Youngstown  a  generation  ago,  I, 
224;  Park  Hotel,  about  1895,  I,  229; 
Scene  in  West  Federal  street  during 
"Old  Home  Week,"  in  June,  1908, 
I,  236;  Scenes  in  Youngstown  during 
the  big  flood  of  March,  1913,  I,  240; 
Modern  view  of  Central  Square,  I, 
247;  Wick  Avenue  in  1920,  I,  255; 
Group  of  Youngstown  Public  Build- 
ings, I,  265;  Former  City  Marshals 
of  Youngstown,  I,  277;  "No.  1"  En- 
gine House  as  it  looked  thirty  years 
ago,  I,  280;  The  "Gov.  Tod"  Youngs- 
town's  first  steam  engine,  I,  280; 
Reuben  McMillan,  I,  289;  Original 
Rayen  School  Building,  I,  292; 
Group  of  Youngstown  schools,  I, 
299-  Group  of  Youngstown  churches, 
I,  315;  Dr.  Henry  Manning,  I,  333; 
Youngstown  City  Hospital,  I,  336; 
St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital,  I,  336; 
Upper  Bridge  and  Milton  Dam, 
6y2  miles  long,  Source  of  Youngs- 
town Water  Supply,  I,  367;  Market 
Street  Viaduct,  looking  north,  and 
Central  Square  and  Viaduct,  look- 
ing south,  I,  369;  Views  in  Mill 
Creek  Park,  Youngstown,  I,  372; 
Butler  Art  Institute,  I,  381;  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association 
Building,  I,  386;  Home  for  Aged 
Women,  I,  389;  Views  of  Lake  Gla- 
cier, Mill  Creek  Park,  I,  392; 
Youngstown  Country  Club,  I,  397; 
Youngstown  Country  Club,  I,  399; 
Bridge  and  Falls.  Mill  Creek  Park, 
I,  400;  Views  of  Lincoln  Park,  I, 
401 ;  One  of  the  famous  old  hotels  at 
Warren,  I,  412;  "Castle  William," 
Warren,  I,  415;  Map  of  Warren  in 
1816,  I,  419;  First  Trumbull  county 
courthouse,  I,  421;  General  Emerson 
Opdyke,  Commander  of  "Opdyke's 
Tigers,"  I,  425;  An  old-time  view  in 
Warren,  I,  429;  Second  Trumbull 
county  courthouse,  I,  432;  Views  in 
Modern  Warren,  I,  436:  Dana's 
Musical  Institute,  I,  443;  First  Bap- 
tist Church  in  Warren,  I,  446;  Tod 
Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
I,  450;  St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  Warren,  I,  452;  Trumbull 
County  Courthouse,  I,  457;  Warren 
City  Hospital,  I,  461 ;  Warren  Public 
Library,   I,  464;  Warren  Postoffice, 


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xliii 


I,  468;  Monumental  Park,  Warren, 
I,  474;  National  McKinley  Birth- 
place Memorial,  Niles,  I,  484;  Niles 
High  School,  I,  491;  Emergency 
Hospital  of  the  Youngstown  Sheet 
&  Tube  Company,  at  East  Youngs- 
town, I,  534;  Residence  of  O.  H. 
Sebring.  Sebring,  I,  540;  House  at 
Can  field  erected  entirely  of  black 
walnut,  a  building  with  an  interest- 
ing history,  I,  558;  old  courthouse 
at  Canfield,  I,  564;  Chalker  High 
School  at  Southington,  I,  600;  Sol- 
dier's Monument  at  Southington,  I, 
632;  Johnston  Township  Centralized 
School,  I,  635;  Celebrated  Salt 
Springs  in  Weathersfield  township, 
where  salt  was*  made  as  early  as 
1755,  I,  652;  the  first  blast  furnace 
erected  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  as 
it  appears  today,  I,  659;  Pioneer  Pa- 
vilion, Mill  Creek  Park,  I,  664; 
Ruins  of  Lock  on  Old  Ohio  and 
Pennsylvania  Canal,  I,  679;  Great 
iron  and  steel  plants  of  the  Youngs- 
town district,  I,  698;  Works,  Office 
and  Laboratory  of  the  Youngstown 
Sheet  and  Tube  Company,  I,  703; 
A  Bessemer  Steel  converter  in  ac- 
tion, I,  708;  Drawing  Steel  from 
Open-hearth  furnace,  I,  712;  a  Ma- 
honing Valley  Blast  furnace  plant, 
I,  715;  Charging  an  open-hearth 
furnace  with  molten  iron,  I,  719; 
Blooming  mill  in  a  Mahoning 
Valley  Steel  plant,  I,  721;  installa- 
tion of  blowing  engines  at  a  modern 
blast  furnace  plant,  I,  722'  Bar  Mill 
plant  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  I, 
725;  the  manufacture  of  lap-welded 
tubes  in  a  Mahoning  Valley  Steel 
plant,  I,  728;  plant  of  the  Republic 
Rubber  Company,  Youngstown,  I, 
731;  a  by-product  coke  plant  at  a 
modern  steel  plant,  I,  735;  plant  of 
the  Saxon  China  Company,  Sebring, 
I,  737;  a  Mahoning  Valley  nail  fac- 
tory, I,  741;  plant  of  the  Trumbull 
Steel  Company,  I,  743;  plant  of  the 
General  Fire  Extinguisher  Company, 
Warren,  I,  745;  arrival  of  the  stage 
coach  at  Warren  in  early  days,  I, 
756;  scene  on  the  old  Pennsylvania 
&  Ohio  Canal,  I,  759;  night  scene 
in  the  Mahoning  Valley  in  War 
Time,  I,  795;  Warren  G.  Harding  to 
Joseph  G  Butler,  Jr.,  I,  840 

111   Cittadino    Italo-Americano,    I,   349 

Immaculate  Conception  School,  I,  296 

Immaculate  Conception  (Catholic) 
Parish,  Youngstown,  I,  312 

Immanuel  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church,  Youngstown,  I,  318 

Immanuel  Lutheran  School,  I,  298 

Inberg,  John,  III,  712 

I.  N.  Dawson  (Fire)  Company,  I, 
441 


Independence  Lodge,  No.  90,  Knights 
of  Pythias,  I,  467 

Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
Youngstown,  I,  390 

Indians,  I,  1,  8-19,  47;  claims  of  Six 
Nations  to  Ohio  lands,  I,  45;  last 
council  of,  at  Council  Rock,  I,  94; 
clash  with  white  men,  I,  107-110; 
massacres,  I,  141;  murders  by,  I, 
142;  of  Mahoning  Valley,  I,  143; 
smallpox  frightens  from  Northeast- 
ern Ohio  (1810),  I,  145;  Trails  of, 
through   Mahoning  Valley,   I,  752 

Industrial  depression  of  1913-1915,  I, 
241 

Industrial   Printing  Co.,  I,  347 

Industries:  Early,  of  Niles,  I,  472; 
first  iron  rolled  in  Mahoning  Valley, 
I,  475;  of  Girard,  I,  503;  of  Mahon- 
ing Valley  (1785-1900),  I,  651-96; 
early,  at  Youngstown,  I,  653 

Influenza,   I,  247 

Ingersoll,  William,  I,  572 

Ingersoll,  W.  M.,  I,  314 

Inglis,  Thomas  W.,  Ill,  796 

International  Bible  Students,  Youngs- 
town, I,  330;  Warren,  I,  455;  Niles, 
I,  489 

International  Metal  Lath  Company,  I, 
725 

Introduction,  by  James  A.  Campbell,  V 

Irish,  I,  75 

Irish,  Arthur  L.,  I,  731 

Ironmaking  in  Mahoning  Valley,  I, 
658-66;  famous  furnaces  of  the  Ma- 
honing Valley,  I,  665;  furnaces 
erected  in  Mahoning  Valley  (1845- 
72) ,  I,  667,  668;  Mahoning  Valley 
furnace,  now  (1920)  in  operation,  I, 
668;  two  remaining  puddling  fur- 
naces in  Valley,  I,  669, 

Iron  ore  first  found  in  Mahoning  Val- 
ley, I,  174 

Iron  ores  of  Lake  Superior  supplant 
all  others,  I,  769 

Iron^working  industry,  I,  670-76;  first 
tube  mill  in  Mahoning  Valley,  I, 
674;  Mahoning  Valley  rolling  mills 
in  1880,  I,  675 

Irons,  Joseph  M.,  Ill,  490 

Iron  and  Steel  industries:  stimulus  of, 
by  World  War,  I,  699;  products  of 
Allegheny  County,  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  Youngstown  district  com- 
pared, I,  700;  before  organization  of 
United  States  Steel  Corporation,  I, 
816;  fight  for  protective  tariff,  I, 
817;  The  Old  Rolling  Mills,  I,  820; 
early  blast  furnace  experience,  I, 
827 

Iroquois  Confederacy,  I,  9,  10,  22,  23 

Irvin,  William,  I,  575 

Irwin,  Clint,  I,  637 

Irwin,   Guy,   I,  637 

Irwin,  J.  P.,  I,  562 

Isaly,  Chester  C,  III,  509 

Isenberg,  Benjamin  R.,  II,  135 


Digitized  by 


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xlrv 


INDEX 


Israel,  C.  A.,   I,  594 

Israel  Congregation,  I,  300 

Italian   Methodist    Episcopal   Mission, 

Youngstown,  I,  308 
Ives,  B.  I.,  I,  450 
Izant,  James  R.,  I,  439 
Izant,  Robert  T.,  I,  439,  505;  II,  276 
Izant,  Sadee  K.,  I,  799 
Izon,  Alfred,  I,  310 

Jackson,  Alex,  I,  448 

Jackson,  David,  I,  635 

Jackson,  Charles  J.,  II,  113 

Jackson,  John,  I,  635 

Jackson,  J.  L.,  I,  647 

Jackson,  Sidney  D.  L.,  I,  344,  513;  II, 

216 
Jackson  Brothers  coal  mine,  I,  520 
Jackson  Center,  I,  578 
Jackson   township,    Mahoning  county, 

I,   106,   577-80;   schools   of,    I,   577; 

churches  of,  I,  579 
Jacob,  August  C,  II,  198 
Jacobs,  Abraham  D.,  I,  192,  262 
Jacobs,  D.  R.,  I,  526 
Jacobs,  Isaac  B.,  I,  608 
Jacobs,  J.  S„  Jr.,  I,  796 
Jacobs,  Orrin,  II,  250 
Jacobs,  Nicholas,  I,  319 
Jacobs,  Robert  H.,  II,  247 
Jacobs,  T.  A.,  I,  361 
Jagger,  Daniel,  I,  442 
James,  John  S.,  I,  615 
James  Ward  &  Company,  I,  475 
Jameson,  B.  P.,  I,  443 
Jamieson,  J.  M.,  I,  321 
Jamison,  C.  L.,  I,  732 
Jarvis,  C.  C,  I,  610 
Jean,  Irving,  I,  536 
Jedele,  G.  H.,  Ill,  778 
Jeffers,  W.  II.,  I,  307 
Jefferson  county,  I,  56 
Jefferson    county,    part    of   new    Con- 
necticut, I,  103 
Jeffersonian  Republican  party  popular 

in  the  Western  Reserve,  I,  147 
Jeffries,  William  H.,  I,  773 
Jenkins,  David  G.,  I,  241,  342;  II,  49 
Jenkins,  G.  W.  W.,  I,  533 
Jenkins,  Isaiah  W.,  II,  212 
Jenkins,  William,  I,  363 
Jenkins,  W.  S.,  I,  307 
Jerusalem    Lodge    No.    19,    Free    and 

Accepted  Masons,  Hartford,  I,  623 
Jester,  E.  A.,  I,  487 
Jesuits,  I,  22 

Jewell,  Freeman  A.,  Ill,  758 
Jewell,  M.  T.,  I,  310 
Jewell,    Robert,    I,   621 
Jewell,   Robert  W.,   Ill,  757 
Jewell,  R.  H.,  I,  522 
Jewell,  W.   C,   I,  634 
Jewett,  George  F.t  I,  293 
Jewish  Congregations  in  Youngstown, 

I,  322 
Jewish    Infants    Home,    Columbus,    I, 

388 


Jewish     Social     Service     Bureau     of 

Youngstown,  I,  387 
Jobe,  Joseph  W.,  II,  327 
Johns,  Theodore  O.,  Ill,  558 
Johnson,  Alfred,  II,  37 

Johnson,  Archibald,  I,  117 
ohnson,  Anna,  I,  794 
Johnson,  A.  S.,  I,  353 
Johnson,  George,  I,  330 
Johnson,  Floyd  P.,  II,  144 
Johnson,  Harry  B.,  Ill,  732 
Johnson,  Harry  P.,  I,  470 
Johnson,  John,  I,  568,  569,  612 
Johnson,  J.  A.,  I,  729 
Johnson,  Lena,  I,  627 
Johnson,  Monroe  W.,  I,  344,  350 
Johnson,  Moses  C,  I,  192,  262 
Johnson,  Nils  P.,  II,  35 
Johnson,  Theodore  A.,  I,  343 
Johnson,  William,  I,  506,  539 
Johnson,  William  H.,  II,  118 
Johnson,  Y.  P.,  I,  597 
Johnston     Auxiliary,     American     Red 

Cross,  I,  798 
Johnston    Congregational    Church,    I, 

636 
Johnston,  Edward,  II,  309 
Johnston,  James,  I,  556,  581,  634 
Johnston,  Joseph  R.,  I,  342,  344,  346, 

578 
lohnston,  Thomas  W.,  I,  346,  347 
Johnston  township:  schools  of,  I,  635; 

pioneers  of,  I,  634;  churches  of,  I, 

636 
Johnston  village,  I,  635 
Johnstown,  L.  M.,  I,  732 
Jones,  Alexander  H.,  I,  803 
Jones,  Alva,  I,  580 
Jones,  Asa  W.,  I,  208,  211,  344,  371,  395, 

622,  764 
Jones,  Benjamin,  I,  614 
Jones,  B.  B.,  I,  612,  613 
Jones,  Caleb,  I,  405 
Jones,  David  E.,  I.  506 
Jones,  D.  D.,  I,  608 
Jones,  Edward,  I,  404 
Jones,  Mrs.  Edward,  I,  404 
Jones,  E.  F.,  I,  731 
Jones,  E.  Henry,  II,  365 
Jones,   George   H.,   I,  747;   III,  640 
Jones,  Gomer  J.,  II,  191 
Jones,  Grant  S.,  Ill,  402 
Jones,  Howard  W.,  Ill,  623 
Jones,  Isaac,  I,  621 
Jones,  James  B.,  I,  565,  566;  III,  462 
Jones,  Joseph  E.,  Ill,  647 
Jones,  Lucien  L.,  II,  273 
Jones,  L.  W.,  I,  745 
Jones,  M.  P.,  I,  334 
Tones,   O.   B.,   I,   554 
Jones,  Paul,  I,  732 
Jones,  Prior  T.,  Ill,  461 
Jones,  Rees  B.,  I,  610 
Jones,  Richard,  Jr.,  I,  710;  II,  340 
Jones,   Thomas,    I,   411,   445,   582 
Jones,  Thomas  B.,  Ill,  699 


Digitized  by 


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INDEX 


xlv 


Jones,   Thomas    G.,   I,   413,   414,   445, 

614,  619 
Jones,  Thomas  J.,  I,  162 
Jones,  Thomas,  Jr.,  I,  582 
Jones,  W.   B.,  I,  725 
Joyce,  Kathryn,  I,  802 
Judd,  Asa  G.,  Ill,  786 
Judson    Memorial    Baptist    Church,    I, 

501 
Julius,  Anthony,  I,  537 
Jupp,  Alfred  E.,  II,  159 
Justice,  Isaac  A.,  I,  207,  344,  559 
Justice,  James,  I,  190 

Kacziany,  Geza,  I,  305 

Kaercher,  Henry  F.,  Ill,  428 

Kahn,   Albert,   I,  727 

Kahn,  Gustave,  I,  727;  II,  357 

Kahn,   JuKus,   I,   726,   727;   III,   664 

Kale,  Harry  E.,  I,  582 

Kale,  Lawrence  W.,  II,  76 

Kamenetzky,  Abraham,  II,  245 

Kampana,  I,  349 

Kane,  E.  J.,  I,  365 

Kane,  Mkhael  F.,  Ill,  743 

Kane,  Patrick  J.,  II,  33 

Kane,  Thomas  H.,  I,  727,  746;  II,  259 

Kane,  William  A.,  I,  297 

Kanengeiser,   F.   R.,   I,  513,  729;   III, 

461 
Katzman,  Emmanuel,  II,  69 
Kauffman,  Edith  B.,  I,  794 
Kauffman,  Walter  «.,  I,  674 
Kauffman,  Walter  L.,  I,  398;  II,  236 
Kaufmann,  Edward  S.,  I,  750;  II,  54 
Kaufmann,  Otto,  I,  388,  750;  II,  54 
Kaulback,  Edward  D.,  II,  41 
Kautz,  August  V.,  I,  427 
Kay,  John,  I,  724 
Kay,  Robert  W.,  II,  384 
Kaylor,  Raymond  J.,  I,  784,  789;  II,  319 
Kearney,  Frank  J.,  II,  327 
Kearns,  Francis  A.,  I,  305 
Kee,  Ephraim,  I,  646 
Kee,  Ebenezer,  I,  646 
Keenan,  T.  D.,  I,  594 
Keene,  James  P.,  II,  206 
Keich,  Robert  J.,  Ill,  549 
Keller,   Peter   W.,    I,   266 
Kelley,  William,  I,  803 
Kelley,  Bernard  B.,  I,  508 
Kelloff,  R.  D.,  I,  627 
Kellogg,  D.  D.,  I,  627 
Kelly,  Henry  M.,  I,  721;  II,  36 
Kemble,  Dustin,  death  of,  I,  628 
Kemper,  Jackson,  I,  309 
Kendall,  Simon,  I,  403 
Kendig,  J.  M.,  I,  325,  563 
Keneaiy,  William  J.,  Ill,  721 
JCenilworth,  I,  646 
Kennedy,  A.  W.,  I,  504 
Kennedy,  C.  K,  I,  346 
Kennedy,  C.  H.,  I,  361,  793;  III,  698 
Kennedy,  Daniel  G.,  I,  229 
Kennedy,  D.  R.,  I,  241 
Kennedy,  G.  B.,  I,  467 


Kennedy,  James,  I,  342,  613;  III,  694 
Kennedy,  James   B.,   I,  342,  344,  361, 

398,  714;  II,  253 
Kennedy,  Julian,  I,  692,  701,  711 
Kennedy,  Lloyd  B.,  I,  439;  II,  334 
Kennedy,  Patrick  M.,  I,  363;  II,  198 
Kennedy,  Robert  P.,  I,  427 
Kennedy,  Samuel,  I,  618 
Kennedy,  Wayne,  I,  510 
Kennedy  &  Company,  I,  773 
Kennedy  Oil  Company,  I,  596 
Kenny,   J.    R.,    I,    312 
Kent,  Arad,   I,  710 
Kenvin,  Daniel,  I,  781 
Kenworthy,  R.  A.,  I,  742 
Kepner,  Ruth   D.,  I,  444 
Ker,  Severn  P.,  I,  720;  III,  514 
Kern,  Edwin  A.,  Ill,  465 
Kerr,  D.  W.,  I,  717 
Kerr,  Harry  M.,  I,  498 
Kerr,  Harry  W.,  Ill,  739 
Kerr,   J.   H.,   I,  629 
Kerr,  Thomas,  I,  346 
Kerr,    W.    Manning,    I,    747;    II,   248 
Kerr,  William  J.,  II,  273 
Kessler,  Adolph,  II,  371 
Kibler,  W.  M.,  I,  318 
Kidd,  Edgar  F.,  Ill,  451 
Kieffer,  A.  R.,  I,  449 
Kieling,  Robert  O.,  I,  298 
Kilcawley,  William  H.,  Ill,  732 
Kilpatrick,  William   B.,   II,  167 
Kimberly,  Peter  L.,  I,  707 
Kimberly,  Zenas,  I,  56 
Kimerle,  Martin,  II,  90 
Kimmel,  Austin  K.,  Ill,  736 
Kimmel,   C.  A.,  I,  383 
Kimmel,  C.  E.,  I    498 
Kimmel,  Harry  H.,  I,  571 
Kimmel,  K.  K.,  I,  555 
Kimmel,  M.  A.,  I,  551 ,  555 
Kimmel,  Philip,  I,  103 
Kindig,  Joseph,  I,  591 
King,  Asahel,  I,  403 
King,  Barker,  I,  556 
King,    David,    I,   403 
King,    Ebenezer,  Jr.,   I,   403,  404,  405 
King,  E.  A.,  I,  619 
King.  Fidelia,  I,  403 
King,  James,   I,  642 
King,  John  H.,  I,  341 
King,  Jonas  E.,  II,  188 
King,  Leicester,  I,  286 
King,  L.  W.,  I,  344,  346,  347 
King,  Marcus  A.,  I,  342,  553 
King,  M.  V.  B.,  I,  344 
King,   Richard,  I,  440 
King,  U.  G.,  I,  440 
King,   Walter,   I,   44a 
King,  Gilbert  &  Warner  Company,  I, 

696 
Kingsbury,  James,  I,  54,  55,  58 
Kingsbury,  Mrs.  James,  I,  55 
Kingsley,  John,  I,  625 
Kingsley,  W.  A.,  I,  725 
Kinkead,  M.  P.,  I,  312,  337 
Kinney,  John,  I,  508 


Digitized  by 


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xlvi 


INDEX 


Kinsman,  Frederick,  I,  423,  677,  760 
Kinsman,  Frederick  T.,  I,  424 
Kinsman,  John,   I,  58,   144,   642,  643; 

III,  502 
Kinsman,  John,  Sr.,  I,  437;  death  of, 

438 
Kinsman,  Mary  B.,  Ill,  502 
Kinsman,  Thomas,  III,  502 
Kinsman,  I,  144,  643 
Kinsman     Auxiliary,     American     Red 

Cross,  I,  797 
Kinsman  Academy,  I,  643 
Kinsman  Board  of  Trade,  I,  643 
Kinsman  Grange,  I,  644 
Kinsman  Journal,  I,  643 
Kinsman       township;       schools      and 

churches   of,    I,   643;   early   settlers 

and  industries  of.  I,  642 
Kirby,   E.  A.,   I,   509,  510 
Kirby,  John,   I,  724;   II,  224 
Kirchner,  Frederick  C,  II,  126 
Kirk,  Andrew,  III,  569 
Kirk,  Homer  H.,  Ill,  801 
Kirk,  John,  I,  151,  319 
Kirk,  Joseph  B.,  Ill,  799 
Kirk,  Natalie,  III,  570 
Kirk,  Renwick  M.,  II,  199 
Kirk  &  Rockwell,  I,  663 
Kirkbride,  Benjamin  F.,  Ill,  424 
Kirkbride,  Robert  F.,  Ill,  425 
Kirkbride,  T.  R,  I,  603 
Kirtland,  Charles  N.,  Ill,  601 
Kirtland,  C.  F.,  I,  208 
Kirtland,  Jared,  I,  549 
Kirtland,  Jared  P.,  I,  166,  175,  549 
Kirtland,  Martha  F.,  Ill,  601 
Kirtland,  Turhand,  I,  58,  92,  103,  105, 

174,  309,  351,  437,  466,  494,  547,  548, 

553,   657,   753 
Kirtland,  W.  A.,  I,  593 
Kirtner,  Roy  A.,  I,  803 
Kisler,  M.  J.,  I,  614 
Kittanning  Trail,   I,  752 
Klein  J.  Allen,  III,  535 
Kline,  Charles  H.,  Ill,  420 
Kline,  Vincent,  I,  310 
Kling,  Fred  E.,  II,  151 
Kling,  Herman  F.,  II,  268 
Kling,  Herman  V.,  Ill,  667 
Klingensmith,  Charles  B.,  II,  299 
Klingensmith,  Edward  F.,  Ill,  730 
Klingensmith,  Frank,  III,  730 
Klingensmith,  John,  III,  731 
Klingensmith,  Samuel,  I,  610 
Klingensmith,  Samuel  A.,  Ill,  638 
Klippert,  Frederick,  II,  279 
Klivans,  Isadore,  II,  115 
Klivans,  Jacob,  II,  115 
Klondike,    I,   627 
Klooz,  Edward  E.,  Ill,  586 
Klumpp,  J.   F.,  I,  636 
Klute,  John,  I,  296;  II,  360 
Knapp,  Geraldine,  I,  506 
Knapp,  G.   Ludwig,  II,  385 
Knappenberger,  Moses  T.,  II,  330 
Knauf,  Thomas  L.,  Ill,  474 
Kneeland,  Edward,  I,  721 


Knell,  Louis,  II,  189 

Knesal,   E.   L.,   I,  598 

Knesal,  Mrs.   George  E.,   I,  786 

Knesal,   Morse,   I,  598 

Knight,  R.  L.,  I,  330 

Knight,  William,  I,  341 

Knight,  W.  J.,  I,  577 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  the  Maccabees, 

Youngstown,  I,  391 
'Knights  of  Columbus,  Youngstown,  I, 

384;  World  War  campaign  of,  I,  792 
Knights  of  Columbus  Building,  I,  256 
Knights  of  Pythias  Building,  I,  256 
Knights  of  Pythias,  Youngstown,  I,  391 
Knival,  W.  C,  I,  615 
Knoblock,  H.  P.,  I,  740 
Knoblock,  L.  M.,  I,  740 
Knotts,  George  W.,  II,  37 
Knowles,  G.  W.,  I,  721 
Knowles,  Homer  C,  I,  750;  III,  747 
Knox,  J.  D.,  I,  461 
Knox,  William  L.,  I,  219 
Kolar,  A.,  I,  313 
Konold,  George  F.,  Ill,  674 
Konold,  Matthew  J.,  Ill,  804 
Koonce,  Charles  Jr.,  I,  343,  344 
Kozelek,  Francis,  II,  140 
Kraffmiller,  M.  P.,  I,  746 
Krahl,  R.  E.,  I,  645 
Krajnak,  Thomas,  I,  537 
Kranz,  a,  I,  317,  325 
Kranz,  William  G.,  I,  720 
Kranz,  W.  H.,  I,  743 
Kratz,  W.  J.,  I,  318 
Krauter,  Charles  H.,  Ill,  525 
Krehl,  Frederick,  III,  419 
Krehl,  John  H.,  II,  65 
Krehl,  J.  Charles,  I,  505;  III,  420 
Krehl,  Hauser  &  Company,  I,  503 
Kreitler,  C.  F.,  I,  600 
Kreitler,  W.  E.,  I,  601 
Kreuzwieser,  Philip,  II,  131 
Krichbaum,  George  P.,  II,  372 
Kroeck,  Louis,  II,  156 
Kroeck,  William,  I,  577 
Krolik,  Day,  I,  727 
Krouse,  A.  W.,  I,  749 
Kuhns,  John  W.,  II,  260 
Kulchimsky,  F.,  I,  533 
Kurz,  Rudolf  C,  II,  235 
Kyle,  Charles  W.,  I,  507     ■ 
Kyle,  Joshua,  I,   115 
Kvle,  W.  H.,  I,  319 
Kyser,  William,  I,  444 

LaBelle.  Fred  A.,  I,  355 

Labor  Advocate,  I,  349 

Lacock,  Abner,  I,  178 

Lake,  Benjamin  H.,  I,  192,  275 

Lake  county  created,  I,  149 

Lake  Erie  &  Eastern  Railroad,  I,  256, 
764 

Lake  Superior  Nut  &  Washer  Com- 
pany, I,  674 

Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  Rail- 
road, I,  673 

Lalley,  Walter  R.,  Ill,  748 


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INDEX 


xlvii 


Lamb,  Venice  J.,  II,  39 

Lamb,  William  G.,  Ill,  578 

Lamphear,  J.  W.,  I,  319,  451,  563 

Lancaster,  A.  A.,  I,  325 

Lance,  Calvin  C,  II,  37 

Land  Grants:  early,  I,  24-29;  in  dis- 
pute northwest  of  the  Ohio  River,  I, 
29;  original,  in  Ohio,  I,  34 

Landfear,  F.  C,  I,  636,  645 

Lane,  Asa,  I,  628 

Lane,  Benjamin  F.,  Ill,  788 

Lane,  Henry,  Sr.,  I,  404,  440 

Lane,  Henry,-  Jr.,  I,  405,  406,  676 

Lane,  Isaac,  I,  628 

Lane,  John,  I,  109,  404,  609 

Lane,  Sabina,  I,  628 

Lane,  Samuel,  I,  487 

Lane,  William  F.,  II,  182 

Lansingville,  I,  215 

Lansingville  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  I,  322 

La n son,  Clara,  I,  583 

La  Nuova  Italia,  I,  349 

Lamed,  R.  D.,  I,  627 

La  Salle,  I,  22,  88 

Lash,  John  F.,  I,  517 

Lasley,  J.  L.,  I,  444 

Last  charcoal  furnace  in  Mahoning 
Valley,  I,  663 

Last  distillery  in  Mahoning  county,  I, 
596 

Lathrop,  Charles  H.,  I,  288 

Lathrop,  Daniel,  I,  643 

Latimer,  I,  635 

Lattau,  Edward  J.,  Ill,  748 

Law,  Albert  W.,  Ill,  737 

Law,  William,  I,  547,  548 

Lawrence,  Charles  H.,  Ill,  471 

Lawrence,  Warren  A.,  II,  289 

Lawrence,  William,  I,  426 

Lawrence  Oil  Company,  I,  596,  773 

Lawrence  Street  Baptist  Church. (see 
Wilson  Avenue  Baptist  Church), 
Youngstown,  I,  316 

Lawthers,  William  J.,  I,  268 

Lawton,  Amos  C,  III,  776 

Lawton,  Andrew,  II,  91 

Lawton,  Mrs.  Henry  P.,  I,  796 

Lawton,  Mary  P.,  II,  91 

Lawyers,  (See  also  Bench  and  Bar)  I, 
341 

Lazarus,  L.  M.,  I,  467 

Lea,  A.  O.,  I,  460 

Lea,  Arden  O.,  Ill,  407 

Lea,  Marion  D.,  Ill,  406 

Leach,  B.  F.,  I,  508 

Lear,  B.  Franklin,  III,  456 

Leavitt,  Enoch,  I,  411,  469;  sketch  of, 
I,  460 

Leavitt,  John,  I,  58.  390,  404,  405,  410, 
411,  466;  Warrens  first  regular  tav- 
ern keeper,  I,  412 

Leavitt,  John  Jr.,  I,  403,  469 

Leavitt,  Samuel,  I,  442,  469 

Leavittsburg,  I,  469,  470 

Lebowitz,  Mrs.  H.,  I.  387 

Lee,  Bernard  F.,  I,  551,  III,  520 


Lee,  Charles  F.,  II,  81 

Lee,  Grace,  III,  520 

Lee,  John,  I,  38 

Lee,  J.  F.,  I,  455 

Lee,  Lief,  II,  67 

Lee  Academy,  I,  552 

Leedy,  W.  Edgar,  I,  352 

Leedy,  William  E.,  II,  83 

Leeming,  W.  J.,  I,  312;  death  of,  312 

Leet,  Sherman  E.,  II,  271 

Leffingwell,  Jabez,  I,  470 

Leffingwell,  Phineas,  I,  405,  470 

Leffingwell,  R.  D.,  I,  440 

Legal       Profession:       In       Mahoning 

County,  I,  340-344 
Leggett,  Mortimer  D.,  I,  342,  424,  443, 

459,  553 
Lehman,  H.  A.,  I,  545 
Lehnerd,  A.  N.  P.,  I,  385 
Leighninger,  Jesse  H.,  II,  48 
Leish,  Frank,  III,  658 
Leman  Ferry,  I,  648 
Lenney,  A.  B.,  I,  629 
Leonard,  William  R.,  I,  363;  II,  188 
LePage,  L,  W.,  I,  451 
Leslie,  Henry  G.,  I,  341,  344 
Leslie,  John  A.,  I,  555 
Leslie,  Jonathan,  I,  447 
Leslie,  J.  Edd,  I,  350 
Lett,  Glenn  W.,  Ill,  517 
Levmson,  Harry,  III,  682 
Lewis,  C.  H.,  I,  747 
Lewis,  John,  I,  665,  685 
Lewis,  John  H.,  I,  342 
Lewis,  Peleg,  I,  613 
Lewis,  Robert  E.,  II,  158 
Ley  man,  Levi  A.,  I,  592 
Liberty    Associate    Presbyterian    Con- 
gregation, I,  607 
Liberty  Bond  campaigns  in  Mahoning 

County,  I,  793 
Liberty  Herald,  I,  463 
Liberty    Rural     United     Presbyterian 

Church,  I,  607 
Liberty  Theatre  Building,  I,  256 
Liberty  township,  Trumbull  county,  I, 

106,  502,  605-608;  schools  of,  I,  509, 

607;  churches  of,  I,  606 
Liberty   Township   Associate   Church. 

I,  515 
Liberty  Steel  Company,  I,  718 
Liberty   United   Presbyterian    Church, 

I,  607 
Liberty  &  Vienna  Railroad,  I,  761 
Liddle,  J.  F.,  I,  647 
Liddle,  Mark  H.,  I,  567;  II,  88 
Liebman,  Alfred,  I,  402;  III,  485 
Life  Underwriters'  Association,  I,  352 
Life  Underwriters  of  Youngstown,  I, 

352 
Liggett,  William,  II,  215 
Lillie,  Francis  M.,  II,  358 
Limoges  China  Company,  I,  736 
Limoges  China  plant,  I,  540 
Lincoln  Farmers'  Grange,  I,  598 
Lincoln  Park,  Youngstown,  I,  93,  400 
Lindeman,  A.  W.,  I,  298 


Digitized  by 


Google 


xlviii 


INDEX 


Lindsay,  Clarence  D.,  Ill,  608 

Lindsay,  Harrison  W.,  Ill,  606 

Lindsay,  John  F.,  Ill,  601 

Linseman  (A.  G.),  death  of,  I,  298 

Linville,  J.  R.,  I,  642 

Litman,  John  L.,  I,  615 

Little,  Adam,  I,  587 

Little  Charles  J.,  Ill,  627 

Little,  Jessie  B.,  I,  641 

Little  R.  A.,  I,  642 

Little,  William,  I,  565 

Little  Mill,  I,  672 

Livingston,   Charles,   III,  464 

Livingstone,  D.,  I,  598 

Lloyd,  James  M.,  II,  337 

Lloyd,  J.  H.,  I,  316,  508 

Lloyd,  William,  I,  624,  626 

Lobaugh,  Ben,  I,  645 

Lobinger,  Martin,  II,  150 

Locke,  William  N.,  II,  286 

Logan,  John  A.,  I,  513,  743,  779;  III, 
528 

Logan,  John  A.  Jr.,  I,  730,  733;  III, 
529 

Logan,  Mrs.  John  A.  Jr.,  I,  794 

Logan,  Mary,  I,  794 

Logan,  Mary  E.,  I,  396 

Logan,  Mary  S.,  I,  730 

Logan,   M.   S.t  I,  513 

Logan,  Mathew,  I,  208,  267,  268;  II, 
249 

Logan  Rifles  (See  Company  H,  5th 
Regt.,  O.  N.  G.),  I,  227,  779 

Log  rollings,  I,  128 

Logue,  James  W.,  I,  321 

Loller,  William  H.,  I,  282 

Lomax,  William  J.,  I,  517;  II,  103 

Long,  Joseph  W.,  Ill,  569 

Long,   R.   H.,  I,  454 

Longnecker,  John  E.,  II,  36 

Longstreet,  L.  L.,  I,  536 

Loomrs,  Andrew  W.,  I,  455 

Loomis,  Luther,  I,  403 

Lord,  Samuel  P.,  I,  612 

Lord,  Samuel  P.,  Jr.,  I,  612 

Lordstown  Auxiliary,  American  Red 
Cross,  I,  798 

Lordstown  Center,  I,  613 

Lordstown  Educational  Society,  I,  613 

Lordstown  township,  Trumbull  county, 
I,  49,  613;  late  settlement  and  organ- 
ization of,  I,  612;  schools  and 
churches  of,  I,  613 

Lotozky,  Paul,  I,  326 

Lott,  Lewis  P.,  I,  466 

Loughridge,  James  M.,  I,  192,  262 

Loughridge,  John,  I,  151,  192,  262 

Louisiana  Purchase,  I,  23 

Loutzenhiser,  Jacob,  I,  622 
•  Love,    Elizabeth  J.,   Ill,  443 

Love,   Hugh  A.,  Ill,  442 

Love,  Thomas,  I,  548 

Love,  Wallace,  I,  647 

Love,  William,   I,  554 

Lovelace,  George,  I,  406,  676 

Ldveland,   Amos,    I,   567 

Loveland,  David,  I,  661 


Loveless,  Charles  B.,  II,  270 
Loveless,  William  H.,  Ill,  557 
Lowellville:  history  of,  I,  499,  511-17; 

limestone      industry      at,      I,      513; 

churches  of,  I,  514;  schools  of,  I,  516; 

incorporated  as  village,  I,  517 
Lowellville  Furnace,  I,  512 
Lowellville      Savings      and      Banking 

Company,  I,  514 
Lowendorf,  Sol,  I,  481 
Lower  dam,  Warren,  built,  I,  406 
Lower  Union  Carnegie  Steel  Company 

(Cartwright-McCurdy   Mill),   I,  715 
Lower  Union  Mill,  I,  673 
Lowery,  Samuel,  I,  616 
Low   Grade   Railroad,   I,  763 
Loyal     Colored    Auxiliary,    American 

Red  Cross,  I,  798 
Luce,  Agnes  M.,  Ill,  604 
Ludt,  John,  II,  368 
Lumbard,  Victor  G.,  I,  734,  III,  722 
Lutheran  Churches  of  Warren,  I,  453 
Lutheran  and  Reformed  Congregation, 

Newton  Falls,  I,  612 
Lutherans,  I,  73 
Luse,  Robert  W.,  I,  615 
Lyden,  Patrick  A.,  Ill,  482 
Lynch,  John,  I,  551 
Lynn,  E.  R.,  I,  565 
Lynn,  F.  P.,  I,  566 
Lynn,  Wallace  A.,  I,  440;  II,  241 
Lyon,  Arthur  M.,  Ill,  563 
Lyon,  Harry  O.,  II,   105 
Lyon,  John  H.  C,  III,  684 
Lyon,  J.  D.,  I,  720,  732 
Lyon  Plat,  I,  497,  499 
Lyon   Plat   Congregational   Church,  I, 

501 
Lytle,  Henry  G.,  II,  336 
Lytic,  John,  I,  322 
Lytle,  Josephine,  I,  465 
Lytle,  William,  I,  19 

Maag,  William  F.,  I,  348,  349,  350,  781; 
III,  694 

Maatala,  Ever,  I,  454 

Mace,  Arthur  E.,  Ill,  665 

MacCurdy,  John,  I,  332,  334,  335 

Mack,  R  W.,  I,  600 

Mackey,  Ira  B.,  Ill,  448 

Mackey,  James,  I,  174,  368,  765 

Mackey,  John  A.,  Ill,  622 

Mackey,. Walter  S.,  Ill,  626 

Mackintosh,  J.  J.,  I,  597 

MacPhail,  James,  I,  508 

MacQueen,  Walter  F.,  I,  481,  492;  III, 
707 

Madison  township,  Lake  county,  I,  42, 
53 

Madley,  Violet,  I,  491 

Maguire,  John  H.,  Ill,  402 

Magyar  Evangelical  Reformed  Church, 
I,  305 

Mahnensmith,  Peter,  I,  613,  632 

Mahoning  Academy,  Canfield,  I,  560 

Mahoning  Avenue  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  Youngstown,  I,  308 


Digitized  by 


Google 


INDEX 


xlix 


Mahoning  block  coal,  as  blast  furnace 
fuel,  I,  66 

Mahoniner  Chapter,  American  Red 
Cross  in  World  War,  I,  784-89 

Mahoning  Chapter,  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution,  I,  394 

Mahoning  Coal  Company,  I,  526 

Mahoning  Coal  Company  (1875):  daily 
coal  mining  capacity  800  tons,  I,  770 

Mahoning  Company  (coal  oil  pro- 
ducer), I,  772 

Mahoning  Coal  Railroad,  I,  762 

Mahoning  county,  I,  49,  59;  civil  town- 
ship government  formed,  I,  116;  or- 
ganized, 149;  created,  I,  189;  first 
officers  of,  I,  190;  seat  of  justice 
moves  from  Canfield  to  Youngstown, 
I,  208;  records  transferred  from  Can- 
field  to  Youngstown  (1876),  I,  211; 
only  execution  in,  I,  212;  new  county 
buildings  projected,  I,  234;  record  of 
its  "wet  and  dry"  votes,  I,  254;  new 
buildings  for,  completed,  I,  255; 
courts:  first  session  in  Mahoning 
county,  I,  341;  created,  I,  422;  gen- 
eral description  of,  I,  544;  school 
system  of,  I,  545;  created  and  Can- 
field  made  county  seat,  I,  565 

Mahoning  County:  oil  field  of,  I,  773; 
draft  boards  in  World  War,  I,  781 

Mahoning  County  Agricultural  Soci- 
ety, I,  565 

Mahoning  County  Bank,  I,  357 

Mahoning  County  Bar  Association,  I, 
343 

Mahoning  County  Fair,  I,  565 

Mahoning  County  Farm  Bureau,  I, 
545 

Mahoning  County  Health  District,  I, 
546 

Mahoning  County  Law  Library  Asso- 
ciation,  I,  343 

Mahoning  County  Medical  Society,  I, 
377 

Mahoning  County  News,  I,  463,  566 

Mahoning  County  Normal  School,  I, 
561 

Mahoning  County  Optometric  Society, 
I.  353 

Mahoning  County  Pomona  Grange,  I, 
544 

Mahoning  County  War  Chest,  appro- 
priations made  from,  I,  790 

Mahoning  Courier,  I,  349 

Mahoning  Dispatch,  I,  566 

Mahoning  Division  of  the  Erie  Rail- 
road, I,  762 

Mahoning  Golf  Club,  I,  396 

Mahoning  Improvement  Company,  I, 
580 

Mahoning  Index,  I,  566 

Mahoning  Institute  of  Art,  I,  379,  380 

Mahoning  Iron  Company,  I,  512 

Mahoning  Lodge,  No.  29,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  I,  466 

Mahoning  Lodge  No.  52,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  I,  391 


Mahoning  National  Bank,  I,  360 

Mahoning  Oil  Company,  I,  596,  773 

Mahoning  Paint  &  Oil  Co.,  Ill,  634 

Mahoning  Park,  I,  470 

Mahoning  Presbytery  created,  I,  304 

Mahoning  Register,  I,  345 

Mahoning  Republican  Sentinel,  I,  345 

Mahoning  River,  I,  1 ;  declared  nav- 
igable stream,  I,  125;  ice  racing  on, 
I,  133;  in  Youngstown,  I,  259 

Mahoning  Savings  and  Trust  Com- 
pany, I,  360 

Mahoning  Sentinel,  I,  345 

Mahoning  United  Presbyterian  Church 
Lowellville,  I,  515 

Mahoning  Valley:  physical  features  of, 
I,  1;  Scotch-Irish  of,  I,  60;  Church 
of  England  Men,  I,  68;  the  Germans 
of,  I,  70;  the  Irish  of,  I,  75,  77;  the 
Welsh  of,  I,  78;  Scotch  and  Hebrew 
of,  I,  80;  foreign  born  of,  I,  82; 
statistics  of  foreign-born,  I,  85; 
American-born  of,  I,  86;  early  trav- 
elers through,  I,  88;  temporary  so- 
journers in,  I,  89;  occupied  by  Black- 
snake  Indians,  I,  95;  first  mijl  built 
at  Mill  Creek  Falls  by  Abram  and 
Isaac  Powers,  I,  102;  Youngstown 
civil  and  political  center  of,  I,  117; 
Youngstown  first  settlement  in,  I, 
122;  pioneer  industries  of,  I,  136; 
Indians  of,  I,  143;  women  prisoners 
of,  I,  154-157;  diversion  of  immigra- 
tion to,  I,  159;  first  blast  furnaces 
of,  I,  174;  operation  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Ohio  canal  through,  I,  183; 
pioneer  railroad  in,  I,  192;  consoli- 
dation of  its  iron  and  steelplants,  I, 
230;  boom  and  collapse  of  1907, 1, 235; 
strikes  of  September  and  November, 
1919,  in,  I,  249,  250,  251;  transporta- 
tion facilities  in,  I,  368-373;  inti- 
mately identified  with  William  Mc- 
Kinley,  I,  482;  industries  of  1755- 
1900,  I,  651-96;  last  charcoal  fur- 
nace in,  I,  663;  famous  furnaces  of, 
1,  665;  furnaces  erected  in  (1845- 
72),  I,  667,  668;  present  active  fur- 
naces of,  I.  668;  its  two  remaining 
puddling  furnaces,  I,  669;  first 
tube  mill  in,  I,  674;  its  rolling  mills 
in  1880,  I,  675;  first  steam  saw  and 
grist  mill,  I,  678;  first  rolling  mill 
west  of  Pittsburgh,  at  Niles,  I,  681; 
first  brick  furnace  in,  I,  687;  iron 
manufacturers  and  products  in  1889, 
I,  689;  steel  industries  of,  I,  690-96; 
iron  and  steel  products  of  (1892- 
1918),  I,  691;  stimulus  of  its  iron 
and  steel  industries  by  the  World 
War,  I,  699;  Indian  trails  through, 
I,  752;  early  transportation  through, 
I,  753*  railroads  of,  I,  760;  -electric 
lines  in,  I,  765;  transportation  by 
automobile  and  aeroplane,  I,  766; 
coal  of,  I,  769;  status  of  coal  mines 
in    1875,    I,   770;   coal   mining   in,   a 


Digitized  by 


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1 


INDEX 


past  industry,  I,  771;  discovery  of 
coal  oil  in,  I,  772;  natural  gas  in,  I, 
773,  774;  its  participation  in  World 
War,  I,  775-809 

Mahoning  Valley  Chiropractors  Asso- 
ciation, I,  353 

Mahoning  Valley  Electric  Railway 
Company,  I,  369,  765 

Mahoning  Valley  Furnace,  I,  662 

Mahoning  Valley  Historical  Society,  I, 
377,  395 

Mahoning  Valley  Iron  Company.  I, 
475,  673,  675,  682,  707 

Mahoning  Valley  Iron  Manufacturers 
Association,  I,  689,  690 

Mahoning  Valley  Medical  Society,  I, 
334 

Mahoning  Valley  Railway  Company, 
1,370 

Mahoning  Valley  Steel  Company,  I, 
479.  736 

Mahoning  Valley  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany, I,  370 

Mahoning  Valley  Water  Company,  I, 

Mahoning  Valley  Water  Company 
plant  and  system  of  East  Youngs- 
town,  I,  537 

Mahoning  War  Chest  fund,  I,  787, 
789,  790,  791,  792;  sources  of  supply, 

I,  792 

Mahoning  and  Shenango  Fair  Associa- 
tion, I,  396 

Mahoning  and  Shenango  Railway  and 
Light  Company,  I,  370,  766 

Mails,  transportation  of,  I,  753 

Maitland,  A.  S.,  I,  750 

Major  Logan  Camp  No.  26,  United 
Spanish  War  Veterans,  I,  394 

Mafine,  William  A.,  I,  343,  378,  384; 

II.  31 

Malmsberry,  John  S.,  Ill,  550 
Maloney,  John  F.,  I,  524;  II,  258 
Maloney,  Michael  J.,  Ill,  503 
Maloney,   Simon  J.,   II,  303 
Maltby,  John,  I,  276 
Manchester,  Curtis  A.,  Ill,  703 
Manchester,  Hugh  A.,  Ill,  702,  746 
Manchester,  Josiah  I.,  Ill,  480 
Manchester,  J.  I.,  I,  565 
Manchester,  Leroy  A.,  I,  343,  355,  382, 

733;  III,  703 
Manchester,  Robert  A.,  Ill,  446 
Mango,  Samuel  P.,  Ill,  711 
Manley,   Orville  T.,   Ill,  500 
Mann,  Samuel,  I,  174 
Manning,  Henry,  I,  181,  182,  188,  284, 

285,  331,  358,  422,  671;  III,  807 
Manning,  Jabez  P.,  I,  176,  284,  287 
Manning,  John,   I,  266 
Manning,  William  E.,  I,  384,  396,  706; 

II,  326 
Manning,  W.  J.,  I,  312 
Mannix,  Ambrose  B.,  II,  283 
Mansell,  Walter,  I,  451 
Mansell,  Walter  A.,  I,  801 
Manternach,  J.  C,  I,  746 


March,  Charles  R.,  II,  295 

March,  F.  C,  I,  439     ' 

March,   Samuel   Q.,  I,   521;   death   of, 

I,  522;  II,  29 
March,  William  G.,  I,  562 
Margerum,  George  J.,  I,  358 
Maria  furnace,  I,  47$,  475,  662,  663,  665, 

681,  682 
Marietta,  I,  32 
Mariner,  Asa,  I,  568 
Marion   Heights   Methodist   Episcopal 

Church,  Coitsville,  I,  569 
Marion   Heights  Methodist   Episcopal 

Church,  Youngstown,  I,  307 
Market  Street  viaduct,  Youngstown,  I, 

230 
Markstrom,  Fred  W.,  Ill,  612 
Marowitz,  Max  J.,  I,  803 
Marquard,  Fred  H.,  Ill,  670 
Marsh,  John  L.,  Ill,  527 
Marsh,  W.  G.,  I,  559 
Marshall,  H.  C,  I,  711 
Marshall,  Jefferson  N.,  II,  21 
Marshall,  John,  I,  57 
Marshall,  Van  Emon,  III,  631 
Marshall,  William  H.,  II,  212 
Marshall,  William  W.,  II,  354 
Marshals,  village  and  city,  I,  275-276 
Martin,  Charles  L.,  I,  312 
Martin,  Charles  W.,  I,  574 
Martin,  George  B.,  I,  710 
Martin,  George  F.,  I;  312 
Martin,  George  M.,  I,  383 
Martin,  John,  I,  638;  III,  534 
Martin,  Thomas,  I,  638 
Martin,  W.  P.,  I,  594 
Martin    Luther    Church,   Youngstown, 

I,  317 
Martin  Luther  School,  I,  297 
Marvin,  George  U.,  I,  610 
Marvin,  James,  I,  444 
Marvin,  Loraine,  I,  287 
Mary  furnace,  I,  720,  723  " 
Masi,  Gabriel,  I,  537 
Mason,  Ambrose,  I,  474;  II,  260 
Mason,  Charles  S.,  I,  605 
Mason,  Frank  H.,  II,  324 
Mason,  Henry  H.,  I,  492,  831 
Mason,  Roswell  M.,  I,  613 
Mason,  Russell  E.,  II,  315 
Mason,  William  B.,  II,  260 
Mason  Block,  I,  475 
Masonic  Temple,  I,  256 
Masons  of   Youngstown,   I,  389,  390; 

Warren,  I,  465 
Massasaugas,  or  "blacksnake"  Indians 

(see  also  Mingoes)  I,  11 
Masters,  G.  W.,  I,  439 
Masters,  John,  II,  318 
Master,  John  W.,  I,  439,  505 
Mastroianni,   Frank,   II,   369 
Masury,  I,  615 
Mather,  S.  L.,  I,  718 
Mather,  W.  G.,  I,  718 
Mathers,  Samuel,  Jr.,  I,  584 
Mathews,  Earl,  I,  608 
Mathews,  George,  I,  537 


Digitized  by 


Google 


INDEX 


Mathews,  Isaac  G.f  II,  390 

Mathias,  C.  F.f  I,  570 

Mattes,  Frank,  I,  610 

Matthews,  Bruce,  I,  362 

Matthews,   Bruce  S.,  II,  331 

Matthews,  Charles  W.,  II,  331 

Matthews,  F.  H.,  t,  672 

Matthews,  Isaac,  I,  642 

Matthews,  James,  I,  117,  60S 

Matthews,  James  A.,  I,  449 

Matthews,  John,  I,  642 

Matthews,  Stanley,  I,  196 

Matthews,  William  S.,  I,  335;  II,  337 

Matthewson,  Charles  H.,  I,  674 

Matzenbaugh,  T.  A.,  I,  591 

Mauer,  J.  Frederick,  I,  501 

Maurer,  Perry  M.,  I,  604 

Maurice,  W.  J.,  I,  517,  555 

Mauser,  Louis  K.,  Ill,  619 

Max,  George,  I,  440 

Max,  George  J.,  II,  269 

Maxwell,   Samuel,   I,  310 

May,  John,  I,  144 

May,  J.  M.,  I,  619 

Mayer,  Elias,  I,  746 

Mayer,  Frederick,  I,  325 

Mayers,  A.  J.,  I,  522 

Mayers,  Benjamin,  I,  520 

Mayers,  T.  J.,  I,  546,  552 

Mayhew,  Meryle  C,  III,  412 

Maynard,  F.  H.,  I,  745 

Mayors  of  Youngstown,  1850-1920,  I, 

266-273 
McAdoo,  John  S.,  I,  649 
McAleer,  James  R.,  I,  781 
McBerty,    Z.    A.,    I,   746 
McBerty  &  McCormick,  I,  677 
McBride,  Earl  M.,  I,  352;  III,  768 
McBride,  J.  D.,  I,  440 
McBride,  Raymond  A.,  I,  498 
McBride,  Roscoe  C,  II,  333 
McCaffrey,  Patrick,  I,  312 
McCalmont,  D.  T.,  I,  542 
McCambridge,  John  D.,  Ill,  615 
McCamon,  Samuel  S.,  I,  594 
McCarthy,  John  J.,  I,  537 
McCartney,  A.  J.,  I,  219,  263 
McCartney,  Harmon  T.,  I,  402 
McCartney,  James,  III,  618 
McCartney,  Joseph  G.,  Ill,  618 
McCartney,  William  M.,  II,  317 
McCaskey,  Melvin  E.,  II,  119 
McCaughtry,  Charles  A.,  II,  185 
McCaufey,   H.  C,  I,  322 
McCay,    James    (or    McCoy),    I,    105, 

769 
McClaskey,  Joseph  V.,  II,  129 
McCleary,   Elmer  T.,   II,  264 
McClain,  D.  H.,  I,  799 
McCleery,  Abner  H.,  Ill,  443 
McCleery,  Alexander,  I,  607 
McCleery,  Samuel,  III,  443 
McCleery  Family,  III,  443 
McCleland,  W.  A.,  I,  740 
McClellan,  William,  I,  605 
McClintock,  Goldie,  I,  498 
McCluer,  Frank  D.,  II,  280 
McClure,  Charles  W.,  I,  725;  III,  749 


McClure,  Edward  W.,  I,  610;  III,  727 

McClure,  Samuel  G.,  I,  347;  II,  294 

McClure,  William  B.,  Ill,  570 

McClurg,    I.    H.,   I,   574 

McClurg,  I,  625 

McCollum,  Harvey,  I,  575 

McCollum,  John,  sketch  of,  I,  575 

McCombs,  John  H.,  death  of,  I,  438 

McCombs,  Robert,  I,  554 

McCombs,  William,  I,  555,  562,  629 

McConnell,  Carter  C,  I,  481;  II,  325 

McConnell,  D.  R.,  I,  600 

McConnell,  John,  I,  549 

McConnell,  Roy  B.,  Ill,  652 

McConnell,  R.  M.,  I,  621 

McCook.  Francis  R.,  I,  804 

McCorkle,  Archie  A.,  I,  614;  III,  761 

McCorkle,  R.  J.,  I,  481 

McCorkle,  Robert  L.,  I,  800-11,  231 

McCoy,  Harry  P.,  I,  364,  570;  II,  126 

McCord  &  Kinney,  I,  754 

McCreary,  William,  I,  722 

McCreary,  W.  H.,  I,  339 

McCreary  &  Bell,  I,  512 

McCrone,  Henry  F.,  II,  210 

McCullough,  Alfred,   II,   177 

McCune,  John   H.,  I,  720 

McCurley,  B.  G.,  I,  601 

McCurdy,  Donald,  I,  440 

McCurdy,  Robert,  I,  202,  346,  376; 
death  of,  I,  358 

McCurdy,  Sidney  M.,  I,  535;  III,  491 

McCurdy,  William  H.,  I,  672 

McCurdy  Coal  Company  (1875):  daily 
coal  mining  capacity  300  tons,  I,  770 

McDermott,  John  L.,  II,  322 

McDonald,  Edmund,  Jr.,  Ill,  507 

McDonald,  J.  A.,  I,  322,  714 

McDonald,  L.  N.,  I,  715 

McDonald,  L.  P.,  I.  449 

McDonald,  Thomas,  T.  692,  714 

McDonald,  Thomas  C,  III,  744 

McDonald,  I,  604 

McDonald  Mills,  I,  716 

McDonald  Mills,  Carnegie  Steel  Com- 
pany, I,  504 

McDonough,  Michael,  death  of,  I,  282 

McDowell,  R.  J.,  I,  624 

McDowell,  William  W.,  I,  276;  II,  381 

McElevey,  Paul  H.,  I,  359,  360,  402, 
735;  III,  680 

McElevey,  Sarah,  I,  376 

McElrath,  D.  S.,  I,  624 

McEvey,  Patrick,   I,  817 

McEwen,  James,  I,  182,  192,  671 

McEwen,  James  H.,  Ill,  501 

McEwen,  J.  Harris,  I,  378 

McEwen,  J.  H.,  I,  360 

McFadden,  John,  I,  275 

McFadden,  W.  S.,  I,  448 

McFarlin,  James  J.,  I,  504,  505;  II, 
190 

McFarlin,  Margery,  I,  568 

McFarland,  Samuel,  I,  113 

McFate,  William  M.,  I,  718;  III,  469 

McFetridge,  John,  I,  520 

McGann,  F.,  I,  311 


Digitized  by 


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lii 


INDEX 


McGarry,  John  E.,  I,  536 
McGeehon,  Thomas,  I,  570 
McGibbon,  J.  T.,  I,  621 
McGovern,  Francis,  I,  312 
McGowan,  John  F.,  I,  350 
McGowan,  M.  M.,  I,  480 
McGuffey,  Alexander,  I,  568 
McGuffey,  William,  I,  570;  author  of 

school  books,  I,  568 
McGuigan,  George,  If  347 
Mcintosh,  H.  L.,  I,  591 
McKay,  F.  M.,  I,  615 
McKay,  George  G.,  Ill,  748 
McKay,  J.  R.,  I,  363 
McKay,  James  M.,  I,  363,  545;  III,  771 
McKay,  Russell,  I,  352 
McKay,  Walter  W.,  I,  461,  782;  III, 

512 
McKay,  William,  I,  635 
McKee,  George,  I,  202,  267;  first  city. 

mayor,  I,  262 
McKee,  Mrs.  Ella,  I,  468 
McKee,   Sylvester   E.,   II,  75 
McKee,  S.  T.,  I,  330 
McKeever,  Alexander,  I,  554 
McKelvey,   E.   L.,  I,  355 
McKelvey,  Elmer  E.,  II,  187 
McKelvey,  Emery  L.,  II,  139 
McKelvey,  George  M.,  I,  337,  347,  361, 

627;   II,   138 
McKelvey,  Lucius  B.,  II,  139 
McKelvey,  G.  M.  Company,  I,  256 
McKeown,  Robert  B.,  Ill,  778 
McKeown,   William   W.,   I,   346;   III, 

682 
McKinley,   William,    I,    196,  225,  481, 

552,  817,  827,  828,  831,  833;  a  native 

of   Niles,   I,  478;  house  of  birth,   I, 

483;  heroic  marble  statue  of,  I,  484; 

campaigns  of  1896  and  1900,  I,  838, 

847;  assassination  of,   I,  838;   II,   8 
McKinley,  William,  Sr.,  I,  475 
McKinley  Birthplace  Memorial,  Niles, 

I,  481-86 
McKinley  failure,  I,  828 
McKinley    Memorial    Building,    Niles, 

I,  480 
McKinley  museum,  I,  485 
McKinley  Post,  No.  76,  American  Le- 
gion, I,  802 
McKinley  Savings  and  Loan  Company: 

Bank    on    site    of    Wm.    McKinley's 

birthplace.  I,  481 
McKinley  Tin  Plate  Mill,  I,  684 
McKinnie,  Alexander,  I,  274 
McKinney,  Charles  C,  III,  592 
McLain,  F.  D.,  I,  460 
McLain,  Jane    (Mrs.    Daniel   Sheehy), 

I,  101 
McLain,  John  G.,  I,  185,  463 
McLain,  Thomas  J.,  I,  458,  463 
McLain,  W.  H.,  I,  488 
McLaren,  I.,  I,  619 
McLaughlin,  A.  O.,  I,  627 
McLean,  M.  W-,  I,  744 
McLloyd,  Louise,  I  491 


McMahan,  James,  I,  449,  636;  first  na- 
tive white  child  of  Boardman  Town- 
ship I,  572 

McMahan,  John,  I,  571 

McMahon,  John,  I,  170 

McMahon,  Joseph,  I,  107,  110,  403; 
kills  Captain  George,  I,  108;  acquit- 
ted for  killing  Captain  George,  I, 
111;  sketch  of,  I,  112;  shoots  Cap- 
tain George  (Indian),  I,  408;  tried 
in  court  and  acquitted,  I,  408 

McMahon-Captain  George  tragedy,  I, 
602 

McManus,  Bernard,  II,  229 

McMaster,  Algernon  S.,  I,  552,  553, 
597 

McMillan,  Reuben,  I,  374,  376,  395; 
death  of,  I,  288:  III,  589 

McMillan  (Reuben)  Public  Library,  I, 
258,  374-379 

McMillen,  Thomas,  I,  624 

McMullen,  Neil,  I,  605 

McMullen,  Samuel,  I,  614 

McMullen,  William,  I,  614 

McMullin,  Grant,  III,  755 

McMurphy,  A.  T.,  I,  309 

McMurrav,  James,  III,  725 

McNab,  Charles  W.,  I,  279 

McNab,  George  E.,  I,  307;  III,  764 

McNab,  M.  C,  I,  343 

McNab,  Seth,  I,  496,  498,  499 

McNair,  William,  I,  667 

McNally,  James  J.,  I,  347 

McNamara,  Francis  W.,  Ill,  499 

McNamara,  Thomas  Jr.,  II,  51 

McNeilly,  James  P.,  II,  395 

McNutt,  C.  C,  I,  440 

McNutt,  Lloyd,  I,  598 

McRoberts,  John  L.,  Ill,  756 

McVay,  R  H.,  I,  588 

McVean,  Donald  A.,  Ill,  611 

McVean,  Edward  A.,  II,  149 

McVean,  John,   II,  149 

McVey,  John  E.,  I,  517 

McVey,  Thomas  J.,  I,  537;  III,  645 

Meacham,  Jehiel,  Jr.,  I,  644 

Meander  furnace,  I,  686 

Mears,  Edward,  I,  312,  337;  III,  701 

Mecca  Baptist  Church,  Warren,  I,  447 

Mecca  Grange,  I,  637 

Mecca  Oil  Boom,  I,  637 

Mecca  township:  Pioneers  of,  I,  636; 
schools  and  churches  of,  I,  637;  coal 
oil  springs  in,  I,  773 

Medbury,  Asahel,  I,  188,  274,  345,  422; 
sketch  of,  I,  813 

Medical  Profession  of  Youngstown,  I, 
331-335;  early  Mahoning  county 
members  of,  I,  335;  physicians  and 
surgeons  of  Warren,  I,  460-61 

Medicus,  Charles  H.,  II,  379 

Medicus,  Otto,  II,  379 

Meehan  Boiler  and  Construction  Com- 
pany, Lowellville,  I,  279,  513 

Megown,  M.  J.,  I,  355 

Mehrten,  E.  H.,  I,  541 


Digitized  by 


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liii 


Meiser,  G.  F.  H.,  I,  298,  317,  318 

Meissner,  Carl  A..  I,  685;  first  indus- 
trial chemist  in  Valley,  I,  711 

Meissner,  E.  J.,  I,  318 

Melvin,   Charles   P.,   Ill,  621 

Memorial  Presbyterian  Church, 
Youngstown,  I,  304 

Mennonites,  I,  72;  of  Bristol  Town- 
ship, I,  639;  Youngstown,  I,  329 

Mentor,  I,  159;  in  1798,  I,  54 

Mentor  township,  Lake  county,  I,  42, 
53 

Mentzer,  Christopher,  I,  586,  587,  595 

Mentzer,  W.  E.,  I,  589 

Mercer,  John  P.,  I,  279,  281 

Merchants  Mercantile  Company,  I,  356 

Merritt,  Ichabod,  I,  646 

Merry,  Charles,  I,  621 

Merry,  Harriet,  I,  622 

Mesopotamia  Auxiliary,  American  Red 
Cross,"  I,  798 

Mesopotamia  Center,  I,  650 

Mesopotamia   Grange,   I,  650 

Mesopotamia  Township:  early  settlers 
of,  I,  649;  schools  and  churches  of, 
I,  649;  first  wedding  in,  I,  649; 
first  native  white  child  in,  I,  649 

Messick,  W.  H.f  I,  639 

Metcalf,  Cyrus,  sketch  of,  I,  461 

Methodism  in  Youngstown,  I,  305-308; 
in  Jackson  Township,  I,  579 

Methodist  Corners,  I,  618 

Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  of  War- 
ren, I,  449;  Struthers,  I,  501;  Low- 
ellville,  I,  515;  Hubbard,  I,  522;  Po- 
land, I,  553;  Canfield,  I,  562;  Coits- 
ville,  I,  569;  Boardman  Center,  I, 
574;  Rosemont,  I,  583;  Ellsworth 
Center,  I,  583;  Berlin  Center,  I,  586; 
Damascus,  I,  592;  Petersburg,  I,  597; 
Mineral  Ridge,  I,  603;  Ohltown,  I, 
604;  Church  Hill,  I,  607;  Newton 
Falls,  I,  611;  Bailey's  Corners,  I, 
613;  Lordstown  Center,  I,  613; 
Brookfield,  I,  615;  Vienna  Center,  I, 
618;  Braceville  township,  I,  621; 
Fowler,  I,  625;  Cortland,  I,  627; 
Champion,  I,  629;  Southington,  I, 
632;  Johnston,  I,  636;  West  Mecca, 
I,  637;  Bristolville,  I,  639;  Farming- 
ton.  I.  641;  Kinsman,  I,  643;  Bloom- 
field  Center,  I,  649;  Mesopotamia 
township,  I,  650 

Methodist  Protestant  Church  of  Lib- 
erty Township,  Sodom,  I,  607 

Mettler,  F.  W.,  I,  743 

Metts,  Frank,  I,  598 

Meub,  Walter  E.,  I,  706;  III,  691 

Mexican  War,  Mahoning  Valley's  par- 
ticipation in,  I,  191 

Meyer,  I.  Harry,  I,  356 

Meyers,  Emma  G.,  I,  633 

Miami  nation,  I,  10,  13 

Michael,  A.  J.,  I,  293 

Middlefield,  I,  59 

Middleswatch,  Jacob,  I,  616 


Middleton,  John  H.,  II,  257 

Middletown,  E.  J.,  I,  582 

Mill  Creek  Falls,  I,   101 

Mill  Creek  Park,  I,  222,  257,  398-400 

Mill  creek  stack,  I,  664 

Millar,  David,  II,  293 

Miller,  A.  G.,  I,  627 

Miller,  Carvey,  death  of,  I,  271 

Miller,  C.  J.,  I,  350 

Miller,  Charles  N.,  Ill,  525 

Miller,  Clifton  W.,  II,  142 

Miller,  Daniel,  I,  595 

Miller,  Edward,  I,  598 

Miller,  Edward  G.,  Ill,  611 

Miller,  E.  E.,  I,  751 

Miller,   Edwin  F.,  I,  293 

Miller,  Ephraim,  I,  288 

Miller,  George  P.,  I,  552 

Miller,  Gilbert  O.,  I,  321 

Miller,  G.  R.,  I,  486 

Miller,  I.  B.,  I,  269 

Miller,  James  S.,  II.  305 

Miller,  Jesse  L.,  I,  318;  II,  130 

Miller,  John,  I,  168,  470,  589,  749 

Miller,  J.   M.,  I,  316 

Miller,  Louis,  III,  497 

Miller,  L.  B.,  I,  270 

Miller,  Markham  B.,  II,  142 

Miller,  Peter,  I,  589 

Miller,  Theobald,  I,  617 

Miller,  Thomas,  I,  611 

Miller,  Thomas  W.,  II,  163 

Miller,  Walter  D.,  I,  594 

Milligan,  H.  C,  I,  746 

Milligan,  Lee  B.,  II,  107 

Milliken,  Andrew,  I,  740 

Milliken,  Boyd  &  Company,  I,  741 

Millikin,  Bert  A.,  Ill,  668 

Millikin,  Ray  C,  II,  356 

Millman,  Dorothy  B.,  I,  802 

Mills,   Isaac,   I,  42 

Mills,  I,  131 

Milton  Lake  Reservoir,  I,  582 

Milton,  Mansfield,  III,  480 

Milton- Xewton  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  Pricetown,  I,  612 

Milton  reservoir,  I,  243,  367,  586,  773 

Milton  Township,  I,  580-82;  schools 
and  churches  of,  I,  581 

Miner  and  Manufacturer,  I,  350 

Mineral  Ridge  Iron  and  Coal  Com- 
pany, I,  603 

Mineral  Ridge  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, I,  686 

Mineral  Ridge  (Village),  I,  576,  603; 
coal  deposits  at,  I,  685;  furnaces  at, 
I,  685;  discovery  of  black  band  iron 
ore  at,  I,  768 

Minglin,  Calvin,  I,  525 

Mingoes,  I,  13 

Minor,  Champion,  I,  557 

Minor,  John,  I,  58 

Minteer,  William  E.,  I,  500 

Mirfield,  George  E.,  II,  159 

Mitchell,  James  P.,  I,  613 

Mitchell,  John  S.,  II,  369 


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INDEX 


Mitchell,  J.  W.,  I,  649 

Mitchell,  Nathaniel,  I,  521 

Mitchell,  Osborne,  III,  548 

Mitcheltree,  John,  I,  519 

Mittinger,  George  E.,  Ill,  493 

Mix,  L.  D.,  I,  450 

Modarelli,  James  M.,  Ill,  685 

Modeland,  Emma  S.,  I,  388 

Moff,  Edwin  G.,  Ill,  449 

Mogus,  Joseph,  I,  365 

Moherman,  Frederick,  I,  575 

Mohn,  E.  T.,  I,  307 

Monaghan,  Nicholas  F.,  I,  500,  515;  II, 

99 
Monnsys,  I,  14 
Monroe,  Isaac  G.,  II,  249 
Montani,  Rocco  A.,  II,  378 
Monteith,  Daniel,  I,  569 
Montgomery  George  M.,  II,  59 
Montgomery,  Joseph,  I,   192,  262 
Montgomery,  Randall,  I,  269;  II,  175 
Montgomery,  Robert,  I,  174,  215,  337, 

371,  494,  550,  732,  740;  locates  second 

furnace   on    Yellow    Creek,    I,   660; 

death  of,  I,  811 
Montgomery,  Mrs.  Robert,  sketch  of, 

I,  812 
Montgomery,  Clendennin  &  Company, 

I,  661 
Montgomery  furnace,  I,  175 
Monumental  Park,  I,  469 
Moody,  Fred  R.,  I,  307 
Moody,  James,  I,  572 
Moody,  W.  P.,  I,  498 
Moore,  Alexander  H.,  I,  341 
Moore,  David  T.,  Ill,  642 
Moore,  D.  C,  I,  517 
Moore,   Edmond  H.,  I,  241,  270,  271, 

597;  II,  251 
Moore,  Edward,  III,  697 
Moore,  G.  Webster,  I,  627 
Moore,  Henry  R.,  Ill,  737 
Moore,  Hugh,  I,  192,  262,  275 
Moore,  James,  I,  311 
Moore,  James  B.,  II,  381 
Moore,  Joseph  F.,  II,  362 
Moore,  Julia,  III,  697 
Moore,  Lurn  E.,  II,  272 
Moore,  Nathaniel,  I,  556,  557,  634 
Moore,  Sampson,  I,  567 
Moore,  Samuel,  I,  596 
Moore,  Thomas  L.,  I,  274 
Moore,   William   G.,   I,  266,   341,  344, 

395;  III,  697 
Moore,  William  H.,  I,  219,  264,  279; 

first  chief  of  full  paid  fire  depart- 
ment, I,  281 
Moore,  William  O.,  I,  568 
Moose   Lodge   Building,  I,  256 
Moran,  Francis  T.,  II,  21 
Moran,  Grandon,  I,  470 
Moran,  John  I.,  I,  312 
Moravian  Missions,  I,  17,  18 
Moravians,  I,  89 
Morgan,  David  J.,  II,  377 
Morgan,  Evan  L.,  Ill,  765 


Morgan,  Hugh  D.,  I,  400,  II,  14 

Morgan,  James  G,  III,  669 

Morgan,  James  W.,  Ill,  665 

Morgan,  John,  I,  38,  42 

Morgan,  John  B.,  I,  343,  344;  III,  691 

Morgan,  John  H.,  raids  across  Ohio, 
I,  198 

Morgan,  Lewis  W.,  Ill,  765 

Morgan,  Orlando,  I,  463 

Morgan,  Owen  D.,  II,  237 

Morgan,  Richard,  I,  279 

Morgan,  R.  G,  I,  316 

Morgan,  Walter,  I,  608 

Morgan  Spring  Company,  I,  496,  702 

Mormonism,  I,  124 

Morning  Call,  I,  350 

Morning  Star,  I,  350 

Morrall,  Mary  A.,  I,  491 

Morris,  Anthony,   I,  591 

Morris,  Benjamin  F.,  Ill,  438 

Morris,  Dallas  H.,  I,  353 

Morris,  David,  I,  665 

Morris,  Elihu,  I,  640 

Morris,  Frank,  I,  629 

Morris,  F.  A.,  I,  566 

Morris,  Jacob,  I,  446 

Morris,  John  E.,  I,  746 

Morris,  M.  D.,  I,  570 

Morris,  W.  G.,  I,  636 

Morris,  William  J.,  I,  706;  II,  332 

Morris  Plan  Bank,  Youngstown,  I, 
357,  363 

Morris  &  Price  (1875):  daily  coal  min- 
ing capacity  150  tons,  I,  770 

Morrison,  John  W.,  Ill,  552 

Morrison,  John  W.,  Sr.,  Ill,  603 

Morrow  D.  Blair,  III,  495 

Morrow,  Lee,  III,  488 

Morse,  Anna  L.,  I,  377  y  378,  396 

Morse  Bridge  Works,  I,  675 

Morton,  S.  R.,  I,  597 

Moseley,  G  J.,  I,  453 

Moseley,  Rev.,  I,  782 

Moser,  Delos  K.,  I,  442,  467;  II,  53 

Moser,  George,  I,  614 

Moser,  George  M.,  Ill  628 

Moses,  Abner,  I,  633 

Moses,  John,  I,  488 

Mossman,  William,  I,  619 

Mother  Genevieve,  I,  338 

Mother  Geraldine,  I,  338 

Mother  Lawrence  (Ursuline  sister),  I. 
295 

Mott,  Edgar,  I,  624 

Mougey,  Helen,  I,  794 

Moulton,  E.  F.,  I,  444,  464 

Mound  Builders,  I,  2-7 

Mount  Nebo  mine,  Poland  Township, 
I,  511 

Mount  Olivet  Reformed  Church, 
North  Lima,  I,  587 

Mowen,  Balzar,  I,  587 

Moyer,  Henry  E.,  II,  63 

Moyer,  Morris,  II,  376 

Moyer,  Mrs.  Morris,  I,  387 

Mulholland,   Peter  B.,  I,  343 


Digitized  by 


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lv 


Mullally,  Robert  J.,  Ill,  578 

Mullane,  Dan  Jr.,  I,  352;  II,  162 

Mumaw,  D.  W.,  I,  516,  517 

Municipal  Contagion  Hospital,  Youngs- 
town,  I,  339 

Municipal  Court  Judges,  I,  273 

Municipal  street  railway  commissioner, 
1,251 

Municipality  of  Youngstown,  I,  266-283 

Munkelt,  Frederick  H.,  II,  236 

Munson,  Jesse  R.,  Ill,  752 

Muresan,  Octavian,  I,  455 

Murphy,  E.  J.,  1,295,312 

Murphy,  Richard  W.,  I,  804 

Murphy,  R.  J.,  I,  489        , 

Murphy,  Mrs.  W.  L.,  I,  786 

Murphy,  W.  L.,  I,  541,  542 

Murray,  Dennis  T.,  II,  194 

Murray,  Edgar  G.,  II,  196 

Murray,  Elisha,  I,  596 

Murray,  James,  I,  537 

Murray,  John  J.,  II,  229 

Murray,  R.  B.,  I,  343 

Murray,  Thomas,  Jr.,  II,  353 

Murray,  W.  P.,  I,  617 

Mushrush,  Guy,  I,  543 

Musser,  Peter,  I,  585,  595 

Musser's  Mills,  I,  595 

Myerovich,  Max  A.,  Ill,  627 

Myers,  C.  B.,  I,  718 

Myers,  Charles,  III,  714 

Myers,  Fred  D.,  I,  560,  576 

Myers,  Henry,  I,  595 

Myers,  S.  D.,  II,  121 

Myers,  Walter  E.,  I,  746 

Mygatt,  Comfort  S.,  I,  559 

Mygatt,  C.  S.,  I,  437 

Mygatt,  George,  I,  420,  440,  441 

Myres,  Wendell  D.,  Ill,  484 

Mystic  Company  (coal  oil  producer), 
I,  772 

My  Walks  and  Talks  with  Volney 
Rogers,  II,  207 

Nadenicek,  Joseph,  I,  305 

Naffziger,  W.  H.,  I,  590 

Nash,  Elmer  E.,  II,  279 

Nash,  James  M.,  I,  345,  346 

Nathan    Hale    Chapter,    Sons    of    the 

American  Revolution,  I,  394 
National  Banking  Act,  I,  438 
National  Desertion  Bureau,  I,  388 
National   League   for  Woman's  Serv- 
ice, I,  790,  794 
National   Steel  Company,  I,  673,  683, 

695,  696,  817 
National  Tube  Company,   I,  674,  679 
Native    coal    exhausted,    I,    669 
Native  game  animals,  I,  137 
Native    (blackband)    ore,   I,   685 
Native   Iron  ore,   I,  667;   nature   and 
use    of,    I,    767;    discoverer    of,    de- 
scription by  scientists  and  iron  manu- 
facturers, I,  768 
Nativity  of  Christ  Russian  Orthodox 
Church,  I,  326 


Nea-To-Ka  (see  also  Council  Rock), 
I,  94 

Neckerman,   William  W.,   II,  61 

Neff,  Calvin,  II,  85 

Neff,  C.  H.,  II,  85 

Neff,  John  E.,  Ill,  419 

Neff,  Roy  J.,  Ill,  401 

Neff,  R.  J.,  I,  565 

Neidigh,  Jacob,  I,  587 

Neilson  House,  Y.  W.  C.  A.  Settle- 
ment, I,  386 

Nellis,  A.  A.,  I,  447 

Nelson,  Abraham,  I,  605 

Nelson,  John,  I,  605 

Nelson,  J.  R.,  sketch  of,  I,  461 

Nelson,  P.  A.,  I,  328 

Nelson,  W.  V.,  I,  517 

Neracher,  William  A.,  I,  745,  799;  II, 
384 

Nesbit,  Francis  C,  I,  341 

Nesbit,  William,  I,  569 

Nestor,  James  A.,  I,  529 

Nettleton,  A.  B.,  I,  427 

Neuman,   L.   E.,   I,  750 

New  Albany,  I,  589 

New  Connecticut  (see  Western  Re- 
serve), I,   119,  123,   124 

New  County  Advocate  first  Youngs- 
town newspaper,  I,  185m 

New  England,  second  charter  granted, 
I,  25 

New  France,  I,  22 

New  Haven,  settlement  of,  I,  26 

New  Lisbon  Coal  Company  (1875): 
daily  coal  mining  capacity  150  tons, 
I,  770 

New  Lyme,  I,  163 

New  Middletown,  I,  596 

New  Middletown  School,  I,  596 

New  Springfield,  I,  595 

New  Star,  I,  350 

New  York  Central  Railroad,  I,  763 

Newberry,   L.   S.,   I,   768 

Newberry,  Rober,  I,  619 

Newcomb,  D.  L.,  I,  649 

Newspapers  of  Youngstown,  I,  344-350; 
Warren,   I,  462;    Niles,    I,   481 

News-Letter,   I,  463 

News-Register,   I,  347 

Newton,  Eben,  I,  188,  191,  208,  340, 
561,  565,  611,  819 

Newton,  Sheldon,  I,  207 

Newton,  Sheldon,  I,  208  (representa- 
tive) 

Newton  Falls,  "Wonder  City"  of  Ma- 
honing Valley,  I,  188,  609;  Board  of 
Trade,   I,   609 

Newton  Falls  Banks,  Village  corpora- 
tion, I,  610 

Newton  Falls  Boiler  Works,  1, 609 

Newton  Falls  Branch  American  Red 
Cross,  I,  797 

Newton  Falls  Herald,  I,  610 

Newton  Falls  Savings  and  Loan  As- 
sociation, I,  610 


Digitized  by 


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Ivi 


.INDEX 


Newton  Steel  Company,  Newton  Falls, 
I,  609,  742 

Newton  Township,  I,  608-9;  schools 
and  churches  of,  I,  611 

Niblock,  James  G.,  I,  275 

Nichols,  Polly,  I,  625 

Nichols,  Roland  A.,  I,  320 

Nicholson,   C.  F.,   I,  314 

Nicholson,  Robert  J.,  Ill,  683 

Niedermeier,  Henry,  II,  66 

Nielson,  James,  I,  673 

Niles  (see  also  Heaton's  furnace),  I, 
471-93;  platted  by  James  and  Warren 
Heaton,  I,  473;  "Nilestown"  becomes 
"Niles,"  I,  475;  fire  brick  plant,  I, 
476;  famous  "scrip"  abolished  and 
revived,  I,  476;  its  mills  dismantled, 
I,  478;  her  industrial  revival,  I,  479; 
financial  institutions,  I,  480;  her 
newspapers,  I,  481;  fraternal  socie- 
ties of,  I,  486;  churches  of,  I,  487; 
schools  of,  I,  489;  Union  school  dis- 
trict organized,  I,  490;  present 
schools,  I,  490;  as  village  and  city,  I, 
492;  water  works,  I,  493;  present 
status  of,  I,  663;  early  industries  at,  I, 
681-85;  its  Liberty  Loan  Subscrip- 
tions, I,  801;  its  community  service, 
I,  830;  early  days  in,  I,  841 

Niles   Baptist  Church,  I,  489 

Niles  Board  of  Trade  (see  Niles 
Chamber  of  Commerce),  I,  479 

Niles   Boiler  Works,  I,  476,  684 

Niles  Car  Manufacturing  Company, 
I,  479 

Niles  Chamber  of  Commerce,  I,  480 

Niles  Firebrick  Company,  I,  738 

Niles  Forge  &  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, I,  739 

Niles  Iron  Company,  I,  477,  478,  676, 
683 

Niles  Lumber  Company,  II,  94 

Niles  Public  Library,  I,  486 

Niles  Register,  I,  474,  481 

.\iles  Trust  Company,  I,  481 

Niles  War  Chest,  I,  800 

Niles  &  Lisbon  Branch  of  the  Erie 
Railroad,  I,  761 

Niles  &  New  Lisbon  Company,  I,  761 

Nilestown    (see   Niles),    I,  474,  475 

Nineteenth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry 
in   the   Civil   War,   I,    195,  424 

Ninth  Ohio  Independent  Battery,  I, 
427 

Nischwitz,  W.,  I,  298 

Noffziger,  W.  H.,  I,  785 

Nold,   John,    I,   587 

Noll,  Aaron,   I,  325 

Noll,  John,  I,  751 

Norman,  W.  H.,  I,  634 

Norris,   Ira,   I,  345,   566 

Norris,  Mrs.  J.  H.,  I,  539 

Norris,  M.  A.t  I,  343 

Norris,  Norman  L.,  II,  128 

North,   E.   R-,   I,   588 

North  Benton,  I,  593 


North  Bloomfield,  I,  648 

North  Bloomfield  Auxiliary,  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross,  I,  798 

North  Bristol,  I,  638 

North  Eastern  Ohio  Normal  College, 
Canfield,  I,  560 

North  Lima,  I,  586,  587 

North  Lima  Gas  Company,  I,  774 

Northfield   township,   Summit   county, 

North  Side  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  Youngstown,  I,  322 

Northwest  Territory,  I,  30;  divided 
into  counties,  I,  32 

Northwest  Warren  Auxiliary,  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross,  I,  798 

Norton,   Horace,   I,  630 

Norton,  Jacob,  I,  638 

Norton,  Roderick,  I,  630 

Norwood,  Guy  E.,  Ill,  649 

Noyes,  James,  I,  287 

Noyes,  Joseph,   I,  550,  649 

Nullmeyer,   Frank  H.,   II,  20 

Nurses  Home,  Youngstown  City  Hos- 
pital, I,  337 

Nutt,  George  S.,  I,  334 

Nutt,  James,   I,  630 

Nutt,  James   H.,   I,  219,  263;   II,   171 

Nutwood  Station,  I,  625 

Nye,  Roy,  I,  650 

Oak  Grove  Park,  I,  469 

Oak   Hill   Avenue  A.   M.   E.   Church, 

Youngstown,  I,  327 
Oatley,  Burke,  I,  628 
Obendorfer,  E.  J.,  I,  363 
Obendorfer,  Michael,  II,  213 
Oberholtzer   Mennonite   Congregation, 

North  Lima,  I,  588 
Oberlin,  I,  152 
OByrne,   P.  F.,   I,  500 
O'Callaghan,   Eugene  M.,  I,  295,  311, 

452,  489,  523 
O'Connor,  Patrick  T.,  I,  349 
O'Connor,  Richard,  I,  349 
O'Connor,  William,   I,  295,  311,  604 
Odd  Fellows  Temple,  I,  256 
Odell,  J.   H.,.I,  348 
O'Dwyer,  Patrick,  I,  451 
Oesch,  Frank  L.,  I,  241,  344 
Ogburn,John  T.,  I,  311 
Oglebay,  Earl  W.,  I,  710 
O'Herron,  John,  death  of,  I,  267 
Ohio  becomes  a  state,  I,  160 
Ohio  Corrugating  Company,  I,  747 
Ohio    Galvanizing    &    Manufacturing 

Companv,  I,  739 
Ohio  Independent  Banking  Act,  I,  438 
Ohio  Iron  and  Steel  Company,  I,  512, 
.  699,  722;   subscriptions   by   to  War 

Chest  fund,  I,  792 
Ohio  League  of  Woman  Voters,  I,  465 
Ohio    Leather  ,  Company,    I,   504,   733 
Ohio  National  Guard,  I,  778 
Ohio  National  Guard  Armory,  I,  432 


Digitized  by 


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INDEX 


lvii 


Ohio-Pennsylvania  Electric  Company, 
power  plant  at  Lowellville,  I,  512 

Ohio   Republican,   I,  345,  813 

Ohio  State  Archaelogical  Society,  I,  3 

Ohio  State  Telephone  Company,  I,  373 

Ohio  State  and  Union  Law  College, 
I    342 

Ohio  Steel  Company,  I,  220,  222,  692, 
694,  714 

Ohio  Steel  Products  Company,  I,  686t 
742 

Ohio  Structural  Steel  Company,  New- 
ton Falls,  I,  609 

Ohio  Sun,  I,  350 

Ohio  Valley,  Conflicts  for  possession 
of,  I,  23 

Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  (Bloody 
Seventh),  in  the  Civil  War,  I,  195 

Ohio  Woman  Suffrage  Association,  I, 
465 

Ohl,    Edwin    M.,   I,   707 

Ohl,  Guy  T.,  I,  343,  344 

Ohl,  Henry,  I,  575 

Ohl,  Marie,  1,  623 

Ohl,  Michael,  I,  604,  685 

Ohlson,  Carl  G.,  Ill,  736 

Ohlton,  I,  576 

Ohltown,  I,  604 

Old  Road,  Hartford  Township,  I,  623 

Oles,  George  L.,  Ill,  508 

Olin,    Erastus,    I,   622 

Olive  Branch,  I,  185 

Olive  branch  and  Literary  Messenger, 
I,  187 

Olive  Branch  and  New  County  Advo- 
cate,  I,  344 

Oliver,  George  T.,  I,  741 

Oliver,  G.  F.,  I,  307 
•Oliver  China  Plant,  I,  540 

Olney,  Richard,  I,  495 

Olson,  Victor,   II,   166 

Omick  (Indian),  hanged  in  Cleveland, 
I,  143,  170 

One  Hundred  and  Eighty-Eighth  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry,  I,  197 

One  Hundred  and  Eighty-Fourth  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry,  I,  197 

One  Hundred  and  Fifth  Ohio  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  I,  426 

One  Hundred  and  Fifth  Ohio  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  Civil  War,   I,   197 

One  Hundred  and  Fifty-Fifth  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry,  I,  197 

One  Hundred  and  Ninety-Sixth  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry,  I,  197,  426 

One  Hundred  and  Seventy-First  Vol- 
unteer Infantry  (Trumbull's  Own), 
I,  426 

One  Hundred  and  Thirty-Fifth  Field 
Artillery:  Supply  Company,  I,  779 

One  Hundred  and  Thirty-Fifth  Ma- 
chine Gun  Battalion:  A.  and  B.  Com- 
panies, in  action  in  France  and  Bel- 
gium, I,  779 


One  Hundred  and  Twenty-Fifth  Ohio 

Volunteer       Infantry       ("Opdyke's 

Tigers'),  I,  197,  426 
One    Hundred    and    Twenty-Seventh 

Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  I,  197 
Onions,  Henry,  II,  98 
Onions,  Joseph  H.,  II,  99 
Only  hanging,  Trumbull  county,  I,  421 
Onorato,  Anthony,   III,  606 
Opdyke,  Emerson,  I,  424,  425 
Oppenheimer,  Jacob,  I,  388 
Orangeville,  I,  621,  622 
Orangeville  Auxiliary,  American   Red 

Cross,  I,  798 
Orangeville        Methodist       Episcopal 

Church,  I,  624 
Ordinance  of  1787,  I,  32,  160 
Ormond,  George  K.,  I,  321 
Ormsby,  Alexander  N.,  Ill,  530 
Ormsby,  John,  III,  426 
Ormsby,  Levi,  I,  630 
O'Rourke,  Daniel  J.,  Ill,  751 
O'Rourke,  John  P.,  Ill,  680 
Orr,  A.  I.,  I,  493 
Orr,  Fred  M.,  II,  3 
Orr,  Mrs.  Fred  M.,  I,  784,  788 
Orr,  William,  I,  577 
Orrin,  Dunscom  &  Bristol,  I,  684 
Ortt,  E.  L.,  I,  454 
Osborn,  Gilbert,  I,  630 
Osborn,  Jacob,  I,  611 
Osborn,  Joshua,  I,  630 
Osborn,  R.  A.,  I,  633 
Osborn,  William  M.,  I,  267 
Osborne,  Elmer  A.,  II,  172 
Osborne,   Nicholas,  I,   175 
Osmond,  F.  P.,  I,  329 
Oster,  Harry,  III,  639 
Ottawas,  I,  13 
Our  Lady  of  Mt.  Carmel  Church,  Niles, 

I,  489 
Our    Lady    of    Mt.    Carmel    (Italian 

Catholic)  Parish,  Youngstown,  I,  313 
Overseers  of  the  poor,  I,  117 
Oviatt,  John,   I,   166 
Oviatt,  Samuel,  Jr.,  I,  619 
Oviatt,  Samuel,  Sr.,  I,  620 
Oviatt,  Stephen,  I,  619 
Oviatt,  T.  D.,  I,  464 
Oviatt,  William  J.,  I,  620 
Owen,  Perry  B.,  Ill,  774 
Owen,  Mrs.  Perry  B.,  I,  794 
Owens,  William,  I,  314 
Oyler,  William  G.,  I,  498 
Ozersky,  Lena,  I,  388 
Ozersky,  Nathan,  I,  323;  II,  155 
Ozersky,    Mrs.    Nathan,    I,   387 

Packard  A.  J.,  I,  395 

Packard,  Garrett,  I,  584 

Packard,  James   W.,   I,  680,  681;   II, 

234 
Packard,  Thomas,  I,  756 


Digitized  by 


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lviii 


INDEX 


Packard,  Warren,  I,  677;  II,  232 
Packard,  William  D.,  I,  469,  680;  II, 

233 
Packard,  W.  H.,  I,  740 
Packard  Family,  II,  232 
Packard    &    Barnum    Iron    Company, 

1,678 
Packard  Automobile,  I,  680 
Packard  Electric  Company,  I,  680,  740 
Packard  Park,  I,  469 
Paden,  Robert  M.,  I,  432 
Page,   Benjamin,   I,   448 
Page,  R.  H.,  I,  727 
Painesville,  I,  59 
Painesville  and  Youngstown  Railroad, 

I,  762 
Paisley,  L.  A.,  I,  350 
Palm,  Jefferson,  I,  459,  463 
Palm,  S.  B.,  I,  463 
Palmer,  Caleb,  I,  559,  633 
Palmer,  Dennis,  I,  616 
Palmer,  Dennis  C,  I,  616 
Palmer,  Elisha,  I,  582 
Palmer,  Henry,  I,  607 
Palmer,  J.  H.,  I,  307 
Palmer,  Ray  S.,  I,  498 
Palmer,  Warren  H.,  Ill,  485 
Paltzorff,  Nathan,  I,  453 
Pangburn,  Joseph,  I,  556,  559 
Panic  of  73  in  Niles,  I,  476 
Panics  of  1873,  I,  205;  of  1893,  221,  478 
Papp,  Alex,  I,  314 
Paradise  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church, 

Beaver  Township,  I,  588 
Pardee,  David,  I,  559 
Pardee,  James  G.,  Ill,  601 
Parish,  Daniel  C,  II,  370 
Parish,  Michael  H.,  II,  370 
Parish  Brothers,  II,  370 
Park,  Moses,   I,  58 
Park,  Servetus  W.,  I,  439;  II,  11 
Park  &  Falls  line,  I,  231 
Park  &  Falls  Street  Railway  Company, 

I,  765 
Parker,  Alfred  G.  S.,  II,  345 
Parker,  A.  W.,  I,  462 
Parker,  Bertram  G.,  I,  749;  III,  710 
Parker,  James  E.,  I,  714;  II,  324 
Parker,  J.  Howard,  III,  701 
Parker,  J.  H.,  I,  359 
Parker,  John  H.,  Company,  I,  483 
Parker,  Laura  M.,  II,  345 
Parker,  William,  II,  258 
Parkman,  Robert  D.,  I,  437 
Parkin,  Joseph  W.,  Ill,  711 
Parkman,  Robert  D.,  I,  437 
Parks,  B.  F.,  I,  314 
Parks,  Edward,  III,  455 
Parmelee,  James,  I,  692 
Parmelee  &  Sawyer,  I,  720 
Parmelee,  William  E.,  I,  672 
Parrish,   Henry,   I,  314 
Parrock,   Harry,   II,   125 
Parrock,  Thomas,  I,  749;  II,  304 
Parsons,  Charles  W.,  I  745 


Parsons,  Cora,  I,  789 

Parsons  George,  I,  438,  440,  441,  442; 
Warren's  first  mayor,  I,  420;  first 
Warren  school  teacher,  I,  442 

Parsons,  George  A.,  Ill,  483 

Parsons,  Samuel  H.,  I,  89,  601;  first 
purchaser  of  Western  Reserve 
Lands,  I,  32;  sketch  of,  I,  33;  his 
claim,  I,  53;  death  of,  I,  471 

Partridge,  E.,  I,  645 

Partridge,  S.  W.,  I,  601 

Passarelli,  Giovanni,  II,  127 

Patmos,   I,  592 

Patrick,  Anthony,  I,  614 

Patrick,  H.   E.,  I,  334,  782 

Patriotic  Societies  of  Youngstown,  I, 
394 

Pattengell,  Ward  F.,  Ill,  495 

Patterson,  H.  F.,  I,  501 

Patton,  S.  G.,  I,  546,  781 

Patton,  Thomas,  I,  348 

Patton,  W.  H.,  I,  348 

Pavilion  Hotel  (see  Cotgreave  Build- 
ing), I,  414 

Payne,  Edward,  I,  58 

Payne,  J.  H.  P.,  I,  619 

Payne,  Solomon,  I,  617;  III,  623 

Payne,  W.  B.,  I,  677 

Payne's  Corners,  I,  617 

Pearce,  John.F.,  I,  499;  II,  99 

Pearson,  Sarah  E.,  Youngstown's  first 
librarian,  I,  374,  375 

Pease,  Calvin,  I,  58,  106,  114,  117,  138, 
160,  260,  261,  340,  412,  455,  456; 
first  Youngstown  postmaster,  I,  274 

Pease,  Calvin,  Jr.,  I,  462 

Pease,  Seth,  I,  43,  48,  51 

Peck,  Abijah,  I,  557 

Peck,  Daniel  W.,  II,  286 

Peerless  Electric  Company,  I,  747 

Pelen,  William,  I   723 

Pelton  Elias,  I,  644 

Pelton,  Ithemur,  I,  644 

Pelton,  Jesse,   I,  633 

Pelton,  Josiah,  I,  633,  644 

Pendleberry,  George,  I,  492 

Pendleton,  C.  H.,  I,  314 

Penn,  George  W.,  I,  350 

Penn,  William,  grant  to,  I,  26 

I'ennamite  wars,  I,  27 

Pennington  Mining  Company,  I,  713 

Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  Canal,  I,  178, 
193,  495,  757-59;  final  abandonment 
of  (1872),  I,  184;  opening  of,  I,  759 

Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  ("Cross  Cut") 
Canal,  I,  418 

Pennsylvania-Ohio  Electric  Company, 
I,  368,  500;  scope  and  operation  of 
its  system,  I,  370;  its  East  Youngs- 
town Lighting  System,  I,  537 

Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  I,  762 

Pennsylvania  Tank  Car  Company,  I, 
750;  Petroleum  Station,  Hubbard,  I, 
521 

Pennsylvania  Tank  Line  Company,  I, 
750 


Digitized  by 


Google 


INDEX 


lix 


Pentecostal  Mission,  Youngstown,  I, 
330;  Warren,  I,  455 

Peoples  Savings  and  Banking  Com- 
pany, I,  359 

Peoples  Saving  Company,  Warren,  I, 
439 

■Peoples  Trust  and  Savings  Bank,  East 
Youngstown,  I,  532 

Perkins,  A.  A.,  I,  719 

Perkins,  Enoch,  I,  42,  619 

Perkins,   F.  C,  I,  720 

Perkins,  George  R.,  II,  282 

Perkins,    George   T.,   I,    197,   426 

Perkins,  Henry  B.,  I,  424,  438;  III, 
663 

Perkins,  Jacob,   I,  423,  443,  463,  760 

Perkins,  Jacob,  III,  664 

Perkins,  John  R.,  II,  373 

Perkins,  Joseph,  I,  42,  443 

Perkins,  Simon,  I,  58,  114,  166,  167, 
170,  415,  417,  437,  439,  438,  567,  582, 
646,  710;  locates  at  Warren,  I,  405 

Perkins,  Simon,  Jr.,  I,  418,  419 

Perkins  Family,  III,  662 

Perkins  Hardware  &  Roofing  Com- 
pany, II,  373 

Perry,  Frank  W.,  II,  348 

Perry,  J.  E.,  .1,  317 

Perry,  Oliver  H.,  I,  171 

Perry  township,  Lake  county,  I,  53 

Person,  Oscar,  I,  322 
vPeters,  Dennis  T.,  Ill,  610 

^Petersburg  I,  595,  597 

Petersburg   Milling   Company,    I,   595 

Petersen,  Ludvig  T.,  Ill,  488 

Peterson,   Charles,   I,  804 

Peterson,  L.  T.,  I,  731 

Peterson,  S.  J.,  I,  316 

Peterson,  Mrs.  S.  J.,  I,  378 

Peterson,  William  H.t  II,  129 

Peterson,  W.  S.,  I,  463 

Petillo,  Anthony,  I,  313 

Petroleum  (see  coal  oil),  I,  772 

Petroleum  Iron  Works  Company,  I, 
521,  749 

Petroleum  Station,  Hubbard,  I,  521 

Pettinger,  Nicholas,  I,  553, 

Pew,  Benjamin  F.,  I,  476,  479;  II,  257 

Pew,  John  O.,  I,  742 

Pew,  N.  L.,  I,  439 

Pew,  Thomas,  I,  613 

Pfau,   Samuel   A.,   I,  364;    II,   64 

Pfeiffle,  W.  U.,  I,  738 

Phalanx,  I,  620 

Phalanx  Auxiliary,  American  Red 
Cross,  I,  798 

Phelps,  Archer  L.,  Ill,  661 

Phelps,  Mrs.  A.  L.,  I,  468 

Phelps,  George,  I,  166 

Phelps,  Oliver,  I,  42,  575,  577 

Phelps,  Timothy,  I,  403 

Phillips,  Charles  W.,  I,  804 

Phillips,  George  C,  I,  347 

Phillips,  H.  W.,  I,  588 

Phillips,  Joseph,  I,  636 

Phillips,   Louis,  I,  287 


Phillips,  Owen  M.,  II,  156 

Phillips,  Samuel,  I,  636 

Phillips,  Thomas  M.,  II,  280 

Phillips,  Thomas  R.,  II,  102 

Phillips,  Viola  B.,  I,  379 

Phillips,  William  S.,  I,  608 

Phillips,  W.  P.,  I,  317 

Phillis,  W.  A.,  I,  801 

Philo,  I.  E.,  I,  323 

Philpot,  William,   I,  665 

Phoenix  Company  (coal  oil  producer), 
I,   772      • 

Phoenix  furnace  erected  (1854),  Craw- 
ford &  Howard,  Youngstown,  ca- 
pacity forty  tons,  I,  182,  193,  665, 
667,  671,  724 

Phoenix  Tube  Company,  I,  745 

Pickens,  Frank  M,,  I,  802,  804 

Pierce,  Charles  M.,  Ill,  560 

Pierce,  Edward,  I,  628 

Pierce,  L.  W.,  I,  629 

Pierson,  A.  C,  I,  523 

Pierson,  C.  A.,  I,  782 

Pierson,  Mary,  III,  753 

Pierson,  W.  W.,  I,  507;  III,  471 

Pirn,  J.  G.,  I,  546 

Pine  Hollow  Park,  I,  402 

Pioneer  houses,  I,  654 

Pioneer  Reunions,  I,  395 

Pioneer  Times:  when  children  stood 
at  table,  I,  810;  wrestling  in  the  early 
days,  I,  811;  recollections  of  the  iron 
and  steel  business,  I,  813;  the  old 
rolling  mills,  I,  820;  school  day 
recollections,  I,  822;  skating  and  rac- 
ing on  the  Mahoning,  I,  823;  old 
sports,  I,  824;  early  blast  furnace 
experience,  I,  827;  boots  and  boot- 
jacks, I,  829;  community  fishing,  I, 
830;  getting  along  without  undertak- 
ers, I,  830;  business  eighty  years  ago, 
I,  831;  doing  without  dentists,  I, 
831;  early  days  in  Niles,  I,  841;  pio- 
neer women  of  the  Western  Reserve, 
I,  55 

Pitt,  William  H.,  I,  444 

Pittsburg,  Fort  Wayne  &  Chicago 
Company,  I,  762 

Pittsburg,  Fort  Wayne  &  Chicago 
Railroad,  I,  761 

Pittsburg  &  Lake  Erie  Railroad,  I,  761, 
763 

Pittsburgh  &  Lake  Erie  Railroad 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
East  Youngstown,  I,  531 

Pittsburg,  Youngstown  &  Chicago,  I, 
762 

Piatt,  G.  H.,  I,  643 

Piatt,  Joseph,  I,  308 

Pleas,  Charles,  I,  497 

Pleasant  Grove,  I,  573 

Plowing,  I,  130 

Plymouth  Congregational  Church, 
Youngstown  (see  also  Welsh  Con- 
gregational), I,  324 

Podea,  John,  I,  326 


Digitized  by 


Google 


lx 


INDEX 


Poesgate,  Ada,  I,  533 

Poland,  I,  159,  163,  175,  185,  206,  308, 
309;  first  industries  and  stores  of,  I, 
549;  decline  of,  I,  554;  incorporation 
of,  I,  555 

Poland  Center  School,  I,  516 

Poland  Country  Club,  I,  398 

Poland  Club  Realty  Company,  I,  398 

Poland  Law  School,  I,  553 

Poland  Methodist  Church,  I,  553 

Poland  Presbyterian  Church,  I,  553 

Poland  Seminary,  I,  551,  553 

Poland  Township,  Mahoning  county, 
I,  48,  90,  95,  106;  first  white  native 
of,  I,  494;  first  grist  mill  in,  I,  494; 
history  of,  up  to  War  of  1812,  I,  546- 
50;  survey  and  first  settlement  of 
(1798-99),  I,  547;  schools  of,  I,  550, 
551;  in  three  wars,  I,  554;  incorpora- 
tion of,  I,  555 

Poland  Union  School,  I,  552 

Poland  Union  Seminary,  I,  552 

Pollen,  H.  D.,  I,  498 

Police  Department,  Youngstown,  I, 
264,  274-278 

Pollock,  Monroe,  II,  303 

Pollock,  Porter,  I,  725;  III,  693 

Pollock,  Robert  A.,  1,  723 

Pollock,  Thomas,  I,  724 

Pollock,  William  B.,  I,  711,  723,  725; 
III,  692 

Pollock,  William  B.  Company,  I,  667; 
pioneer  builder  of  blast  furnaces  in 
the  Mahoning  Valley,  I,  723;  fur- 
naces erected  and  rebuilt  by  firm,  I, 
724;  incorporation  and  personnel  of, 
I,  725;  subscriptions  by,  to  war  chest 
fund,  I,  792 

Pomeroy,  Lucretia,  I,  443 

Pomeroy,  Ralph,  I,  580 

Pond,  Florence,  I,  498 

Pond,  W.  H.,  I,  574 

Portage  county,  I,   149,   161 

Porter,  Arthur  E.,  I,  552 

Porter,  Augustus,  I,  43,  48,  50,  51 

Porter,  A.  W.,  I,  440 

Porter,  Fred  C,  I,  228 

Porter,  J.  E.,  I,  613 

Porter,  James  F.,  I,  578,  610;  III,  734 

Porter,  William,  I,  341 

Porterfield,  William  H.,  Ill,  641 

Port  Independence,  I,  47 

Post,  J.  H.f  I.  627 

Post,  L.  E.,  I,  627 

Post,  W.  W.,  I,  627 

Postoffice  Building,  I,  256 

Postoffices:  early,  I,  754 

Pothour,  David,  III,  571 

Potter,  Lyman,  I,  440,  638 

Potter,  William,  I,  103 

Potts,  A.  D.,  I,  318 

Potts,  C.  G.,  I,  576 

Pow,  Charles,  III,  444 

Powell  Pressed  Steel  Company,  Hub- 
bard, I,  521 

Powers,  Abram,  I,  96,  101 


Powers,  Fred,  I,  522 

Powers,  Frank  W.,  Ill,  681 

Powers,  James,  I,  190,  191,  565 

Powers,  J.  A.,  I,  542 

Powers,  J.  W.,  I,  522 

Powers,  Isaac,  I,  96,  101,  182,  569, 
578,  636,  671 

Powers,  Isaac  D.,  I,  636 

Powers,  Mrs.  Franklin,  I,  396 

Powers,  Ridgeley  J.,  I,  192,  262,  341, 
344 

Powers,  William,  I,  101,  395 

Powers  (William)  &  Company,  I,  526 

Powers  &  Arms,  I,  526 

Powers  Coal  Company  (1875):  daily 
coal  mining  capacity,  300  tons,  I,  770 

Powrie,  Alexander  B.,  II,  333 

Pratt,  Joseph,  I,  403 

Prentice,  A.  A.,  I,  517 

Presbrey,  Frank  I,  346 

Presbyterian  churches,  I,  302;  Warren, 
I,  447;  Struther's,  I,  501;  Girard,  I, 
508;  Hubbard,  I,  523;  Sebring,  I, 
542;  Canfield,  I,  562;  Coitsville,  I, 
569;  North  Benton,  I,  594;  Peters- 
burg, I,  597;  Mineral  Ridge,  I,  603; 
Brookfield  Township,  I,  615;  Vi- 
enna Township,  I,  617;  Cortland,  I, 
628;  Champion,  I,  629;  Gustavus 
Center,   I,  645 

Presbyterians,  I,  76 

Presidential  campaigns:  Recollections 
of  Joseph  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  I,  834 

Presidents  of  Youngstown  Council,  I. 
267-273 

Press,  W.  C,  I,  305 

Preston,  H.  L.,  I,  346,  347 

Pretsch,  Raymond  N.,  II,  136 

Price,  George  E.,  I,  804 

Price,  Isaac  H.,  Ill,  780 

Price,  James,  I,  175,  562 

Price,  John,  I,  608 

Price,  Norman,  I,  520 

Price,  Robert,  I,  581,  608 

Prier,  G.  Herbert,  III,  789 

Pricetown  (Price's  Mills),  I,  580 

Primitive  Methodist  Churches  in 
Youngstown,  I,  326;  Niles,  I,  489 

Pringle,  John,  I,  454 

Printz,  Bert  H.,  II,  297 

Prior,  Thomas,  I,  411 

Pritchard,  William  H.,  II,  93 

Probate  Judges,  I,  344 

Probert,  David,  I,  314,  316 

Probst,  Albert,  death  of,  I,  282 

Probst,  Jacob.  I,  578. 

Proctor,   William    F.,    II,   31 

Prohibition  law  repealed,  I,  205 

Prohibition  in  Youngstown,  I,  253 

Prohibition,  Ohio  and  Youngstown 
enters  ranks  of,  I,  255 

Prosecuting  Attorneys,  I,  344 

Prosperous  Oil  Company,  I,  596,  773 

Prosser,  Dillon,  I,  507,  607 

Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Ma- 
honing County,  Youngstown,  I,  308 


Digitized  by 


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INDEX 


lxi 


Public  Parks,  I,  257 
Purdum,  George  R.,  II,  183 
Purinton,  Nathan  B.,  I,  448 
Putt,  Earl  B.,  II,  177 
Pyle,  Henry,  I,  589 
Pyle,  S.  G.,  I,  363 

Quigley,  James,  I,  414,  418,  442,  571 

Quigley,  Robert,  I,  474 

Quinby,  Ephraim,  I,  58,  103,  107,  108, 

405,  406,  407,  411,  439,  446,  469,  676; 

selects     lands    within     the    present 

Warren,  I,  403;  lays  out  Warren,  I, 

410;  III,  591 
Quinby,  Samuel,  I,  462 
Quinby,  William,  I,  462 
Quinn,  James,  I,  781 
Quinn,  James  A.,  I,  353 
Quinn,  James  J.,  I,  264 

Rach  Foundry  Company,  I,  541 

Racing  Club,  I,  132 

Railroads:  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  I, 

423,  760-64;  freight  paid  to,  in  1889, 

by  Valley  industries,  I,  689 
Railroad  strike  of  1894,  I,  223 
Raisse,  H.  W.,  I,  241 
Ralston,  Archie,  I,  605 
Ralston,  Chester  F.,  I,  447 
Ramage,  W.  H.,  I,  351 
Ramley,  Harry  B.,  I,  432 
Ramsey,  John,  I,  605 
Rand,  David  J.,  II,  248 
Randall,  C.  A.,  I,  520 
Randall,  David,  I,  105,  643 
Raney,  John  D.,  I,  267 
Ranney,  Rufus  P.,  I,  443,  455,  458,  671 
Ranz,  W.  E.,  I,  334 
Rathbun,  Clark,  I,  614 
Ratliff,  Robert  W.,  I,  424,  427 
Ratliff,  Robert  W.,  sketch  of,  I,  458 
Rauch,  John  L.,  I,  598 
Rausch,  Martin  A.,  Ill,  738 
Ray,  Frank  H.,  II,  219 
Rayen,  William,  I,  115,  117,  166,  167, 

171,  188,  274,  291,  292,  358,  416,  437, 

653,  769;  his  personal  appearance,  I, 

811;  III,  588 
Rayen  School,  I,  115,  288,  291 
Raymond,  Liberty,  I,  440 
Raymond   Concrete   Pile   Company,  I, 

748 
Ready,   Arthur   H„   III,   715 
Real  Estate   Dealers  of  Youngstown, 

I,  351 
Reaser,  J.  G.,  I,  562 
Rebhan,  Susan  M.,  I,  386,  387 
Recollects,  I,  22 
Red  Jacket  (Indian  chief),  I,  45 
Reed,  Charles  G.,  I,  536;  III,  513 
Reed,  C.  E.,  I,  294 
Reed,  James,  I,  582 
Reed,  J.  M.,  I,  532 
Reed,   Lawrence,   I,  591 
Reed,  Philo  E.,  sketch  of,  I,  458 
Reed,  Phineas,  I,  117,  261,  557 


Reeker,  W.  C,  I,  470 

Reel,  Harry  M.,  II,  351 

Reel,  Mrs.  Jacob,  I,  576 

Reel,  Peter,   I,  602 

Rees,  Elias,  III,  759 

Reese,  A.  D.,  I,  365 

Reese,  John  D.,  II,  182 

Reese,  John  N.,  II,  225 

Reese,  William  G.,  II,  71 

Reeves,  Ebenezer,  I,  642 

Reeves,  George,  I,  476,  684  . 

Reeves,  Jeremiah,  I,  476,  684 

Reeves,  John,  I,  446,  619 

Reeves,  Samuel  Q.,  I,  618 

Reeves,  Stephen,  I,  628 

Reeves,  William,  I,  327 

Reformed  Church,  I,  73;  Youngstown, 

I,  325;  Warren,  I,  453;  Struthers,  I, 
501;  North  Jackson  (Jackson  Cen- 
ter), I,  579 

Reformed  Lutheran  Church,  Peters- 
burg, I,  597;  Southington,  I,  632 

Regenstreich,  Louis,  II,  302 

Register  and  Tribune,   I,  346 

Regie,  Benjamin,  I,  592 

Rehr,  Victor  E.,  I,  744 

Reichart,  Daniel,  I,  208 

Reichel,  George  V.,  I,  562 

Reid,  O.  L.,  I,  291 

Reid,  S.  C,  I,  439 

Reid,  H.  C.  &  Company,  I,  677 

Reiger,  S.  BM  I,  560 

Reigler,  Gordon  A.,  I,  515 

Reihl,  Charles  W.,  I,  337,  359;  III, 
764 

Reilly,  Albert  A.,  Ill,  742 

Reilly  Charles  M.,  I,  219,  263;  III, 
742 

Reilly,  Edgar  J.,  Ill,  575 

Reilly,  Thomas  C,  I,  282,  385 

Reilly,  William  C,  I,  706;  II,  286 

Reinhardt,  Gustav  A.,  II,  66 

Reinhold,  F.  P.,  I,  448,  782 

Reinmann,  Alfred  E.,  I,  362,  364,  793; 

II,  17 

Reis,  George  C,  I,  682 

Remaley,  Jay,  I,  610 

Remington,  Rob  R.,  I,  542 

Renter.  W.,  I,  325 

Reorganized  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter-Day  Saints,  Youngstown, 
I,  329 

Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  I, 
182,  183,  184,  385,  472,  475,  530,  671, 
673,  682,  724 

Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company, 
Youngstown,  six  furnaces,  daily  ca- 
pacity, 500  tons,  I,  668;  Haselton 
plant,  I,  673;  general  organization 
and  management,  I,  707;  expansion 
of  plant  in  1900-17,  I,  708;  expansion 
of  plant  in  1909-19,  I,  709;  latest  re-  . 
port  of  its  operations,  I,  710;  sub- 
scriptions by  to  War  Chest  Fund,  I, 
792 

Republic  Rubber  Company,  I,  730,  731 


Digitized  by 


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lxii 


INDEX 


Republic  Rubber  Corporation,  sub- 
scriptions by  to  War  Chest  Fund,  I, 
792 

Retail  Merchants  Board  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  I,  355 

Reuben  McMillan  Free  Library  Asso- 
ciation, I,  376 

Reuben  McMillan  Free  Library,  I,  258, 
374-379;  branches  of,  I,  378;  com- 
pleted, I,  255 

Reubens,  Harry,  I,  707 

Revelation  14  Mission,  Youngstown, 
I,  330 

Rex,  Henry,  I,  499 

Reynolds,  J.  B.,  I,  353 

Reynolds,  Thomas,  II,  104 

Rhind,  J.  Massey,  I,  378,  484 

Rhodes,  Alvin  E.,  Ill,  635 

Rice,  Carl,  I,  470 

Rice,  Charles,  I,  646 

Rice,  Charles  A.,  Ill,  495 

Rice,  Clark,  I,  646 

Rice,  C.  C,  I,  770 

Rice,  David,  I,  646 

Rice,  Ephraim,  I,  646 

Rice,  George  S.,  I,  552 

Rice,  Joseph,  I,  630,  631 

Rice,  Louis  L.,  II,  261^ 

Rice,  Myrtle  L.,  I,  646 

Rice,  Paul,  I,  633 

Rice,  Samuel  W.,  Ill,  575 

Rice,  Theron  M.,  I,  341 

Rice,  William,  I,  182,  266,  671 

Rice,  William  O.,  I,  284 

Rice,  French  &  Company,  I,  685 

Richards,  Albert  N.,  Ill,  499 

Richards,  D.  H.,  I,  601 

Richards,  Henry  T.,  Ill,  801 

Richards,  Herbert,  I,  804 

Richards,  Jules  G.,  II,  33 

Richards,  Nelson  M.,  Ill,  624 

Richards,  O.  M.,  I,  799 

Richards,  Samuel  A,  II,  32 

Richards,  William,  I,  678,  686,  687, 
688 

Richards  &  Evans  Company,  III,  624 

Richardson,  H.  A.,  I,  590 

Richey,  W.  L.,  I,  570 

Richfield,  I,  59 

Richter,  E.  G.,  I,  298 

Richter,  F.  G.,  I,  317 

Rickert,  E.  L.,  I,  517 

Rickert,  H.  L.,  I,  545 

Ricksecker,  Aaron  W.,  I,  517;  II,  28 

Ricksecker,  C.  W.,  I,  517,  570 

Rider,  Henry  F.,  II,  326 

Riddle,  Samuel,  I,  577,  578 

Riegel,  Clarence  H.,  I,  747;  II,  329 

Riehl,  C.  A.,  I,  318 

Riggs,  J.  L.,  I,  617 

Riley,  Charles  T.,  II,  368 

Riley,  John  L.,  I,  565;  III,  538 

Riley,  W.  R.,  I,  601 

Rinehart,  B.  T.,  I,  588 

Rinehart,  Edward  C,  II,  345 

Ripley,  Harvey,  I,  582 


Ripley,  Warren  L.,  Ill,  451 

Ripley,  William,  I,  582 

Riss,  Frank  B.,  I,  555 

Ritchie,  C.  S.,  I,  749 

Ritchie,  Edward  W.,  I,  359:  III,  525 

Ritezel,  Franklin  M.,  I,  432,  462,  782; 
III,  717 

Ritezel,  William,  I,  462;  III,  717 

Ritter,  J.  R,  William,  III,  639 

Rivers  of  Mahoning  Valley,  I,  1 

Roads  in  Mahoning  Valley,  I,  753 

Robbins,  David,  II,  154 

Robbins,  Elizabeth  R.,  I,  663 

Robbins,  George  B.,  II,  104 

Robbins,  H.  J.,  I,  739 

Robbins,  H.  S.,  I,  610 

Robbins,  Josiah,  I,  115,  474,  754,  833 

Robbins,  J.  Jr.  (1875):  daily  coal  min- 
ing capacity  300  tons,  I,  /70 

Robbins,  Noble  T.,  II,  104 

Robbins,  Thomas,  I,  447,  562,  617,  645 

Robert,  E.  S.,  I,  488 

Roberts,  A.  T.,  I,  520 

Roberts,  Frank  A.,  I,  644;  III,  733 

Roberts,  F.  C,  I,  489 

Roberts,  James  B.,  Ill,  504 

Roberts,  John,  I,  440 

Roberts,  Robert  R.,  I,  796 

Roberts,  S.  D.,  I,  522 

Roberts,  Thomas,  I,  496 

Roberts,  Thomas  H.,  Ill,  482 

Roberts,  W.  J.,  I,  361,  793 

Robertson,  John  D.,  I,  796 

Robeson,  Jacob,  I,  474,  475,  833 

Robins,  Homer  G,  II,  174 

Robinson,  A  E.,  I,  522,  525 

Robinson,  Charles  S.,  I,  400,  706;  II, 
292 

Robinson,  George  F.,  sketch  of,  I,  342 

Robinson,  H.  M.,  I,  730 

Robinson,  Thomas  L.,  I,  360 

Rob i son,  Perry,  I,  499 

Robison,  Perry  M.,  I,  611 

Robison  &  Battles,  I,  681 

Rochford,  John  T.,  II,  123 

Rock,  T.  F.,  I,  526 

Rockwell,  Edward,  I,  341 

Rodef  Sholem  (Jewish)  Congregation, 
Youngstown,   I,  322 

Rodgers,  Henry,  I,  166 

Rodgers,  James  S.,  I,  608 

Roe,  H.  H.,  I,  628 

Roe,  Mark  W.,  Ill,  744 

Rogers,  II,  206 

Rogers,  Bruce,  II,  209 

Rogers,  Disney,  I,  342,  343,  344;  II, 
207 

Rogers,  Volney,  I,  222,  399;  II,  207 

Rohrbaugh,  L.  J.,   I,  588 

Roll,  J.  Clifford,  I,  643 

Roller,  Baltzer,  I,  589 

Roller,  Charles  J.,  Ill,  441 

Roller,  Ebenezer,  I,  487 

Roller,  Ernest  I.,  Ill,  547 

Roller,  Frank  J.,  I,  517 

Roller,  John,  I,  589 


Digitized  by 


Google 


INDEX 


briii 


Roller,  Michael,  I,  589 

Roller,  William  E.,  Ill,  413 

Roman  Catholic  Churches  of  Warren, 

1,451 
Romana    Baptist   Church,   Warren,   I, 

447 
Romanul.  I,  349 
Rook,  Samuel  C,  I,  276 
Root,  Ephraim,  I,  42,  616,  621 
Root,  J.  A.,  I,  643 
Rose,  Charles  H.,  Ill,  501 
Rose,  E.  G.,  I,  208 
Rose,  E.  R.,  I,  351 
Rose,  Frank  E.,  II,  145 
Rose,  George  E.,  I,  344;  II,  266 
Rose,  John,  I,  636 
Rose,  Simon,  I,  59 
Rose  County  Option  Law,  I,  254 
Rosecrans,  William  S.,  I,  196 
Rosenberger,  Edward  W.,  Ill,  677 
Rosensteel,  Howard,  I,  492 
Rosensteel,  John  H.,  II,  321 
Rosenthal,  Isaiah  A.,  Ill,  789 
Rosemont,  I,  584 
Ross,  Fanny,  I,  287 
Ross,  J.  W.,  I,  279 
Round,  H.  L.,  I,  355 
Rounds,  L.  J.,  I,  493 
Row,  Peter,  I,  636 
Rowe,  John  R.,  Ill,  800 
Rowland,  John  R.,  I,  361,  513,  793 
Rowles,  R.  W.,  I,  647 
Rownd,  Harry  L.,  I,  361,  398,  710,  784, 

789;  II,  217 
Royal   Grange,   Kenilworth,  I,  647 
Rudge,  George,  II,  33 
Rudge,  George,  Jr.,  II,  305 
Rudge,  J.  Edgar,  II,  33 
Ruggles,  Charles,  I,  341 
Ruggles,  Walter  B.,  I,  308 
Ruhlman,  John   H.,  I,  371;  death  of, 

I,  764 
Ruhlman,  John  W-,  I,  763 
Ruhlman,  W.  H.,  371,  764 
Rukenbrod,  Clement  A.,  Ill,  613 
Rumanian    Greek    Orthodox    Church, 

Warren,  I,  455 
Rumel,  S.  F.,  I,  786 
Rummel,  S.  T.,  I,  597 
Rundschau,  I,  350 
Runge,  Carl,  II,  111 
Runyon,  W.  C,  I,  495,  732 
Rupert,  J.  H.,  I,  593 
Rural  Community  Improvement  Club, 

1,497 
Rush,  Charles  L.,  I,  454,  612 
Rush,  Isaac  G.,  I,  208 
Rush,  John,  I,  115,  117;  III,  567 
Russell,  B.  A.,  I,  649 
Russell,  David  A.,  II,  67 
Russell,  John,  I,  554 
Russell,  Samuel  R.,  I,  439;  III,  469 
Russell,  Thomas,  I,  475,  681,  820,  821 
Russell,  W.  I  326 
Russia    Mills,    I,   476,   477,   478,    682, 

684 


Rutan,  John,  I,  628 
Rutan,  William,  I,  628 
Rutledge,  W.  A.,  I,  307 
Ryall,  Wallace  W.,  II,  119 
Ryan,  Dennis,  III,  666 
Ryan,  Joseph  E.,  I,  449 
Ryan,  William  D.,  I,  320 
Ryan,  W.  M.,  I,  523 
Ryswick,  treaty  of,  I,  22 

Sacred  Heart  Parish,  Youngstown,  I, 

312 
Sadler,  Lee,  I,  636 
Sadler,  L.  A.,  I,  636 
Sager,  Gabriel,  I,  639 
Sager,  Jacob,  I,  638 
Sager,  William,  I,  638 
Salcini,  O.,  I,  311 
Salmon,  A.  B.,  I,  450 
Salow,  Ernest,  III,  510 
Salt    Manufacture,    regular    enterprise 

(1785),  I,  651 
Salt  Springs,  I,  107,  601,  651 
Salt  Spring  tract,   I,  32,  37,  89,  471, 

602 
Salvation  Army  in  Youngstown,  I,  329 
Salvation    Army    appropriation    from 

War  Chest  Fund,  I,  791 
Samartino,  Felix,  I,  517 
Sammtrtino,  H.,  II,  372 
Samp,   Edward  J.,   I,  480 
Sample,  Eugene,  I,  571 
Sample   Steel,   I,   111 
Sampson,  William  J.,  II,  311 
Sanders,  Jacob,  I,  526 
Sanders,  J.  Reese,  I,  317 
Sanderson,   Elisha,  I,  649 
Sanderson,  Matthew  D.,  I,  275 
Sanderson,   Thomas    W.,    I,   202.   211, 

262,  266,  341,  343,  344,  346,  347,  361 
Sanford,  Alva,  I,  490 
Sanford,  B.  A.,  I,  353 
Sanford,  Lois,  I,  615 
Santoro,  Nicholas,  I,  489,  604 
"Saratoga,"  Warren's  first  steam  fire 

engine,  I,  441 
Satler,   C.   E.,   I,  721 
Satterfield,  James,  I,  508,  523 
Saturday  Night,  I,  350 
Sauer,  George  L.,  I,  497;  II,  349 
Sauer,  John  A.,  II,  104 
Sauerwein,  John,  I,  566 
Saulino,   Ciro,   III,  615 
Sauriotis,  Stefanos,  I,  326 
Sause,  W.  A.,  I,  251 
Sause,  William  L.,  Ill,  440 
Saw   Mills,   I,  657-658;   give   place   to 

flouring  mills,  I,  658 
Sawdy,  W.  L.,  I,  644 
Sawyer,  Harvey,  I,  665 
Saxon  China  Company,  I,  738 
Saxon  Pottery,  I,  540 
Saxton,  William  N.,  Ill,  745 
Sayer,  C.  G.,  I,  570 
Schafer,  J.  M.,  I,  542 
Schaff,  Philip  H.,  I,  363,  796,  III,  472 


Digitized  by 


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lxiv 


INDEX 


Schaffeld,  John  T.,  I,  523 

Schaffer,  Charles  F.,  I,  536 

Schaffer,  J.  Franklin,  I,  597 

Scheiddiger,  H.  W.,  I,  626 

Schellhase,  F.  J.,  I,  298,  318;  III,  499 

Schiller,  William  B.,  I,  711,  727,  729 

Schilling,  Jacob  D.,  I,  727 

Schillinger,  Jonathan,  I,  207 

Schilling's  Mills,  I,  586 

Schley,   Grant  B.,  I,  707 

Schmidt,  H.  H.,  I,  318 

Schmidt,  L.,  I,  330 

Schmidt,,  R.,  I,  454 

Schout,  James  S.,  II,  296 

Schmiedendorf,  Henry  R.,  Ill,  612 

Schnurrenberger,  Joseph   H.,  Ill,  612 

Schnurrenberger,  J.,  I,  207 

Schnurrenberger,  Lyman,  III,  443 

Schoenf  elder,  George,  II,  111 

Schofield.  Edward,  I,  626,  627 

Scholl,  William  J.,  II,  262 

School  Teachers  in  Youngstown  town- 
ship, X.  287 

Schoonover,   Charles   L.,   Ill,  653 

Schultz,  Walter,  I,  804 

Schuster,  George,  I,  319 

Schwartz,  I.,  I,  387 

Schwarz,  Christian,  II,  40 

Schwing  and  Knupp,  I,  596 

Scienceville  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  I,  569 

Scofield,  Jonah,  I,  557,  559 

Scotch,  I,  80 

Scotch-English,  I,  68 

Scotch-Irish,  I,  60,  61,  63,  64,  66 

Scott,  Alexander  F.,  Ill,  636 

Scott,  Cal,  I,  610 

Scott,  David  J.,  II,  263 

Scott,  James,  I,  411,  412,  418 

Scott,  L.  D.,  I,  618 

Scott,  Nehcmiah,  I,  605 

Scott  Robert,  I,  612 

Scott,  Robert  A.,  Ill,  633 

Scott,  Walter,  I,  451,  563,  613 

Scoville,  James  M.,  II,  197 

Scullin,  F.  M.,  I,  489 

Seagrave,  Austin  R.,  I,  274,  345 

Searle,  Roger,  I,  309 

Sears,  S.  E.,  I,  451 

Sea  ton,  George,  I,  287 

Sebring,  Charles  L.,  Ill,  690 

Sebring,  C.  L.,  I,  738 

Sebring,  D.  A.,  I,  738 

Sebring,  Ellsworth  H.,  I,  540,  737,  738; 
III,  689 

Sebring,  Ellsworth  M.,  I,  539 

Sebring,  Frank  A.,  I,  539,  540,  738, 
III,  687 

Sebring,  Fred,  I,  539 

Sebring,  Fred  E.,  I,  736 

Sebring,  George  E.,  I,  539 

Sebring,  Oliver  H.,  I,  539,  540,  541, 
736,  738:  III,  688 

Sebring,  William,  I,  539 

Sebring  Family  III,  686 


Sebring:  Its  founders,  the  Sebrings,  I, 
539;  schools  of,  I,  541;  churches  and 
public  affairs  of,  I,  542;  platted,  I, 
594 

Sebring  (E.  H.)  China  Company,  I, 
737 

Sebring  Cooperage  Company,  I,  541 

Sebring  Land  Company,  I,  540 

Sebring  Pottery  Company,  I,  540,  737 

Sebring  Times,  I,  541 

Sebring  Tire  and  Rubber  Company,  I, 
541,  736 

Seceder  Corners,  I,  606 

Second  Christian  Church  of  Warren, 
I,  451 

Second  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
(see  Belmont  Avenue  M.  E. 
Church),  I,  307 

Second  National  Bank  Building,  War- 
ren, I,  437,  438,  439 

Second  National  Bank,  Youngstown, 
I,  358 

Second  Ohio  Independent  Battery,  I, 
427 

Second  Ohio  Heavy  Artillery,  I,  428 

Second  Ohio  Regiment  (War  of  1812), 
I,  166 

Second  Ohio  Volunteer  Cavalry,  I,  197, 
427 

Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Niles, 
I,  488 

Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Youngs- 
town, I,  304 

Second  Primitive  Methodist  Church, 
Youngstown,  I,  326 

Second  (Spiritualist)  Church,  Youngs- 
town, I,  328 

Second  LTnited  Presbyterian  Congre- 
gation, Youngstown,  I,  321 

Sederland,  Charles,  III,  564 

Seeley,  John  W.,  I,  168,  420;  sketch 
of,  I,  460 

Seeley,  Sylvanus,  I,  460,  639 

Seely,  Garrett,  T.,  I,  371 

Seemann,  Roy  B.,  II,  41 

Seidner,  C,  I,  595 

Seidner,  J.  Ralph,  III,  508 

Seift,  John  T.,  I,  384 

Seil,  Harvey  A.,  II,  178 

Seiple,  Albert  H.,  Ill,  708 

Selby,  Thaddeus,  I,  644 

Selective  Service  System,  I,  777,  781, 
782 

Serpent  (The),  prehistoric  mound,  I, 
5 

Servis,  Francis  G.,  I,  341,  344 

Seventh  Day  Adventists,  Youngs- 
town, I,  328 

Seventh  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry 
(Bloody  Seventh),  I,  424 

Severance,  John  L.,  I,  706 

Severance,  W.  E.,  I,  294 

Severe  winter  of  1917-18,  I,  245 

Seward,  Dudley,  I,  427 

Sexton,  James  W.,  I,  494;  II,  110 

Sexton,  Stephen,  I,  494 


Digitized  by 


Google 


INDEX 


lxv 


Shacklefield,  J.  A.,  I,  306 

Shackleford,  Gibbon  C,  II,  342 

Shade,  George  B.,  I,  612 

Shaffer,  C.  J.,  I,  639 

Shaffer,  Charles  M.t  I,  350 

Shaffer,  John  W.,  II,  38 

Shaffer,  O.  P.,  I,  274,  346,  347,  348 

Shakey,  Mark,  I,  348 

Shara  Tora  (Jewish)  Congregation, 
Youngstown,  I,  323 

Sharman,  Ralph  R.,  I,  347,  398,  778; 
III,  751 

Sharon  Iron  Works,  I,  707 

Sharon  Steel  Hoop  Company,  Lowell- 
ville,  one  furnace  of  400  tons  daily 
capacity,  I,  668;  organization,  origi- 
nal operations  and  purchase  of 
Youngstown  Iron  &  Steel  Company, 
I,  719;  organized,  I,  742;  subscrip- 
tions by  to  War  Chest  Fund,  I,  792 

Sharp,  Alonzo  G.,  I,  364;  II,  260 

Sharp,  B.  F.,  I,  603 

Sharp,  J.  L.,  I,  555 

Shaw,  John  M.,  I,  362,  363 

Shawnees,  I.  13 

Sheadle,  J.  H.,  I,  689 

Sheadle,  O.,  I,  504 

Shearer,  David,  I,  596 

Shedd,  Clark  &  Company,  I,  672 

Sheehy,  Catherine,  I,  112 

Sheehy,  Daniel,  I,  92,  96,  100,  114,  127, 
162,  192,  215,  311,  410;  II,  74 

Sheehy,  Daniel,  Jr.,  I,  636 

Sheehy,  Roger,  I.  215,  568 

Sheldon,  Ebenezer,  I,  58 

Sheldon,   Eleazor,  I,  411 

Sheldon,    George    R.,    I,   707 

Sheldon,  Martin,  I,  403 

Sheldon,  Oliver,  I,  403 

Sheldon,  William  E.,  I,  804 

Shenango  Valley  Steel  Company,  I, 
696 

Shepard,  Theodore,  I,  43 

Shepard,  William,  Jr.,  I,  51 

Sherbondy,  J.  A.,  I,  780 

Sherman,  William  C,  II,  96 

Shields,  James,  I,  569 

Shiloh  Baptist  Church  (colored) 
Struthers,  I,  501 

Shiloh  Baptist  Church,  Warren,  I, 
447 

Shimp,  H.  S.  D.,  I,  569 

Shipton,  C.  F.,  I,  571 

Shoaf,  L.  F.,  I,  346,  350 

Shoemaker,  John,  I,  595 

Shoffner,  R.  H.,  I,  577 

Short,  George  W.,  I,  720 

Shrader.  C.  J.,  I,  582 

Shriver,  Charles  E.,  II,  274 

Shultz,  H.,  I,  454 

Siddall,  Samuel,  II,  382 

Siddle,  Samuel,  I,  680 

Sidley,  A.  R.,  I,  489 

Sieferts,  John  A.,  II,  150 

Siegfried,  C.  R.,  I,  747 

Sigle,  Earl  G.,  Ill,  671 


Sigler,  G.  L.,  I,  627 

Sigler,  Samuel  W.,  I,  612;  II,  55 

Sifliman,  J.  M.,  I,  275,  278 

Silvestri,  Gregoro,  II,  392 

Simms,  D.  B.,  I,  314 

Simon,  Abraham,  I,  170,  573 

Simon,  John,  II,  127 

Simon,  J.  G.,  I,  750 

Simon,  Paul  A.,  I,  574 

Simon,  Wade  E.,  Ill,  488 

Simon,  Wilbur  C,  III,  594 

Simonds,  Gustavus  B.,  Abraham  Lin- 
coln's neighbor,  I,  820 

Simon  ton,  Samuel  C,  II,  302 

Simpkins,  Fred  A.,  I,  394 

Sims,  Florence,  I,  385 

Sims,  Sara  I,  337 

Sinclair,  Dwight,   III,   522 

Sisters  of  the  Humility  of  Mary,  I, 
338 

Sittig,  William  H.,  II,  122 

"Six  Nations"  (See  also  Iroquois  Con- 
federacy), I,  9,  23;  claims  of,  to 
Ohio  lands,  I,  46 

Sixth  Ohio  Volunteer  Cavalry,  I,  197, 
427 

Skaggs,  J.  C,  I,  611 

Skinner,  David,  I,  556 

Skinner,  Eugene  W.,  II,  269 

Skinner  James,  I,  634 

Slater,  Josiah  W.,  II,  143 

Slave  rescue,  in  Bloomfield  township, 
I,  648 

Slemons,  Maude,  I,  525 

Sliffe,  Helene,  I,  491 

Sloan,  Ida  E.,  I,  486 

Sloan,  U.  W.,  I,  647 

Slovak  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church, 
Youngstown,  I,  319 

Slovak  Presbyterian  Church,  I,  305 

Slovan  Building  &  Loan  Company,  I, 
363,  365 

Small,  G.  G.f  I,  721 

Smalley,  S.  M.,  I,  542 

Smalley,  V.  E.,  I,  345 

Smiley,  W.  H.,  I,  479 
•Smith,  Al-Bert  C,  III,  719 

Smith,  Albert  W.,  II,  197 

Smith,  Alfred,  I,  368,  765 

Smith,  Arthur,  I,  610 

Smith,  Augustus  E.,  Ill,  467 

Smith,  A.  Powers,  II,  36 

Smith,  A.,  I,  447 

Smith,  Charles,  I,  423,  424,  440,  760 

Smith,  Charles  B.,  I,  445 

Smith,  Charles  W.,  I,  459 

Smith,  Clate  A,  I,  391 

Smith,  C,  I,  579 

Smith,  C.  B.,  I,  736 

Smith,  C.  W.,  I,  455,  610 

Smith,  Cornelia  G„  II,  227 

Smith,  Edward  A.,  II,  226 

Smith,  Edwin  R.,  Ill,  696 

Smith,  Electa,  I,  633 

Smith,  Ett  S.,  II,  112 

Smith,  E.  R.,  I,  610 


Digitized  by 


Google 


lxvi 


INDEX 


Smith,  E.  W.,  I,  647 

Smith,  Fannie,  I,  379 

Smith,  Frank,  I,  610  , 

Smith,  Frank  B.,  II,  130 

Smith,  F.  K.,  II,  226 

Smith,  Gauger,  I,  649 

Smith,  George  J.,  II,  250 

Smith,  George  M.,  II,  316 

Smith,  G.  E.,  I,  329 

Smith,  Harry  H.,  Ill,  604 

Smith,  Harry  S.,  II,  240 

Smith,  Horace,  I,  562 

Smith,  H.  G.,  I,  634 

Smith,  H.  W.,  II,  130 

Smith,  Isaac  J.,  I,  586;  III,  428 

Smith,   James,   I,  593 

Smith,  John  D.,  I,  614 

Smith,  John  F.,  Ill,  604 

Smith,  John  L.,  Ill,  719 

Smith,  John  T.,  I,  451 

Smith,  John  W.,  Ill,  433 

Smith,  Joseph,  III,  745 

Smith,  Justus,  I,  414 

Smith,  J.  Craig,  II,  35 

Smith,  J.   N.,  I,  621 

Smith,  Karl  J.,  II,  176 

Smith,  Martin,  I,  58,  624,  633 

Smith,  Morris,  I,  635 

Smith,  Paul  B.  H.,  I,  517;  II,  211 

Smith,  Robert  M.,  I,  481,  800;  II,  94 

Smith,  R.,  I,  446 

Smith,  Walter  G.,  II,  121 

Smith,  William,  I,  593 

Smith,  William  A.,  Ill,  433 

Smith,  William  T.,  Ill,  720 

Smith  Family,  III,  604 

Smith  coal  mine,  I,  520 

Smiths  Corners,  I,  576 

Smith  Township,  I,  593-94;  schools 
and  churches  of,  I,  594 

Snell,   Harold   E.,  I,  796 

Snively,  Howard,  I,  633 

Snodes,  I,  594 

Snodgrass,  Charles  H.,  Ill,  656 

Snodgrass,  John  A.,  I,  314 

Snyder,  F.  C,  I,  454 

Snyder,  George  B.,  I,  274;  II,  164 

Snyder,  S.  S.,  I,  501 

Sodom,  I,  606 

Sofranec,  Joseph,  I,  353 

Soldiers'  Memorial  at  Youngstown,  I, 
843 

Solicitors  of  Youngstown,  I,  267-273 

Soller,  J.  F.  C,  I,  318 

Sonnedecker,  J.,  I,  559 

Sons  of  Liberty,  I,  152 

Soule,  Lyman  T.,  I,  610 

South  High  School,  I,  291,  293 

South  Side  Park,  I,  402 

South  Side  Savings  Bank,  I,  362 

South  Side  Savings  and  Loan  Com- 
pany, I,  365 

South  Side  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  Youngstown,  I,  322 

Southington  Auxiliary,  American  Red 
Cross,  I,  798 


Southington  Grange,  I.  632 
Southington    township:    pioneers    and 

organization  of,  I,  630;  schools  and 

churches  of,  I,  631 
Sowash,  Thomas  P.,  II,  394 
Spafford,  Amos,  I,  43,  51,  58,  94 
Soahr,  S.  K.,  I,  327 
Spanish-American    War:    Youngstown 

and    Mahoning    County    in,    I,    226; 

Trumbull  County  in,  I,  432;  loss  of 

life  in,  I,  775 
Sparks,  E.  E.,  I,  607 
Sparrow  Tavern,   Poland,   where   Mc- 

Kinley  enlisted  in  1861,  I,  549 
Spaulding,  Rufus  P.,  I,  455;  sketch  of, 

I,  457 
Speak,  Ralph   R.,  II,  243 
Speaker,  W.  E.,  I,  523 
Spear,  Edward,  I,  424,  427,  440,  677 
Spear,  Horace  W.,  Ill,  590 
Spear,  William  T.,  I,  455;   sketch  of, 

I,  459 
Speers,  Henry,  I,  410,  411,  445 
Speery,  Alpheus,   I,  649 
Speery,  Hezekiah,  I,  649 
Spencer,  Elihu,  I,  462 
Spencer,  Samuel,  I,  624 
Spencer  &  Company,  I,  670 
Sperry,  Elias,  I,  649 
Sperry,  Lucius,  I,  649 
Spieth,  .William  O.,  II,  273 
Spievak,  Joseph  A.,  II,  128 
Spigler,  George  W.,  I,  229 
Spitzig,  E.  J.,  I,  313 
Spokane,  I,  638 
Sponseller,  Frederick,  I,  587 
Spotted   John    (Indian    Chief),    I,   107, 

108 
Sprague,  Gideon,  I,  638 
Sprague,  Otis,  I,  462 
Spring,  J.  B..  I,  646 
Springfield    Township,    I,    594-98;    oil 

wells  of,  I,  596;  churches  of,  I,  597 
Sproull,  E.  Theodore,  III,  409 
Squatters,  I,  89 
Squire,  John  R..  II,  178 
Squirrels,  as  pests,  I,  139 
St.  Ann's  (Catholic)  Church,  Youngs- 
town, I,  312 
St.  Ann's  Catholic  Parish,  Brier  Hill, 

I,  312 
St.  Ann's  Parish  School,  I,  295 
St.  Ann's  Catholic  Parish,  Sebring,  I, 

St.  Anthonys  (Italian  Catholic)  Par- 
ish, I,  313 

St.  Anthony's  School,  I,  296 

St.  Augustine's  Episcopal  Parish  (col- 
ored) Youngstown,  I,  311 

St.  Casimir's  (Polish  Catholic)  Church, 
Youngstown,  I,  313 

St.  Clair,  Arthur,  I,  32,  55,  58,  102; 
unpopular  in  the  west,  I,  146 

St.  Columba's  Catholic  Church,  I,  311 

Sts.  Cyril  and  Methodious  School,  I, 
296 


Digitized  by 


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INDEX 


lxvii 


Sts.  Cyril  and  Methodious  (Slovak 
Catholic)  Parish,  Youngstown,  I, 
313 

St.  Edward's  Catholic  Parish,  Youngs- 
town,  I,  312 

St.  Edward's  School,  I,  296 

St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital,  I,  258 

St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital,  Youngstown, 
I   33A  338 

St.'  Elizabeth's  (Slovak)  School,  I, 
297 

St.  Francis  (Lithuanian  Catholic)  Par- 
ish, Youngstown,  I,  313 

St.  James'  Chapel,  Youngstown,  I, 
310 

St.  James'  Episcopal  Church,  Board- 
man  Center,  I,  574 

St.  James  Lutheran  Mission,  Youngs- 
town, I,  319 

St.  James  Parish  (Episcopal),  Board- 
man,  I,  309 

St.  John's  Church  (Hellenic  Greek 
Orthodox),  Youngstown,  I,  326 

St.  John's  Evangelical  Lutheran  Con- 
gregation, Hubbard,  I,  524 

St.  John's  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  Youngstown,  I,  310 

St.  John's  (Ruthenian)  Greek  Ortho- 
dox Church,  East  Youngstown,  I, 
533 

St.  John's  (Slovak  Catholic)  Parish,  I, 
533 

St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Parish,  Youngs- 
town, I,  312 

St.  Joseph's  School,  I,  295 

St.  Luke's  Episcopal  Church,  Niles, 
I.  489 

St.  Luke's  Lutheran  Congregation,  I, 
318 

St.  Maroirs  (Syro-Maronite  Catholic) 
Parish,  Youngstown,  I,  313 

St.  Mary's  A.  M.  E.  Zion  Church, 
Youngstown,  I,  327 

St.  Mary's  Catholic  Parish,  Weather- 
field  Township,  I,  604 

St.  Mary's  (Roumanian  Greek  Catho- 
lic) Parish,  Youngstown,  I,  314 

St.  Mathias  (Slovak  Catholic)  Parish, 
Youngstown,  I,  313 

St.  Matthews  Episcopal  Mission,  Se- 
bring,  I,  542 

St.  Matthias  School,  I,  297 

St.  Nicholas  (Greek  Catholic)  School, 
I,  297 

St.  Nicholas  Greek  Orthodox  Congre- 
gation, Youngstown,  I,  326 

St.  Nicholas  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
Struthers,  I,  500 

St.  Nicholas  (Ruthenian  Greek  Catho- 
lic) Parish,  Youngstown,  I,  314 

St.  Patrick's  Catholic  Church,  Hub- 
bard, I,  523 

St.  Patrick's  Parish,  Youngstown,  I, 
312 

St.  Patrick's  Parochial  School,  Hub- 
bard, I,  525 


St.  Patrick's  School,  Youngstown,  I, 
296 

St.  ^Paul's  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church,  Youngstown,  I,  318 

St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church,  Warren, 
1,453 

St.  Paul's  Mission  (Episcopal),  Stru- 
thers, I,  501 

St.  Paul's  Reformed  Church,  Youngs- 
town, I,  325 

St.  Paul's  School,  I.  298 

St.  Peter's  Lutheran  Church,  New 
Springfield,  I.  597 

Sts.  Peter  and  Paul's  (Croatian  Cath- 
olic)  Parish,  Youngstown,  I,  313 

Sts.  Peter  and  Paul  School,  I,  296 

St.  Rocco's  Episcopal  Parish,  Youngs- 
town, I,  311 

St.  Rose's  Catholic  Parochial  School, 
Girard,  I,  510 

St.   Rose's   Church    (Catholic)    Girard, 

I,  508 

St.  Stanislaus'  (Polish  Catholic)  Par- 
ish, Youngstown,  I,  313 

St.  Stanislaus  School,  I,  296 

St.  Stephen "s  Episcopal  Church,  Can- 
field,  I,  562 

St.  Stephen's  Parochial  School,  Niles, 
1,492 

St.  Stephen's  Catholic  Church,  Niles, 
1,489 

Stacy,  Lyman,   I,  516;  II,  222 

Stacy,  Melvin,  II,  223 

Stacv,  Turhan,   II,  222 

Stafford,  H.  H.,  I,  339 

Stafford,  O.  H.,   I,  574 

Stafford,  Ward,  I,  303  _ 

Stage  coach  lines,  I,  755 

Stage  lines  and  inns,  I,  756 

Stage  coaches,  I,  132 

Stahl,  Arless,  I,  544 

Stallsmith,  Emory,  I,  586 

Stambaugh,   Henry,   I,   764 

Stambaugh,  Harry,  J.,  Sr.,  I,  731;  II, 
22 

Stambaugh,  H.  H.,  I,  256,  337,  379,  714; 

II,  23 

Stambaugh   Family,   II,  22 
Stambaugh,  John  II,  I,  207,  335,  337, 

360,  371,  382,  684,  711,  714,  732;  II, 

23 
Stambaugh,  John  III,  I,  764,  779;  II, 

23 
Stambaugh,  William  F.,  II,  72 
Stambaugh  Auditorium,  I,  256 
Stambaugh,  Tod  &  Company   (1875): 

daily  coal  mining  capacity  200  tons, 

I,  770 
Standard  Table  Oil  Cloth  Company,  I, 

734 
Standard  Tank  Car  and  Construction 

Company,   Masury,   I,  615 
Standard  Textile   Products   Company, 

I,  504,  734,  735 
Standish,  Susan,  I,  287 
Stanitz,  Marie  M.,  Ill,  615 


Digitized  by 


Google 


lxviii 


INDEX 


Stanley,  Alva  J.,  II,  390 

Stanley,  Edmund,  I,  593 

Stanley,  E.  M.,  I,  736 

Stanley,  James  C,  I,  593 

Stanley,  Nathaniel,  I,  580 

Stanley,  Thomas,  I,  593 

Stanley,  Walter,  I,  594 

Stanley  Works,  I,  748 

Stanton,  Edwin  M.,  I,  455 

Starkweather,  E.  B.,  I,  287 

State  license  law,  I,  254 

State  Line,  I,  629 

State  Militia  organized,  I,  415 

State  Road,  I,  630 

Stauffer,  Abraham,  I,  589 

Stauffer,  M.  H.,  Ill,  646 

Stauffer.  R.  B.,  II,  56 

Steck,  Charles  T.,  I,  449 

Steel  industries:  of  Mahoning  Valley, 
I,  690-96;  production  of  Youngstown 
district  (1892-1918),  I,  691;  first 
steel  plant  in  Youngstown  district, 
1,692 

Steel  strike  of  1919,  I,  250 

Steele,  Herbert  M.,  I,  742;  III,  697 

Steele,  Samuel  A.,  I,  269 

Steese,  Rollin  C,  I,  513,  714,  731,  781, 
784;  III,  743 

Steindler,  Ed.,  I,  750 

Steiner,  A.  J.,  I,  588 

Sterling,  Charles,  I,  212 

Stephens,  Coridon  E.,  Ill,  716 

Stephens,  Dexter  B.,  II,  160 

Stephenson,  Cyrus  C,  III,  522 

Stetzyuk,  Basil,  I,  313 

Steubenville,  I,  103 

Stevens,  Benjamin,  I,  677;  death  of,  I, 
449 

Stevens,  C.  E.,  I,  642 

Stevens,  Hannah,  I,  103 

Stevens,  Harry  M.,  II,  309 

Stevens,  H.  W.,  I,  480 

Stevens,  Robert,  I,  103 

Stevens,  R.  P.,  I,  371 

Stevens,  William  H.,  I,  481;  II,  309 

Stevenson,  F.  M.,  I,  522 

Stevenson,  Thomas  J.,  I,  304 

Stevenson,  W.   B.,  I,  736,  737 

Stewart,  Calvin  R.,  I,  525;  III,  725 

Stewart,  Charles  R..  Ill,  754 

Stewart  G  F.,  I,  601,  627 

Stewart,  David  C,  III,  650 

Stewart,  David  H.,  II,  320 

Stewart,  D.  G.,  I,  571 

Stewart,  Homer  E.,  I,  396,  465 

Stewart,  James  J.,  I,  509 

Stewart,  James  R.,  II,  108 

Stewart,  J.  B.,  Jr.,  I,  371 

Stewart,  T.  Calvin,  I,  488,  490 

Stewart,  William,  I,  303,  605,  607 

Stigleman,  W.  S.,  I,  346 

Stiles  Henry  Q.,  Ill,  456 

Stiles,  Mrs.  H.  Q.,  I,  468 

Stiles,  Tabitha,  I,  55 

Stiles,  William  R.,  I,  438 

Stiles  Timber  Company,  I,  680 


Stillwagon,  Arthur  P.,  Ill,  576 

Still  wagon,  Fred  W.,  I,  438,  479,  504; 
11,290 

Stillwagon,  Samuel  H.,  Ill,  532 

Stilson,  B.  B.,  I,  555 

Stilson,  George,  I,  572 

Stipanovic,  J.  A.,  I,  313 

Stitle,  William,  I,  582 

Stitt,  Walter  C,  I,  355,  400 

Stoddard,  Richard  M.,  I,  43 

Stone,  Frederick  T.,  II,  281 

Stone,  Joseph,  I,  571 

Stone,  Roswell,  I,  178;  sketch  of,  I, 
456 

Stone  &  Webster  Company,  subscrip- 
tions by,  to  war  chest  fund,  I,  792 

Storrs,  Lemuel,  I,  91.  92,  95,  644 

Storer,  Richard,  I,  103,  107,  403;  kills 
Spotted  John,   I,   108 

Stough,  Albert  B.,  I,  498;  II,  97 

Stough,  Mrs.  A.  B.,  I,  786 

Stough,    Henry,    I,   563 

Stotler,  James  E.,  I,  507 

Stow,  Harvey,  I,  620 

Stow,  Joshua.  I,  43 

Stow,  Orrie  C,  II,  308 

Stow  Family,  II,  307 

Stowe,  Auren,  I,  620 

Stratton,  Aaron,  I,  591 

Stratton,   H.  G.,  I,  424 

Stratton,  Isaac,  I,  592 

Stratton,    Stacy,    I,    591 

Stratton,  William  O.,  I,  488,  562,  629 

Street  Improvements,  I,  201,  213 

Street  railway  reforms,  I,  251 

Streeter,  Corydon  B.,  I,  274 

Streeter,  George  M.,  II,  67 

Stringer,  John  E.,  I,  507 

Strock,  Joseph,  Sr.,  II,  163 

Stroh,  J.   Roscoe,   III.  483 

Stroker,  Francis,  I,  488 

Strong,  Ashley  E.,  II,  389 

Strong,  Sidney,  I,  375 

Strong  Enamel  Company,  I,  541,  738 

Stroup,  I,  630 

Strouss,  Clarence  J.,   I,  363;  III,  705 

Strouss,  Isaac,  II,  190 

Strouss  Hirshberg  Company,  II,  190 

Struthers,  Alexander,  I,  4<M 

Struthers,  Ebenezer,  I,  494;  first  male 
child  born  in  Poland  township,  I, 
548 

Struthers,  Emma,  I,  495 

Struthers,  Drucilla,  I,  495 

Struthers,  John,  I,  58,  105,  117,  166, 
174,  260,  494,  548,  550,  554,  555,  657, 
660 

Struthers,  Thomas,  I,  495,  732 

Struthers,  William,  111,693 

Struthers,  I,  105;  history  of,  I.  494- 
501;  founding  of,  I,  495;  growth  and 
village  incorporation,  I,  496;  schools 
of,  I,  497;  parks  of,  I,  498;  graduates 
from  village  to  city,  I,  499;  churches 
of,  I,  500 


Digitized  by 


Google 


INPEX 


lxix 


Struthers  Chamber  of  Commerce,  I, 
497 

Struthers  Furnace  Company,  I,  495 

Struthers  Furnace  Company,  Struthers, 
one  furnace  of  500  tons  daily  capac- 
ity, I.  496,  668,  732 

Struthers  Iron  Company,  I,  495 

Struthers  Reading  Circle,  I,  499 

Struthers  Savings  and  Banking  Com- 
pany, I,  496 

Struthers  Tribune,  I,  497 

Stryker,   Leonard  W.  S.,   I,  310 

Stuart,  Samuel,  I,  653 

Stull,  John,   I,  605 

Stull,  John  M.,  I,  459,  683 

Stull,  S.  L.,  I,  645 

Stull,  Valentine,  I,  605 

Sullivan,  John  J.,  I,  432,  504 

Sullivan,  Warner  H.,  II,  218 

Summers,  Bert  M.,  I,  351;  III,  630 

Summers,  John,  I,  595 

Summers,  Samuel,  I,  495 

Summers,  William,  I,  495 

Summers  Brothers  Sheet  Mill  Plant, 
I,  496 

Summers  Bros.  &  Company,  I,  478,  689 

Summit    county    organized,    I,    149 

Sunday  Morning  News,  I,  346,  347,  350 

Susquehanna  Company,  I,  27 

Sutcliffe.  Mrs.  R.,  I,  328 

Sutherland.  Alexander,  I,  608 

Sutliff,  Calvin,  sketch  of,  I,  457 

Sutliff,  Levi,  III,  801 

Sutliff,  Milton,  I,  341,  455,  456  464 

Sutliff,  M.  A.,  I,  642 

Sutliff,  Phebe  T.,  Ill,  801 

Sutter,  F.  R.,  I,  454 

S wager,   Henry,  I,  605 

Swager,  Isaac,  I,  112 

Swager,  Jacob,  I,  605 

Swager.  John,  I,  103 

Swan,  W.  L.,  I,  448 

Swaney,  A.  D.,  I,  739 

Swaney,  Archibald  F.,  II,  262 

Swank,  James  M.,  I,  817 

Swan  ton,  George  T.,  II,  266 

Swartswelter,  Ernest  E.,  Ill,  532 

Swazy,  John,  I,  103 

Swedish  Baptist  Church,  Youngstown, 
I,  316 

Swedish  Evangelical  Luther  Bethel 
Church,  Youngstown,  I,  319' 

Swedish  Mission  Church,  Youngstown, 
I,  328 

Sweeney,  Albert  M.,  Ill,  783 

Swetland,  Samuel,  I,  638 

Swift,   Zepheniah,   I,   567 

Swisher,  James  G.,  II,  75 

Sykes,   R.  G.,   I,  479 

Sykes,  Saxon,  I,  190 

Sykes  Metal  Lath  Company,  I,  747 

Szymkiewicz,  C,  I,  313 

Tabernacle  Baptist  Church  (colored), 
Youngstown,  I,  317 


Tabernacle  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  Youngstown,  I,  321 

Taft,  Orin,  I,  640 

Taft,  William  H.,  I,  483 

Taggart,  William  G.,  II,  115 

Tait,  John,  I,  612 

Tait,  Robert,  I,  612 

Tamarack  Swamp,  Bloomneld  town- 
ship, I,  647 

Tana,  George,  I,  537 

Tappan,  Benjamin,  I,  106,  111,  455 

Tayler,  George,  I,  443;  death  of,  I,  438 

Tayler,  Matthew  B.,  I,  424;  death  of, 
I,  438 

Tayler,  Robert  W.,  I,  182,  192,  262, 
266,  341,  358,  671 

Taylor,  Albert  C,  II,  288 

Taylor,  B.  J.,  I,  462,  464,  465 

Taylor,  Ezra  B.,  I,  431;  sketch  of,  I, 
458 

Taylor,  George  J.,  I,  480 

Taylor,  George  M.,  II,  277 

Taylor,  Hal  K.,  I,  347 

Taylor,  Halsey  W.,  II,  240 

Taylor,  Henry,  I,  610 

Taylor,  Isabel  S.,  I,  801 

Taylor,  James  S.,  Ill,  572 

Taylor,  J.  Howard,  II,  265 

Taylor,  Jane,  I,  287 

Taylor,  John,  I,  607 

Taylor,  John   F.,   I,  707 

Taylor,  Ralph  G.,  Ill,  473 

Taylor,  Reginald  V.,  I;  802,  804 

Taylor,  Sylvester,  I,  636 

Taylor,  Thomas  J.,  I,  449 

Taylor,   Wade  A.,   I,  481;   III,  699 

Taylor,  W.  D.,  I,  353 

Teeter,   Wilson,  I,  589 

Teeters,  Elisha,  I,  589,  590 

Telegraph  last  boat  on  Pennsylvania 
&  Ohio  Canal,  I,  760 

Temperance  crusades,  I,  204  • 

Temperance  furnace,  I,  827 

Templeton,  D.  D.,  I,  746 

Templin,  John,  I,  592 

Tenth  Ohio  Cavalry,  I,  198 

Tenth  Ohio  Infantry,  I,  779 

Terhanko,  George,  I,  537 

Theiss,  C.  F.,  I,  298 

Theobald,  David,  I,  323,  335,  336 

Third  Baptist  Church  (colored), 
Youngstown,  I,  316 

Third  Brigade,  War  of  1812  (Trum- 
bull and  Ashtabula  counties),  I,  166 

Third  Reformed  Church,  Brownlee 
Woods,  I,  326 

Thirty-Eighth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, I,  425 

Thirty-Fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try (Civil  War),  I,  196 

Thirty-Sixth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry 
(Civil  War),  I,  196 

Thirty-Seventh  Ohio  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, Company  I,  (Civil  War), 
I,  196 

Thoman,  Henry,  I,  587 


Digitized  by 


Google 


lxx 


INDEX 


Thoman,  L.  D.,  I,  344,  348 
Thomas,  Arthur  R.,  I,  605 
Thomas,  B.  Frank,  II,  218 
Thomas,  Charles  S.,  I,  481;  II,  70 
Thomas,  Clinton  G.,  I,  714;  III,  453., 
Thomas,  D.  C,  I,  489 
Thomas,  Evan  E.,  Ill,  589 
Thomas,    Evan   J.,   II,   20 
Thomas,  F.   E.,  I,  736 
Thomas,  Frank  J.,  II,  96 
Thomas,  Frank  J.,  II,  186 
Thomas,  George  P.,  II,  114 
Thomas,  Helen  S.,  Ill,  693 
Thomas,  Homer,  I,  492;  II,  341 
Thomas,  Ira  A.,  II,  95 
Thomas,  John  M.,  I,  739 
Thomas,  John  R.,  I,  476,  477,  683,  738; 

II.  217 

Thomas,  John  R.,  Ill,  805 

Thomas,  J.  A.,  I,  747 

Thomas,  J.  E.,  I,  480,  739 

Thomas,  Roy,  I,  588 

Thomas,  R.  L.,  I,  317 

Thomas,   R.   S.,   I,  444 

Thomas,  Thomas  C,  II,   161 

Thomas,  T.  D.,  I,  493 

Thomas,  Thomas  E.,  I,  479,  481;  III, 

806 
Thomas,  T.  J.,  I,  481 
Thomas,  T.  L\,  I,  328 
Thomas,  Warren,  III,  473 
Thomas,  William  F.,  I,  479;  II,  342 
Thomas,  William  G.,  Ill,  797 
Thomas.  W.  A.,    I,  398,  714,  736,  739; 

III.  698 

Thomas  furnace,  I,  696 
Thomas  Steel  Company,  I,  479,  712 
Thompson,  Alexander,  I,  576 
Thompson,  Alexis  W.,  I,  707 
Thompson,  Allen  P.,  Ill,  559 
Thompson,  Edward,  I,  543 
Thompson,  Edward  D.,  II,  323 
Thompson,  E.  R.,  I,  462 
Thompson,  George  V.,  Ill,  510 
Thompson,  Hiram  F.,  I,  641 
Thompson,  John  G.,  I,  467 
Thompson,  J.  A.,   I,  356 
Thompson,  J.  B.,  I.  804 
Thompson,  J.  M.,  I,  305 
Thompson,  Matthew,   I,  403 
Thompson,  X.  \V.f  I,  644 
Thompson,  Philip  J.,  I,  355;  II,  5 
Thompson,  Samuel,  I,  781 
Thompson,  Seth,  I,  418 
Thompson,  Seth,  Sr.,  I,  622 
Thompson,  V.  C,  I,  444 
Thorn,  Henry,  I.  612 
Thorn,  John,  I.,  605 
Thorn,  William,  I,  612 
Thornton,  Anson,  III,  621 
Thornton,  Carroll,  I,  241,  273;  II,  184; 

111,621 
Thornton,  Mrs.  Carroll,  I,  784 
Thornton,  Charles,  III,  621 
Thornton,  Jesse,  III,  621 
Thornton,   Mrs.  Jessie,   I,  309 


Thornton  Brothers  Company,  III,  621 

Thoyer,  F.  D.,  I,  627 

Threshing,  I,  130 

Thullen,  Henry,  I,  589 

Tidd,  John,  I,  602 

Tidd,  Martin,  I,  103 

Tiefel.  George,  I,  605 

Tiefel,  John  C,  I,  782 

Timmer,  Frank,   I,  594 

Tinker,   C.   E.,   I,  610 

Tobias,  Calvin,  I,  557 

Tod,  Butler  &  Company,  I,  727 

Tod,  David  (War  Governor  of  Ohio), 

I,  178,  181,  194,  278,  340,  342,  360,  378, 
423,  509,  667,  687,  710,  711,  714,  731, 
760,  764,  769,  784;  death  of,  I,  349; 
plats  town  of  Girard,  I,  502;  his  re- 
fusal of  a  cabinet  position,  I,  825; 
III,  596 

Tod,  Mrs.  David,  I,  337,  784,  789 

Tod,  David,  II,  221 

Tod,  Frances  B.,  II,  221 

Tod,  Fred,  I,  714:  II,  221 

Tod,  George,  I,  58,  106,  111,  117,  161, 
163,  166,  168,  260,  337,  340,  390,  414, 
416,    437,    455,    466,    673,    711,    730; 

II,  220 

Tod,  George,  Jr.,  Ill,  414 

Tod.  Henry,  I,  358,  395,  711,  817;  II, 

220 
Tod  (H.)  &  Company.  I,  687 
Tod,  John,  I,  337t  398,  513,  714,  730, 

750,  793;  II,  221 
Tod,  Jonathan  I.,  I,  581 
Tod,  Sallie,  I,  337 
Tod,   William,   II,  221 
Tod  Family,  II,  220 
Tod     Avenue      Methodist      Episcopal 

Church,  I,  451 
Tod    Corps    No.    2,    Woman's    Relief 

Corps,  I,  394 
Tod  Furnace  (rebuilt  Grace  No.  1),  I, 

181,  711,  712 
Tod  Iron  Company  (1875):  daily  coal 

mining  capacity  250  tons,  I,  770 
Tod  Post  No.  29,  Grand  Army  of  the 

Republic,   I,  394 
Tod   (William)    Company,  I,  674,  721 
Tod     (William),     Engine     Company's 

Works,  I,  675 
Tolles.  William  R.,  I,  197 
Tonsmeier,  E.  S.,  I,  488 
Tope,  Homer  W.,  I,  318 
Topping,  John  A.,  I,  710,  815 
Topping,  John   R.,   I,  707 
Torrence,  James,  I,  506 
Tousley.  Eli,  I,  556 
Towne,  Josiah,   I,  448 
Townsend,  C.  C,  I,  448 
Townsend,  Daniel,  I,  710 
Townsend,  F.,  I.  653 
Townsend,  G.  T.,  I,  506 
Townships    of    Mahoning    County,    I, 

544 
Townships    of    Trumbull    bounty,    I, 

599 


Digitized  by 


Google 


INDEX 


lxxi 


Tracy,  Addison,  I,  649 
Tracy,   Linus,    I,  649 
Tracy,  Seth,  I,  466,  649 
Tracey,  Uriah,  I,  567 
Transcendant  Church,  Warren,  I,  455 
Transportation,     I,     132,     177;     early 
through    Mahoning   Valley,    I,   753; 
by  water,  I,  754;  railroad  fails,  Penn- 
sylvania &  Ohio  Canal  projected,  I, 
757;  automobiles  and  aeroplanes,  I, 
766 

Traser,  F.  W.,  I.  553 

Travis,  Ernest  W.,  II,  375 

Travis,  William,  I,  286 

Treat,  G.  G.,  I,  513,  729 

Treat,  John,  I,  611 

Treudley,  Frederick  A.,  I,  288 

Trew,   Andrew,    I,  603 

Trigg,  Frank  G.,  II,  162 

Trinity  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church, 
Youngstown,  I,  318 

Trinity  Lutheran  Church,  Girard,  I, 
507 

Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
Youngstown,  I,  306 

Tritt.  William  H.,  II,  194 

Triumph  Church,  Youngstown,  I,  330 

Trout,  J.   H.,  I,  319 

Troxell,  A.  H.,  I,  633 

True  American,  I,  345 

Truesdale,  Charles  R.,  I,  342,  344 

Truesdale,  Chase  T.,  I,  362,  365,  781, 
793;   II,  352 

Truesdale,  John  R.,  I,  356;  III,  697 

Truesdale,  Seth  H.,  I,  555 

Truesdell,  Alonzo,  I,  440 

Truesdell  &  Hitchcock,  I,  677 

Trumbull,  Jonathan,  I,  57;  after  whom 
Trumbull  countv  was  named,  I, 
406 

Trumbull  Banking  Company,  Girard, 
I,   505 

Trumbull  county,  I,  49;  county  created, 
identical  with  Western  Reserve,  I, 
57;first  officers  of,  I,  58;  divided  into 
civil  townships,  I,  59;  created,  I,  106, 
406:  organized,  I,  111;  its  early  poli- 
tics, I,  148;  (see  also  Connecticut 
Western  Reserve),  I,  148;  identical 
with  the  Connecticut  Western  Re- 
serve (1800-1805),  I,  149;  created 
from  Western  Reserve,  I,  160;  as  the 
mother  of  counties  I,  161;  two 
regiments  for  War  of  1812,  I,  165; 
east  of  the  Cuyahoga  River  divided 
into  eight  civil  townships,  I,  260; 
Garfield  campaign  in  1880,  I,  430;  its 
pioneer  bar,  I,  455;  general  descrip- 
tion, I,  599;  school  system  of,  I,  600; 
its  coal  mines  in  1870  and  1880,  I, 
770;  Fifth  Regiment  Ohio  National 
Guard,  Company  D,  I,  780;  Trum- 
bull County  Agricultural  Society  or- 
ganized, I,  423;  World  War,  I,  780, 
781 


Trumbull  County  Bar  Association,  I, 
460 

Trumbull  County  Farm  Bureau,  I,  600 

Trumbull  County  Improvement  Asso- 
ciation, I,  600 

Trumbull  County  Law  Library  Asso- 
ciation, I,  460 

Trumbull  County  Medical  Associa- 
tion, I,  461 

Trumbull  County  Public  Service  Com- 
pany, Newton  Falls  plant,  I,  610 

Trumbull  County  Whig,  I,  463 

Trumbull  Democrat,  I,  462,  463 

Trumbull  Electric  Railroad  Company, 
I,  369,  370 

Trumbull  Iron  ^Company,  I,  679,  688 

Trumbull   Library,   I,  463 

Trumbull  Manufacturing  Company,  I, 
677 

Trumbull  Phalanx  Company,  I,  620 

Trumbull  Riflemen  (Company  C,  Nine- 
teenth Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry),  I, 
424 

Trumbull  Rural  Associate,  I,  463 

Trumbull  Savings  and  Loan  Company, 
Warren,  I,  439 

Trumbull  Savings  and  Loan  Company. 
Girard,  I,  505 

Trumbull  Service  Company,  I,  442 

Trumbull  Steel  Company,  I,  435,  676; 
original  plant  of,  I,  717;  expansion 
in  1916-19.  I,  718 

Trump  of  Fame,  first  newspaper  of 
the  Western  Reserve,  I,  415,  416, 
462 

Truscon  Steel  Company,  I,  726t  727; 
subscriptions  by,  to  war  chest  fund. 
I,  792 

Trustees.  I,  117 

Tucker,  Daniel,  I,  636 

Tully,  James,  I,  605 

Tully,  John  B.,  I,  605 

Tupper,  Reuben,  I,  556 

Turnbull,  Robert,  I,  190,  578 

Turner,  Carl  S.,  I,  802 

Turner  Edward  H.,  II,  150 

Turner,  George  F.,  Ill,  619 

Turner,  Harry  B.,  I,  443;  II,  284 

Turner,  Karl,  I,  804 

Turner,  Virgil  E.,  I,  569 

Turner.  George  &  Son,  I,  675 

Turnpikes  of  the  early  times,  I,  755 

Tuscarawas,  I,  13 

Tutter,  Herbert  V.,  I,  356;  II,  264 

Tuttle,  George  M.,  I,  458,  460,  464 

Tylee,  Alfred,  I,  518 

Tylee,  Samuel,  I,  117,  166,  260,  465, 
466,  518,  520;  III,  726 

Tylee,  Sylvester,  I,  518 

Tylee's  Corners,  I,  518 

Tyler,  E.  B.,  I,  195,  424 

Tyler,  Joel  W.,  I,  459 

Tyrrell,  I,  625 

Tyrrell,  Asahel,  I,  670 

Tyrrell,  O.  A.,  I,  636 

Tyrrell,  W.  G.,  I,  626 


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lxxii 


INDEX 


Tyrrell's  Corners,  I,  625 

Twelfth  Ohio  Cavalry,  I,  198 

Twelfth  Ohio  Volunteer  Cavalry,  I, 
427 

Twentieth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry, 
Company  H,  in  the  Civil  War,  I, 
196 

Twentieth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  I, 
424 

Twenty-Third  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, in  the  Civil  War;  officers  who 
became  famous,  I,  196 

Twenty-Fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, I,  425 

Twenty-Fifth  Ohio  Independent  Bat- 
tery, I,  428 

Twenty-Sixth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, Company  G  (Civil  War),  I, 
196 

Twenty-Seventh  Volunteer  Infantry 
(Civil  War),  I,  196 

Twenty-Ninth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, I,  425 

Ullman,  Bert  J.,  I,  385 

Ulrich,  H.  W.,  I,  227,  228,  522 

Umstead,  John  C,  II,  360 

Underwood,  Charles,  I,  348 

Underwood,  Lawrence  H.,  II,  100 

Uniform  municipal  code  enacted 
(1902),  I,  231 

Union  Church  Building,  Southington 
Center,  I,  631 

Union  Congregational-Presbyterian 
Church,  Kinsman,  I,  643 

Union  Grange,  Orangeville,  I,  623 

Union  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  I,  672, 
673,  679,  688,  696,  715 

Union  National  Bank,  I,  438 

Union  Safe  Deposit  Company  I,  359 

Union  Savings  and  Trust  Company, 
Warren,  I,  437,  438 

Union  School  System,  I,  287;  adopted 
in  Warren,  I,  442 

United  Brethren  Church  of  Warren,  I, 
454;  Woodworth,  I,  574;  Austintown 
Township,  I,  577;  East  Lordstown, 
I,  613;  Orangeville,  I,  624;  Fowler 
Township,  I,  626;  Cortland,  I,  628; 
Champion,  I,  629;  Vernon  Center, 
I,  634 

United  Engineering  &  Foundry  Com- 
pany, I,  674,  720;  subscriptions  by, 
to  War  Chest  Fund,  I,  792 

United  Evangelical  Churches  of  War- 
ren, I,  454;  Delightful,  I,  631 

United  Presbyterian  Churches  in 
Youngstown,  I,  320;  Warren,  I,  454; 
Struthers,  I,  500;  Sebring,  I,  542; 
Poland,  I,  554 

Union  Presbyterian-Congregational 
Church,  Ellsworth  Center,  I,  583 

U.  S.  Grant  School,  I,  291 

United  States  Steel  Corporation,  I, 
673,  696,  817;  its  welfare  work  in 
the  Youngstown  district,  I,  717,  817 


United  War  Work  Campaign,  I,  791 
Universalist  Church,  Vernon  Center.  I, 

634 
Upper  Union  Mill,  I,  673 
Upson,  Daniel,  I,  622 
Upton,  Harriet  T.,  I,  465,  797 
Ursuline  Academy,  I,  297 
Ursuline  Sisters,  I,  295 

Vahey,  William  H.,  Ill,  676 

Vallandigham,  Charles  L.,  I,  348 

Valley  Mill,  I,  707 

Van  Alstine,  Thomas  B.,  I,  307,  362, 
364;  III,  453 

Van   Baalen,  Isa,  II,  120 

Van  Cise,  J.  E.,  II,  374 

Van  Gorder,  F.  S.,  I,  432,  462,  780, 
802, 

Van  Gorder,  George,  I,  464 

Van  Gorder,  James  L.,  I,  406,  411 

Van  Gorder,  J.  R.,  sketch  of,  I,  461 

Van  Gorder,  Wesley  B.,  Ill,  695 

Van  Houter,  S.  P.,  I,  470 

Van  Hyning,  Giles,  I,  207,  341,  344 

Van  Hyning  &  Co.,  I,  567 

Van  Kirk,  J.  W.,  I,  307 

Van  Ness,  J.  J.,  I,  330 

Van  Ness,  Lou  C,     III,  723 

Van  Ness,  R.  H.,  I,  522;  III,  519 

Van  Netten,  John,  I,  580 

Van  Norden,  Harold  B.,  I,  802 

Van  Wye,  Frank  C,  II,  230 

Van  Wye,  Joseph  W.,  Ill,  721 

Van  Wye,  Maria  E.,  Ill,  650 

Van  Wye,  William,  III,  650 

Van  Wye,  W.  J.,  I,  600 

Varlaky,  Alex,  I,  313 

Varley,  Herbert,  I,  440 

Vascak,  Joseph  G.,  I,  365;  II,  371 

Vaughan,  Charles,  death  of,  I,  282 

Vaughan,  C.  A.,  I,  345 

Vaughn,  Edward  H.,  II,  188 

Vautrot,  Jules,  Jr.,  II,  276 

Veach  coal  mine,  I,  520 

Venable,  David,  I,  591 

Venen,  W.  J„  I,  328 

Veney,  G.  T.,  I,    649 

Vernon,  I,  59 

Vernon  Auxiliary,  American  Red 
Cross,  I,  798 

Vernon  Center,  I,  633,  634 

Vernon-Hartford  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  said  to  be  the  first  on  Wes- 
tern Reserve,  I,  634 

Vernon-Hartford  Methodist  Episcopal 
Society,  I,  624 

Vernon  Township:  early  settlers  and 
schools  of,  I,  633 

Veteran  Volunteer  Firemen's  Associ- 
ation, I,  281 

Vetter,  George  J.,  I,  264 

Vienna  Auxiliary,  American  Red  Cross, 
I,  798 

Vienna  Center   (village),  I,  617 

Vienna  Coal  Company,  I,    616 


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lxxiii 


Vienna  Coal  &  Iron  Company  (1875): 

daily  coal  mining  capacity,  600  tons, 

I,  770 
Vienna  Township :  early  settlement  and 

organization,    I,    616;    schools    and 

churches  of,  I,  617 
Viers,  Brice,  I,    165 
Viets,  David,  I,  630 
Viets,  Luke,  I,     630 
Viets,  M.  G.,  I,  631 
Vincent,  W.  H.,  I,  321 
Vindicator,  I,  348 

Vindicator  Printing  Company,  I,  348 
Vinopal,  Carl  L.,  II,  160 
Virginia:  first  charter  granted,  I,  25 
Virginia  Military  Reserve,  I,  30 
Visiting   Nurse   Association,   Youngs- 
town,  I,  258,  339,  388 
Voda,  Aurel,  I,  314 
Vogel,  Emil  F„  II,  61 
Voegelin,  Charles  F.  N.,  I,  305 
Vogelberger,  Frank,  II,  148 
Vogelberger,  Joseph,  II,  372 
Voit,  William  S.,  I,  433 
Votaw,  Samuel,  I,  592 
Voyer,  Louis  L,  I,  747;  II,    330 
Wacker,  Charles  A.,  I,  707 
Waddell,  Jacob  D.,  I,  480,  736;  II,  108 
Wade,  B.  F.,  I,  152,  197,  286,  427,  455 
Wadsworth,    Elijah,    I,    55,    165,    167, 

169,  171,  390,  411,  415,  557,  558,  571, 

753 
Wadsworth,  John  X.,  Ill,  609 
Wadsworth,  Robert,  I,  355,  793;  III, 

507 
Wadsworth,  W.  R.,  I,  522 
Wadsworth,  Elijah,  I,  114 
Waggoner,  Samuel  C,  II,  347 
Wagstaff,  James  W.,  II,  62 
Wakefield,  E.  B.,  I,  451 
Wakefield,  John,  I,  645 
Wakefield,  Roy,  I,  555 
Walcott,  W.  A.,  I,  465 
Waldeck,  Frank  H.,  I,  432 
Walker,  Charles  F.,  Ill,  680 
Walker,  Delia  M.,  Ill,  620 
Walker,  H.  D.,  I,  650 
Walker,  H.  W.,  I,  318 
Walker,  Isaac,  I,  554 
Walker,  John,  III,  634 
Walker,  Robert  H.,  I,  504,  606,  667 
Walker,  Robert  L.,  I,  828,  829 
Walker,  Zebulon,  I,  634 
Wall,  Clinton  J.,  II,  304 
Wallace,   James,   I,   190,  565,  595 
Wallace,  Joseph,  I,  282;  III,  407 
Wallace,  J.   M.,  I,  321 
Wallace,  R.  H.,  I,  644 
Wallace,    William,    I,    438;    death   of, 

I,  796 
Wallace,  W.  Marcus,  III,  643 
Waller,  Chester  C,  II,  238 
Wallis,  William  C,  II,  156 
Wallis,  William  J.,  I,  749;  II,  62 
Walnut       Street      Baptist       Church, 

Youngstown,  I,  314 


Walsh,  Tom,  III,  635 

Walther,  Harry  C,  II,  111. 

Wanamaker,  Tillie,  I,  787 

Wannamaker,  Benjamin,  I,  578 

Wannamaker,  John,  I,  627 

Wantz,  Hugo,  I,  537 

War  of  1812,  Ohio's  part  in,  I,  164; 
state  divided  into  four  military  divi- 
sions, I,  165;  Nineteenth  U.  S.  In- 
fantry Regiment  from  Ohio  and 
Kentucky,  I,  168;  Ohio  militiamen 
battle  Indians,  I,  168;  Victory  at  Put- 
in-Bay, I,  171;  Simon  Perkins's  re- 
port on  Battle  of  the  Peninsula,  I, 
416 

Ward,  Frank,  I,  492 

Ward    F.  W.    I    339 

Ward,'  James^r.,  I,  681,  738,  820,  821, 
831,  833;  death  of,  I,  476 

Ward,  James,  III,  592 

Ward,  James  Duncan,  I,  812 

Ward,  James  D.,  death  of,  I,  813 

Ward,  James,  Jr.,  I,  476,  683,  686;  as- 
sassination of  (1864),  I,  682 

Ward,  Lizzie  B.,  I,  683 

Ward,  L.  B.,  I,  676 

Ward,  William,  I,  475,  476,  682,  686, 
687,  820 

Ward,  William  C,  I,  432,  747;  III, 
437 

Ward,  William  H.  B.,  I,  718,  782,  799; 
II,  275 

Ward  failure,  I,  477 

Ward  furnace,  erected  (1870),  Wm. 
Ward  &  Company,  Niles,  capacity 
twenty-six  tons,  I,  668,  683 

Ward  Iron  Company,  I,  477,  676,  683, 
684 

Ward,  James  &  Company,  I,  475,  476, 
603,  665,  681,  682,  685,  813;  makes 
an  assignment,  I,  477;  failures  of,  I, 
683;  writes  as  to  value  of  black  band 
ore,  I,  768 

Ward,  Kay  &  Company,  I,  720 

Ward,  L.  B.  &  Company,  I,  477,  683; 
failure  of,  I,  477,  684 

Ward  Nail  Company,  Struthers,  I,  496 

Ward,  Margerum  &  Company,  I,  720 

Ward,  William  &  Company,  I,  683 

Ware,  William,  I,  592 

Warhurst,  George,  I,  529 

Warne,  John  H.,  I,  725;  II,  341 

Warner,  Israel,  I,  595 

Warner,    Jonathan,    I,    382,    717,    718; 

II,  '278 

Warner,    Jonathan,    I,   603,    665,    686; 

III,  589 

Warner,   Jonathan    (1875):   daily   coal 

mining  capacity  300  tons,  I,  770 
Warner  &  Ormsby  (1875):  daily  coal 

mining  capacity  100  tons,  I,  770 
Warnock,  Fred  J.,  II,  57 
Warnock,  George  C,  II,  136 
Warren,  Mrs.  H.  D.,  I,  468 
Warren,    Moses,    I,    43;    after    whom 
Warren  was  named,  I,  404 


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lxxiv 


INDEX 


Warren,  Moses,  Jr.,  I,  51 
Warren,  William  H.,  II,  26 
Warren,  I,  58,  59,  103,  106,  117,  123, 
159,  161,  175,  185;  county  seat  of 
Trumbull,  I,  57,  160;  pioneer  lawyers 
of.  I,  106;  first  postmaster  of,  I,  114; 
celebrates  opening  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Ohio  canal,  I,  178;  center  of 
Legal  Practice,  I,  340;  history  of,  to 
War  of  1812,  I,  403-415;  Indians 
threaten  village,  I,  407;  platted  by 
Ephraim  Quinby,  I,  410;  first  school 
and  first  church  in,  I,  411;  its  con- 
test with  Youngstown  over  the 
county  seat  (1801-1810),  I,  413; 
metropolis  of  Western  Reserve 
(1810),  I,  414;  in  1816,  I,  418;  Penn- 
sylvania and  Ohio  Canal  completed, 
and  village  incorporation  effected,  I, 
420;  county  buildings  of  1840,  I,  421; 
its  early  fire  department  and  fires, 
I,  422;  street  and  sewerage  improve- 
ments in,  1865-66,  I,  428;  becomes  a 
city  (1869),  I,  429;  famous  Garfield 
rally  in,  I,  431;  in  the  Twentieth 
Century,  I,  433;  great  industrial 
growth  in  1910-20,  I,  435;  financial 
institutions  of,  I,  437-39;  village  and 
city  of,  created,  I,  440;  fire  depart- 
ment of,  I,  441;  schools  of,  I,  442- 
44;  first  religious  services  in,  I,  445; 
churches  of,  I,  445-55;  fraternal  so- 
cieties of,  I,  465-68;  parks  of,  I,  469; 
grist  mill,  first,  I,  676;  its  only  blast 
furnace,  I,  678;  early  industries  at, 
I,  676-81;  its  first  electric  light,  I, 
681 
Warren  Automobile  Club,  I,  801 
Warren  Board  of  Trade,  I,  433,  465 
Warren  Bible  School  Mission,  I,  455 
Warren  Chronicle,  I,  415,  463 
Warren  Church  (Methodist  Episcopal), 

I,  450 
Warren  City  Hospital,  I,  461 
Warren  City  Tank  &  Boiler  Company, 

I,  746 
Warren  Constitution,  I,  463 
Warren   Council,  No.  620,  Knights  of 

Columbus,  I,  467 
Warren  Electric  Company,  I,  681 
Warren  furnace,  erected  (1870),  Rich- 
ard &  Sons,  Warren,  capacity,  thirty 
tons,  I,  668 
Warren    Library    Association,    I,    463, 

464 
Warren    Lodge,    No.   295,    Benevolent 

Protective  Order  of  Elks,  I,  467 
Warren  Machine  Works,  I,  677 
Warren  Military  Bank  School,  I,  444 
Warren  Public  Library,  I,  463 
Warren  Record,  I,  463 
Warren   Rolling  Mill,   I,  430 
Warren  Rotary  Club,  I,  801 
Warren  Savings  Bank  Company,  I,  438 
Warren  School  Association,  I,  442 
Warren  Township,  Trumbull  county,  I, 


103;  organized  civilly,  I,  411;   Civil 

township,'  I,  439,  469 
Warren  Tribune,  I,  463 
Warren  Tube  Company,  I,  679 
Warrensville       township,       Cuyahoga 

county,  I,  53 
Warrick,   C.   L.,  I,  611,  612 
"War-time"    property    (1915-1918),    I, 

242 
Washington   (Booker  T.),  Settlement, 

Youngstown,  I,  330 
Washington  County,  I,  32 
Washingtonville,  I,  589 
Washingtonville  Evangelical  Lutheran 

Church,   I,   590 
Waterman,  David,  I,  556 
Waters,  Lester,  I,  644 
Watkins,  James,  I,  277;  III,  412 
Watson,  Albert,  I,  440 
Watson,  A.  Phile,  II,  363 
Watson,  A.  H.,  I,  743 
Watson,  Thomas,  I,  591 
Watson,  Walter  E.,  II,  225 
Watson,  William,  I,  511 
Watters,  R.  B.,  I,  593 
Watters,  W.  B.,  I,  593 
Watts,  George  W..  I,  710 
Wayman,  J.  M.,  I,  577 
Wayne,  Anthony,  I,  13,  145 
Wayne  County,  I,  32 
Wayside  Mission,  I,  304 
Weasner,  Robert,  III,  584 
Weatherby,   Zebina,   I,  411 
Weathersfield     Township,     Trumbull 

County,  I,  471,  473,  601-605 
Weaver,  Charles  B.,  sketch  of,  I,  813 
Weaver.  H.  D.,  I,  736 
Weaver,  Mrs.  Pamela  C.  M.  W.,  sketch 

of,  I,  812 
Weaver,  Thomas,  III,  541 
Webb,  Andrew,  I,  572 
Webb,  David,  I,  635 
Webb,  Edwin,  I,  589 
Webb,  John  M.,  I,  345,  346,  348,  566; 

death  of   I   349 
Webb,   Thomas   D.,   I,  415,  419,  462; 

sketch  of,  I,  456 
Weber,  Ambrose  A.,  I,  453 
Webster,  George  A.,  II,  124 
Wechbacher,  W.  H.,  I,  627 
Weeks,  John,  I,  463,  566 
Weikert,  Peter,  I,  589 
Weil,  Isadore  S.,  II,  113 
Weinberger,  Sol,  III,  796 
Weisner,  Floyd  E.,  I,  582 
Weiss,  Adolf,  I,  610;  III,  762 
Weitz,  John  J.,  II,  137 
Welch,  Harry  E.,  I,  248,  339,  362,  782; 

II,  365 
Welch,  Roy  M.,  II,  195 
Weldy,  Jacob,  I,  584 
Wells,  Charles  B.,  Ill,  766 
Wells,  Jesse  E.,  I,  779 
Wells,  Samuel  H.,  I,  168 
Wells,   Thomas   H.,    I,   184,   266,  346, 

512,  722;  III,  670 


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lxxv 


Wells,  Thomas  H.,  Jr.,  Ill,  670 
Welsh,  I,  78,  79 
Welsh,  A.  G.,  I,  598 
Welsh  Baptist  Society,  I,  314 
Welsh  Baptist  Church,  I,  524 
Welsh  Congregational  Church,  Young- 
town,  I,  324 
Welsh,  Ezra  C,  I,  598;  II,  77 
Welsh,    Michael    B.,   death  of,   I,  273 
Welsh  Presbyterian  Church,  Youngs- 
town,  I,  305 
Welsh  Presbyterian  Church  of  Niles, 

I,  488 
Welsh,  William  H.,  Ill,  574 
Wentz,  A.,    I,  438 
Wentz,  Charles  E.,  Ill,  573 
West   Austintown,   I,   575,   576,   685 
West    End    Mission,    Youngstown,    I, 

330 
Wester,  Ernest  W.,  II,  72 
Wester,  Louis  &  Sons,  II,  72 
Wester,  J.  Walter,  II,  72 
Westerber^,  John  P.,  I,  316 
Western    Conduit   Company,   Youngs- 
town,  I,  702 
Western      Conduit     &     Manufacturing 

Company,  Harvey,  Illinois,  I,  702 
Western  Pennsylvania,  I,  64 
Western  Reserve,  Survey  of,  author- 
ized (1786),  I,  31;  Connecticut's  title 
to  clouded,  I,  32;  grant  of  "Fire 
Lands*'  to  Revolutionary  sufferers,  I, 
33;  Connecticut  purchasers  of,  I, 
36;  extent  of  unknown,  I,  38;  trus- 
tees of,  I,  38;  divided  into  shares,  I, 
39;  proprietors'  terms  of  purchase,  I, 
40;  survey  commenced  under  Moses 
Cleaveland,  I,  42;  trip  of  Cleaveland 
surveying  party  to,  I,  44;  Cleaveland 
surveying  party  lands  at  Port  Inde- 
pendence, I,  4/;  first  settlement,  I, 
48;  surveyors  commence  work,  I, 
48;  delays  in  survey  of,  I,  50;  second 
surveying  party  organized  for,  I, 
51;  eastern  part  of,  surveyed,  I,  52; 
townships  equalized,  second  draft  of 
lands,  I,  53;  third  and  fourth  draft  of 
lands,  total  acreage  in,  I,  54;  refuses 
allegiance  to  Federal  Government,  I, 
56;  Connecticut  cedes  civil  rights 
over  to  Federal  Government  (1800). 
I,  57;  first  justices  of  the  peace  in, 
I.  58;  made  part  of  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory, I,  106:  first  mail  routes  and 
postmasters,  I,  114;  pioneer  days  of 
the,  I,  118;  usual  routes  from  East 
to  West,  I,  119;  method  for  appor- 
tioning land  holdings,  I,  122;  its 
strict  religious  observances,  I,  123; 
different  state  contributions,  I,  124; 
politics  of,  I,  145,  148;  intensely 
anti-slavery,  I,  149;  "underground 
stations  in,"  I,  150;  northern  route 
to,  abandoned  for  southern,  I,  159; 
created  into  Trumbull  county,  I,  160; 
first  resident  of,  elected  to  Congress, 


I,  171;  revival  of  immigration  (1818), 

I,    176;    first    government    mail    to, 

reaches  Warren,  I,  411 
Western  Reserve  Bank,  Warren,  first 

bank  in  Western  Reserve,  I,  414,  437; 

changed  to  First  National  Bank,  I, 

438 
Western  Reserve  Bank  Building,  War- 
ren, I,  437 
Western    Reserve    Chronicle,    I,    178, 

420,  462,  463 
Western  Reserve  Democrat,  I,  463 
Western    Reserve    National    Bank,    I, 

439 
Western     Reserve     Seminary,     West 

Farmington,  I,  641 
Western    Reserve    Steel    Company,    I, 

712 
Western  Reserve  Transcript,  I,  462,  463 
Western  Star  Lodge  No.  21,  Free  and 

Accepted     Masons,      Canfield     and 

Youngstown,  I,  389 
West  Farmington,  I,  640,  641 
West  Farmington  Auxiliary,  American 

Red  Cross,  I,  798 
West  Federal  Street,  I,  257 
Westlake,  Covington,  I,  678;  III,  479 
Westlake,  C.  &  Company,  I,  676 
Westlake  Rolling  Mills,  I,  678 
Westlund,  Emil,  I,  319 
West  Mecca,  I,  637 
West      Mecca     Auxiliary,     American 

Red  Cross,  I,  798 
Westminster      Presbyterian      Church, 

Youngstown,  I,  304 
Westover,  Lowell  G.,  II,  347 
Westover,  Roy,  III,  613 
West  Perm  Oil  Company,  I,  596,  773 
West     Side      Community     Auxiliary, 

American  Red  Cross,  I,  798 
Westville,   I,  593 
Westwood,  Horace,  I,  328 
Wetmore,  Mrs.  Phil,  I,  785 
Wettach,  E.  D.,  I,  326 
Wharton,  O.  P.,  I,  348,  350 
Wheat,  Murray  C,  I,  804 
Wheatlake,  S.  K.,  I,  328 
Wheeler,  Aaron,  I.  58 
Wheeler,  Fred  F.,  II,  17 
Wheeler,  Joseph   L.,  I,  379,  396;  III, 

790 
Wheeler,  Simeon,  I,  617 
Whelan,  R.  E.,  I,  781 
Whelan,  William  J.,  sketch  of,  I.  334, 

335 
Wherry,  J.  I.,  I,  454 
Whiskey  Rebellion,  I,  64,  66 
White,  A.  P.,  I,  725,  726 
White,  Charles,  I,  440 
White,  Charles  F.,  I,  526 
White,  Elijah,  I,  608 
White,  G.  A.,  I,  718 
White,  Henry,  I,  304 
White,  Herbert  E.,  Ill,  561 
White,   Homer  C,   III,  755 
White,  Hugh,  I,  90 


Digitized  by 


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lxxvi 


INDEX 


White,  James,  I,  462 
White,  John  A.,  Ill,  760 
White,  John  B.,  Ill,  504 
White,   Philo,  I,  91,  92,  95 
White,  William  G.,  I,  304 
Whitehead,  Morgan  T.,  Ill,  739 
Whiteleather,  W.  F.,  I,  593 
Whitenack,  G.  M.,  I,  304 
Whiteside,  Frank  P.,  Ill,  677 
Whiteside,  James  N.,  II,  299 
Whiteside,  Thomas  H.,  I,  339;  II,  303 
Whitham,  J.  D.,  I,  514 
Whiting,  H.  R.t  I,  308 
Whitla,  J.  P.,  I,  719 
Whitmarsh,  W.  T.,  I,  447 
Whitney,  Aaron,  I,  755 
Whittier,  Diament,  I,  614 
Whittlesey,  Charles,  I,  196,  425 
Whittlesey,    Elisha,    I,    106,    167,    191, 

340,  341,  466;  sketch  of,  I,  559 
Whittlesey,  William  W.,  sketch  of,  I, 

341 
Whitslar,  F.  S.,  I,  339,  375 
Whitslar,  Grant  S.,  I,  338 
Wick,  Caleb  B.,  I,  182,  274,  358,  395, 

671,  673 
Wick,  Charles  J.,  I,  359 
Wick,  Dennick  M.,  I,  359;  II,  258 
Wick,  E.  Mason,  I,  348,  359;  III,  668 
Wick,  Frank  P.,  Ill,  679 
Wick,  Fred  H.,  I,  723 
Wick,  George  D.,  360,  706,  725;  III, 

645 
Wick,  Mrs.  George  D.,  I,  337,  387 
Wick,  George  D.,  Jr.,  Ill,  539 
Wick,  Henry,  I,  115,  182,  512,  653,  679, 

684,  692,  694,  722,  844;   II,  51 
Wick,  Henry,  Jr.,  I,  671 
Wick,  Henry  K„  I,  395,  730;  III,  691 
Wick,  Hugh  B.,  I,  182,  359,  671 
Wick,  James  L.,  II,  257 
Wick,  James  L.,  Jr.,  Ill,  679 
Wick,  John  C,  I,  359,  376,  722,  730; 

III   484 
Wick,  Mrs.  John  C,  I,  379 
Wick,  Louise,  I,  788 
Wick,  Myron  C,  I,  304,  336,  359,  673, 

692,  722;  II,  7 
Wick,  Paul,  I,  182,  359,  671,  722,  744;' 

111,717 
Wick,  Philip,  I,  718,  723;   II,  7 
Wick,  Phoebe,  I,  287 
Wick,  Ralph  J.,  I,  673 
Wick,  William,  I,  113,  115,  568;  sketch 

of,  I,  302;  death  of,  I,  303 
Wick  &  Ridgeway  Iron  Company,  I, 

673 
Wick,  Arms  &  Company,  I,  675 
Wick,  Bentley  &  Company,  I,  480 
Wick  Bros.  Trust  Company,  I,  360 
Wick  National  Bank,  I,  359 
Wick  Park,  I,  402 
Wickham,  H.  Hugh,  II,  251 
Wieland,  Adam,  I,  586 
Wier,  William,  I,  175 
Wilcox,  Daniel,  I,  640 


Wilcox,  Elanson,  I,  320 

Wilcox,  H.  J.,  I,  650 

Wilcox,  Paul  G.,  Ill,  553 

Wildman,  C  M.,  I,  628 

Wilhelm,  Jacob,  I,  589 

Wilkerson,  Frederick  D.,  Ill,  641 

Wilkerson,  Mrs.  Fred  D.,  I,  337 

Wilkes,  Wilkinson  &  Co.,  I,  181,  722 

Wilkin,  Frank  E.,  I,  371;  II,  173 

Wilkin,   R.   C,   I,   510 

Wilkins,  Charles  F.,  II,  52 

Wilkins,  Charles  M.,  I,  460 

Wilkins,  C.  L.,  I,  782 

Wilkinson,  R.  H.,  Jr.,  II,  25 

Wilkison,  H.  L.,  I,  740 

Wilkoff,  D.  J.,  I,  741 

Wilkoff,  Isaac,  II,  46 

Wilkoff,  Leo  S.,  II,  133 

Wilkoff,  L.  C,  I,  741 

Wilkoff,  Samuel,  II,  45 

Wilkoff,  William,  I,  741;  II,  48 

William     McKinley     Post     No.     106, 

American  Legion,  I,  802 
Williams,  Alfred  A.,  II,  336 
Williams,  Arthur  H.,  II,  363 
Williams,  Byron,  I,  349 
Williams,  B.  Frank,  III,  504 
Williams,  Curtis  C,  I,  802;  II,  284 
Williams,  David,  I,  610 
Williams,  D.  F.,  I,  355 
Williams,  D.  R.,  I,  782 
Williams,  Frank  A.,  I,  749;  III,  406 
Williams,  Frank  B.,  I,  335,  346 
Williams,  Fred,  I,  492 
Williams,  George  J.,  I,  274 
Williams,  Harry,  I,  361,  363,  432,  793 
Williams,  Harry  M.,  I,  571 
Williams,  Harry  W.,  I,  517;  III,  516 
Williams,  H.,  I,  605 
Williams,  James,  I,  208 
Williams,  John,  I,  618;  II,  364 
Williams,  John  I.,  I,  359,  672 
Williams,  John,  Jr.,  I,  710 
Williams,  Joseph  F.,  II,  396 
Williams,  Martin  L.,  II,  287 
Williams,  Richard,  I,  520 
Williams,  Thomas  C,  III,  784 
Williams,  Walter,  I,  592 
Williams,  Wesley,  I,  579 
Williams,  William,  I,  276 
Williams,  William  A.,  II,  335 
Williams,  William  T.,  II,  34 
Williams,  W.  J.,  I,  508 
Williamson,  David,  I,  18 
Williamson,  James  D.,  I,  448 
Williamson,  Joseph,  I,  114 
Williamson,  Joseph,  II,  144 
Williamson,  Joseph  D.,  II,  144 
Williamson,  Pyatt,  II,  144 
Williamson,  Warren  P.,  I,  114;  II,  144 
Williamson,  Warren  P.,  Jr.,  II,  144 
Willis,  Frank  B.,  I,  483 
Willo,  John  A.,  Ill,  796 
Willo,  Michael,  I,  365;  III,  790 
Willoughby,  John  R.,  Ill,  658 


Digitized  by 


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INDEX 


lxxvii 


Willoughby  township,  Lake  county,  I, 

42,  S3 
Wilmot,  Randall,  an  eccentric  of  Brace- 

ville,  I,  620 
Wilms,  William,  I,  731 
Wilson,  I,  89,  99 
Wilson,  Allen,  III,  757 
Wilson,  Caroline  M.,  I,  462 
Wilson,  Colwell  P.,  I,  481,  739;  II,  193 
Wilson,  David  M.,  I,  341 
Wilson,  D.  A.,  I,  524 
Wilson,  Ellen  S.,  II,  74 
Wilson,  E.  M.,  I,  344 
Wilson,  George  C,  II,  74  ^ 
Wilson,  Horace  L.,  I,  499 
Wilson,  Isaac,  I,  585 
Wilson,  James  P.,  I,  241,  343,  378;  II, 

346 
Wilson,  Levi  B.,  I,  304 
Wilson,  William,  I,  115.  638:  II.  235 
Wilson,  William  G.,  Ill,  572 
Wilson,  Woodrow,  I,  483 
Wilson,  W.  G.,  I,  725 
Wilson  Avenue  Baptist  Church,  I,  316 
Wilson    Avenue    Methodist    Episcopal 

Church  (see  Marion  Heights  M.  E. 

Church),  I,  307 
Wilson  Manufacturing  Company,  I,  740 
Wiltsie,  C.  H.,  II,  17 
Windle,  Henry  J.,  Ill,  429 
Winfield,  T.  A.,  I,  479 
Winfield,  William  C,  I,  748;  II,  350 
Winfield    Manufacturing   Company,   I, 

747 
Wing,  Marcus  T.  C,  I,  309 
Wingert,  Willis,  I,  577 
Winnagle,  Roscoe  S.,  Ill,  708 
Winsworth,  John  G.t  I,  275 
Winter,  Charles  F.,  Ill,  747 
Winter,  Robert  McC,  I,  352;  III,  684 
Winters,  Doctor,  I,  446 
Winthrop,  John,  I,  25 
Wire,  Clark  H.,  I,  598 
Wire,  L.  V.,  I,  598 
Wirt,  Benjamin  F.,  I,  364;  II,  306 
Wirt,  Peter,  I,  319 
Wirt,  William,  I,  201,  202 
Wirt,  W.  W.,  I,  574 
Wirt  Family,  II,  306 
Wise,  R.  D.,  I,  647 
Wise  Coal  Company  (1875):  daily  coal 

mining  capacity  250  tons,  I,  770 
Wiseman,  J.  P.,  I,  639 
Wolcott,   Alfred,    I,   92,  96,   100,    114, 

351,  547,  638,  642 
Wolcott,  Caroline,  I,  640 
Wolcott,  Erastus,  I,  640 
Wolcott,  Frederick,  I,  571 
Wolcott,  Isaac,  I,  559 
Wolcott,  Josiah,  I,  640 
Wolcott,  Lewis,  I,  640 
Wolcott,   Lucretia,  I,  443 
Wolcott,  L.  C,  I,  601 
Wolcott,  Newton  A.,  Ill,  539 
Wolcott.  O.  L.,  I,  464 
Wolcott,  Theodore,  I,  640 


Wolf,  Emanuel,  I,  388 

Wolf,  Frederick  N.,  I,  524 

Wolfcale,  Howard  F.,  Ill,  675 

Wolff,  John  K.,  II,  121 

Wolff,  John  K.  &  Sons,  II,  121 

Wolff,  Orin  C,  II,  122 

Wolff,  Ralph  A.,  II,  122 

Woltz,  James  M„  II,  63 

Wolves  and  Panthers,  I,  138 

Wonders,  A.  E.,  I,  460 

Wood,  Charles  L.,  I,  677;  III,  410 

Wood,  James,  I,  603,  686 

Wood,  James  &  Company,  I,  181 

Wood,  William  A.,  Mower  &  Reaper 

Works,  I,  675 
Wood  Street  Plan,  I,  253 
Woodard,  Harvey  J.,  I,  731;  II,  73 
Woodbridge,  John   E.,  I,   1/5;   sketch 

of,  I,  334 
Woodbridge,  Timothy,  I,  332,  335,  395 
Woodbridge  William,  I,  274 
Woodford,  Darius,  III,  753 
Woodford,  Isaac,  I,  616 
Woodford,  Marshall,  I,  464;  death  of, 

I,  465 

Woodland   Avenue   Evangelical   Luth- 
eran  Congregation,   Youngstown,   I, 
318 
Woodman,  Thaddeus  F.,  I,  398 
Woodrow,  William,  I,  628 
Woodruff,  Alfred  E.,  I,  615 
Woodruff,   Ephraim  T.,  I,  637,  645 
Woodruff,  John,   I,   566;   recollections 
of,  I,  841;  his  tribute  to  McKinley, 
I    843 
Woodruff,  J.  A.,  I,  448 
Woodruff,  Robert  E.,  Ill,  452 
Woods,  Daniel  B.,  sketch  of,  I,  460 
Woods,  Emil  C,  III,  526 
Woods,  Thomas,  I,  781 
Woods,  William,  I,  311 
Woods.  J.  R.,  I,  442,  460 
Woodside,  Clifford  M.,  Ill,  506 
Woodward,  Thomas  W.,  Ill,  772 
Woodward,  T.,  I,  750 
Woodworth,  Charles  H.,  II,  147 
Woodworth,  Lane  &  Company's  Glass 

Roofing  Works,  I,  675 
Woodworth,  Laurin  D.,  I,  342 
Woodworth   (Steamtown),  I,  574,  587 
Woolf,  A.  J.,  I,  348 
Woolf,  H.  J.,  I,  586      • 
Woolf,  Howard  J.,  Ill,  423 
Woolfe,  Henry  G.,  I,  229 
Woolley  Jeremiah  R.,  I,  241,  264,  363; 

II,  255 

World  War:  Youngstown  and  Mahon- 
ing valley  in,  I,  244;  The  Mahoning 
Valley  in,  I,  775-809;  Youngstown 
enlistment  office  opened  for  officers, 
I,  778;  first  units  to  enter  Federal 
service,  I,  779;  military  leaders  from 
Mahoning  and  Trumbull  counties,  I, 
780;  selective  service  system  in  Ma- 
honing and  Trumbull  counties,  1, 
781;   operations  of  selective  service 


Digitized  by 


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lxxviii 


INDEX 


boards  in  Mahoning  Valley,  I,  782; 
man  and  material  power  mobilized 
in  Mahoning  Valley,  I,  783;  humani- 
tarian work  in  Mahoning  County,  I, 
784;  Mahoning  war  chest  fund,  I, 
790,  791,  792;  Liberty  Bond  subscrip- 
tions in  Mahoning  County,  I,  793; 
humanitarian  work  in  Trumbull 
county,  I,  796;  Trumbull  County 
War  Chest,  I,  799;  Liberty  Bond 
Campaigns  in  Trumbull  county,  I, 
800,  801 ;  record  of  its  dead  from  the 
Mahoning  Valley,  I,  802-805;  general 
history  of,  I,  806-809 

Wormer,  Charles,  I,  507 

Wright,  Ewing,  I,  634 

Wright,   E.   G.   I,  749 

Wright  F.  S.,  I,  607      . 

Wright,  James,  I,  553 

Wright,  Leslie  C,  II,  143 

Wright,  Thomas,  I,  166 

Wrightnour,  J.  S.,  I,  447 

Wurtemberger,,  Lewis  O.,  I,  480;  II, 
18 

Wyandots,   I,   13 

Wyatt,  Ezra,  I,  166 

Wymer,  Adam  L.,  II,  356 

Wyoming  Valley;  quarrel  over  be- 
tween Pennsylvania  and  Connecticut, 
I.  27;  court  decides  against  Connec- 
ticut claims  to,  I,  28;  massacre  in,  I, 
28 

Yager,  Ensign,  III,  700 

Yager,  George,  III,  400 

Yager,  J.   Mandus,  III,  549 

Yale  School,  I,  300 

Yambert,  Henry,  I,  509 

Yankee  Run,  I,  615 

Yankee  Run  Oil  and  Gas  Company, 
I,  615 

Yellow  Creek,  first  iron  ore  found  on, 
I,  174 

Yellow  Creek  Furnace,  I,  472 

Yellow  Creek  Park,  I,  498,  499 

Yellow  Creek  Massacre,  I,  141 

Yengling,  Ralph  W.,  I,  337;  II,  69 

Yeomans,  Albert,  I,  459 

Yerian,  S.  H.  I,  318 

Yocum,  Richard  R.,  I,  325 

Yoder,  John,  I,  546;  II,  79 

York,  L.  E.,  I,  592 

Young,  Arthur  G.,  II,  168 

Young,  Mrs.  A.,  I,  337 

Young,   Charles  C,  I,  91 

Young,  Garrettson,  I,  341,  344 

Young,  Henry,  II,  313 

Young,  John,  I,  58,  90,  92,  96,  103,  104, 
117  403,  409,  627,  676;  leads  survey- 
ing party  to  site  of  Youngstown,  I, 
95;  property  disputes  with  Daniel 
Sheehy,  I,  100 

Young,  John  P.,  I,  741 

Young,  Louis  H.,  Ill,  453 

Young,  Mrs.  Robert  P.,  I,  794 

Young,  Wilber  B.,  II,  168 


Young,  William  C,  I,  112 

Young  &  Webb,  I,  686 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
Youngstown,  I,  256,  383;  World  War 
campaign  of,  I,  792 

Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, Youngstown,  I,  256,  385 

Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, Warren,  I,  467 

Youngstown,  I,  56,  58,  89,  103,  159,  161, 
185,  189,  341 ;  Council  Rock,  Lincoln 
Park,  I,  12;  in  1798,  I,  54;  John 
Young  purchases  site  of  Youngs- 
town, I,  90;  founding  of,  I,  95;  site 
of,  I,  96;  first  log  house  built  on 
site,  I,  97;  acquires  name  of  Young's 
Town,  I,  102;  platted,  present  corpo- 
rate limits,  I,  103;  settlers  refuse  to 
recognize  "Jefferson  county,"  North- 
west territory,  I,  103;  pioneer  law- 
yers of,  I,  106;  first  recorded  birth 
in,  I,  112;  first  church  in,  I,  113;  first 
brides  of,  I,  114;  first  industry  of, 
I,  114;  first  postmaster  of,  I, 
114;  land  titles  of  1800-1810,  com- 
ing from  John  Young,  I,  116;  first 
settlement  of  Mahoning  Valley,  I, 
122;  from  1802-1840,  I,  158-179;  why 
Warren  defeated  it  in  county  seat 
fight,  I,  160;  settlers  of,  1803-1810,  I, 
175;  school  system  developed  (1818- 
1826),  I,  176;  first  iron  manufacturing 
in  township,  I,  177;  on  line  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  Ohio  Canal  (1839),  I, 
178;  from  1840  to  1865.  I,  180;  its 
pioneer  industry,  I,  182;  chartered 
as  village  (1848),  I,  191;  first  village 
election  and  extension  of  limits,  I, 
192;  1840-1860,  I,  193:  its  part  in  the 
Civil  war,  I,  194;  Civil  war  dead 
from,  I,  198;  from  1865  to  1890,  I, 
200;  seven  years  of  growth  (1866- 
1873),  I.  201-206;  street  improve- 
ments, I,  201;  city  of  the  second 
class,  I,  202;  its  fire  department,  I, 
203;  its  water  works,  I,  204;  con- 
tests county  seat  with  Canfield,  I, 
206;  county  seat  moved  from  Can- 
field  to,  I,  208;  provides  funds  for 
county  buildings,  I,  209;  finally  gets 
county  records,  I,  211;  courts  sus- 
tain, in  county  seat  contest  with 
Canfield,  I,  211;  general  sewer  sys- 
tem, I,  212,  213;  prolonged  industrial 
strike,  I,  214;  petitions  for  corporate 
expansion,  I,  216;  its  municipal  limits 
extended  (1889),  I,  217;  adopts  com- 
mission form  of  government  (1891), 
I,  219;  from  1890  to  1910,  I,  218-237; 
great  strike  of  1892,  I,  220;  boom  of 
1899-1900,  I,  229;  in  Spanish- Ameri- 
can war,  I,  226;  filtration  plant  in- 
stalled, I,  232;  Berlin  storage  basin 
for  water  supply;  I,  233;  home  com- 
ing week  of  June,  1908,  I,  236;  from 
1910  to  1920,  I,  238;  great  flood  of 


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March,  1913,  I,  239;  city  made  co- 
extensive with  township,  I,  241; 
water  supply  increased  by  comple- 
tion of  Milton  reservoir,  I,  243;  steel 
district  created,  I,  251;  civic  improve- 
ments (1918-1920),  I,  251;  general 
description  of,  I,  257;  civil  govern- 
ment in,  I,  260;  civil  township  of,  I, 
260;  village  charter,  and  extension 
of  limits,  I,  261;  first  city  (second 
class)  government,  I,  262;  popula- 
tion, corporate  extension  (1870-1890), 
I,  263;  Board  of  City  Commissioners 
abolished,  I,  264;  spreads  over 
Youngstown  township  and  portions 
of  Coitsville  and  Boardman  town- 
ship (1913-1917),  I,  266;  pioneer  in 
motorizing  Fire  Department,  I,  282; 
resident  householders  of  township 
(1826),  I,  284;  its  first  Board  of  Ed- 
ucation and  System  (1849),  I,  287; 
its  superintendents  of  schools,  I,  288, 
290,  291;  public  grade  schools  of, 
I,  294;  parochial  schools,  I,  294-300; 
business  colleges,  1, 301 ;  its  churches; 
I,  302-330;  Presbyterian,  I,  302-305; 
Methodist  Episcopal,  I,  305-308; 
Protestant  Episcopal,  I,  308-311;  Ro- 
man Catholic,  I,  311-313;  Greek 
Catholic,  I,  313,  314;  Baptist,  I,  314- 
317;  Evangelical  Lutheran,  I,  317- 
319;  Christian,  I,  319,  320;  United 
Presbyterian,  I,  320-322;  Jewish,  I, 
322-324;  Congregational,  I,  324,  325; 
Reformed,  I,  325;  primitive  Metho- 
dist churches  in,  I,  326;  miscel- 
laneous, I,  326-330;  business  ac- 
tivities in,  I,  354-356;  financial 
institutions  of,  I,  356-365;  public 
utilities  of,  I,  365-373;  electrification 
of,  I,  369;  public  institutions  of,  I, 
374-389;  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation, I,  256,  383,  792;  Knights  of 
Columbus,  I,  384;  Young  Women's 
Christian  Association,  I,  256,  385; 
fraternal  societies  of,  I,  389-395;  fra- 
ternal societies  which  own  buildings, 
I,  394;  parks  and  playgrounds,  I, 
398-402;  early  industries  at,  I,  653; 
first  steel  plant  in  operation,  I,  692; 
transfer  of  Republic  Iron  &  Steel 
Company's  offices  from  Pittsburg  to, 
I,  709;  first  street  car  line  in,  I,  765; 
Soldiers'  Monument  at,  I,  843 

Youngstown   &   Southern   Railway,   I, 
371,  763 

Youngstown     &     Northern     Railroad 
Company,  I,  716 

Youngstown  &  Sharon  Street  Railway 
Company,  I,  370 

Youngstown  &  Suburban   Railway,  I, 
371,  373,  764 

Youngstown     Association     of     Credit 
rMen,  I,  355 

Youngstown      Board     of     Commerce 
(Board  of  Trade),  I,  354 


Youngstown  Boiler  and  Tank  Com- 
pany, II,  205 

Youngstown  Bridge  Works,  I,  674 

Youngstown  Car  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, I,  741 

Youngstown  Carriage  Works,  I,  675 

Youngstown  Chamber  of  Commerce 
volunteer  infantry  corps,  I,  780 

Youngstown  Citizens  Savings  Com- 
pany, I,  365 

Youngstown  City  Hospital  opened,  I, 
337 

Youngstown  City  Water  Works,  I, 
365-368 

Youngstown  Clearing  House  Associa- 
tion, I,  363 

Youngstown  Commercial,  I,  350 

Youngstown  Consolidated  Gas  and 
Electric  Company,  I,  370 

Youngstown  Country  Club,  I,  396, 
398 

Youngstown  Daily  News,  I,  347 

Youngstown  Daily  Vindicator,  I,  813 

Youngstown  Dental  Society,  I,  339 

Youngstown  District,  I,  691;  welfare 
work  in,  I,  717 

Youngstown  Evening  Telegram,  I, 
347 

Youngstown  Filtration  Plant,  I,  366 

Youngstown  Foundry  &  Machine 
Company,  I,  749 

Youngstown  Hebrew  Institute,  I,  300 

Youngstown  Hospital,  I,  258 

Youngstown  Hospital  Association,  I, 
335 

Youngstown  Iron  and  Steel  Company, 
I,  719,  742;  open  hearth  steel  plant 
at  Lowellville,  I,  512 

Youngstown  Iron  and  Steel  Roofing 
Company,  I,  742 

Youngstown  Iron,  Sheet  &  Tube  Com- 
pany, Struthers,  I,  496 

Youngstown  Iron,  Sheet  &  Tube  Com- 
pany, Youngstown,  I,  700 

Youngstown  Journal,  I,  349 

Youngstown  Labor  Record,  I,  349 

Youngstown  Library  Association  in- 
corporated, I,  375 

Youngstown  Lodge  No.  55,  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  I, 
391 

Youngstown  Manufacturing  Company, 
Struthers,  I,  496 

Youngstown  Mill  (now  Upper  Union 
Carnegie  Steel  Company),  I,  715 

Youngstown  Morris  Plan  Bank,  I,  357, 
363 

Youngstown  News-Register,  I,  346 

Youngstown  Park  and  Falls  Street 
Railway  Company,  I,  370 

Youngstown  Playground  Association, 
I,  377 

Youngstown  Post  No.  15,  American 
Legion,  I,  394 

Youngstown  Pressed  Steel  Companv, 
I,  719,  743 


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Youngstown  Printing  Company,  I, 
347 

Youngstown  Real  Estate  Exchange 
Board,  I,  351 

Youngstown  Retail  Credit  Men's  As- 
sociation, I,  356 

Youngstown  Retail  Grocers  and  Meat 
Dealers  Association,  I,  356 

Youngstown  Rolling  Mill  Company,  I, 
671,  676 

Youngstown  Savings  and  Banking 
Company,  I,  362 

Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company, 
I,  530,  533;  Youngstown,  four  fur- 
naces, daily  capacity  500  tons,  I,  668; 
Hubbard,  two  furnaces,  daily  capaci- 
ty 350  tons,  I,  521,  668;  Ohio's  lead- 
ing industrial  corporation,  I,  700; 
plant  extensions  of  1909-15,  I,  702; 
expansion  of  plant  in  1915-17,  I,  703; 
expansion  of  plant  in  1916-17,  I,  704; 
its  total  products  and  by-products, 
I,  705;  its  personnel  and  subsidiaries, 
I,  706;  subscriptions  by,  to  War 
Chest  Fund,  I,  792 

Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company 
Emergency  Hospital,  I,  531 

Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company 
Hospital,  East  Youngstown,  I,  535 

Youngstown  Spike  Works,  I,  675 

Youngstown  State  Bank,  I,  363 

Youngstown  Steel  Car  Company,  I, 
740,  741 

Youngstown  Steel  Castings  Company, 
I,  749 


Youngstown    Steel    Company,   I,  712, 

732 
Youngstown  Street  Railway  Company, 

I,  369,  370,  765 
Youngstown  Telegram,  I,  345,  347 
Youngstown  Town  Pump,  I,  825 
Youngstown      Township,      Mahoning 

county,  I,  42,  53,  106,  114,  520;-map 

of  (1797),  I,  91 
Youngstown  Tribune,  I,  346 
Youngstown     Trunk     Manufacturing 

Company,  Girard,  I,  504 
Youngstown  Vindicator,  I,  347 
Youngstown    Young   Men's    Christian 

Association,  I,  256,  383,  791,  792 
Youngstownske  Slovenske   Noviny,  I, 

349 

Zabel,  William  C,  II,  374 
Zaffiro,  Vincent,  I,  308 
Zander,  W.  F.,  I,  325 
Zedaker,  Marcellus  W.,  II,  343 
Zellars,  E.  V.,  I,  320 
Zeller,  William  J.,  I,  503;  II,  193 
Zeller,  William  H.,  I,  430,  505 
Zenk,  Paul  H.,  II,  157 
Zimmerman,  John,  I,  589 
Zimmerman,  John  S.,  M.  D.,  II,  93 
Zimmerman,  Lyman,  III,  543 
Zinn,  Elton  P.,  II,  375 
Zion  Lutheran  Church,  New  Middle- 
town,  I,  597 
Zipperer,  Joseph  J..  Ill,  720 
Zuercher,  C.  J.,  I,  517 


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Youngstown  and  the  Mahoning 

Valley 


CHAPTER  I 
PREHISTORIC  TIMES  AND  PEOPLES 

A  history  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  must  deal  chiefly  with  compara- 
tively recent  events.  Until  white  men  came  here  to  dwell,  about  120 
years  ago,  occurrences  in  this  vicinity  must  be  largely  a  matter  of  specu- 
lation. There  is  neither  history  nor  reliable  tradition  concerning  the 
inhabitants- of  the  vast  territory  north  of  the  Ohio  River  and  west  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountains  prior  to  that  time.  For  at  least  100  years 
before  the  coming  of  civilized  men,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  the  Ma- 
honing Valley  was  not  permanently  inhabited  at  all,  at  least  not  in  the 
sense  that  term  is  usually  applied;  but  was  a  sort  of  No  Man's  Land 
between  savage  tribes  on  the  east  and  west,  and  between  advancing 
European  civilization  and  the  already  doomed  and  slowly  receding 
Indians  who  had  been  its  occupants. 

The  region  drained  by  the  Mahoning  River  and  its  lower  reaches, 
now  known  as  the  Big  Beaver  and  Little  Beaver  rivers,  was  then,  as  it 
is  now,  a  principal  gateway  between  the  East  and  West.  This  narrow 
area  between  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio,  where  that 
river  receives  the  waters  of  the  Beaver  and  then  turns  sharply  south- 
ward on  its  way  to  the  Father  of  Waters,  affords  access  to  those  gaps 
in  the  Alleghanies  through  which  this  mighty  range  may  be  crossed  with 
least  effort  from  the  valleys  of  the  Potomac  and  the  Susquehanna,  as 
well  as  to  the  great  table  land  into  which  the  Appalachian  ranges  sub- 
side before  crossing  the  northern  border  of  Pennsylvania,  a  plain  extend- 
ing from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Hudson  River  and  forms  the  only  break 
in  this  mountain  chain  in  its  entire  course  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to 
the  St.  Lawrence.  Through  these  gaps  passed  numerous  trails  over  which 
Indian  tribes  moved  backward  and  forward  from  time  immemorial  in 
pursuit  of  conquest  or  better  hunting  grounds.  Through  this  area  came, 
in  flat-bottom  boats  down  the  Ohio,  or  in  pack  trains  over  the  forest  path- 
ways, the  first  white  settlers  to  locate  in  this  part  of  the  world.  Within 
it  may  now  be  found  the  lines  of  practically  all  the  great  transcontinental 
railroads  of  the  United  States. 

The  Indians  found  in  possession  of  the  North  American  continent  by 
Europeans  were  not  its  first  inhabitants.  They  had  been  preceded,  per- 
haps by  many  races,  but  certainly  by  one  race  which  has  left  indubitable 
Vol.  1— 1  2 


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2  YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

evidence  of  its  existence.  Whether  the  first  inhabitants  of  America  came 
from  Europe  or  from  Asia  is  a  disputed  question.  There  are  facts  sup- 
porting the  theory  that  they  were  of  Eastern  origin  and  came  here  by  way 
of  the  Behring  Straits.  The  most  widely  accepted  belief,  however,  is  that 
the  continent  was  first  peopled  by  men  who  came  here  from  Northwestern 
Europe,  crossing  the  Atlantic  over  an  isthmus  which  is  supposed  to  have 
existed  ages  ago  between  the  European  and  North  American  continents 
and  to  have  subsided  to  form  the  shallow  bed  of  the  North  Atlantic 
Ocean.  Both  of  these  theories  are  founded  upon  pure  speculation.  There 
is  not  a  single  positive  fact  to  indicate  whence  came  the  first  race  of 
which  we  have  definite  knowledge,  and  which  is  generally  known  as  the 
Mound  Builders,  the  definite  period  of  its  existence,  or  what  became  of  it. 
These  interesting  questions  will  probably  remain  forever  unanswered,  in 
spite  of  the  industry  of  scholars  and  the  imagination  of  writers.  Con- 
cerning them  there  is  neither  history  nor  legend,  and  even  nature,  prone 
to  make  amends  for  the  neglect  of  men  by  preserving  the  story  of  the 
ages  in  a  more  or  less  intelligible  manner,  sheds  no  light  that  might  con- 
duct the  historian  through  the  gloom  in  which  they  are  enveloped. 

The  Mound  Builders  must  have  been  a  numerous  and  energetic  race. 
They  occupied  at  one  time  or  another  widely  separated  portions  of  this 
continent,  a  fact  proven  by  their  earthworks  scattered  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific  and  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf.  It  is  even  possible  that 
they  were  progenitors  of  the  races  found  in  South  and  Central  America, 
since  there  is  considerable  similarity  between  the  monuments  of  all  these 
peoples.  So  far  as  the  earthworks  found  in  North  America  are  con- 
cerned, there  is  reason  to  believe  that  they  were  erected  by  different 
races,  or  at  least  at  widely  separated  periods.  Those  found  within  the 
present  limits  of  Ohio  indicate  this  dissimilarity  of  origin,  and  even  give 
evidence  of  having  been  erected  for  widely  different  purposes.  Those  in 
the  northern  portion  are  generally  lighter  and  less  complicated  in  con- 
struction, and  seem  to  have  been  intended  for  purposes  entirely  unsuited 
to  those  in  the  southern  section  of  the  state. 

Interesting  as  are  these  relics  of  a  forgotten  race,  it  is  possible  here 
to  refer  to  them  in  only  the  briefest  manner.  Great  as  is  the  temptation 
to  speculate  upon  their  origin  and  to  dilate  upon  the  fascinating  story 
they  tell,  this  must  be  left  to  others  whose  efforts  cover  a  wider  field. 
Volume  after  volume  has  been  written  concerning  these  earthworks,  the 
authors  including  students  and  investigators  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic 
who  have  devoted  many  years  of  patient  study  to  an  attempt  to  solve 
the  problems  presented  by  them.  Those  who  have  the  time  and  inclina- 
tion to  pursue  the  subject  farther  than  it  may  be  followed  in  this  volume 
will  have  no  difficulty  in  securing  in  any  well  stocked  library  abundant 
literature.  Nor  will  they  have  any  difficulty  in  finding  plausible  and 
scholarly  arguments  to  support  almost  any  theory  they  may  care  to  adopt 
concerning  these  remarkable  mounds.  The  subject  is  discussed  in  this 
chapter  only  because  these  numerous  people  at  one  time  undoubtedly 
roamed  over  the  Mahoning  Valley,  perhaps  lived  in  it,  and  certainly  had 
their  most  populous  cities  not  far  from  this  region. 

There  are  at  least  twelve  thousand  separate  earthworks  in  Ohio  that 
are  unquestionably  the  remains  of  construction  by  the  Mound  Builders. 


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YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY  3 

They  are  divided  into  two  classes,  enclosures  and  mounds  around  which 
there  were  no  walls.  Of  the  enclosures,  which  first  challenge  attention 
because  of  their  great  size,  the  ingenuity  shown  in  the  design  and  loca- 
tion, and  the  tremendous  labor  that  must  have  been  involved  in  their 
erection,  there  are  not  so  many  as  the  mounds.  These  enclosures,  how- 
ever, exist  in  all  parts  of  the  state.  The  majority  of  them  are  on  high 
ground,  but  some  may  be  found  in  valleys.  Unquestionably  they  were 
intended  chiefly  for  purposes  of  defense,  although  some  of  them  may 
have  been  used  in  other  ways. 

Of  these  walled  areas  the  best  known  and  fortunately  the  best  pre- 
served, because  it  has  been  restored  and  cared  for  by  the  state  and  the 
Ohio  State  Archaelogical  Society,  is  Fort  Ancient.  The  following  de- 
scription of  this  remarkable  fortress  is  taken  from  the  files  of  "The 
Portfolio,"  a  magazine  published  in  Philadelphia  more  than  a  century 
ago.  It  was  printed  before  the  decay  of  a  century  and  the  still  more 
destructive  operations  of  relic  hunters  and  neighboring  farmers  had  op- 
portunity to  undo  the  kindly  protection  of  nature,  which  had  covered 
these  ruins  with  a  mantle  of  sod  and  trees,  preserving  them  almost  intact 
for  centuries.  The  work  of  restoration  has  been  guided  largely  by  this 
early  description,  and  has,  it  is  believed,  preserved  the  original  outlines 
of  Fort  Ancient,  although  its  appearance  must  have  been  very  different 
when  it  was  occupied  by  thousands  of  primitive  people  and  was  the 
metropolis  of  the  race  by  which  it  was  constructed. 

"The  site  of  Fort  Ancient  is  a  rolling  plateau  overlooking  the  valley 
of  the  Little  Miami,  in  central  Warren  County,  Ohio.  This  plateau  is 
cut  off  from  the  surrounding  country  on  one  side  by  the  Little  Miami 
River,  on  another  by  Randall  Run,  and  on  a  third  by  Cowan  Creek.  On 
these  sides  of  the  work  the  descent  is  very  abrupt,  and  in  prehistoric 
times  must  have  been  almost  perpendicular.  The  plateau  extends  into 
the  angle  formed  by  these  streams  in  the  form  of  a  narrow,  irregular 
bluff,  at  least  three  hundred  feet  higher  than  the  surrounding  valleys. 
This  bluff  is,  in  turn,  almost  cut  off  from  the  mainland  by  a  deep  ravine 
extending  into  it  from  the  southwest,  and  beyond  this  ravine  were  erected 
two  forts  or  enclosures,  the  first  of  which  could  be  approached  only  over 
a  very  narrow  neck,  and  the  second  only  through  the  first.  Around  the 
entire  bluff  was  built  a  continuous  wall,  its  outlines  conforming  to  those 
of  the  level  surface  and  having  a  length  of  three  and  one-half  miles. 

"This  wall  was  constructed  of  earth  taken  from  within  it,  and  the 
excavation  evidently  formed  a  moat.  In  the  wall  were  seventy-two 
openings,  directly  in  front  of  each  being  a  mound,  so  placed  as  to  block 
the  opening,  or  leave  only  narrow  passageways  around  the  elevation  into 
the  fort.  The  main  entrance  was  long  and  narrow.  It  contained  a  much 
larger  mound,  and  the  passageways  around  this  mound  were  long  and 
intricate.  In  this  entrance  has  been  found  an  incredible  quantity  of 
human  bones,  perhaps  those  of  assailants  or  defenders  slain  during  at- 
tacks and  buried  on  the  spot.  Besides  this  burial  ground,  the  main  north 
division  of  the  fort,  which  was  separated  by  a  wall  from  the  other  por- 
tion, contains  the  largest  cemetery  found  anywhere  among  the  works  of 
the  Mound  Builders.    Outside  the  walls  at  various  points  -are  found  many 


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4     YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

groups  of  skeletons,  these  suggesting  the  possibility  that  they  also  were 
those  of  enemies  slain  in  an  attempt  to  capture  the  fortification.  Evi- 
dently Fort  Ancient  was  the  scene  of  many  desperate  conflicts,  and  it 
may  have  been  the  point  where  the  Mound  Builders  made  their  last 
stand  in  the  face  of  an  invincible  enemy." 

Surrounding  this  great  enclosure  were  many  once  populous  villages, 
probably  located  there  so  as  to  be  in  close  proximity  to  the  fort,  to  which 
their  inhabitants  may  have  fled  when  attacked  by  some  other  more  war 
like  people.  It  is  generally  believed  that  Fort  Ancient  was  the  principal 
metropolis  of  prehistoric  times,  and  that  here,  surrounded  by  fertile 
valleys  and  depending  for  protection  on  its  largest  and  strongest  defense 
work,  this  ancient  people  perished,  fighting  for  existence  against  the  in- 
roads of  a  more  skillful  and  warlike  invader,  much  as  did  many  other 
nations  in  history. 

More  instructive,  if  less  interesting  to  the  imaginative  reader,  are  the 
mounds,  or  structures  not  specially  designed  for  defense.  These  exist 
in  great  numbers  and  in  many  sizes.  They  are  especially  numerous  in 
the  southwestern  part  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  although,  as  has  been  seen, 
they  are  to  be  found  all  over  the  region  north  of  the  Ohio  River.  Most 
of  these  were  apparently  tombs,  although  some  of  them  were  erected 
without  doubt  for  other  purposes,  since  they  were  never  used  for  inter- 
ment of  the  dead.  From  these  tombs  and  the  village  sites  usually  found 
in  close  proximity  to  them  it  is  possible  to  secure  data  from  which  we 
may  gain  a  reasonably  accurate  idea  of  the  personal  appearance,  customs 
and  habits  of  the  Mound  Builders.  Like  all  primitive  peoples,  they 
believed  stoutly  in  a  future  existence,  and  associated  with  it  the  desires 
and  necessities  of  mortal  life,  supplying  their  dead,  especially  those  of 
more  than  ordinary  rank,  with  all  sorts  of  foods  and  utensils  for  use  in 
the  life  to  come.  Because  of  this  we  get  from  these  burial  mounds 
rather  full  information  of  how  their  builders  lived,  what  they  ate,  what 
they  wore,  and  how  they  armed  themselves  for  offense  and  defense. 
This  is  the  sum  of  their  story,  and  this  was  preserved  only  by  accident. 
They  had  no  written  language  and  have  left  no  evidence  that  they  com- 
municated their  thoughts  in  any  way  other  than  by  the  spoken  word,  if 
we  except  the  ruins  which  are  supposed  to  have  been  signal  towers  so 
arranged  that  a  succession  of  fires  built  upon  them  could  have  carried  a 
message  from  one  end  of  the  Miami  Valley  to  the  other. 

The  Mound  Builders  usually  cremated  their  dead,  so  far  as  they  could 
do  so  in  open  fires.  They  interred  the  bones  in  groups,  except  in  the  case 
of  rulers  or  chiefs,  who  were  buried  singly.  Around  the  bones  of  these 
was  wrapped  a  coarse  cloth,  woven  from  grasses  and  the  bark  of  trees. 
In  the  tombs  were  placed  weapons,  implements  of  war  and  utensils  of 
all  kinds.  These  were  sometimes  of  copper,  iron  or  gold,  but  usually 
of  baked  clay.  It  is  evident  that  they  worked  the  metals  only  by  hammer- 
ing, and  knew  nothing  of  smelting  ores,  securing  their  iron  from  meteor- 
ites and  their  other  metals  from  nuggets.  Their  weapons  were  usually 
made  of  flint,  immense  quantities  of  which  they  had  quarried  from  Flint 
Ridge,  between  Newark  and  Zanesville.     Some  of  metals  and  materials 


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found  in  the  tombs  were  not  of  local  origin,  however,  but  were  evidently 
brought  from  long  distances. 

Remains  of  the  villages  in  which  the  Mound  Builders  lived,  with  ap- 
parently more  permanence  than  that  shown  by  the  Indians,  furnish  one 
of  the  most  fruitful  sources  of  information  concerning  the  habits  and 
customs  of  this  ancient  people.  These  villages,  the  more  populous  of 
which  are  always  found  close  to  forts  or  walled  enclosures,  were  clusters 
of  tepees,  with  roofs  made  of  bark  or  skins.  Around  these  tepees  are 
found  burial  pits  and  pits  used  for  refuse  and  for  the  storage  of  food, 
and  these  furnish  surprisingly  clear  evidence  concerning  family  life. 
The  food  most  frequently  found  consisted  of  practically  the  same 
grains,  fruits  and  nuts  which  grow  in  this  region  today.  They  also  show 
that  the  birds  and  animals  then  inhabiting  this  region  survived  the  mis- 
chances of  centuries  far  better  than  did  the  human  beings,  for  they  were 
much  the  same  in  species,  size  and  appearance  as  those  found  here  by 
the  white  settlers.  From  these  village  sites  we  learn  that  the  dog  was 
then  a  family  institution,  much  as  he  is  today,  and  that  he  strongly  re- 
sembled— in  his  bones,  at  least,  the  Scotch  collie.  From  things  found 
on  these  sites  it  is  evident  also  that  the  Mound  Builders  had  games 
similar  to  quoits.  There  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  they  were  convivial 
in  their  habits,  special  vessels  indicating  the  use  of  wines  or  liquors  not 
being  found;  but  there  is  abundant  evidence  that  they  smoked  tobacco 
and  loved  their  pipes,  just- as  the  devotees  of  nicotine  among  us  do. 
They  were  also  fond  of  ornaments  and  spent  much  labor  and  effort  in 
securing  these. 

Although  a  great  proportion  of  the  mounds  explored  were  used 
exclusively  for  burial  purposes,  this  was  not  the  case  with  all  of  them. 
The  burial  mounds  were  usually  mere  heaps  of  earth,  added  to  as  the 
need  for  graves  demanded,  but  many  of  the  ancient  earthworks  have^ 
distinct  forms,  such  as  those  of  birds,  or  reptiles.  It  is  probable  that 
these  were  intended  and  used  for  religious  ceremonies  or  religious 
symbols,  some  of  them  being  also  used  for  the  interment  of  the  priest- 
hood and  ruling  classes.  The  skeletons  found  in  such  mounds  usually 
indicate  a  higher  type  of  development,  and  the  difference  is  so  marked 
in  some  cases  as  to  lead  investigators  to  suspect  that  the  Mound  Builders 
may  have  been  slave  owners,  or  at  least  enslaved  their  conquered  foes. 
The  largest  and  most  interesting  of  the  non-sepultural  mounds  is 
that  known  as  "The  Serpent."  This  is  located  on  a  high  and  narrow 
bluff  overlooking  Brush  Creek,  in  Adams  County.  It  is  thirteen  hundred 
feet  in  length,  twenty  feet  wide  at  the  base,  and  ten  feet  high  for  most 
of  its  length.  Its  outlines  are  those  of  a  snake  stretched  along  the  flat 
top  of  the  bluff  with  its  head  to  the  west  and  its  mouth  opened  as  if  to 
swallow  a  peculiar  oval-shaped  mound  erected  almost  within  the  jaws. 
Up  to  this  time  explorations  have  developed  absolutely  no  information 
concerning  the  purpose  of  this  huge  work  beyond  the  fact  that  it  was 
not  used  for  burials.  The  natural  conclusion  is  that  it  was  a  religious 
symbol.  Both  the  trees  on  its  surface  and  the  geological  conditions  sur- 
rounding it  indicate  that  this  is  probably  the  oldest  of  the  known  pre- 
historic mounds. 


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6     YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

There  is  no  way  to  ascertain  accurately  the  period  at  which  any  of 
these  mounds  were  erected,  or  of  estimating  with  any  certainty  the 
length  of  time  during  which  they  were  in  use.  From  observations  con- 
cerning the  earth  formations  around  them  and  from  the  age  of  trees 
growing  on  their  summits,  students  of  the  question  have  fixed  the  time 
of  their  abandonment  at  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  years  before  the 
advent  of  civilization.  The  mounds  at  Marietta  were  surveyed  by  settlers 
in  1788,  and  the  trees  growing  on  them  at  that  time  indicated  growth  of 
from  289  to  443  years.  Perhaps  these  trees  had  succeeded  others  of 
similar  or  even  greater  age.  It  is,  however,  safe  to  estimate  the  age  of 
these  earthworks  at  not  less  than  five  hundred  years,  admitting  that  they 
may  be  much  older.  At  some  other  points  the  measurement  of  trees  is 
said  to  indicate  that  they  have  been  growing  for  almost  a  thousand  years, 
and  in  still  other  places  remains  of  trees  are  found  that  would  indicate 
even  a  greater  age  for  the  mounds  on  which  they  stood. 

As  time  goes  on  and  additional  information  is  accumulated  concern- 
ing the  monuments  left  by  this  ancient  race,  students  and  investigators 
become  more  and  more  inclined  toward  the  belief  that  they  were  the 
progenitors  of  the  American  Indians.  This  is  entirely  within  the  range 
of  possibilities,  since,  among  people  living  as  the  Indians  did,  with  no 
fixed  habitations  and  no  written  language,  subject  to  constant  warfare 
with  hostile  neighbors  and  frequently  losing  their  tribal  distinctions,  the 
disappearance  of  all  tradition  concerning  ancestors  a  thousand  years 
previous  might  easily  be  explained.  A  discussion  of  this  question  is 
not,  however,  within  the  province  of  this  work  and  too  much  space  has 
already  been  devoted  to  this  fascinating  subject.  It  must  be  dismissed 
with  the  observation  that,  whatever  theory  may  finally  be  accepted  to 
account  for  the  origin  and  disappearance  of  the  Mound  Builders,  the 
facts  must  remain  merely  a  matter  of  opinion.  We  know  that  such  a 
race  once  existed ;  that  it  had  gods  and  worshiped  them ;  homes  and 
cherished  them;  vanities  and  indulged  them;  was  without  inclination  or 
skill  to  record  its  story  for  future  ages — and  this  is  all  we  may  know 
with  certainty  concerning  these,  probably  the  first  human  beings  who 
trod  the  soil  upon  which  we  now  live.  Over  their  tombs,  altars  and 
fortresses  trees  have  been  growing  for  a  thousand  years.  Over  their 
history  hangs,  impenetrable,  the  gloom  of  ages  unlighted  by  letters. 
Around  their  origin,  as  around  their  fate,  cling  the  mystery  and  pathos 
usually  associated  in  the  imagination  with  things  concerning  which  there 
are  no  known  facts. 

Two  elevations  believed  to  have  been  erected  by  the  Mound  Builders 
are  located  along  the  upper  Mahoning  River,  in  Trumbull  County, 
but  they  are  small  and  have  never  been  explored.  Two  more  may  be 
found  within  the  limits  of  Mahoning  County,  near  Sebring,  but  they 
are  not  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  A  small  elevation  resembling  the  pre- 
historic mounds  exists  in  the  northeastern  section  of  Youngstown.  This 
is  supposed  to  have  been  erected  by  the  Mound  Builders,  but  no  excava- 
tions have  been  made  in  it,  and  its  right  to  be  considered  as  one  of  their 
works  seems  somewhat  questionable. 

Some  curious  and  utterly  inexplicable  evidences  of  the  presence  of 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY  7 

men  other  than  American  Indians  have  been  found  in  various  parts  of 
the  Mahoning  Valley.  While  these  are  chiefly  in  the  form  of  elevations 
or  excavations  in  the  earth,  they  are  plainly  not  the  work  of  Mound 
Builders,  and  must  have  been  made  by  people  who  were  here  long  after 
the  Mound  Builders  left  and  yet  long  before  the  first  settlers  came.  Near 
Orange vilie,  in  Hartford  Township,  Trumbull  County,  a  locality  strictly 
speaking  not  within  the  Mahoning  Valley  but  practically  a  part  of  it,  is 
a  work  known  locally  as  "The  Old  Road."  This  is  an  earthen  embank- 
ment apparently  thrown  up  from  excavations  along  either  side  for  a 
distance  of  nearly  half  a  mile.  Its  direction  is  straight  northeast  and 
southwest  for  most  of  the  distance,  but  there  are  some  curves.  The  first 
settlers  found  this  embankment  covered  with  forest  of  apparently  the 
same  age  as  that  which  surrounded  it.  Such  excavations  as  have  been 
made  give  no  clue  to  the  origin  or  purpose  of  this  embankment.  In  the 
same  locality  the  first  settlers  found  numerous  excavations  which  had 
evidently  been  made  for  wells,  as  some  of  them  had  been  walled  up 
with  rough  stones.  These  seemed,  from  the  trees  above  them,  to  be  of 
the  same  age  as  the  embankment  above  referred  to,  and  are  equally 
without  explanation. 

Near  Austintown  several  evidences  of  activities  such  as  the  Indians 
were  not  known  to  engage  in  have  been  found.  These  are  flat  areas 
covered  with  stones,  beneath  which  were  several  feet  of  flat  stones 
set  on  edge  in  a  way  that  must  have  required  great  labor  as  well  as  some 
skill  and  some  specific  purpose.  The  settlers  found  them  when  they  came, 
and  usually  regarded  them  as  Indian  burying  grounds,  although  the 
Indians  have  never  been  known  to  bury  their  dead  in  this  manner  else- 
where. It  is  unfortunate  that  none  of  these  works  has  ever  been  ex- 
plored. 


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CHAPTER  II 
INDIAN  TRIBES  AND  TIMES 

Our  positive  knowledge  concerning  the  prehistoric  dwellers  in  the 
Mahoning  Valley  is,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter,  confined 
to  the  fact  that  they  must  have  disappeared  long  before  Europeans  set 
foot  upon  this  continent.  From  that  time  until  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  a  period  variously  estimated  at  500  to  1,000  years, 
there  is  neither  history  nor  plausible  tradition  concerning  the  occupants 
of  this  region.  These  centuries  are,  strangely  enough,  wrapped  in 
obscurity  deeper  even  than  that  of  those  preceding  them,  for  not  even 
the  speculation  inspired  by  prehistoric  mounds  suggests  their  story. 

DeSoto's  ill-starred  expedition  to  and  beyond  the  Mississippi,  about 
1520,  with  the  earliest  explorations  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  have  left 
some  definite  information  concerning  the  aborigines  of  the  eastern  and 
southern  sections  of  the  United  States;  but  these  chronicles,  crude  and 
unsatisfactory  at  their  best,  throw  no  light  upon  the  situation  west  of 
the  Alleghanies.  The  first  adventurers  into  this  region  found  savages 
who  expressed  neither  knowledge  nor  curiosity  concerning  the  ruined 
earthworks  all  about  them,  and  apparently  had  no  legends  in  regard  to 
the  people  who  had  constructed  these  works.  They  were  of  the  race 
found  by  Columbus  and  misnamed  Indians,  because  he  imagined  them  to 
be  dwellers  of  the  Indies,  and  were  entirely  similar  to  the  savages  al- 
ready well,  if  not  favorably,  known  to  the  settlers  on  the  Atlantic  coast. 

Ethnologists  have  named  this  the  Red  Race  and  classified  it  into  three 
groups  under  the  names  of  Algonquin,  Kuskhogean  and  Siouan.  They 
assign  the  Algonquins  to  the  region  east  of  the  Alleghanies  from  the 
Carolinas  to  Hudson's  Bay;  the  Kuskhogeans  to  the  Gulf  coast,  mainly 
east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  Sioux  to  the  territory  north  of  the 
Arkansas  River  and  west  of  the  Mississippi.  With  the  last  named  group 
are  usually  included  the  tribes  in  the  far  Southwest  and  Southern 
California.  In  these  groups  were  scores  of  tribes.  Any  attempt  to  name 
or  locate  these  geographically  would  be  foreign  to  our  task  and  merely 
confusing,  since  they  were  constantly  changing  their  tribal  appellations, 
their  places  of  abode  and  the  extent  of  their  dominions.  It  is  fairly 
certain,  however,  that  the  Indians  between  the  Lakes  and  the,  Ohio,  for 
centuries  before  white  men  entered  this  region,  were  of  Algonquin  stock, 
with  perhaps  an  admixture  of  the  Kuskhogean  along  the  southern  bor- 
der. What  tribes  were  located  in  this  neighborhood  we  shall  presently 
see.    ' 

Among  the  American  Indians  were  a  number  of  confederacies,  gen- 
erally more  or  less  temporary  and  usually  formed  only  for  the  purpose 

8 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY  9 

of  defense.  The  most  notable  of  these  was  the  Iroquois  Confederacy, 
which  will  be  referred  to  with  some  particularity  because  it  was  destined 
to  have  a  far  reaching  effect  on  the  history  of  this  country  through  be- 
coming a  factor  in  the  momentous  decision  as  to  whether  the  North 
American  continent  was  to  be  developed  under  Latin  influences,  or 
whether  it  was  to  enjoy  the  more  wholesome  civilization  of  the  Anglo 
Saxons.  The  Iroquois  Confederacy  was  apparently  in  existence  when 
the  first  European  settlements  were  made  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  it 
continued  unbroken  and  powerful  until  near  the  close  of  the  French  and 
English  war,  1755-59.  It  was  known  as  'The  Long  House,"  from  the 
long  tepees  in  which  its  tribes  dwelt,  and  also  as  the  "Five  Nations."  The 
latter  designation  arose  from  the  fact  that  it  was  originally  composed  of 
the  Seneca,  Cayuga,  Onondaga,  Oneida  and  Mohawk  tribes,  occupying 
the  great  plain  between  the  Lakes  and  the  Hudson  River.  Later  the 
Tuscarora  nation  was  admitted  to  the  confederacy,  which  was  thence- 
forward known  as  "The  Six  Nations." 

This  confederation  was  the  most  enduring,  most  powerful  and  most 
aggressive  combination  in  the  entire  history  of-  the  American  Indians, 
and  seems  to  have  been  equally  well  adapted  for  defense  and  offense, 
although  its  fame  rests  chiefly  on  its  conquests.  Much  of  what  we  know 
concerning  this  remarkable  union  of  savages,  which  has  even  been  said 
by  some  writers  to  have  served  as  a  model  for  the  organization  of  the 
colonies,  is  obtained  from  the  Jesuit  "Relations,"  extensive,  although 
somewhat  fragmentary,  writings  of  the  French  missionaries  who  labored 
for  more  than  a  century  among  its  constituent  tribes  and  strove  with 
equal  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  aggrandizement  of  France,  risk- 
ing their  lives  and  enduring  dangers  and  discomforts  with  courage  and 
fortitude  beyond  the  understanding  of  those  who  do  not  appreciate  the 
lofty  motives  inspiring  them. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Iroquois  at- 
tacked the  Hurons,  Neuters  and  other  tribes  on  the  northern  shore  of 
Lake  Erie,  driving  them  westward  1,000  miles  and  establishing 
dominion  over  their  lands.  They  also  made  war  on  the  New  England 
tribes,  the  Delawares  and  the  Adirondacks,  bringing  these  tribes  into 
more  or  less  subjection.  Their  next  conquest,  with  which  this  narrative 
is  most  concerned,  was  that  of  the  Eries,  a  powerful  tribe  at  one  time 
master  of  the  region  between  the  Ohio  River  and  Lake  Erie.  These 
Indians  were  called  by  the  Jesuits  the  Riquerhonnons,  by  the  French  the 
Cats,  and  by  the  Iroquois  the  Erigas.  The  "Relations"  tell  us  that  in 
1655  they  were  utterly  destroyed  by  the  Iroquois,  who  descended  on 
them  in  a  flotilla  of  canoes,  landing  at  Presque  Isle,  now  the  City  of 
Erie.  The  Eries  were  driven  to  their  last  stand  at  the  "Place  of  the 
Panther,"  some  miles  inland,  at  which  they  had  a  strong  palisade.  Al- 
though the  Iroquois  were  armed  with  guns,  which  they  had  obtained 
from  the  Dutch  and  English,  they  were  unable  to  make  headway  against 
the  showers  of  poisoned  arrows  rained  upon  them  until  they  brought 
inland  their  light  canoes,  carried  these  upturned  over  their  heads  and 
thus  reached  the  palisade.  Then  they  stood  the  canoes  on  end.  mounted 
the  cross  bars  and  overcame  the  Erie  defense.    Most  of  the  Eric  braves 


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10         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

were  slain,  together  with  hundreds  of  their  women  and  children.  The 
men  who  escaped  were  driven  into  the  forest  and  the  other  captives 
absorbed  into  the  Iroquois  tribes,  a  method  these  crafty  Indians  had 
of  making  good  their  losses  in  war.  The  other  side  of  this  story,  as 
told  by  the  Iroquois,  is  that  the  Eries  had  planned  to  destroy  the  Senecas, 
and  that  their  plot  was  revealed  by  a  Mohawk  squaw  who  had  been 
captured  and  married  by  an  Erie  brave.  Acting  on  her  information 
the  Confederacy  rallied  its  warriors  and  fell  upon  the  Erie  host  as  it 
approached  the  Seneca  lands  on  the  Genesee  River,  surprising  and  an- 
nihilating it.  The  victors  are  entitled  to  their  statement,  but  their  history 
lends  probability  to  the  tale  of  the  Jesuits.  It  is  certain  that  after  this 
date  the  Eries  disappeared  from  history  as  a  nation,  and  the  Confederacy 
claimed  dominion  over  the  lands  they  had  occupied,  including  the  region 
of  the  Mahoning  River.  Nor  did  this  end  its  conquests  in  the  West. 
Marching  its  warriors  through  the  territory  of  the  Eries  in  1680,  the 
Confederacy  made  a  treaty  with  the  Miami  nation,  on  the  Maumee 
River,  took  as  guides  a  hundred  Miami  braves,  and  fell  upon  the  Illini, 
or  Illinois  tribe,  which  occupied  the  Wabash.  This  furious  onslaught 
destroyed  the  Illinois,  leaving  their  villages  filled  with  dead  and  in 
desolation  such  as  moved  to  pity  the  French  missionary  Joliet,  who  came 
on  the  scene  soon  afterward  and  who  has  left  as  a  record  of  this  affair 
a  masterpiece  of  tragic  description.  The  Iroquois  then  returned  to  the 
Miamis,  picked  a  quarrel  with  these  Indians  and  drove  them  southward 
over  the  divide  to  their  allies  on  the  Big  and  Little  Miamis.  On  their 
way  back  to  the  East,  they  attacked  the  Shawnees  and  other  Indians 
along  the  Ohio,  forcing  them,  with  the  Miamis,  to  appeal  to  the  French 
for  help,  but  failing  to  conquer  them  as  they  had  conquered  the  Eries 
and  the  Illinois.  In  the  meantime  these  fierce  and  rapid  warriors  had 
subjugated  the  Andastes,  a  tribe  which  occupied  the  banks  of  the 
Allegheny  River  and  the  territory  east  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Susque- 
hanna. 

From  this  time  onward  fear  of  the  Iroquois  existed  among  the  Ohio 
Indians.  Without  openly  admitting  domination  of  the  Confederacy, 
they  exercised  constant  care  to  avoid  provoking  these  fierce  and  blood- 
thirsty warriors  from  the  East.  Consequently,  the  claim  of  the  Iroquois 
to  dominion  over  the  lands  between  the  Lakes  and  the  Ohio,  while  never 
acknowledged  by  the  native  tribes,  was  respected  by  them  to  the  extent 
that  they  never  attempted  to  locate  permanently  on  these  lands,  espe- 
cially that  portion  of  them  which  later  became  the  Connecticut  Western 
Reserve.  It  is  probable  that  they  hunted  over  this  section  and  perhaps 
occupied  parts  of  it  at  various  times,  but  evidently  they  had  no  per- 
manent villages  farther  east  than  the  Muskingum  or  farther  north  than 
a  few  miles  up  that  river.  The  fact  that  the  Iroquois  claims  had  a  certain 
standing  is  proven  by  the  treaty  made  with  the  Senecas  and  Mohawks 
at  Buffalo,  on  June  23,  1796,  wlien  General  Moses  Cleaveland  purchased 
from  these  tribes  a  title  to  the  lands  in  the  Western  Reserve  before  he 
began  to  survey  it. 

A  further  indication  of  the  fear  in  which  the  Ohio  Indians  held  the 
Iroquois  was  their  hesitation  and  division  at  the  outbreak  of  the  French 


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and  English  war.  Some  of  these  tribes  favored  the  English,  but  the 
greater  portion  of  them  took  no  part  at  the  beginning.  The  Delawares 
and  Shawnees  allied  themselves  rather  indifferently  with  the  British, 
certain  chiefs  in  these  tribes  having  warned  Washington  of  the  ambush 
at  Braddock's  Field.  After  the  destruction  of  Braddock's  army^  how- 
ever, the  Indians  on  the  Ohio  and  those  farther  west  openly  made  cause 
with  the  French,  because  they  then  believed  that  the  latter  would  be 
powerful  enough  to  defend  them  against  the  Iroquois,  who  were  allied 
with  the  English  at  the  beginning  of  the  struggle.  Again,  when  Forbes 
approached  the  French  fort  at  the  confluence  of  the  Allegheny  and 
Monongahela  and  it  looked  as  if  the  French  were  losing  ground  in  the 
war,  the  Indians  deserted  De  Ligneri,  forcing  him  to  burn  Fort  Duquesne 
and  abandon  that  important  post.  In  explanation  of  this  wavering  policy 
of  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  French 
and  Iroquois  were  enemies  from  the  time  that  Champlain  first  defeated 
the  Mohawks  on  the  banks  of  the  lake  to  which  he  gave  his  name,  killing 
several  of  their  chiefs  and  frightening  their  warriors  with  his  "fire 
sticks/'  a  weapon  then  unknown  to  the  Indians.  This  was  in  1615.  and 
the  French  victory  over  the  proud  Mohawks  was  never  forgiven.  Even 
the  Jesuits,  who  labored  among  the  tribes  of  the  Confederacy  more 
ardently  than  anywhere  else,  were  never  able  to  make  headway  because 
of  the  enduring  hatred  of  these  tribes  for  everything  reminding  them  of 
this  humiliation. 

This  matter  has  been  referred  to  at  some  length  because  it  sheds  light 
on  the  absence  of  any  regularly  organized  tribes  in  this  rich  section, 
where  the  fertility  of  the  corn  fields  and  the  abundance  of  game  and 
fish  would  naturally  have  led  to  permanent  villages.  The  first  white 
men  to  penetrate  this  region  found  here  scattered  bands  of  Indians  whom 
they  called  Mingoes,  although  some  of  these  bands  were  evidently  not 
properly  classified  by  that  term.  The  Mingoes  were  adventurous  indi- 
viduals and  refugees  from  the  Iroquois  tribes,  chiefly  Senecas.  They 
seem  to  have  had  no  acknowledged  tribal  organization  of  their  own,  but  to 
have  banded  together  in  this  wilderness  to  escape  the  strict  regulations 
that  governed  the  confederated  tribes.  The  other  Indians  found  among 
them  were  probably  remnants  of  various  tribes  who  were  permitted, 
because  of  their  servility  and  lack  of  pugnacity,  to  reside  in  this  region, 
perhaps  as  much  because  the  corn  patches  cultivated  by  their  squaws 
were  convenient  for  the  lazy  Mingoes  as  because  the  latter  were  not 
sufficiently  organized  to  drive  them  out.  The  conglomeration  was  not 
an  attractive  one,  and  the  early  settlers  found  these  Indians  cursed  with 
all  the  vices  of  civilization,  but  without  the  virtues  of  the  neighboring 
tribes.  They  were  sometimes  called  Massasaugas,  or  "blacksnake"  In- 
dians, because  of  their  disposition  to  laziness  and  basking  in  the  sun. 

Of  the  few  bands  that  can  be  identified  by  the  meagre  accounts  left 
of  the  first  white  adventurers  into  the  Western  Reserve,  one  was  un- 
doubtedly composed  of  Caughnewagas,  or  Connewagas,  a  small  tribe 
subjugated  by  the  Iroquois  farther  north  and  located  for  a  time  on 
Upper  Delaware.  Others  were  remnants  of  the  Andastes,  and  a  few 
were  of  Delaware  origin,  although  the  Delawares  of  this  section  were 


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12         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

farther  south  and  west  at  that  time.  It  is  notable  that  the  name  of  any 
recognized  tribe  is  not  mentioned  in  such  records  of  Northeastern  Ohio 
as  have  been  preserved,  but  they  were  referred  to  as  Mingoes.  Such 
of  these  Indians  as  were  personally  known  to  the  traders  were  often 
given  aames  indicating  their  tribal  origin,  such  as  "Onondaga  George." 
who  figured  in  the  first  legally  recognized  murder  in  New  Connecticut. 
It  is  significant  also  that  the  conversations  and  other  communication 
with  the  Indians  of  this  band  were  held  in  the  Seneca  language. 

The  largest  of  these  roving  bands  of  Indians  was  located  at  Deerfield 
and  contained  about  three  hundred  persons,  many  of  whom  were  women 


Council  Rock  in  Lincoln  Park,  Around  Which  Indian  Legends 

Cluster 

The  rent  in  this  huge  boulder  is  supposed  to  have  been  caused  by  a  bolt 

of  lightning  during  a  council  of  Mahoning  Valley  Tribes 

and  children.  It  had  no  tribal  name  other  than  that  of  Mingo.  These 
Indians  were  devoutly  hated  by  the  first  settlers,  but  it  does  not  appear 
that  they  were  greatly  feared.  They  seem  to  have  been  lazy,  thieving 
savages,  prone  to  steal,  especially  when  they  could  steal  whisky.  At 
some  time  the  Mahoning  Valley  was  undoubtedly  occupied  by  populous 
Indian  tribes,  and  numerous  legends  indicate  that  it  was  occasionally  the 
scene  of  important  councils.  Such  a  legend  is  the  story  of  Council  Rock, 
a  huge  boulder  still  one  of  the  curiosities  of  Lincoln  Park,  in  the  City 
of  Youngstown.  This  legend  'has  been  embalmed  in  a  painting  in  the 
Mahoning  County  Courthouse.  According  to  tradition  the  Indians  had 
gathered  in  this  gorge,  as  was  their  annual  custom,  for  a  council  and 
feast,  when  a  violent  storm  occurred.  Many  trees  were  blown  down 
and  the  rock  was  split  by  a  terrific  bolt  of  lightning,  killing  many  of 
those  who  had  taken  refuge  near  it.  This  legend  is  supported  by  the 
fact  that  Council  Rock  has  evidently  been  riven  in  twain  by  some  great 


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YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         13 

force,  as  well  as  by  the  fact  that  the  earliest  settlers  here  found  that  an 
unusually  large  Indian  cornfield  occupied  the  land  along  the  river  at 
the  mouth  of  this  gorge.  The  rock  may  have  been  rent  by  its  own  weight 
as  it  settled  in  its  bed,  and  the  cornfields  may  have  been  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  land  at  that  point  was  rich  and  easily  cleared.  At  any  rate,  no 
Indian  councils  were  held  in  this  locality  since  white  men  were  here  to 
observe  the  facts. 

As  to  the  Indians  occupying  lands  other  than  the  Mahoning  Valley 
during  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  there  is  considerable 
well  authenticated  information.  They  were  numerous  and  belonged  to 
well  defined  tribes.  About  the  middle  of  that  century  troublous  times 
among  them  began  and  from  that  time  forward  there  was  much  shifting 
of  locations,  ending  finally  in  their  removal  west  of  the  Indian  line 
established  by  General  Anthony  Wayne  after  the  battle  of  Fallen  Timbers 
and  their  rapid  disappearance  from  this  side  of  the  Mississippi.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Wyandots,  formerly  the 
Hurons  and  Neuters,  occupied  the  western  banks  of  the  Sandusky  and 
territory  north  and  west  of  that  river.  They  had  been  driven  along 
the  northern  shore  of  the  Lakes  during  the  winter  of  1609  by  the  fierce 
Iroquois,  and  later  driven  back  again  by  the  Sioux,  finally  crossing  the 
Straits  and  settling  in  the  locality  named.  With  them  were  some  of  the 
Ottawas,  relatives  who  had  shared  their  misfortunes.  The  Miamis  were 
located  on  the  rivers  of  that  name,  having  apparently  come  southward 
from  the  Maumee  with  the  advent  of  the  Wyandots.  The  Shawnees 
lived  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  from  the  Scioto  eastward,  and  with  them 
were  many  of  the  Delawares,  already  moving  farther  west  from  their 
temporary  home  on  the  Allegheny  and  Upper  Ohio.  On  the  Tuscarawas 
River  were  bands  of  the  tribe  bearing  that  name,  and  over  the  remainder 
of  the  state  were  scattered  small  villages  composed  of  Indians  whose 
tribal  affiliations  are  uncertain.  The  Delawares,  or  what  was  left  of 
this  once  lordly  tribe,  were  located  on  the  Allegheny,  the  Beaver  and  the 
Ohio  as  far  west  as  the  Muskingum,  those  on  the  latter  river  mingling 
with  the  Shawnees,  who  had  originally  come  from  the  Virginias  and 
were  therefore  of  the  same  stock  as  the  Delawares.  There  were  some 
Mingoes  scattered  through  the  western  portion  of  the  state  and  along 
the  Ohio,  as  at  Mingo  Town,  where  Washington  found  in  1770  a  village 
which  he  described  as  having  twenty  cabins  and  being  inhabited  by 
seventy  Indians,  "all  belonging  to  the  Six  Nations." 

Since  there  is  a  general  impression,  probably  erroneous,  that  the 
Delawares  were  the  principal  occupants  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  when 
it  was  first  settled,  it  may  be  well  here  to  give  some  additional  information 
concerning  this  tribe  and  its  movements  since  its  history  became  well 
known.  The  Delawares  were  originally  known  as  Lenni  Lenape,  and 
were  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  honored  of  the  Algonquin  tribes  when 
they  first  came  into  contact  with  the  Quakers  along  the  Delaware  River 
in  1684.  About  1700  these  Indians  were  conquered  by  the  Iroquois,  and 
they  then  changed  their  name,  adopting  that  of  the  river  which  had  been 
named  after  a  man  from  the  Old  World,  thus  reversing  the  usual  pro- 
cedure in  such  matters.    They  had  in  the  meantime,  sold  a  vast  tract  of 


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14         YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

their  lands  to  Penn,  and  when  he  bought  from  them  and  the  Shawnees 
the  valleys  of  the  Delaware,  Cumberland  and  Susquehanna,  they  began 
to  feel  the  pressure  of  civilization  and  moved  westward,  locating  on  the 
headwaters  of  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Allegheny,  some  of  them  going 
as  far  west  as  the  Beaver.  At  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  the  Iroquois, 
who  claimed  dominion  over  the  Delawares,  again  sold  their  lands  to 
the  English,  and  they  were  compelled  to  fare  farther  west  a  second  time. 
In  this  migration  they  avoided  the  Mahoning  Valley,  as  this  land  was 
claimed  by  the  Iroquois,  or  Six  Nations,  and  moved  around  the  lower 
edge  of  the  region,  being  anxious  to  avoid  locating  again  on  land  that 
their  old  enemies  could  dispose  of  if  they  should  see  fit  to  do  so. 

The  Delawares  were  at  this  time  divided  into  three  groups,  each  of 
which  was  known  by  a  tribal  sign.  These  groups  were  the  "Monnsys," 
or  "Wolves;"  the  "Turkeys"  and  the  "Turtles." 

The  Monnsys  were  the  last  to  leave  the  Allegheny,  the  Turkey 
group  having  gone  earlier  to  the  Beaver  and  the  Turtles  to  the  Mus- 
kingum. Later  these  tribes  appear  to  have  intermingled  in  a  move 
farther  westward,  and  we  hear  of  them  on  the  Miamis  and  even  on  the 
Wabash.  But  they  never  came  north  from  the  Ohio  into  the  Maho- 
ning Valley  unless  it  was  on  temporary  visits  during  such  times  as  the 
Iroquois  were  engaged  elsewhere  in  war,  or  for  short  hunting  expedi- 
tions. The  Delawares  were  about  the  most  docile  of  all  the  great  Indian 
tribes.  They  made  several  treaties  with  the  whites  and,  strangely  enough, 
kept  these  treaties,  one-sided  as  they  were.  Their  story,  while  only  a 
repetition  of  that  of  all  the  aboriginal  tribes  who  melted  away  before  the 
sturdy  and  rapacious  pioneers,  is  more  pathetic  than  usual,  because  the 
Delawares  were  at  first  less  given  to  fierce  and  savage  attacks  on  settlers, 
and  they  yielded  their  ground  only  with  protests  full  of  feeling  and 
expressing  a  sense  of  their  utter  helplessness,  as  well  as  after  they  had 
tried  very  earnestly  to  arrange  some  sort  of  compromise  by  which  they 
could  retain  their  lands.  A  striking  illustration  of  their  plight  is  given 
by  the  situation  in  which  they  found  themselves  at  the  beginning  of  the 
French  and  Indian  war,  and  the  vacillating  course  they  pursued  during 
that  momentous  conflict.  Between  memories  of  the  invasion  by  Eng- 
lish settlers  of  their  hunting  grounds,  fear  of  the  ancient  conquerors 
of  their  race  in  the  Confederacy,  and  distrust  of  the  French  policy,  they 
were  surrounded  with  difficulties  beyond  the  power  of  the  Indian  mind 
to  solve.  This  situation  is  graphically  painted  by  Chief  Ackowanothio, 
made  to  the  English  in  1758  and  interpreted  by  Conrad  Weiser.  As 
printed  in  the  Pennsylvania  Archives  this  document  was  as  follows: 

"Brethren,  the  English,  you  wonder  at  our  joining  with  the  French 
in  the  present  war.  Why  can't  you  get  sober  once  and  think  impartially? 
Does  not  the  law  of  nations  permit,  or  rather  command  us  all,  to  stand 
upon  our  guard  in  order  to  preserve  our  lives  and  the  lives  of  our  wives 
and  children,  our  property  and  liberty?  Let  me  tell  you  that  was  our 
care;  have  a  little  patience! 

"I  will  tell  you,  brethren,  your  nation  always  showed  an  eagerness 
to  settle  our  lands.  Cunning  as  they  were,  they  always  encouraged  a 
number  of  poor  people  to  settle  on  our  lands;  we  protested  against  it 


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YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         15 

several  times,  but  without  any  redress  or  help.  We  pitied  the  poor 
people ;  we  did  not  care  to  make  use  of  force,  and  indeed  some  of  these 
people  were  very  good  people,  and  as  hospitable  as  we  Indians  and  gave 
us  share  of  what  little  they  had,  and  gained  our  affection  for  the  most 
part ;  but  after  all  we  lost  our  hunting  ground,  for  where  one  of  these 
people  settled,  like  pigeons,  a  thousand  more  would  settle,  so  that  we  at 
last  offered  to  sell  it,  and  received  some  consideration  for  it:  and  so  it 
went  on  until  at  last  we  jumped  over  the  Alleghany  Hills,  and  settled 
on  the  waters  of  Ohio.    Here  we  tho't  ourselves  happy ! 

"We  had  plenty  of  game,  a  rich  and  large  country  that  the  Most 
High  had  created  for  the  poor  Indians  and  not  for  the  white  people.  Oh 
how  happy  did  we  live  here !  but  alas !  not  for  long !  Oh  your  covetous- 
ness  for  land  at  the  risque  of  so  many  poor  souls,  disturbed  our  peace 
again !  Who  should  have  thought  that  that  Great  King  Over  the  Water, 
whom  you  always  recommended  as  a  tender  father  of  his  people,  I  say, 
who  should  have  thought  that  the  Great  King  should  have  given  away 
that  land  to  a  parcel  of  covetous  gentlemen  from  Virginia,  called  the 
Ohio  Company,  who  came  immediately  and  offered  to  build  forts  among 
us,  no  doubt,  to  make  themselves  master  of  our  lands  and  make  slaves 
of  us.  To  which  we  could  not  agree,  notwithstanding  their  fair  words. 
Onontio  [the  governor  of  Canada — Ed.],  our  Father,  heard  this  with 
his  own  ears,  went  home  and  prepared,  in  his  turn,  to  take  our  lands  from 
us,  as  we,  or  some  of  us,  suspected.  He  made  a  proclamation  to  us  in 
the   following  manner: 

"  'Children,  the  King  of  England  has  given  your  lands  on  Ohio  to  a 
company  of  wicked  men  in  Virginia,  who,  I  hear,  are  preparing  to  come 
and  take  possession  with  a  strong  hand:  be  on  your  guard,  don't  let 
them  make  the"  least  settlement  on  the  Ohio ;  they  will  in  a  few  years 
settle  the  whole;  they  are  as  numerous  as  muskeetos  and  nits  in  the 
woods;  if  they  once  get  a  fast  hold,  it  will  not  be  in  your  power  to  drive 
them  away  again ;  if  you  think  you  can't  keep  them  off,  tell  me  so,  and 
I  will  keep  them  off.' 

"Brethren,  we  never  liked  the  French,  but  some  of  the  Six  Nations, 
in  particular  some  of  the  Senecas,  came  with  the  French  and  took  pos- 
session of  the  heads  of  Ohio;  we  did  not  like,  and  therefore  sent  several 
messages  to  them  to  turn  about  and  go  the  way  they  came,  to  prevent 
mischief,  but  to  no  purpose.  The  French  being  numerous,  and  sup- 
ported by  the  aforesaid  Senecas  and  other  Indians,  we  were  obliged  to 
be  still,  and  by  their  craftiness  and  presents,  we  were  brought  over  to 
their  side  of  the  question ;  but  a  greater  number  of  us  stood  neuter. 

"Now,  brethren,  when  that  great  General  Braddock  landed  at  Vir- 
ginia, with  orders  from  the  King  of  England,  to  drive  away  the  French 
from  Ohio,  and  take  possession  himself  of  that  fine  country  for  the 
English ;  the  French  did  let  us  know  immediately,  and  told  us :  Children, 
now  the  time  is  come  of  which  I  have  often  told  such  an  army  is  coming 
against  you,  to  take  your  lands  from  you  and  make  slaves  of  you.  You 
know  the  Virginians;  they  all  come  with  him.  If  you  will  stand  your 
ground,  I  will  fight  with  you  for  your  lands,  and  I  don't  doubt  we  will 
conquer  them.    The  French  General's  words,  by  the  assistance  of  priests, 


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16         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

had  great  influence  with  the  Indians  on  the  Ohio,  brought  the  Shawnees 
over  in  a  body  to  them,  they  being  wronged  in  Carolina  and  imprisoned, 
and  had  their  chief  hanged  or  put  to  death  in  a  cruel  manner.  These 
Shawnees  brought  over  the  Dela wares  tc  their  measures ;  they,  the  Dela- 
wares,  were  drove  from  their  lands,  it  being  sold  by  the  Mohawks,  etc., 
to  the  New  England  people,  and  just  then  some  of  those  Dela  wares  came 
to  Wyomock,  much  incensed  against  the  English  and  were  easily  brought 
over  to  the  French  and  Shawnees. 

"Now  Brethren,  all  this,  with  many  other  abuses  we  suffered  from 
our  Brethren  the  English,  yet  our  heart  is  much  afflicted;  there  remains 
sparks  of  love  in  it  toward  our  Brethren,  the  English ;  were  we  but  sure 
that  you  will  not  take  our  lands  on  the  Ohio,  or  the  west  side  of  the 
Alleghany  Hills  from  us ;  we  can  drive  away  the  French  when  we  please, 
they  have  even  promised  to  go  ofT  when  we  pleased,  provided  we  would 
not  suffer  the  English  to  take  possession  of  the  lands,  (for,  as  the  French 
says)  we  can  never  drive  you  off,  you  are  such  a  numerous  people;  and 
that  makes  us  afraid  of  your  army,  which  should  not  have  come  so  nigh 
us,  we  don't  know  what  to  think  of  it.  We  sent  messages  of  peace,  you 
received  them  kindly,  and  you  sent  us  messages  of  peace,  we  received 
them  also  kindly,  and  sent  you  back  again  more  stronger  words.  Why 
did  not  your  army  stay  at  Rays  Town,  [at  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies. — Ed.]  'till  matters  had  been  settled  between  us?  We  still 
suspect  you  covet  our  lands  on  the  Ohio,  for  you  have  come  against  us; 
but  we  never  heard  as  yet  what  you  intended  to  do  (after  you  drove 
away  the  French)  with  the  forts  and  lands  on  the  Ohio. 

"Brethren,  one  thing  more  sticks  in  our  stomach,  which  is,  that  we 
cannot  thoroughly  believe  that  you  are  in  earnest  to  make  peace  with  us, 
for  when  we  lived  amongst  you,  as  sometimes  it  would  happen,  that  our 
young  men  stole  a  horse,  killed  a  hog,  or  did  some  other  mischief,  you 
resented  it  very  highly,  we  were  imprisoned,  &c.  Now,  we  have  killed 
and  taken  so  many  of  your  people,  will  you  heartily  forgive  us  and  take 
no  revenge  on  us?  Now  Brethren,  consider  all  these  things  well,  and 
be  assured  that  we  are  heartily  inclined  to  make  a  lasting  peace  with  you." 

This  remarkable  speech  was  made  after  the  Delawares,  having  tried 
in  vain  to  choose  the  forces  which  seemed  least  likely  to  immediately  de- 
stroy them,  found  themselves  on  the  wrong  side  and  with  a  heavy  score 
to  settle  with  the  "English  Father"  because  of  their  activities  on  behalf 
of  the  French.  In  pursuit  of  these  activities  and  spurred,  no  doubt,  by 
a  sense  of  their  wrongs  at  the  hands  of  the  encroaching  settlers,  they  had 
made  many  raids,  along  with  other  tribes,  into  the  Virginia  and  Penn- 
sylvania valleys.  The  expedition  under  General  Forbes,  which  forced 
the  destruction  of  Fort  Duquesne  and  ended  the  pretensions  of  the 
French  to  control  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  accomplished  this  result  on  Novem- 
ber 24,  1758.  and  practically  ended  the  French  and  English  war,  although 
the  fall  of  Quebec  did  not  occur  until  the  following  year,  Ackowanothio 
was  trying  to  explain  the  shortcomings  of  his  people  and  provide  against 
punishment.  He  might  as  well  have  saved  his  breath,  for  the  Delawares 
soon  found  their  new  home  no  safer  than  the  old  and  before  long  had 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         17 

an  even  more  relentless  tide  set  against  them  in  the  form  of  colonial 
emigration  to  the  Ohio  after  the  Revolutionary  war. 

After  the  war  with  France  the  English  King,  realizing  that  the  ex- 
tension of  the  colonies  westward  was  likely  to  create  a  new  empire  over 
which  he  could  not  maintain  control,  issued  a  decree  forbidding  settle- 
ments west  of  the  headwaters  of  such  rivers  as  emptied  into  the  Atlantic, 
and  even  forbidding  land  purchases  from  the  Indians  east  of  the  moun- 
tains without  his  royal  consent.  He  was  as  powerless  as  the  Indians 
to  stay  the  westward  tide  of  empire,  however,  and  the  settlers,  feeling 
the  need  of  more  elbow  room,  finding  the  mild  ideas  of  the  Quakers  little 
to  their  liking,  and  inflamed  with  cupidity  by  descriptions  of  the  lands 
on  both  sides  of  the  Ohio  as  a  veritable  Garden  of  Eden,  swarmed  over 
the  trails  from  Virginia  and  Southern  Pennsylvania,  defying  alike  Indian 
tomahawk  and  regal  scepter  in  order  to  preempt  the  banks  of  the  Ohio. 
They  traveled  in  strong  parties  and  hunted  the  Indians  relentlessly, 
building  rude  forts  in  their  forests  and  appropriating  their  salt  springs 
and  corn  fields  wherever  found.  Of  course  the  result  was  war  to  the 
knife,  and  the  years  between  the  fall  of  Quebec  and  the  defeat  of  the 
Indian  tribes  by  Wayne  at  Fallen  Timbers,  on  the  Maumee,  were  filled 
with  tragedies  for  both  Indians  and  settlers. 

It  is  impossible  to  look  with  anything  except  regret  upon  the  story 
of  these  bloody  years.  Aside  from  the  fact  that  their  tragedies  seem  to 
have  been  generally  avoidable,  it  is  impossible  to  escape  the*  conviction 
_  that  both  Indians  and  whites  were  equally  to  blame,  for  the  latter  were  as 
unchristian  in  their  dealings  with  the  Indians  as  the  Indians  were  savage 
in  their  reprisals.  It  is  some  comfort  to  discover  that  the  arbitrary  in- 
vasion of  their  rights  which  drove  the  Indians  to  constantly  harry  with 
tomahawk  and  torch  the  advance  of  civilization  was  carried  on  chiefly 
by  traders  and  adventurers,  rather  than  by  the  pioneers,  and  that  the 
sturdy  men  and  women  who  laid  the  foundations  of  Ohio's  greatness 
were  generally  anxious  and  willing  to  deal  amicably,  even  if  somewhat 
unfairly,  with  the  original  owners  of  the  soil.  Likewise  the  historian 
is  relieved  to  find  that  the  outrages  against  the  Moravian  Missions — an 
incident  in  the  early  history  of  Ohio  that  is  usually  passed  over  in  silence 
or  dwelt  upon  only  briefly — were  instigated  and  perpetrated  by  traders 
rather  than  settlers.  Most  of  the  adventurers  whose  acts  of  cruelty  have 
stained  the  history  of  the  Ohio  Valley  came  from  the  Cavalier  colonies 
and  regarded  the  Indians  as  mere  animals,  an  attitude  which  is  explain- 
able only  when  it  is  compared  with  their  later  estimate  of  the  Negroes. 
It  was  no  fault  of  theirs  either,  that  slavery  was  never  legally  established 
north  of  the  Beautiful  River,  and  that  the  soil  of  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory was  made  free  by  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  Nevertheless,  not  all  of 
the  traders  and  adventurers  who  were  responsible  alike  for  the  massacre 
of  the  Moravian  converts  and  the  constant  bloodshed  between  the  In- 
dians and  whites  were  from  these  colonies.  Some  of  them  came  from 
Pennsylvania  and  were  of  stock  that  should  have  made  such  things  im- 
possible. The  Moravians  were  people  of  a  simple  creed.  Most  of  their 
difficulties  came  from  the  fact  they  were  conscientiously  opposed  to 
bearing  arms  and  that  they  opposed  the  use  of  intoxicants  among  their 
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18         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

converts.  The  crafty  traders,  finding  that  these  missions  invariably  de- 
stroyed the  traffic  in  rum,  lost  no  opportunity  to  assail  the  Moravians, 
undermining  their  influence  with  the  Indians  by  treachery  and  even 
resorting  to  murder  and  arson  against  the  missionaries  and  their  converts. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  Moravians  had  in  their  creed  the 
sentiment  and  poetry  that  was  needed  to  satisfy  the  longings  of  the 
mystical  Indian  mind,  and  that,  had  they  been  permitted  to  continue  their 
work  without  hindrance,  the  Red  Race  might  have  been  absorbed  into  the 
new  civilization,  instead  of  being  destroyed  by  it;  and  thus  the  one  un- 
lovely page  in  the  history  of  this  country  might  have  been  left  unwritten. 

For  the  reason  that  the  fate  of  the  Moravian  missions  has  not  been 
given  the  attention  it  deserves,  as  well  as  that  a  few  writers  have  pre- 
ferred to  render  injustice  to  these  much  wronged  people  rather  than  to 
record  a  story  unpleasant  to  their  readers,  a  short  sketch  of  these  missions 
and  their  devoted  laborers,  the  only  organized  missionaries  who  sought  to 
Christianize  the  Indians  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  will  be  given.  The  sect 
originated  in  the  Palatinate  among  the  Bohemians  and  Bavarians  three 
centuries  ago,  as  the  result  of  the  people  becoming  disgusted  with  the 
fanaticism  of  church  and  state  alike  during  that  unhappy  period. 
They  first  appeared  in  America  at  a  settlement  in  South  Carolina,  but 
were  speedily  driven  from  it.  Their  next  missions  were  on  the  Delaware, 
and  they  also  labored  among  the  Mohicans  farther  north.  The  Quakers 
never  opposed  them,  but  the  fiery  Scotch  and  Irish  settlers  of  the  Cumber- 
land Valley  accused  them  of  harboring  unfriendly  Indians  and  instigat- 
ing attacks  on  those  settlements,  for  which  reason  they  were  forced  to 
abandon  their  establishment  at  Bethlehem.  Next  they  began  work 
among  the  Delaware  Indians  at  Goshgoshink,  on  the  Allegheny,  and 
later  moved  westward,  establishing  themselves  near  what  is  now  Salem 
and  on  the  Muskingum,  where  their  settlements  were  known  as  Schoen- 
brun  and  Gnadenhutten.  In  this  region  they  were  along  the  direct  route 
between  Pittsburgh  and  Detroit,  which  was  at  that  time,  the  troubled 
period  about  1767,  much  traveled  by  lawless  parties  of  both  Indians  and 
whites.  After  the  outbreak  of  the  Senecas  and  Shawnees  which  fol- 
lowed the  murder  of  Logan's  family  by  border  ruffians,  the  Moravians 
moved  to  the  Upper  Sandusky,  hoping  to  find  a  peaceful  refuge  where 
they  could  pursue  their  labors  among  the  Indians,  with  whom  they  had 
become  strongly  intrenched.  It  was  in  this  last  refuge  that  the  final 
disaster  overtook  them.  On  March  7,  1781,  the  little  colony  was  visited 
by  a  band  of  whites  under  command  of  David  Williamson.  On  the  pre- 
tense that  they  had  encouraged  and  harbored  English  and  Indian  raiding 
parties  from  Detroit  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  the  Moravian  In- 
dians, with  their  chief  Glichican,  were  disarmed  and  herded  into  two 
buildings.  In  these  two  structures  the  entire  band,  consisting  of  ninety- 
six  men,  women  and  children,  were  brutally  shot  to  death  and  the  build- 
ings burned.  This  foul  deed  was  committed  by  border  men  led  by  a 
border  ruffian  and  chiefly  from  along  the  Ohio  River.  It  was  without 
authority  or  excuse  and  is  one  of  the  most  savage  and  inhuman  incidents 
in  the  history  of  the  Ohio  Valley.  After  that,  the  Moravian  leaders  were 
discouraged  and  never  re-established  their  missions  among  the  Ohio  In- 
dians.    Some  of  their  descendants  and  settlers  who  followed  them  West 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         19 

located  on  the  Sandusky,  where  traces  of  their  religion  and  customs  may 
be  found  to  this  day. 

The  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war  gave  renewed  impetus  to  the 
settlement  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  increased  the  troubles  with  the  Indians, 
and  brought  about  conditions  that  soon  culminated  in  the  practical  ex- 
pulsion of  the  natives  from  all  of  the  territory  now  included  within  the 
boundaries  of  Ohio.  As  soon  as  the  independence  of  America  was 
acknowledged,  the  new  government  adopted  a  stern  policy  against  un- 
authorized settlements  beyond  the  Ohio,  but  it  was  unable  to  restrain  the 
impatience  of  its  people,  many  of  whom  had  acquired  roving  habits  by 
service  in  the  army  and  all  of  whom  were  filled  with  ambition  to  preempt 
fertile  lands  at  a  cost  of  little  or  nothing  in  money,  even  though  at  the 
risk  of  their  lives.  These  adventurous  spirits  climbed  the  mountains  on 
foot  or  in  wagons  and  descended  the  Ohio  in  flat  boats,  fighting  off 
parties  of  Indians  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  landing  where  -they 
saw  fit. 

Settlements  soon  lined  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  and  began  to  extend  up 
the  Muskingum,  the  Scioto  and  the  two  Miamis.  Gen.  William  Lytle 
states  that  in  1780  one  party  of  sixty-three  flat  boats,  containing  more 
than  1,000  persons,  descended  the  Ohio  to  the  point  where  Cincinnati 
now  stands,  landing  some  distance  above  the  city  more  than  500  armed 
men,  who  attacked  the  Indians  and  put  them  to  flight,  following  them 
into  the  forest  four  or  five  miles.  Repeatedly  troops  were  sent  down 
from  Pittsburgh  to  drive  off  the  squatters,  and  in  1785,  a  number  of  those 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Ohio  refused  to  move  until  forced  to  do  so.  Even 
at  that  these  hardy,  tenacious  settlers  returned  to  their  lands  as  soon  as 
the  soldiers  left.  There  were  at  this  time  scores  of  scattered  houses  along 
the  Muskingum,  the  Scioto  and  Hockhocking.  The  Miamis  were  not 
invaded  so  freely,  as  the  Indians  there  put  up  a  desperate  and  long 
continued  fight  which  small  parties  were  unable  to  overcome.  It  was 
only  after  land  grants  had  been  regularly  made  and  large  colonies  organ- 
ized that  the  fertile  lands  in  what  was  then  known  as  "the  slaughter 
house  of  the  Miamis"  were  appropriated  and  settled. 

Until  almost  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Mahoning 
Valley  was  without  settlers,  even  though  it  harbored  few  Indians,  chiefly 
because  Connecticut  stoutly  claimed  the  territory  and  squatters  were 
deterred  from  invading  it  by  the  fear  that  they  would  have  later  to  give 
up  their  lands  or  pay  for  them.  One  tract  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  very 
valuable  because  it  contained  salt  springs  and  was  a  source  of  that  scarce 
and  desirable  mineral  used  by  both  whites  and  Indians  for  many  miles 
in  every  direction,  was  preempted,  however,  and  the  Government  was 
later  compelled  to  send  soldiers  to  drive  off  the  invaders  and  destroy 
their  cabins.    This  tract  was  later  acquired  by  General  Parsons. 

Such  were  the  conditions  under  which  a  large  part  of  the  State  of 
Ohio  was  settled.  They  made  the  hard  life  of  the  unbroken  forest  still 
harder,  and  would  have  been  sufficient  to  discourage  occupation  by  any 
except  people  with  the  daring  and  determination  which  characterized 
those  who  finally  conquered  both  nature  and  the  Indians  and  laid  in  the 
wilderness  the  firm  foundations  of  a  state  now  among  the  most  pros- 
perous, progressive  and  important  in  the  Union. 


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CHAPTER  III 
LATIN  OR  ANGLO-SAXON 

The  title  to  all  the  lands  of  North  America  rested  originally,  so  far 
as  history  goes,  with  the  Indian  tribes  occupying  them  when  Europeans 
first  became  aware  that  there  was  such  a  continent.  Whether  this  title 
was  morally  any  better  than  that  acquired  by  the  successors  in  owner- 
ship to  these  Indians  may  be  questioned,  for  it  was  probably  secured  in 
much  the  same  way.  After  all  the  moral  law  has  never  determined  the 
ownership  of  any  considerable  portion  of  the  earth's  surface,  so  far  as 
nations  are  concerned.  The  rule  that  "he  shall  take  who  hath  the  power, 
and  he  shall  keep  who  can,"  has  prevailed  throughout  history.  Nor  is 
there  reason  to  expect  that  it  will  ever  be  otherwise,  much  as  we  may 
hope  from  the  treaty  of  Versailles  and  the  new  code  of  international 
ethics,  for  the  enforcement  of  which  a  League  of  Nations  is  proposed. 
It  will  be  wise,  therefore,  to  pass  over  the  moral  right  of  Europeans  to 
occupy  this  part  of  the  world  and  confine  ourselves  to  a  brief  discussion 
of  the  more  or  less  legal  titles  on  which  it  was  claimed  by  several  nations 
when  history  began  in  the  region  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River.  The 
principal  reason  for  doing  this  is  the  fact  that  upon  these  claims  and 
their  enforcement  depended  the  highly  important  question  of  whether  the 
New  World  was  to  be  developed  under  the  influence  of  the  Latin  races, 
or  whether  it  was  to  enjoy  the  broader,  more  virile  and  more  enlightened 
rule  of  Anglo-Saxon  civilization. 

If  the  right  of  possession  depended  purely  upon  discovery  and  pri- 
mary occupation,  this  vast  territory  would  now  undoubtedly  belong  to 
the  Spaniards  or  the  French,  for  the  former  were  first  to  discover  it  and 
the  latter  first  to  occupy  it.  But  the  element  of  possession,  strong  in  the 
law  and  even  stronger  where  there  is  no  law,  was  destined  to  give  the 
North  American  continent  to  neither  the  Spanish  nor  the  French,  but  to 
the  English;  while  the  fortunes  of  changing  years  have  permitted  the 
latter  to  retain  possession  of  only  a  relatively  unimportant  part  of  the 
continent,  in  which  is  included  none  of  the  land  they  originally  discovered 
or  colonized. 

The  first  official  promulgation  of  a  title  to  North  America  was  the 
famous  bull  issued  by  Pope  Alexander  VI,  May,  1493,  shortly  after  the 
return  to  Spain  of  Columbus  from  his  first  voyage  to  the  New  World. 
Pope  Martin  V  had  previously  conferred  upon  Henry  the  Navigator, 
King  of  Portugal,  all  the  land  he  could  discover  to  the  East  along  the 
coast  of  Africa,  and  when  Columbus  came  back  from  his  western  voyage 
and  reported  a  new  land  in  that  quarter  peopled  by  savages  who  knew 
not  Christianity,  Pope  Alexander  was  eager  to  encourage  further  ex- 

20 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         21 

plorations  in  that  direction.  Accordingly,  he  exercised  the  right  then 
acknowledged  as  belonging  to  his  high  office  to  confer  a  title  to  undis- 
covered and  unchristianized  lands,  wherever  they  might  be,  so  long  as 
they  lay  to  the  west,  upon  the  Spanish  King  and  Queen  who  had  shown 
such  commendable  zeal  in  encouraging  hazardous  ventures  of  discovery. 
This  papal  bull,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  documents  in  history,  took 
note  of  the  activities  of  both  Spain  and  Portugal,  dividing  the  undis- 
covered portion  of  the  earth  between  these  two  nations  on  a  line  "drawn 
through  the  Cape  Verde  Islands  and  extending  from  the  Pole  Arctic  to 
the  Pole  Antarctic.,,  Its  promulgation  proves  that  the  Pope  was  then 
regarded  as  having  temporal  jurisdiction  over  all  the  earth  not  already 
claimed  by  Christians,  and  also  that  the  globular  form  of  the  earth  was 
then  regarded  as  an  established  fact. 

Later  Henry  the  Navigator  found  that  he  had  been  given  the  poor 
end  of  the  bargain,  and  on  his  protest  the  line  of  demarcation  was  moved 
westward  "three  hundred  and  seventy  leagues/'  by  which  Portugal  was 
given  title  to  the  east  coast  of  South  America,  but  Spain  was  left  in 
possession  of  all  of  North  America,  or  rather  in  possession  of  the  title 
to  this  continent.  To  make  this  possession  an  actual  fact,  De  Soto  was 
sent  to  Florida  within  the  next  quarter  of  a  century.  This  remarkable 
expedition,  which  had  for  its  ostensible  purpose  the  discovery  of  the 
fountain  of  perpetual  youth,  was  doubtless  inspired  by  the  knowledge  on 
Spain's  part  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  speedily  reinforce  the  pro- 
nunciamento  of  Pope  Alexander  with  something  that  savored  of  actual 
possession.  De  Soto,  fired  by  a  zeal  for  religion  and  a  spirit  of  romance 
that  seem  equally  strange  in  these  more  practical  days,  began  his  wander- 
ings about  1520.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  was  the  first  white  man 
who  saw  the  majestic  Mississippi.  Nor  is  it  questioned  by  any  historian 
that  he  laid  claim  in  the  name  of  Spain  to  the  entire  region  drained  by 
this  lordly  stream,  and  did  so  with  all  the  pomp  and  ceremony  required 
by  the  customs  of  the  time.  Consequently,  by  decree  of  an  accepted 
tribunal,  as  well  as  by  right  of  discovery,  the  first  European  title  to  the 
lands  in  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  valleys  was  vested  in  Spain. 

Unlike  Portugal,  France  and  England  filed  no  formal  protest  against 
a  decree  that  somewhat  arbitrarily,  it  must  be  admitted,  divided  a  world 
between  two  other  nations.  Nevertheless,  both  nations  lost  no  time  in 
joining  the  Spaniards  in  quest  of  whatever  could  be  found  beyond  the 
Atlantic.  On  behalf  of  England,  the  Cabots  crossed  the  ocean  so 
close  in  the  wake  of  Columbus  that  they  were  rivals  for  the  honor  of  dis- 
covering America  and  skirted  the  eastern  coast  in  search  of  the  fabulous 
gold  and  silver  mines  supposed  to  exist  there.  They  found  an  abundance 
of  fish  and  a  superabundance  of  forest,  neither  of  which  interested  the 
English  King,  who  needed  money  worse  than  usual  to  carry  on  his 
schemes  of  national  aggrandizement  and  personal  pleasure.  He  was  dis- 
appointed and  for  more  than  a  century  no  further  effort  was  made  by 
England  to  secure  a  foothold  in  the  western  world. 

About  the  same  time  that  De  Soto  was  carrying  his  silver  and  silken 
banners  through  the  forests  to  and  beyond  the  banks  of  the  Father  of 
Waters,   Jacques  Cartier,  a  Frenchman  bold,  was  sailing  up  the   St. 


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22         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Lawrence,  stopping  at  every  Indian  village  and  every  island  long  enough 
to  give  each  the  name  of  a  saint  and  to  take  from  the  Indians  their  sur- 
plus furs.  He  did  not  forget  to  claim  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley  and  all 
the  lands  adjoining  it  in  every  direction  for  France.  Cartier  called  this 
country  Canada,  having  heard  it  given  that  name  by  the  Iroquois  Indians. 
As  early  as  1541,  however,  this  slight  oversight  had  been  corrected,  the 
country  renamed  "New  France,"  and  Sieur  de  Roberval  made  its  gov- 
ernor as  the  viceroy  of  Francis  I. 

From  that  time  forward  the  French  advanced  their  occupation  of  the 
wilderness  by  every  means  in  their  power.  Their  first  adventurers  were 
soon  followed  by  the  Jesuits  and  later  by  the  Recollects,  two  orders  of 
missionaries  who  labored  long  and  faithfully  among  the  Indians  and 
who,  as  was  the  custom  of  those  days,  cherished  the  interests  of  their 
country  only  second  to  those  of  their  church,  and  lost  no  opportunity 
to  establish  the  claims  of  France  to  the  lands  they  visited.  The  enter- 
prise of  the  French  directly  southward  was  checked  by  the  hostility  of 
the  Iroquois  Confederacy,  which  never  forgave  Champlain  for  the  defeat 
of  the  Mohawks  on  the  banks  of  the  beautiful  lake  to  which  he  gave  his 
name,  but  farther  west  the  missionaries  were  able  to  do  much  toward 
establishing  friendly  relations  with  the  Indians.  That  these  fearless  and 
enterprising  advance  agents  of  civilization  and  religion  never  established 
missions  in  the  region  now  known  as  Ohio  is  rather  remarkable,  espe- 
cially in  view  of  the  fact  that  La  Salle  undoubtedly  was  first  among 
Europeans  to  sail  a  boat  on  the  waters  of  "The  Beautiful  River."  La 
Salle  was  a  Recollect,  and  there  was  much  rivalry  between  this  order  and 
that  of  the  Jesuits,  the  latter  being  usually  first  on  any  promising  field  of 
endeavor.  There  is  a  possibility  that  the  Jesuits,  having  learned  from 
the  Iroquois  that  Northeastern  Ohio  was  disputed  ground,  avoided  it. 
They  visited  the  tribes  in  the  northwestern  portion  at  times,  but  never 
had  a  permanent  mission  among  these  Indians. 

As  time  went  on  the  French  established  themselves,  through  missions 
and  trading  posts,  at  all  important  points  on  the  lakes  and  gradually  made 
their  way  into  the  interior,  having  at  one  time  forts  and  trading  posts  on 
the  Wabash  and  the  Miamis.  They  also  built  Fort  Duquesne,  having 
driven  away  the  small  English  party  sent  to  that  point  to  construct  a 
fort.  By  the  time  English  colonies  had  been  firmly  planted  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  and  their  first  efforts  westward  began,  the  French  were 
fairly  well  established  in  and  stoutly  claimed  the  Ohio  Valley,  which 
seemed  destined  to  Gallic  domination.  The  Spanish  claims  to  the  coast 
of  the  Mexican  Gulf  and  the  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi  were  not 
challenged,  English  settlements  being  made  only  as  far  south  as  the  Caro- 
linas. 

The  treaty  of  Ryswick,  made  in  1697  between  France,  England, 
Spain  and  other  interested  countries,  gave  to  France  full  title  to  the 
Valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  also  to  that  of  the  Mississippi,  Spain 
surrendering  her  splendid  empire  in  North  America,  fading  out  of  the 
picture  and  leaving  the  French  and  English  to  battle  for  supremacy  of  a 
continent.  And  battle  for  this  supremacy  they  did  most  royally  from 
that  time  forward.     Both  redoubled  their  efforts  to  occupy  the  Ohio 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         23 

Valley.  The  English  had  called  a  council  of  the  Six  Nations  at  Albany 
in  1684  to  arrange  some  of  the  ever  present  difficulties  with  Indian 
tribes  subject  to  the  Iroquois,  and  while  they  were  attending  to  this  they 
adroitly  purchased  from  the  Six  Nations  title  to  the  land  occupied  by  the 
Delawares,  Shawnees  and  other  tribes  along  the  Ohio.  This  title  was 
of  little  value,  of  course,  since  it  was  hotly  disputed  by  the  Ohio  Indians, 
but  the  transaction  proves  that  the  Iroquois  claimed  dominion  in  this 
region,  as  well  as  that  the  English  feared  the  encroachments  of  the 
French  even  before  the  Spanish  title  was  questioned.  The  sum  paid  for 
all  this  land  was  ten  thousand  English  pounds,  and  it  is  interesting  to 
note  that  the  Iroquois  insisted  on  so  high  a  price  because  the  sale  in- 
cluded their  lands  in  what  is  now  Northeastern  Ohio,  from  which  they 
obtained  much  game  and  many  excellent  fruits.  The  contest  of  wits 
and  war,  in  which  the  Europeans  furnished  most  of  the  diplomacy  and 
the  Indians  most  of  the  fighting,  went  on  without  interruption  until  the 
fall  of  Fort  DuQuesne,  in  1758.  This  event  was  preceded,  and  was,  in 
fact,  brought  about,  by  the  defection  of  the  Indians  from  the  French 
cause,  the  Ohio  tribes  having  discovered  that  the  English  were  gaining 
in  strength  and,  as  usual,  hurriedly  transferred  their  allegiance  to  the 
side  with  the  best  prospect  for  victory. 

The  fall  of  Fort  DuQuesne  practically  ended  the  contest  between 
England  and  France  for  control  of  the  Ohio  Valley.  One  year  later 
Quebec  was  surrendered,  and  the  following  year  Montreal  was  taken,  the 
French,  like  the  Spaniards,  withdrawing  from  a  magnificent  empire 
which  courage  and  enterprise  had  placed  within  their  grasp,  but  which 
they  had  been  unable  to  retain  because  of  complications  arising  from  less 
worthy  ambitions  of  their  rulers  in  the  Old  World. 

England's  possession  of  the  much  coveted  Ohio  Valley  was  even  more 
brief.  Twenty  years  later  her  colonies  had  established  their  independence 
and  forced  her  to  reluctantly  abandon  her  claim  to  all  territory  south  of 
the  Great  Lakes  and  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  Louisiana  Purchase,  in 
1803,  completed  the  elimination  of  European  control  from  all  territory, 
within  the  present  continental  limits  of  the  United  States,  except  that 
of  Alaska,  Florida,  some  later  disputed  territory  in  the  northwest,  and 
that  acquired  following  the  Mexican  War  and  by  the  admission  of  Texas 
to  the  Union. 

These  mighty  changes  in  the  influences  dominating  development  of 
the  North  American  continent  have  not  been  equalled  in  their  far-reach- 
ing effect  on  human  welfare  and  progress  during  any  similar  period  in 
the  written  history  of  men.  They  seem  to  have  been  arranged  by  a 
Providence  seeking  here  a  home  for  civilization  of  a  new  order  which 
should  point  the  way  to  old  and  decadent  peoples  and  light  in  the  name 
of  liberty  a  torch  destined  to  illumine  the  world. 


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CHAPTER  IV 

EARLY  LAND  GRANTS  AND  THE  CONNECTICUT  WESTERN 

RESERVE 

We  have  seen  with  what  complacency  the  Popes  disposed  of  un- 
christian lands  not  even  yet  discovered,  but  this  assumption  of  authority 
had  later  a  healthy  rival  in  the  freedom  with  which  the  English  Kings 
parcelled  out  vast  areas  on  this  continent  before  they  had  even  guessed  its 
limits  or  made  the  slightest  inquiry  into  the  value  of  that  which  they  were 
giving  away  to  favorites  and  members  of  their  courts. 

The  early  English  grants  were  usually  defined  by  parallels  of  latitude, 
so  far  as  the  northern  and  southern  limits  were  concerned.  Their 
boundaries  on  the  east  frequently  included  "Islands  in  and  about 
and  adjacent  thereto,"  and  they  extended  westward  to  the  "The 
Southern  Sea,"  a  name  generally  accepted  as  applying  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  because  the  Spanish  had  already  discovered  that  ocean  and 
mapped  its  eastern  shores  for  a  considerable  distance.  Some  of  these 
quaint  documents  indicate  that  the  knowledge  of  the  grantors  did  not 
extend  more  than  a  few  miles  from  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  none  of  them 
manifest  even  a  respectable  degree  of  imagination  concerning  what 
was  to  be  found  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  Neither  are  they 
notable  for  accuracy  in  point  of  latitudinal  lines  and  most  of  them  con- 
flict or  overlap  others,  an  evidence  that  the  grantees  usually  asked  for  all 
they  could  possibly  get  and  generally  got  all  they  asked  for,  even  though 
part  of  it  had  been  already  given  to  other  applicants. 

In  ordinary  legal  procedure,  the  first  grant  of  title  is  fundamental  and 
all  succeeding  conveyances  must  rest  upon  and  be  confined  within  its 
limits.  But  in  the  case  of  kingly  generosity  with  the  lands  of  the  Amer- 
ican Indian,  this  was  not  held  to  be  good  law,  it  being  maintained  that 
the  king  was  superior  to  all  laws  and  that  it  was  his  privilege  to  take 
away  that  which  he  had  sold  or  given  and  bestow  it  upon  another  at  his 
pleasure.  As  a  result  of  this,  and  in  consequence  of  the  carelessness  and 
ignorance  of  the  English  kings,  nearly  all  the  original  land  grants  over- 
lapped, and  much  confusion  was  created.  The  Indians  had  little  better 
idea  of  the  sanctity  of  a  land  contract.  They  did  not  hesitate  to  sell  the 
same  territory  over  and  over  again  to  different  buyers.  There  was  much 
dispute  among  them  as  to  the  ownership  of  different  sections  of  the  land, 
and  some  of  the  tribes  assumed  authority  to  dispose  of  regions  inhabited 
by  other  tribes  which  they  claimed  to  have  subjugated.  From  these  con- 
ditions arose  endless  claims  and  counter  claims,  which  occupied  the  atten- 
tion of  state  governments,  courts  and  the  national  government  well  into 
the  eighteenth  century,  caused  more  or  less  bloodshed  and  much  hard 
feeling,  and  left  a  cloud  upon  titles  for  many  years. 

24 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         25 

The  first  charter  granted  was  that  of  Virginia,  which  was  approved 
by  James  I  after  the  close  of  the  war  between  Spain  and  England  had 
left  the  latter  country  free  to  extend  the  area  of  its  occupation  in 
America.  This  charter  is  dated  April,  1606,  and  conveyed  to  Sir  Thomas 
Gates  and  others  all  the  land  within  one  hundred  miles  of  the  Atlantic 
coast  between  the  thirty-fourth  and  forty-fifth  degrees  of  latitude.  A 
second  charter  enlarged  the  political  privileges  of  this  colony,  and  ex- 
tended its  lands  westward  and  northwestward  indefinitely.  A  third, 
granted  in  March,  1612,  extended  its  limits  to  include  the  Bermuda 
Islands  and  all  of  the  territory  between  the  thirty- fourth  and  forty-first 
degrees  of  latitude.  The  original  Virginia  charter,  it  will  be  seen,  in- 
cluded practically  all  of  New  England,  and  the  final  document  left  about 
half  of  what  is  now  Pennsylvania  in  the  Virginia  colony. 

The  second  charter  was  that  of  New  England,  which  granted  to  Sir 
Ferdinand  Georges  and  others  "all  that  Circuit,  Continent,  Precincts  and 
Limitts  in  America,  lying  and  being  in  breadth  from  Fourty  Degrees  of 
\orthcrly  Latitude,  from  the  Equinoctiall  Line,  to  Fourty-eight  Degrees 
of  said  Northerly  Latitude,  and  in  Length  by  all  the  Breadth  aforesaid 
throughout  the  Maine  Land  from  Sea  to  Sea,"  at  the  same  time  stipu- 
lating that  this  territory  should  be  known  by  the  name  of  New  England. 
This  comprehensive  grant  included  about  one  degree  of  the  last  grant 
madt  to  Virginia,  and  extended  northward  to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence, 
as  well  as  westward  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  This  patent  is  dated  November 
3-13,  1620,  and  was  issued  before  the  revocation  of  the  Virginia  charter, 
which  it  overlapped,  the  latter  having  been  recalled  in  1624. 

A  bewildering  succession  of  charters  followed,  but,  as  practically  all 
of  the  northern  portion  of  the  continent  had  been  disposed  of,  these  were 
located  within  the  confines  of  the  grants  already  mentioned.  Most  of 
them  were  exceedingly  hazy  in  their  definitions.  Since  it  is  with  the 
charter  of  Connecticut,  out  of  which  finally  grew  the  Connecticut  West- 
ern Reserve,  that  this  chapter  is  principally  concerned,  we  may  pass  over 
all  of  these,  leaving  to  the  reader  who  desires  to  explore  the  labyrinth 
of  titles  resulting  from  the  other  grants  to  pursue  the  subject  at  his 
pleasure.  This  may  be  done  in  great  detail  in  McDonald's  "Select  Char- 
ters Illustrative  of  American  History,"  as  well  as  in  many  other  works 
devoted  to  this  subject. 

The  original  charter  of  Connecticut  was  granted  by  Charles  II  to 
John  Winthrop  and  others,  its  date  being  April,  1662.  Unlike  many  of 
the  previous  charters,  it  was  meant  to  cover  territory  actually  settled, 
and  Winthrop  was  at  the  time  governor  of  the  colony  of  Connecticut. 
Further,  the  petition  for  this  charter  was  made  through  the  general  court 
of  the  colony,  which  had  its  center  at  Hartford,  and  was,  with  New 
Haven  and  other  settlements,  a  part  of  New  England,  occupying  land 
conveyed  under  the  original  charter  of  1620. 

After  reciting  as  a  reason  for  the  grant  that  "by  the  severall  Naviga- 
tions, discoveryes  and  successfull  plantations  of  diverse  of  our  loveing 
subjects  of  this  our  Realme  of  England,  Severall  Lands,  Islands,  Places, 
Colonies  and  Plantations  have  byn  obtayned  and  setled  in  that  part  of 
the  Continent  of  America  called  New  England,  and  thereby  the  Trade 


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26         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

and  Commerce  there  hath  byn  of  late  years  much  increased/'  and  stating 
that  he  had  been  informed  by  the  petitioners  that  "the  greatest  part 
thereof  was  purchased  and  obtayned  for  great  and  valuable  considera- 
tions, and  some  other  part  thereof  gained  by  Conquest  and  with  much 
difficulty,  and  att  the  onely  endeavors,  expence  and  Charge  of  them  and 
their  Associates,"  Charles  proceeded  to  "Give,  Graunt  and  Confirm  unto 
the  said  Governor  and  Company  and  their  Successors,  All  that  part  of 
our  Dominions  in  Newe  England  in  America  bounded  on  the  east  by 
Norrogancett  River,  commonly  called  Norrogancett  Bay,  where  the  said 
river  falleth  into  the  Sea,  and  on  the  North  by  the  lyne  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Plantation,  and  on  the  South  by  the  Sea,  and  in  longitude  as  the 
lyne  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  runinge  from  East  to  West,  (that  is 
to  say,)  from  the  said  Norrogancett  Bay  on  the  East  to  the  South  Sea  on 
the  West  parte,  with  the  Islands  thereunto  adjoyneinge." 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  charter  included  a  majestic  territory.  Its  dis- 
tances, so  carelessly  stated,  proved  to  be  veritably  magnificent.  It  did  not 
embrace  the  territory  of  New  Netherlands,  then  in  undisputed  possession 
of  the  Dutch,  and  spared  by  a  clause  exempting  lands  held  by  any  other 
Christian  race  or  people,  but  it  did  cover  a  large  part  of  the  grant  later 
made  to  William  Penn  under  date  of  March  4-14,  1680,  and  also  the  land 
embraced  in  the  colony  of  New  Haven,  which  at  that  time  was  distinct 
and  separate  from  the  Hartford  colony.  It  extended  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  ^Pacific,  and  took  in  territory  from  which  ten  splendid  states  have 
since  been  carved.  There  has  been  a  general  disposition  to  question  the 
knowledge,  as  to  its  extent,  of  the  king  who  gave  away  this  magnificent 
territory,  but  it  is  certain  that,  even  if  he  and  his  advisors  did  not  know 
or  care  how  much  land  was  involved,  others  did,  for  the  Plymouth  Coun- 
cil, in  resigning  the  grant  made  to  it  in  1635,  dilated  on  the  extent  of 
territory  being  given  up,  saying  that  New  England  extended  "from  sea 
to  sea,  being  near  about  three  thousand  miles  in  length." 

New  Haven  was  settled  by  a  distinct  class  of  people,  and  for  a  time 
resisted  amalgamation  with  the  Hartford  colony.  The  New  Haven 
settlers  were  generally  Presbyterians,  being  distinguished  from  the 
Puritans  by  the  stubborn  refusal  of  the  latter  to  recognize  the  Church  of 
England.  New  Haven  people  had  given  refuge  to  the  murderers  of 
Charles  I  and  refused  for  some  time  to  recognize  Charles  II.  Rather 
than  accept  the  new  government  they  appealed  to  the  Commissioners 
of  the  United  Colonies  and  thus  the  matter  stood  when,  in  1664,  the 
English  conquered  the  Dutch  and  wrested  from  them  New  Netherlands, 
which  was  promptly  bestowed  by  the  king  upon  his  relative,  the  Duke 
of  York.  This  movement  in  some  manner  helped  to  reconcile  the  New 
Haven  people  to  a  new  arrangement  and  the  union  was  effected.  Con- 
necticut recognized  fully  the  value  of  its  charter,  and  resisted  success- 
fully several  attempts  to  have  it  annulled.  When  Andros  demanded  it 
in  1687  it  was  hidden,  so  says  tradition,  in  the  famous  "Charter  Oak," 
and  remained  there  more  than  two  years,  being  finally  brought  forth 
after  Andros  was  deposed. 

A  number  of  complications  arose  because  of  the  sweeping  claims  of 
the  Connecticut  charter,  some  of  which  occupied  the  attention  of  various 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         27 

state  and  national  tribunals  for  more  than  a  hundred  years.  The  most 
serious  of  these  was  that  arising  from  the  conflict  between  the  Connecti- 
cut grant  and  the  grant  made  to  William  Penn  eighteen  years  later.  It 
was  from  this  conflict  that  the  Pennamite  wars  arose,  forming  a  chapter 
in  history  worthy  of  more  than  a  passing  glance. 

About  the  middle  of  the  Eighteenth  Century  the  people  of  Connecti- 
cut had  readied  such  numbers  and  strength  that  they  began  to  look  for 
additional  territory.  Many  of  them  were  descended  from  families  that 
had  migrated  from  England  to  Scotland  and  later  moved  into  the  north 
of  Ireland  to  occupy  estates  confiscated  there  by  King  James  and  Crom- 
well, for  which  tenants  could  not  be  secured  except  among  people  of  a 
hardy  and  adventurous  spirit.  So  it  was  natural  that  before  long  these 
people  should  find  Connecticut,  or  Eastern  Connecticut,  bereft  of  the 
elbow  room  and  excitement  which  they  craved,  and  betake  themselves 
westward  to  the  unexplored  territories  of  their  state  lying  beyond  the 
gap  in  it  caused  by  the  unfortunate  occupation  of  the  Dutch  along  the 
Hudson. 

Their  first  adventure  in  this  direction  took  them  to  the  Wyoming 
Valley.  This  historic  valley  is  located  in  what  is  now  Northeastern  Penn- 
sylvania. It  has  been  celebrated  in  song  and  story,  and  must  have  been 
at  that  time  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in  the  wilderness  between  the 
oceans.  The  present  day  visitor  finds  it  a  busy,  dirty,  coal  mining  dis- 
trict. Its  hills,  once  crowned  with  lordly  forests,  are  to  a  great  extent 
bare  of  vegetation.  Its  streams,  once  sparkling  clear  in  the  sunlight  and 
teeming  with  trout,  are  discolored  or  dried  up.  Its  fertile  plains  are 
covered  with  mining  villages  and  manufacturing  towns.  Had  the  canny 
New  Englanders  been  able  to  guess  that,  in  addition  to  the  rich  soil  and 
natural  beauties  that  captivated  them  in  Wyoming,  they  would  find  there 
great  deposits  of  anthracite  coal,  the  stubborn  fight  they  made  to  retain 
this  blood-stained  land  would  be  more  easily  explainable. 

At  any  rate,  about  1750  some  of  them  visited  this  valley  in  search  of 
ground  for  colonization.  They  at  once  organized  the  Susquehanna  Com- 
pany and  sent  a  party  of  settlers,  who  seized  the  corn  fields  of  the  Indians, 
drove  them  out,  and  built  log  cabins  on  the  banks  of  the  winding  Susque- 
hanna. Soon  the  Penns  discovered  that  there  were  squatters  on  the  land 
they  had  been  given  by  King  Charles  and  had  also  purchased  from  sev- 
eral different  tribes  of  Indians.  Because  their  title  was  a  private  affair, 
they  could  not  enlist  the  aid  of  the  state  to  eject  the  intruders,  but  they 
made  heroic  efforts  to  do  so,  these  efforts  being  known  in  history  as  the 
Pennamite  wars.  There  were  seven  of  these  wars,  in  which  the  New 
Englanders  were  seven  times  expelled  from  the  Wyoming  Valley.  At 
one  time  a  project  was  well  under  way  to  erect  this  valley,  only  three 
miles  wide  and  about  twenty  miles  long,  into  a  separate  state.  Finally, 
the  Revolution  came,  and  the  people  of  both  Connecticut  and  Pennsyl- 
vania abandoned  their  petty  quarrel  over  the  Wyoming  Valley  to  lend 
patriotic  aid  to  the  national  cause.  The  Susquehanna  Company,  an 
organization  through  which  Connecticut  sought  to  colonize  the  valley, 
was  in  possession  at  this  time,  and  the  region  had  a  population  of  about 
6,000,    most   of   which   was   destroyed   when   the   Iroquois,   under  the 


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28         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

lead  of  the  British,  swept  down  on  it  and  in  one  day,  July  3,  1778,  mas- 
sacred the  small  force  of  old  men  and  boys  defending  it,  together  with  the 
women  and  children,  and  burned  every  house  within  its  confines. 

The  quarrel  over  this  historic  parcel  of  ground  was  renewed  vigor- 
ously after  the  Revolution,  and  finally,  on  the  appeal  of  the  Penns,  was 
adjudicated  by  a  court  selected  to  try  the  issue,  which  met  at  Trenton 
November  12,  1782.  This  court  was  in  session  forty-one  days  and  both 
sides  were  represented  by  the  ablest  counsel  of  the  time.  It  was  real- 
ized that  upon  the  verdict  of  this  court  hung  possession,  not  only  of  the 
Wyoming  Valley,  but  also  of  a  great  part  of  Pennsylvania.  The  mo- 
mentous decision  was  filed  in  one  of  the  shortest  opinions  on  record,  this 
being  as  follows : 

"The  cause  has  been  well' argued  by  the  learned  counsel  on  both  sides. 

"The  Court  are  now  to  pronounce  their  sentence  or  judgment. 

"We  are  unanimously  of  the  opinion  that  Connecticut  has  no  right  to 
the  lands  in  controversy. 

"We  are  also  unanimously  of  the  opinion  that  the  jurisdiction  and 
preemption  of  all  the  territory  lying  within  the  Charter  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  now  claimed  by  the  State  of  Connecticut,  do  of  right  belong  to  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania." 
"Trenton,  December  30,  1782." 

This  decree  was  accepted  without  question  by  the  State  of  Connecti- 
cut. It  has  not  always  been  characteristic  of  the  people  of  that  state  and 
their  descendants  to  submit  quietly  to  decisions  adverse  to  their  interests 
and  opinions,  as  witness  the  rumpus  which  they  started  when  the  govern- 
ment first  undertook  to  raise  revenue  by  taxing  whiskey  in  Pennsyl- 
vania; but  it  can  be  said  of  them  that  when  they  made  a  bargain,  they 
usually  kept  it,  and  when,  under  any  circumstance,  the  welfare  and 
safety  of  the  national  government  was  at  stake,  they  were  always  found 
supporting  it  with  vigor  and  whatever  sacrifice  might  be  necessary. 

The  decision  was  important,  but  the  acquiescence  of  the  parties  to 
this  controversy  was  even  more  so,  because  it  was  the  first  tribunal 
under  which  the  new  nation  had  essayed  to  settle  disputes  between  the 
states,  and  a  refusal  to  accept  its  decision  would -have  had  far-reaching 
effect  on  the  solidity  of  the  infant  government.  There  has  always  been 
great  curiosity  as  to  why  such  a  momentous  decree  should  have  been 
made  without  a  word  of  reason  being  given  in  its  support.  And  there 
has  always  been  a  suspicion  that  before  it  was  announced  an  under- 
standing was  had  that,  if  Connecticut  surrendered  her  claims  in  Penn- 
sylvania, she  would  receive  a  certain  recognition  of  these  claims  farther 
west.  Of  course  this  is  no  more  than  mere  assumption.  There  is  not 
word  or  line  on  record  to  establish  any  such  a  conclusion.  But  it  will  be 
seen  that  these  western  claims  did  receive  recognition  in  the  disposal  of 
the  Connecticut  Western  Reserve,  a  territory  to  which  the  state  had 
certainly  no  more  legal  right  than  she  had  to  the  Valley  of  Wyoming. 

The  second  charter  granted  to  Virginia  defined  the  grant  to  that 
colony  as  extending  southward  and  northward  200  miles  from  Point 
Comfort,  and  westward  "up  into  the  land,  throughout  from  sea  to  sea, 
West  and  Northwest."     These  boundaries  would  have  included  a  large 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VAULEY         29 

portion  of  what  is  now  the  State  of  Ohio.  Little  attention  was  paid  by 
anyone  to  them,  because  they  were  supposed  to  have  been  changed  by 
the  third  charter;  but,  in  response  to  a  request  from  the  Colonial  Con- 
gress shortly  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  Virginia  had 
adopted,  through  a  constitutional  convention,  a  resolution  which  con- 
ceded the  claims  of  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  in  their  boundary  dis- 
putes with  Virginia,  and  announced  the  formal  boundaries  of  that  state 
as  those  set  forth  in  the  second  charter  and  the  treaty  between  Great 
Britain  and  France  in  1763. 

This  at  once  raised  the  question  of  ownership  of  the  vast  region 
north  of  the  Ohio  River,  and  held  up  the  adoption  of  the  Articles  of 
Confederation,  by  which  it  was  proposed  that  all  colonial  boundaries 
should  be  fixed  by  Congress  without  consideration  of  the  clause  in  the 
original  grants  extending  them  from  sea  to  sea.  The  times  were 
troublesome  enough  for  the  colonists  without  the  injection  of  quarrels 
between  the  various  members  of  the  confederation  over  the  extension  of 
their  domains.  In  1779  Virginia  opened  a  land  office  for  entry  of  lands 
west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  and  the  organization  of  numerous 
companies  designed  to  appropriate  the  lands  in  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
Valleys  was  the  immediate  result.  Other  states  followed  Virginia's  ex- 
ample, and  it  seemed  for  a  time  as  if  the  cause  of  American  freedom 
would  be  jeopardized  by  a  division  over  the  ownership  of  land  which 
no  state  might  eventually  possess.  Three  years  after  Virginia's  dis- 
turbing action  Congress  passed  a  resolution  declaring  all  unoccupied 
lands  to  the  west  of  well  defined  state  boundaries  to  be  public  domain, 
belonging  to  the  nation  at  large  and  not  to  be  appropriated  without  pur- 
chase from  the  national  government.  Already  a  tide  of  squatter  immi- 
gration had  set  in,  and  in  1779,  Colonel  Brodhead,  then  stationed  at 
Pittsburgh,  was  directed  to  proceed  down  the  Ohio  and  expel  all  squatters 
found  on  lands  on  either  side  of  it.  At  the  same  time  a  memorandum 
was  sent  to  Virginia  requesting  that  state  to  prevent  incursions  by  her 
people,  or  at  least  under  her  authority.  The  untimely  effort  to  occupy 
this  territory  was  even  then  making  much  trouble  among  the  Indians 
and  adding  immeasurably  to  the  trials  of  the  young  government,  which 
was  not  sufficiently  strong  to  make  its  voice  heard  above  that  of  greed 
or  love  of  adventure.  Serious  difficulty  seemed  likely  to  result  from 
this  situation  when,  during  an  adverse  period  of  the  war  with  Britain, 
New  York  passed  a  resolution  surrendering  to  the  national  government 
any  rights  to  territory  west  of  her  borders.  She  thus  assumed  the  same 
position  taken  by  Maryland,  which  had  refused  to  sign  the  Articles  of 
Confederation  unless  this  course  was  adopted  and  had  thereby  been 
instrumental  in  securing  from  Congress  the  resolution  above  referred  to. 
New  York's  title  was  based  on  purchase  of  Ohio  Valley  lands  from  the 
Six  Nations,  and  was  probably  as  good  or  better  than  that  of  Virginia, 
which  claimed  hers  on  a  king's  charter,  even  after  it  had  been  supplanted 
by  another. 

Connecticut  soon  followed  with  proposals  for  the  adjustment  of  her 
western  claims,  and  Virginia  also  made  overtures.  The  rights  of  neither 
state  were  taken  seriously,  however,  and  it  was  not  expected  that  unless 


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30         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

they  should  recede  from  all  claims  to  such  territory  as  lay  beyond  their 
well  defined  borders,  any  agreement  could  be  reached.  At  the  same 
time  all  the  propositions  were  laid  before  a  committee  appointed  by 
Congress  to  consider  the  matter.  This  committee  reported  November  3, 
1 781,  just  after  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis,  when  the  government  felt 
itself  strengthened  to  take  a  stand  upon  this  vital  question.  The  report 
accepted  the  proposition  of  New  York  and  refused  those  of  Connecticut 
and  Virginia.  The  claims  of  the  Walpole  Company,  a  London  cor- 
poration formed  of  Virginians,  and  also  those  of  the  Illinois  and 
Wabash  companies,  all  of  which  had  been  operating  under  royal  grants 
issued  before  the  Revolution  began,  were  disallowed.  At  the  same  time 
the  report  recommended  acceptance  of  the  Fort  Stanwix  grant  to 
Croghan,  which  had  given  him  a  large  tract  in  the  disputed  territory  in 
reward  for  his  services  in  handling  negotiations  between  the  English  and 
the  Six  Nations.  It  was  generally  supposed  that  this  latter  recom- 
mendation was  intended  to  strengthen  the  New  York  title  to  the  Ohio 
Valley  lands  against  any  British  claims,  as  both  were  acquired  in  the 
same  way,  by  purchase  from  the  Iroquois.  One  after  another  the  states 
having  claims  on  land  west  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Ohio  River  ceded 
these  claims  to  the  national  government,  until  only  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut  remained.  Maryland  was  first,  New  York  second,  Virginia 
third,  this  state  reserving  certain  lands  on  the  ground  that  compensation 
was  justly  due  her  for  her  part  in  subduing  British  posts,  as  well  as 
insisting  that  if  she  did  not  have  enough  good  land  south  of  the  Ohio 
to  supply  her  soldier  grants,  the  deficiency  should  be  made  up  between 
the  Miami  and  Scioto  rivers.  A  deed  of  cession  was  properly  executed 
by  Virginia,  March  1,  1784.  Massachusetts  surrendered  her  claims  in 
April,  1785,  and  in  1786  Connecticut  formally  transferred  to  the  na- 
tional government  whatever  right  she  had  to  the  territory  in  the  vast 
domain  originally  covered  by  her  charter,  reserving,  however,  from  this 
cession  a  section  of  land  extending  from  the  Pennsylvania  border  west- 
ward 120  miles,  and  from  the  forty-first  parallel  of  latitude  north  to 
Lake  Erie. 

These  reserved  districts  are  both  within  the  boundaries  of  Ohio  and 
are  known  respectively  as  the  Virginia  Military  Reserve  and  the  Con- 
necticut Western  Reserve,  and  in  the  latter  tract  lies  all  of  the  Ma- 
honing Valley  except  that  portion  eastward  of  the  Pennsylvania  state 
line. 

The  act  of  assembly  by  which  Connecticut  finally  abandoned  her 
claim  to  all  lands  west  of  the  Pennsylvania  line  except  the  Connecticut 
Western  Reserve,  was  approved  on  September  14,  1786.  but  no  formal 
action  was  taken  as  affecting  her  jurisdiction  over  the  Western  Reserve 
until  May  30,  1800. 

The  next  step,  taken  by  the  United  States  in  1787,  was  the  organi- 
zation of  all  lands  north  of  the  Ohio  River  and  west  of  Pennsylvania 
into  the  Northwest  Territory. 


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CHAPTER  V 

THE  CONNECTICUT  WESTERN  RESERVE— SALE,  SURVEY 
AND  SETTLEMENT  OF  NORTHEASTERN  OHIO 

In  its  cession  of  1786,  it  will  be  noted,  Connecticut  retained  its  claim 
to  one  great  section  of  western  lands,  while  surrendering  to  the  Federal 
Government  its  claim  to  title  in,  and  jurisdiction  over,  "all  other  lands 
northwest  of  the  Ohio  River."  This  section  held  by  Connecticut  lay 
in  the  northern  and  extreme  northeastern  part  of  what  is  now  the  State 
of  Ohio.  It  was  a  tract  of  approximately  5,700  square  miles,  bounded 
on  the  east  by  the  Pennsylvania  state  line,  on  the  south  by  latitude  forty- 
one,  on  the  west  by  a  line  running  from  latitude  forty-one  to  the  inter- 
national boundary — paralleling  the  Pennsylvania  line  and  120  miles  west 
thereof — on  the  north  by  the  international  boundary.  This  was  the 
Connecticut  Western  Reserve,  so  called  because  it  was  reserved  when 
all  else  was  given  up.  After  1786  it  was  the  only  stretch  of  American 
soil  claimed  by  Connecticut  outside  the  state's  own  boundaries. 

On  its  part,  the  Federal  Government  accepted  Connecticut's  relin- 
quishment of  other  western  lands  but  did  not  acknowledge  Connecticut's 
claim  to  this  reserved  area.  The  question  of  ownership  of,  and  juris- 
diction over,  this  great  section  was  merely  left  in  suspense.  Taught  by 
previous  losses,  however,  the  value  of  occupation  in  fact,  Connecticut 
hastened  to  establish  its  title  to  the  Western  Reserve  by  actual  occu- 
pancy, and  for  this  purpose  a  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  State 
Assembly  in  October,  1786,  authorizing  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
of  three  persons  to  cause  a  survey  to  be  made  of  the  Western  Reserve 
tract  as  far  west  as  the  Cuyahoga  River,  the  Tuscarawas  River,  and 
the  portage  path  between  these  two  rivers,  the  committee  also  being 
authorized  to  negotiate  a  sale  of  these  lands.  It  was  provided  that 
sales  should  be  made  at  not  less  than  fifty  cents  an  acre,  as  we  now 
compute  money,  and  that  townships  six  miles  square  should  be  laid  out. 
Even  at  this  early  day  the  stress  that  Connecticut  laid  on  religion 
and  education  was  apparent.  While  it  was  provided  that  when  one  or 
more  members  of  the  sales  committee  should  present  a  certificate  of 
sale  of  any  township  the  Legislature  should  make  a  grant  of  that  town- 
ship, there  was  a  stipulation  that  there  should  be  reserved  to  the  public 
500  acres  in  each  township  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel  and  500  acres 
for  the  support  of  the  schools,  and  likewise  a  proviso  that  240  acres 
should  be  reserved  in  each  town,  to  grant,  in  fee  simple,  to  the  first 
minister  of  the  Gospel  who  should  settle  in  that  town.  This  Con- 
necticut spirit  and  training  was  reflected  throughout  the  settlement 
of  the  Reserve.     Its  pioneers  were  men  of  ample  knowledge  and  many 

31 


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32         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

of  them  men  of  higher  education,  capable  not  only  of  pioneering  but  of 
giving  an  intelligent  report  on  any  lands  newly  explored  by  them.  They 
came,  too,  instilled  with  a  deep,  though  perhaps  severe,  religious  spirit. 

Prior  to  1795  the  only  sale  made  under  this  legislative  provision  was 
to  Gen.  Samuel  H.  Parsons  of  Middletown,  Connecticut,  who,  in  1788, 
purchased  approximately  25,000  acres  of  land  known  as  the  Salt  Spring 
tract,  lying  within  what  are  now  the  townships  of  Jackson  and  Austin- 
town  in  Mahoning  County  and  Weathersfield  and  Lordstown  in  Trum- 
bull County.  The  existence  of  the  salt  springs  or  salt  lick,  from  which 
this  tract  takes  its  name,  was  known  fully  twenty  years  before  the  out- 
break of  the  Revolutionary  war.  From  time  immemorial  it  had  been 
a  favorite  spot  for  the  forest  animals  seeking  the  salt  so  necessary  to 
life.  It  was  used  by  Pennsylvania  pioneers  before  and  during  the 
Revolution,  works  being  erected  there  for  the  purpose  of  extracting 
salt  from  the  water.  Many  a  tedious  journey  probably  was  made  from 
the  older  state  to  these  springs,  tedious  not  only  because  it  was  through 
a  wilderness,  but  because  the  saline  properties  of  the  water  were  so 
slight  that  the  returns  were  meager  in  comparison  with  the  labor  under- 
gone. Certain  duties  in  connection  with  land  claims  undertaken  by 
General  Parsons  in  colonial  times  had  undoubtedly  given  him  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  existence  of  these  springs,  and  their  presence  probably  in- 
fluenced the  selection  of  this  particular  site.  Otherwise  he  would 
scarcely  have  selected  this  inland  spot  when  unlimited  acres  of  lake 
front  and  lands  in  the  valleys  of  the  largest  streams  of  the  Reserve  were 
his  to  choose  from.  It  is  likewise  probable,  however,  that  he  did  not 
intend  to  develop  this  salt  lick  solely  in  an  industrial  sense,  but  rather  as 
an  attraction  for  settlers,  as  the  slight  percentage  of  salt  in  the  waters 
scarcely  warranted  the  hope  that  the  springs  would  yield  large  mineral 
returns.  That  he  had  made  the  purchase  of  the  lands  as  an  investment 
is  further  apparent  from  the  fact  that  he  proceeded  to  make  sales  of 
lands  within  the  Salt  Spring  tract  to  individuals,  although  it  happened 
that  he  was  destined  never  to  become  an  actual  settler  on  the  land 
himself. 

The  description  of  the  lands  sold  to  General  Parsons  is  given  at  the 
time  of  sale  in  terms  of  townships  and  ranges,  although  as  a  matter  of 
fact  no  survey  had  yet  been  made,  nor  was  any  made  during  his  life- 
time. The  title  to  the  Western  Reserve  area  was  clouded  and  rested 
only  on  Connecticut'^  reserved  claim  of  1786.  a  claim  that  was  further 
jeopardized  by  the  passage  by  Congress  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  creat- 
ing the  Northwest  Territory  of  all  lands  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River, 
and  the  appointment  in  October,  1787,  of  a  governor  and  other  civil 
officers  for  this  area.  The  Federal  Government  merely  ignored  the 
claim  of  Connecticut.  The  governor,  Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair,  divided 
the  Northwest  Territory  into  counties,  including  in  Washington  County, 
formed  in  1788,  all  the  Western  Reserve  area  east  of  the  Cuyahoga 
and  Tuscarawas  rivers,  Marietta  being  named  as  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment of  this  county.  That  part  of  the  Reserve  west  of  these  rivers  was 
later  included  in  Wayne  County,  with  the  county  seat  at  Detroit.  That 
General  Parsons  and  his  heirs  recognized  the  conflicting  claims  to  West- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         33 

ern  Reserve  lands  is  apparent  from  the  fact  that  his  patent  was  recorded 
at  Hartford,  capital  of  Connecticut,  again  at  Marietta  when  Wash- 
ington County  was  founded,  and  finally  at  Warren  with  the  creation  of 
Trumbull  County. 

General  Parsons  was  a  leader  of  the  New  England  bar  long  before 
his  interest  in  western  lands  took  him  to  the  Ohio  country.  His 
acknowledged  ability  won  him  an  appointment  as  one  of  the  three 
judges  appointed  for  the  Northwest  Territory  in  1788  and  his  promo- 
lion  to  the  rank  of  chief  justice  in  1789.  In  this  latter  year  he  left 
Marietta  as  a  commissioner  to  adjust  claims  with  the  Indians  on  the 
Western  Reserve.  Following  the  conference  he  began  his  homeward 
journey  in  a  canoe  and  was  drowned  in  passing  the  falls  of  the  Beaver 
River,  on  November  17,  1789. 

This  single  sale  ended  for  the  time  being  Connecticut's  attempt  to 
dispose  of  its  western  acres.  The  Western  Reserve  remained  a  wilder- 
ness visited  only  by  traders,  while  the  tide  of  emigration  swept  down 
the  Ohio  River  and  across  the  mountains  from  Virginia  into  Southern 
Ohio  and  Kentucky.  Partly  this  was  because  of  accessibility  of  the 
latter  territory,  and  partly  it  was  due  to  the  publicity  given  it  by  sur- 
veyors and  sojourners,  and  through  other  avenues.  Finally  it  was  due 
to  the  extremely  doubtful  title  that  Connecticut  held  and  the  serious 
question  of  whether  Connecticut  was  not  actually  trying  to  sell  some- 
thing that  was  part  and  parcel  of  the  Northwest  Territory.  Therefore 
the  land  went  unsold  at  50  cents  an  acre  when  lands  that  were  no 
better,  and  some  that  were  worse,  brought  several  times  that  amount 
farther  south. 

In  1792  Connecticut  receded  momentarily  from  her  position  of  land 
salesman  to  become  land  donor.  Certain  residents  of  Connecticut  hav- 
ing suffered  by  British  raids  into  that  state  during  the  Revolutionary 
war,  the  Legislature  in  the  above  year  authorized  the  award  to  these 
sufferers,  or  their  heirs,  of  a  tract  of  500,000  acres  of  Western  Reserve 
lands  lying  west  of  the  Cuyahoga  River.  As  these  losses  were  mainly 
from  fire  the  grant  became  known  as  the  "Fire  Lands,"  and  upwards 
of  2,000  Connecticut  residents  profited  by  the  distribution,  each 
in  proportion  to  his  losses.  The  "Fire  Lands"  included  all  the  present 
Huron  and  Erie  counties  and  the  Township  of  Ruggles  in  Ashland 
County,  except  that  the  islands  in  Lake  Erie  were  reserved. 

Why  the  fire  sufferers  were  awarded  the  lands  in  the  extreme  western 
part  of  the  Reserve  instead  of  lands  east  of  the  Cuyahoga  River  is  not 
made  clear.  The  eastern  lands  were  considered  the  more  desirable  and 
susceptible  to  earliest  settlement.  The  territory  west  of  the  Cuyahoga 
was  not  merely  far  removed  from  the  settlements  in  Pennsylvania,  New 
York  and  the  Ohio  Valley,  but  Connecticut's  right  to  award  it  to  any- 
one was  subject  to  very  serious  doubts.  Not  only  was  the  land  claimed 
by  the  United  States,  but  the  Indian  title  to  it  was  not  extinguished 
until  thirteen  years  later,  or  in  1805,  when  the  treaty  of  Fort  Industry 
between  the  United  States  and  the  Indians  was  signed.  Connecticut, 
in  short,  was  giving  away  something  that  might  be  nothing  at  all  in 
the  end. 

Vol.  1—8 


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34 


YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 


As  Connecticut  never  at  any  time  lost  faith  in  its  tide  to  the  Western 
Reserve  this  disputed  question  of  ownership  probably  did  not  influence 
the  selection  of  such  far  western  lands  for  award  to  the  fire  sufferers. 
It  is  more  likely  that  the  canny  New  Englanders  mixed  a  good  percent- 
age of  business  with  their  philanthropy  and  believed  that  an  early 
settlement  of  the  western  part  of  the  Reserve  would  hurry  the  move- 
ment to  the  eastern  part.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  beneficiaries  of 
the  "Fire  Lands'-  grant  were  required  to  remove  there  themselves,  but 


Original  Land  Division  in  Ohio 

if  they  did  not  care  to  emigrate  to  the  Ohio  country  they  were  probably 
expected  to  make  good  land  salesmen  and  vociferous  promoters  of  a 
movement  to  people  the  Reserve.  Given,  without  cost,  some  desirable 
land  that  might  be  sold  at  a  profit,  almost  anyone  would  follow  this 
course. 

If  Connecticut  had  any  such  object  in  view  the  movement  apparently 
failed  of  its  purpose.  For  another  three  years  the  Western  Reserve 
remained  uninhabited  and  unknown  to  white  men  except  venturesome 
traders  and  trappers.  Then,  in  1795,  the  State  Legislature  made  another, 
and  what  proved  to  be  a  successful,  effort  to  dispose  of  Connecticut's 
western  lands,  by  passing  a  resolution  reading  as  follows: 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VAIJLEY         35 

"Resolved,  by  this  assembly,  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  re- 
ceive any  proposals  that  may  be  made  by  any  person  or  persons  whether 
inhabitants  of  the  United  States,  or  others,  for  the  purchase  of  the 
lands  belonging  to  this  state  lying  west  of  the  west  line  of  Pennsylvania 
as  claimed  by  said  state,  and  the  said  committee  are  hereby  fully  author- 
ized and  empowered,  in  the  name  and  behalf  of  this  state,  to  negotiate 
with  any  such  person  or  persons  on  the  subject  of  any  such  proposals, 
and,  also,  to  form  and  complete  any  contract  or  contracts  for  the  sale 
of  said  lands,  and  to  make  and  execute,  under  their  hands  and  seals,  the 
purchaser  or  purchasers,  a  deed  or  deeds  duly  authenticated,  quitting 
in  behalf  of  this  state,  all  right,  title,  and  interest,  judicial  and  territorial, 
in  and  to  the  said  lands,  to  him  or  them,  and  to  his  or  their  heirs, 
forever. 

"That  before  the  executing  (of)  such  deed  or  deeds  the  purchaser 
or  purchasers  shall  give  their  personal  note  or  bond,  payable  to  the 
treasurer  of  this  state,  for  the  purchase  money,  carrying  an  interest  of 
six  per  centum  per  annum  payable  annually,  to  commence  from  the 
date  thereof^  or  from  such  future  period,  not  exceeding  two  years, 
from  the  date,  as  circumstances,  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee  may 
require,  and  as  may  be  agreed  on  between  them  and  the  said  purchaser 
or  purchasers ;  with  good  and  sufficient  sureties,  inhabitants  of  this  state, 
or  with  a  sufficient  deposit  of  bank  or  other  stock  of  the  United  States 
or  of  the  particular  states;  which  note  or  bond  shall  be  taken  payable 
at  a  period  not  more  remote  than  five  years  from  the  date,  or  if  by 
annual  installments  so  that  the  last  installment  be  payable  within  ten 
years  from  the  date,  either  in  specie  or  in  six  per  cent,  three  per  cent, 
or  deferred  stock  of  the  United  States,  at  the  discretion  of  the  com- 
mittee. 

"That  if  the  committee  shall  find  that  it  will  be  most  beneficial  to 
the  state  or  its  citizens  to  form  several  contracts  for  the  sale  of  said 
lands,  they  shall  not  consummate  any  of  the  said  contracts  apart  by 
themselves  while  the  others  lie  in  a  train  of  negotiation  only;  but  all 
the  contracts  which,  taken  together,  shall  comprise  the  whole  quantity 
of  the  said  lands  shall  *be  consummated  together,  and  the  purchasers 
shall  hold  their  respective  parts  or  proportions  as  tenants  in  common 
of  the  whole  tract  or  territory,  and  not  in  severalty. 

"That  the  said  committee  in  whatever  manner  they  shall  find  it  best 
to  sell  the  said  lands,  whether  by  an  entire  contract  or  by  several  con- 
tracts, shall  in  no  case  be  at  liberty  to  sell  the  whole  quantity  for  a 
principal  sum  less  than  one  million  of  dollars  in  specie,  or  if  the  day 
of  payment  be  given,  for  a  sum*  of  less  value  than  one  million  dollars 
in  specie  with  interest  at  six  per  cent  per  annum  from  the  time  of 
such  sale." 

Also  a  further  resolution  was  adopted  at  the  same  time  providing 
that: 

"This  assembly  do  hereby  appoint  John  Treadwell,  James  Wads- 
worth,  Marvin  Wait,  William  Edmonds,  Thomas  Grosvenor,  Aaron 
Austin,  Elijah  Hubbard  and  Sylvester  Gilbert,  esquires,  a  committee 
to  negotiate  a  sale  of  the  western  lands  belonging  to  this  state  lying  west 


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36         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

of  the  west  line  of  Pennsylvania,  as  claimed  by  said  state,  according  to 
the  resolve  for  that  purpose,  passed  at  the  present  session  of  the  gen- 
eral assembly." 

These  men,  representing  the  eight  counties  of  Connecticut,  one  from 
each  county,  set  about  to  make  disposition  of  the  western  lands  in  con- 
formity with  the  above  resolution,  which  was  adopted  by  the  State  Legis- 
lature on  the  second  Thursday  in  May,  1795. 

Their  task  was  not  an  easy  one.  Connecticut,  it  will  be  noted,  did 
not  guarantee  to  give  undisputed  title  to  the  lands,  offering  only  a  quit 
claim  to  purchasers.  Outside  Connecticut  the  state's  claim  to  the  Ohio 
lands  was  treated  lightly,  even  derisively,  and  the  New  Englanders 
with  their  sound  business  sense  understood  this  drawback  thoroughly. 
On  the  other  hand  there  were  some  circumstances  that  made  the  time 
selected  for  the  sale  especially  advantageous.  Just  as  General  St. 
Clair's  defeat  by  the  Indians  near  the  Miami  villages  in  1791  had 
checked  colonization  of  the  West,  so  did  General  Anthony  Wayne's  defeat 
of  the  Indians  at  the  Battle  of  Fallen  Timbers  in  what  is  now  North- 
western Ohio  in  1794,  encourage  emigration  to  the  West  by  removing 
the  fear  of  Indian  depredations.  This  was  no  slight  consideration  in 
the  Ohio  country  in  the  closing  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century,  al- 
though there  was  little  need  of  fear  of  the  Indians  of  Northeastern 
Ohio  at  any  time.  They  were  a  spiritless  lot,  treacherous,  perhaps,  but 
never  a  serious  menace.  Then  too,  emigration  to  the  West  and  specula- 
tion in  western  lands  were  alike  at  their  height  in  1795,  and  even  doubt- 
ful titles  could  not  check  these  movements. 

Consequently  there  was  no  dearth  of  prospective  purchasers  on  this 
occasion.  The  legislative  committee  did  its  work  well  and  after  negotia- 
tions that  lasted  through  the  summer  finally  reached  an  agreement  on 
September  2,  1795,  by  which  forty-eight  persons  agreed  to  purchase 
the  Western  Reserve  for  $1,200,000.  This  was  an  immense  sum  of 
money  for  that  day,  but  then,  as  now,  business  was  largely  a  matter  of 
credit  and  there  was  no  disposition  to  insist  on  a  cash  sale,  or  cash  sales. 
Again  exemplifying  the  staunch  Connecticut  belief  in  education,  it  was 
provided  that  the  moneys  derived  from  this  sale  of  lands  should  con- 
stitute a  fund,  the  interest  of  which  should  be  used  for  support  of  Con- 
necticut schools.  This  fund,  the  principal  of  which  has  increased  in 
size,  is  still  being  drawn  upon  for  the  purpose  set  forth  so  many  decades 
of  years  ago.  These  forty-eight  purchasers,  some  of  whom  acted  in- 
dividually and  some  jointly,  together  with  the  amounts  of  their  sub- 
scriptions, were: 

Joseph  Howland  and  Daniel  L.  Coit $  30461 

Elias  Morgan  and  Daniel  L.  Coit 51,402 

Caleb   Atwater    22,846 

Daniel    Holbrook    8,750 

Joseph   Williams 15,231 

William  Law    10,500 

William  Judd   16,250 

Elisha  Hyde  and  Uriah  Tracy 57A°o 


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YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         37 

James  Johnston $  30,000 

Samuel   Mather,   jr 18,461 

Ephraim  Kirby,  Elijah  Boardman  and  Urial  Homes,  jr 60,000 

Solomon    Griswold    10,000 

Oliver  Phelps  and  Gideon  Granger,  jr 80,000 

William  Hart   30,462 

Henry    Champion,   2nd    85,675 

Asher   Miller    34,000 

Robert  C.  Johnson * 6o,coo 

Ephraim   Root    42,000 

Nehemiah  Hubbard,  jr x9»039 

Solomon   Cowles    10,000 

Oliver    Phelps 168,185 

Asahel   Hathaway 12,000 

John  Caldwell  and  Peleg  Sanford 15,000 

Timothy   Burr    15,231 

Luther  Loomis  and  Ebenezer  King,  jr 44,318 

William  Lyman,  John  Stoddard  and  David  King 24,730 

Moses   Cleveland  *    32,600 

Samuel  P.  Lord    14,092 

Roger  Newbury,  Enoch  Perkins  and  Jonathan  Brace 38,000 

Ephraim  Starr   I74I5 

Sylvanus   Griswold 1,683 

Joseb  Stocking  and  Joshua  Stow   11 ,423 

Titus   Street    22,846 

James  Bull,  Aaron  Olmstead  and  John  Wyles 30,000 

Pierpont  Edwards   60,000 


$1,200,000 

The  Western  Reserve  lands  being  as  yet  unsurveyed  no  deed  could 
be  given  in  acres,  but  as  the  purchase  price  of  the  entire  tract  was 
$1,200,000,  the  legislative  committee  of  eight,  on  behalf  of  the  state, 
made  out  deeds  to  each  purchaser  for  as  many  twelve-hundrcd-thou- 
sandths  in  the  undivided  tract  as  he  had  subscribed  dollars  to  the  pur- 
chase price.  These  deeds  are  dated  September  2,  1795.  Apparently 
no  cash  consideration  was  given  in  return,  the  purchasers  giving  bonds 
with  security  instead. 

In  this  manner  Connecticut  disposed  of  her  western  lands  other 
than  the  "Fire  Lands."  The  purchasers  included  in  their  bargain  the 
Parsons'  Salt  Spring  tract,  yet  in  making  subsequent  partition  of  their 
land  cautiously  reserved  certain  lands  in  event  that  they  should  have 
to  make  recognition  of  this  claim. 

It  was  a  most  remarkable  transaction;  this  disposition  of  a  great 
area  of  land,  larger  in  size  than  several  individual  states  of  the  Union, 
to  purchasers  who  were  allied  together  merely  by  agreement,  their 
organization  not  having  even  the  dignity  of  an  incorporated  company ; 

*  Properly  Cleaveland,  but  throughout  the  records  of  the  Connecticut  Land 
Company  the  modern  spelling  is  generally  given. 


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38         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

a  transaction  all  the  more  remarkable  because  it  conveyed  not  merely 
the  territorial  but  the  "judicial"  right,  interest  and  title.  Even  the  ex- 
tent of  the  Western  Reserve  was  not  known.  It  was  presumed  that  it 
was  approximately  4,000,000  acres,  whereas  it  actually  contained  less 
than  3,000,000  acres,  exclusive  of  the  "Fire  Lands." 

Three  days  after  this  sale  was  agreed  upon,  on  September  5,  1795, 
the  purchasers  met  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  effected  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  by  drawing  up  "Articles  of 
Association  and  Agreement."  These  articles  showed  unusually  good 
business  judgment,  a  careful  determination  to  provide  for  every  con- 
tingency that  should  arise  in  the  partition  and  settlement  of  this  great 
western  area,  and  a  studied  disposition  to  give  the  smallest  purchaser 
just  the  same  measure  of  justice  in  the  award  of  the  lands  that  the 
largest  purchaser  received.    They  read  as  follows: 

"I.  It  is  agreed  that  the  individuals  concerned  in  the  purchase  made 
this  day,  of  the  Connecticut  Western  Reserve,  shall  be  called  the 
Connecticut  Land  Company. 

"II.  It  is  agreed  that  the  committee,  appointed  by  the  applicants 
for  purchasing  said  Reserve,  shall  receive  from  the  committee,  of  whom 
said  purchase  has  been  made,  each  deed  which  shall  be  executed  to  the 
purchaser;  and  in  their  hands  shall  retain  said  deed  until  the  pro- 
prietors thereof  shall  execute  a  deed  in  trust  to  John  Caldwell,  Jonathan 
Brace  and  John  Morgan,  and  the  survivors  of  them,  and  the  last  sur- 
vivor of  said  three  persons  and  his  heirs  forever,  to  hold  in  trust  for 
such  proprietor  his  share  in  said  purchase,  and  to  be  disposed  of  as 
directed  and  agreed  in  the  following  articles. 

"III.  It  is  agreed  that  seven  persons  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
company  at  a  meeting  to  be  holden  this  day  at  the  house  of  John  Lee. 
in  Hartford,  who  shall  be  a  board  of  directors  for  said  company,  and 
that  said  directors,  or  the  majority  thereof,  shall  have  power,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  said  company,  to  procure  an  extinguishment  of  the  Indian 
title  to  said  Reserve,  if  said  title  is  not  already  extinguished,  to  survey 
the  whole  of  said  Reserve,  and  to  lay  the  same  out  into  townships  con- 
taining sixteen  thousand  acres  each;  to  fix  on  a  township  in  which  the 
first  settlement  shall  be  made;  to  survey  that  township  into  small  lots, 
in  such  manner  as  they  shall  think  proper,  and  to  sell  and  dispose  of 
said  lots  to  actual  settlers  only:  to  erect  in  said  township  a  saw-mill 
and  grist-mill  at  the  expense  of  said  company;  to  lay  out  and  sell  five 
other  townships  of  sixteen  thousand  acres  each,  to  actual  settlers  only. 
And  the  said  trustees  shall  execute  deeds  of  such  part  or  parts  of  said 
six  townships  as  shall  be  sold  by  said  directors  to  said  purchasers,  but  in 
case  there  shall  be  any  salt  spring  or  springs,  in  said  six  townships,  or 
in  any  or  either  of  them,  said  directors  shall  not  sell  spring  or  springs ; 
but  shall  reserve  the  same,  together  with  two  thousand  acres  of  land 
inclosing  said  spring  or  springs.  Said  directors  shall  also  have  power  to 
extinguish,  if  possible,  the  Indian  title,  if  any,  to  said  Reserve,  and  to 
make  all  said  surveys  within  two  years  from  this  date,  and  sooner  if 
possible.  And  when  said  Indian  title,  if  any,  shall  have  been  extinguished, 
and  said  surveys  made,  said  trustees,  or  a  majority  thereof,  shall  con- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         39 

vey  to  each  proprietor  of  said  Reserve,  or  any  member  who  shall  agree, 
his  or  their  proportion  or  right  therein,  in  severalty,  the  mode  of  divid- 
ing said  Reserve,  however,  to  be  in  conformity  to  the  orders  and  direc- 
tions of  the  major  part  of  the  proprietors  assembled  at  any  meeting  of 
the  proprietors  convened,  and  holden  according  to  the  mode  herein- 
after marked  out. 

"IV.  It  is  also  agreed  that  said  directors  shall  cause  the  persons 
employed  by  them  in  surveying  said  Reserve  to  keep  a  regular  field 
book,  describing  minutely  and  accurately  the  situation,  soil,  waters, 
kinds  of  timber,  and  natural  productions  of  each  township  surveyed  by 
them,  which  book  said  directors  shall  cause  to  be  kept  in  the  office  of 
the  clerk  of  said  directors,  and  the  said  book  shall  be  open  to  the  in- 
spection of  each  proprietor  at  all  times. 

"V.  It  is  agreed  that  said  directors  shall  appoint  a  clerk,  who  shall 
keep  a  regular  journal  of  all  the  votes  and  proceedings  of  said  directors, 
and  of  the  money  disbursed  by  them  for  the  use  of  the  company;  and 
said  directors  shall,  once  in  a  year,  settle  their  accounts  with  the  pro- 
prietors; and  that  all  moneys,  received  by  the  directors  for  taxes  and 
the  sale  of  lands,  shall  be  subject  to  the  disposal  and  direction  of  the 
company. 

"VI.  It  is  agreed  that  the  trustees  shall  give  certificates  agreeable 
to  the  form  hereinafter  prescribed,  to  all  the  proprietors  in  the  original 
purchase  made  from  this  state,  and  that  the  grantees  from  said  state 
shall  lodge  with  the  trustees  the  names  of  the  proprietors,  for  whom 
they  respectively  receive  deeds,  and  the  proportion  of  land  to  which 
said  proprietors  are  entitled,  a  copy  of  which  shall  be  lodged,  by  the 
trustees,  with  the  clerk  of  the  directors.  It  is  further  agreed  that  all 
transfers  made  by  any  proprietors  shall  be  recorded  in  the  book  of  the 
clerk  of  the  directors,  and  no  person  claiming  as  an  assignee  shall  be 
acknowledged  as  such  unless  his  deed  shall  have  been  thus  recorded. 

"VII.  It  is  agreed,  in  order  to  enable  said  board  of  directors  to 
perform  and  accomplish  the  business  assigned  them,  that  they  shall  be 
paid  a  tax,  in  the  proportion  of  ten  dollars  on  each  of  the  shares  of 
the  company,  to  the  clerk  of  the  directors,  to  be  at  the  disposal  of  said 
directors  for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  which  said  tax  shall  be  paid  to  said 
clerk  on  or  before  the  sixth  day  of  October  next. 

"VIII.  It  is  agreed  that  the  whole  of  said  Reserve  shall  be  divided 
into  four  hundred  shares,  and  the  following  shall  be  the  mode  of  voting 
by  the  proprietors  in  their  meetings:  Every  proprietor  of  one  share 
shall  have  one  vote,  and  every  proprietor  of  more  than  one  share  shall 
have  one  vote  for  the  first  share,  and  then  one  vote  for  every  two  shares, 
till  the  number  of  forty  shares,  and  then  one  vote  for  every  five  shares, 
provided  that  the  question  of  the  time  of  making  a  partition  of  the 
territory,  every  share  shall  be  entitled  to  one  vote. 

"IX.  It  is  agreed  that  the  aforesaid  trustees  shall,  on  receiving  a 
deed  from  any  purchaser,  according  to  the  tenor  of  these  articles,  give 
to  such  proprietors  a  certificate  in  the  following  words : 


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40         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

"'Connecticut  Land  Company 
"  'Hartford,  September  5,  1795. 

"'This  certifies  that is   entitled  to   the  trust   and   benefit 

of twelve  hundred  thousandths  of   the  Connecticut   Western 

Reserve  so  called,  as  held  by  John  Caldwell,  Jonathan  Brace,  and  John 
Morgan,  trustees,  in  a  deed  of  trust,  dated  the  fifth  day  of  September, 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-five,  to  hold  said  proportion  or 

share  to ,  the  said ,  heirs,  and  assigns,  according  to 

the  terms,  conditions,  covenants,  and  exceptions  contained  in  the  said 
deed  of  trust  and  in  certain  articles  of  agreement,  entered  into  by  the 
persons  composing  the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  which  said  share  is 
transferable  by  assignment,  under  hand  and  seal,  witnessed  by  two 
witnesses,  and  acknowledged  before  any  justice  of  the  peace  in  the 
state  of  Connecticut,  or  before  a  notary  public  or  judge  of  the  common 
pleas  in  any  of  the  United  States,  and  to  be  recorded  by  the  clerk  of 
the  board  of  directors,  which  said  certificate  shall  be  complete  evidence 
of  such  person  of  his  right  in  said  Reserve,  and  shall  be  recorded  by 
the  clerk  of  the  directors  in  the  book,  which  said  clerk  shall  keep  for 
the  purpose  of  registering  deeds.' 

"X.  It  is  agreed  that  the  first  meeting  of  said  company  be  at  the 
state-house,  in  Hartford,  on  Tuesday,  the  sixth  of  October  next,  at 
two  of  the  clock,  in  the  afternoon,  at  which  meeting  the  mode  of  making 
partition  shall  be  determined  by  the  major  vote  of  the  proprietors  there 
present,  taking  such  vote  by  the  principle  hereinbefore  marked  out. 
It  is  also  agreed  that  in  all  meetings  of  the  company  the  proprietors 
shall  be  admitted  to  vote  in  person  or  by  their  proper  attorney,  legally 
authorized ;  and  it  is  further  agreed  that  there  shall  be  a  meeting  of  the 
company,  at  the  state-house,  in  Hartford,  at  "two  o'clock,  in  the  after- 
noon, the  Monday  next  before  the  second  Thursday  in  October,  1796, 
and  another  meeting  of  said  company,  at  the  same  place,  at  two  o'clock, 
in  the  afternoon,  the  Tuesday  next  before  the  second  Thursday  in 
October,  1797,  and  that  the  said  directors  shall  have  power  to  call, 
occasionally,  meetings,  at  such  times  as  they  think  proper;  but  such 
meetings  shall  always  be  at  Hartford,  and  said  directors  shall  give 
notice  in  some  one  newspaper,  in  each  county  in  Connecticut,  where 
newspapers  are  published,  of  the  time  and  place  of  holding  said  meet- 
ings, whether  stated  or  occasional,  by  publishing  such  notification  in 
such  papers,  under  their  hands,  for  three  weeks  successively,  within 
six  weeks  next  before  the  day  of  such  meeting. 

"XI.  And,  whereas,  some  of  the  proprietors  may  choose  that  their 
proportions  of  said  Reserve  should  be  divided  to  them  in  one  lot  or 
location,  it  is  agreed  that  in  case  one-third  in  value  of  the  owners  shall, 
after  a  survey  of  said  Reserve  in  townships,  signify  to  said  directors 
or  meeting  a  request  that  such  third  part  be  set  off  in  manner  aforesaid, 
that  said  directors  may  appoint  three  commissioners,  who  shall  have 
power  to  divide  the  whole  of  said  purchase  into  three  parts,  equal  in 
value,  according  to  quantity,  quality,  and  situation ;  and  when  said  com- 
missioners shall  have  so  divided  said  Reserve,  and  made  a  report  in 
writing  of  their  doings  to  said  directors,  describing  precisely  the  bound- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         41 

aries  of  each  part,  the  said  directors  shall  call  a  meeting  of  said  pro- 
prietors, giving  the  notice  required  by  these  articles ;  and  at  such  meeting 
the  said  three  parts  shall  be  numbered,  and  the  number  of  each  part 
shall  be  written  on  a  separate  piece  of  paper,  and  shall,  in  the  presence 
of  such  meeting,  be  by  the  chairman  of  said  meeting  put  into  a  box, 
and  a  person,  appointed  by  said  meeting  for  that  purpose,  shall  draw 
out  of  said  box  one  of  said  numbers,  and  the  part  designated  by  such 
number  shall  be  aparted  to  such  person  or  persons  requesting  such  a 
severance,  and  the  said  trustees  shall,  upon  receiving  a  written  direction 
from  said  directors  for  that  purpose,  execute  a  deed  to  such  person  or 
persons  accordingly;  after  which,  each  person  or  persons  shall  have  no 
power  to  act  in  said  company. 

"XII.  It  is  agreed  that  the  company  shall  have  power,  by  a  major 
vote,  to  raise  money  by  a  tax  on  the  proprietors,  to  be  apportioned 
equally  to  each  proprietor,  according  to  his  interest;  and,  in  case  any 
proprietors  shall  neglect  to  pay  his  proportion  of  said  taxes  within 
fifty  days,  when  the  proprietor  lives  in  the  state;  if  out  of  the  state, 
within  one  hundred  and  twenty  days  after  the  same  shall  have  become 
payable;  and,  after  the  publication  thereof  in  the  newspapers  of  this 
state,  in  the  manner  provided  for  warning  meetings,  that  the  directors 
shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  so  much  of  the  interest  of  said  delinquent 
proprietor  in  said  Reserve  as  may  be  necessary  to  pay  the  tax  so  as 
aforesaid  due  and  unsatisfied;  and,  in  case  any  proprietor  shall  neglect 
to  pay  the  tax  of  ten  dollars  upon  a  share,  agreed  to  by  these  articles, 
within  fifty  days  after  the  time  of  payment,  so  much  of  his  share,  as 
will  raise  his  part  of  said  tax,  may  be  sold  as  aforesaid. 

"XIII.  In  case  of  the  death  of  any  one  or  more  of  the  trustees, 
the  company  may  appoint  a  successor  to  such  deceased  person  or  persons 
in  said  trust;  and,  upon  such  appointment  being  made,  the  surviving 
trustee  or  trustees  shall  pass  a  deed  or  deeds  to  such  successor  or  suc- 
cessors, to  hold  the  premises  as  co-trustees  with  the  surviving  trustees, 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  original  trustees  held  the  same. 

"XIV.  It  is  agreed  that  the  directors,  in  transacting  the  business 
of  said  company  according  to  the  articles  aforesaid,  shall  be  subject  to 
the  control  of  said  company  by  a  vote  of  at  least  three-fourths  of  the 
interest  of  said  company." 

These  articles  are  subscribed  to  by  fifty-two  members  of  the  Con- 
necticut Land  Company.  The  subscribers  are  identical  with  the  pur- 
chasers of  the  Western  Reserve  tract,  except  that  eight  names  appearing 
on  the  former  document  do  not  appear  on  the  latter  while  the  additional 
names  of  William  M.  Bliss,  William  Battle,  Joseph  C.  Yates,  Thaddeus 
Leavitt,  Elisha  Strong,  Zepheniah  Swift,  Lemuel  Storrs,  Benajah  Kent, 
Eliphalet  Austin,  Samuel  Mather,  Elijah  White  and  Roger  Newbury 
(for  Justin  Ely)  are  found  on  the  second  document.  Even  this  list  is 
incomplete,  as  certain  signers  are  known  to  have  represented  share 
holders  who  are  not  among  the  signers.  The  whole  number  of  persons 
included  in  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  is  said  to  have  been  fifty- 
seven.     William  Hart   was  appointed   moderator   of   this   meeting   of 


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42         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

September  5,  1795,  and  Enoch  Perkins,  clerk.  Perkins  was  replaced 
the  following  spring  by  Ephraim  Root  who  remained  as  clerk  until  the 
dissolution  of  the  company  after  its  work  had  been  finished.  The 
shareholders  conveyed  their  interests  to  John  Caldwell,  Jonathan  Brace 
and  John  Morgan,  as  provided  in  article  two  of  the  above  agreement, 
and  seven  directors  of  the  company  were  named  as  provided  in  article 
three,  these  appointees  being  Oliver  Phelps,  Henry  Champion,  2nd, 
Moses  Cleaveland,  Samuel  W.  Johnson,  Ephraim  Kirby,  Samuel 
Mather,  jr.,  and  Roger  Newbury.  Changes  were  made  in  the  director 
ate  at  different  times. 

Before  the  company  still  lay  the  immense  task  of  preparing  the 
Western  Reserve  for  settlement,  for  it  should  be  remembered  that 
while  many  members  of  the  company  themselves  proposed  to  emigrate 
to  the  western  country,  they  had  likewise  made  their  investments  for 
speculative  purposes,  and  the  land  could  not  be  sold  in  its  wilderness 
state.  The  land  company  members  were  not  in  a  position  to  sell,  since 
their  interests  in  the  Western  Reserve  tract  were  still  undivided  and  no 
division  could  be  made  until  the  ground  had  been  surveyed. 

Toward  this  task  the  company  first  bent  its  energies.  Arrange- 
ments were  made  for  a  survey  to  be  conducted  under  the  superintend- 
ency  of  Gen.  Moses  Cleaveland  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  company  on 
April  5,  1796,  a  committee  comprising  Oliver  Phelps,  Moses  Cleave- 
land, Isaac  Mills,  Samuel  Hinkley,*  Henry  Champion,  William  Hart 
and  Uriel  Holmes  was  named  "to  take  into  consideration  making  par- 
tition," of  the  Western  Reserve.  Joseph  Howland,  Joseph  Perkins  and 
Robert  Brick  were  later  added  to  this  committee.  On  April  9,  1796, 
this  committee  reported  back  to  a  meeting  of  the  company  recommend- 
ing the  election  of  a  committee  of  "three  or  more  judicious  persons," 
to  make  a  division  of  the  Western  Reserve.  As  this  apportionment 
could  not  be  made  without  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  ground  it  was 
also  recommended  that  the  committee  "go  upon  said  lands  and  view  and 
explore  the  same,"  with  a  view  to  analyzing  all  natural  advantages  of 
each  section  so  that  division  could  be  made  equitably.  With  a  splendid 
spirit  of  fairness  it  was  proposed  to  follow  a  most  intricate  method  of 
apportionment  so  that  the  most  valuable,  the  medium,  and  the  least 
valuable  lands  should  be  shared  alike.  The  mode  of  making  the  division 
was  prescribed  by  the  committee  of  ten  making  this  report.  The  equal- 
izing committee  recommended  was  not  named  at  this  time  as  naturally 
there  could  be  no  division  until  a  survey  had  been  made. 

Six  townships  of  the  Reserve  were  to  be  left  out  of  this  division, 
the  company  having  agreed  in  its  articles  of  association  that  the  direc- 
tors should  survey  one  township  into  small  lots  and  sell  these  lots  to 
actual  settlers,  and  likewise  lay  out  and  sell  five  other  townships  to 
actual  settlers.  The  six  townships  subsequently  selected  are  now  known 
as  Cleveland  and  Euclid  in  Cuyahoga  County,  Youngstown  in  Mahoning 
County,  and  Madison,  Mentor  and  Willoughby  in  Lake  County.  It  was 
under  the  terms  of  this  provision  that  the  directors  made  a  sale  to  John 


*  Given  also  as  Hinckley. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 


43 


Young  and  others  of  the  lands  that  were  later  to  be  the  site  of  the  city  of 
Youngstown.  This  sale  was  made  some  time  in  1796,  the  exact  date 
not  being  obtainable. 

In  May,  1796,  the  surveying  party  began  its  trip  from  Connecticut 
to  the  Western  Reserve  under  command  of  Gen.  Moses  Cleaveland,  as 
superintendent.     The   party   numbered    fifty-three   persons    in   all,    in- 


Map  of  Northwest  Territory 

eluding  one  child.  In  addition  to  the  superintendent  there  were  Aug- 
ustus Porter,  principal  surveyor;  Seth  Pease,  astronomer  and  surveyor; 
Moses  Warren,  John  Milton  Holley,  Amos  Spafford  and  Richard  M. 
Stoddard,  surveyors;  Theodore  Shepard,  physician;  Joshua  Stow,  com- 
missary; Joseph  Tinker,  principal  boatman;  Francis  Gray,  Joseph  Mc- 
Intyre,  Samuel  Forbes,  George  Proudfoot,  Amos  Sawtel,  Samuel  Hun- 
gerford,  Amos  Barber,  Asa   Mason,   Stephen   Benton,  Amzi  Atwater, 


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44         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Samuel  Agnew,  Samuel  Davenport,  Michael  Coffin,  Shadrach  Benham, 
William  B.  Hall,  Elisha  Ayers,  Thomas  Harris,  George  Gooding,  Nor- 
man Wilcox,  Timothy  Dunham,  Wareham  Shepard,  David  Beard, 
Titus  V.  Munson,  John  Briant,  Joseph  Landon,  Olney  F.  Rice,  James 
Hamilton,  James  Halket,  John  Lock,  Charles  Parker,  Ezekiel  Morley, 
Nathaniel  Doan,  Stephen  Burbank,  Samuel  Barnes,  Luke  Hanchet, 
Daniel  Shulay,  Job  V.  Stiles  and  Tabitha  Stiles,  Elijah  Gunn  and  Ann 
Gunn  and  child.  The  two  remaining  members  of  the  party  were 
hunters  and  traders,  Nathan  Perry  and  Nathan  Chapman  by  name, 
who  were  to  furnish  fresh  meat  for  the  party. 

The  voyagers  made  the  trip  by  the  northern,  or  lake,  route,  assem- 
bling at  Schenectady,  New  York,  early  in  June,  with  their  stores  and  flat 
boats,  and  thence  proceeding  by  way  of  the  Mohawk  River,  Wood 
Creek,  Oneida  Lake'  and  Oswego  River  to  Lake  Ontario  and  on  to 
Buffalo.  The  cattle  and  horses,  however,  were  driven  overland  from 
Schenectady  through  Canandaigua  to  Buffalo.  At  this  time  control  of 
the  lakes  was  in  British  hands,  but  an  agreement  had  just  been  con- 
cluded by  which  Americans  were  permitted  to  use  these  waterways,  so  a 
stop  was  made  at  Fort  Stanwix,  New  York,  to  procure  the  credentials 
that  were  necessary  before  they  could  pass  Fort  Oswego,  which  com- 
manded their  path  into  Lake  Ontario.  The  records  of  the  Ashtabula 
Historical  and  Philosophical  Society  contain  an  account  of  this  journey, 
which  relates  that  at  Fort  Stanwix  the  Americans  met  Captain  Cozzens, 
who  had  been  sent  by  the  British  minister  to  announce  that  Jay's  treaty 
permitting  free  navigation  of  the  lakes  was  in  force.  Apparently  this 
removed  any  complications,  the  pathway  being  made  easier  by  the  fact 
that  Captain  Cozzens  accompanied  the  Americans  to  Fort  Oswego.  At 
Fort  Oswego,  however,  a  new  difficulty  arose.  The  British  commander 
declared  he  had  received  no  orders  from  his  superior  officer  at  Fort 
Niagara  relative  to  free  access  to  the  lake  and  until  such  instructions 
were  received  the  Americans  must  wait  in  idleness.  Anticipating  such 
a  contingency  the  land  company  had  given  orders  to  Commissary  Stow 
not  to  attempt  to  run  by  the  fort  without  permission  and  the  party  was 
therefore  under  a  double  command  to  loiter. 

It  was  a  most  discouraging  situation.  There  was  an  immense  task 
ahead  in  laying  out  the  western  lands  and  only  a  few  months  in  which 
to  do  it.  Summer  was  approaching.  There  was  sickness  in  the  party 
due  to  the  unhealthy  spot  at  which  it  was  encamped  and  there  was  the 
usual  irritation  and  complaining  that  comes  of  idleness.  Confronted  by 
such  an  intolerable  state  of  affairs  the  members  of  the  party  decided  to 
resist  both  military  and  company  edicts  and  risk  the  safety  of  the  entire 
enterprise  by  passing  Fort  Oswego  without  permission.  The  boats  were 
secreted  in  a  small  bay  in  the  river  four  miles  above  the  fort,  where  one 
of  them  was  manned  with  double  oars  and,  with  Commissary  Stow  on 
board,  pulled  boldly  past  the  fort.  Believing  that  the  commissary  was 
en  route  to  Fort  Niagara  to  obtain  the  required  permission  from  the 
commander  there  no  resistance  was  offered  by  the  Oswego  garriscm, 
and  the  single  boat  proceeded  to  Sodus  where  a  meeting  place  had  been 
arranged.     Deceived  completely  by  this  apparent  surrender  to  orders 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         45 

the  Fort  Oswego  garrison  relaxed  its  vigilance  and  in  the  darkness  the 
three  remaining  boats  slipped  past  the  fortification  and  out  into  Lake 
Ontario,  as  prearranged.  But  just  when  the  ruse  appeared  to  have 
succeeded  a  greater  disaster  loomed  before  them.  Continuing  the  ac- 
count of  the  escape  from  British  vigilance  the  narrative  says: 

"At  Sodus  the  fleet  intended  to  make  harbor.  A  sudden  storm  arose 
and  overtook  the  three  boats  before  they  could  reach  Sodus.  The 
darkness  was  intense;  the  storm  became  more  and  more  violent,  the 
situation  was  one  of  peril.  Beacon-fires  were  built  by  the  crew  of  the 
boat  which  had  landed,  but  it  was  impossible  for  the  rest  of  the  boats 
to  make  the  harbor.  The  situation  of  the  agent  at  this  moment  was 
intensely  painful.  His  companions  were  in  a  perilous  situation,  and  it 
was  out  of  his  power  to  afford  them  any  relief.  They  were  but  a  short 
distance  from  a  dangerous  shore,  and  the  next*  biltow  might  dash  their 
little  bark  in  pieces.  Besides,  he  had  assumed  the  responsibility  of 
running  by  the  fort,  and  although  successful  in  that  attempt,  yet  if  the 
boats  were  cast  away  or  lost,  the  whole  responsibility  of  the  catastrophe 
would  rest  upon  him.  In  this  state  of  suspense  and  alarm,  a  man  from 
one  of  the  boats  came  running  from  the  beach  with  the  intelligence  that 
all  was  lost.  No  anxiety  could  be  greater  or  suffering  more  intense 
than  that  of  the  men  on  shore.  They  ran  up  and  down  the  beach  to 
see  if  it  were  not  possible  to  render  some  assistance  or  gain  some  tidings 
from  their  companions.  They  found  thrown  upon  the  shore  a  gun 
and  an  oar,  which  they  recognized  as  belonging  to  Captain  Beard,  who 
was  in  charge  of  one  of  the  boats.  This  increased  their  alarm.  The 
next  moment,  however,  they  met  Captain  Beard  himself,  and  anxiously 
asked  if  all  w^re  lost.  He  replied  that  nothing  was  lost  but  a  gun  and 
an  oar.  No  lives  were  lost.  The  boats  sustained  much  injury,  and  one 
was  so  badly  damaged  it  could  not  be  repaired,  and  was  abandoned." 

Substantially  this  story  is  correct,  although  it  is  probable  the  boats 
were  dashed  on  the  shore  and  that  the  great  danger  to  the  members  of 
the  party  lay  in  the  fact  that  they  were  exposed  to  the  extreme  likeli- 
hood of  losing  their  lives  and  supplies  alike  in  the  angry  surf,  rather 
than  in  any  inability  to  make  harbor.  One  version  says  that  Stow 
actually  gave  the  boats  up  for  lost  and  had  gone  to  Irondequoit. 

General  Cleaveland's  commission  from  the  Connecticut  Land  Com- 
pany provided  that  the  party  was  "to  enter  into  friendly  negotiations 
with  the  natives  who  are  on  said  land,  or  contiguous  thereto,  and  may 
have  pretended  claim  to  the  same,"  and  barter  with  them  for  the  sale 
of  their  claims.  At  Buffalo  the  superintendent  had  his  first  experience 
with  the  Indians,  although  the  claim  of  the  Mohawks  and  Senecas  to 
lands  in  the  Ohio  country  was  certainly  hazy.  Their  chief  asset  may, 
m  fact,  have  been  their  reputation  for  bloodthirstiness,  but  they  ap- 
pear to  have  been  apprised  of  the  coming  of  the  Connecticut  men,  as 
they  were  waiting  for  conference,  the  renowned  chiefs  Captain  Brant 
and  Red  Jacket  being  among  the  number.  There  were  lengthy  negotia- 
tions, suspended  at  least  once  by  the  chiefs  that  the  Indians  might  get 
drunk,  but  on  June  23d  General  Cleaveland  finally  offered  the  equivalent 
of  $1,000  for  the  red  men's  title  and  good  will,  mostly  good  will.    This 


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46         YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

was  finaHy  accepted  with  the  additional  provision  that  General  Cleave- 
land  would  use  his  good  offices  to  secure  an  annuity  of  $500  for  the 
Indians,  or,  failing  in  this  grant  from  the  Government,  he  would  insure 
an  additional  $1,500  from  the  land  company.  General  Cleaveland  also 
gave  two  beef  cattle  and  one  hundred  gallons  of  whisky  to  the  Indians 
and  negotiations  were  happily  closed.  Considering  the  nature  of  the 
general's  gift  it  is  likely  the  Red  Men  celebrated  the  termination  of  the 
conference  joyously,  as  getting  drunk  was  a  feature  that  the  Indians 
considered  a  most  important  part  of  the  ceremony  and  it  was  never 
neglected  by  them.  • 

'  It  is  indicative  of  the  little  regard  that  the  State  of  Connecticut  and 
the  Connecticut  Land  Company  had  for  the  Federal  Government's  claim 
to  the  Western  Reserve  that  General  Cleaveland  acted  solely  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  company  in  making  this  agreement  with  the  Indians 
and  that  there  was  no  government  agent  present. 

While  the  land  company  and  the  Indians  reached  an  adjustment 
easily  enough  the  latter  did  not  agree  so  well  among  themselves.  The 
Mohawk  Indians,  who  are  said  to  have  been  residing  then  on  the  Grand 
River  in  Canada,  appear  to  have  claimed  the  lion's  share  of  the  treaty 
money,  awarding  but  little  to  the  Senecas  and  none  to  other  tribes  of 
the  Six  Nations.  In  January,  1797,  the  Connecticut  Land  Company 
accepted  General  Cleaveland's  report  of  his  treaty  with  the  Indians,  but 
a  year  later  a  report  was  made  at  a  meeting  of  the  land  company  that 
the  Indians  had  appeared  before  the  proprietors  of  the  Connecticut  Land 
Company  and  said  a  disagreement  had  arisen  between  the  Mohawks 
and  the  Indians  on  the  American  side  of  the  border  over  the  distribu- 
tion of  this  money,  and  that  trouble  would  ensue  if  the  money  were  paid 
over  to  the  Mohawks.  The  Indians  asked  that  payment  be  withheld, 
and  the  land  company  readily  agreed  to  this  request,  inasmuch  as  its 
own  finances  were  not  in  good  shape  at  that  time.  How  the  distribu- 
tion was  finally  made  does  not  appear. 

It  is  creditable,  however,  to  the  Connecticut  men  that  they  strove 
earnestly  to  satisfy  the  Indian  claims  to  the  lands  they  sought  to  colonize 
and  bargained  openly  for  the  Red  Men's  title.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Indians  who  promised  at  Buffalo  that  the  white  men  should  not  be 
molested  in  their  efforts  to  settle  the  Western  Reserve  kept  their  promise 
religiously. 

With  perhaps  one  more  stop  at  Presque  Isle  (now  Erie)  the  sur- 
veying party  moved  onward  and  on  Independence  Day,  July  4,  1796, 
landed  at  the  mouth  of  Conneaut  Creek,  in  what  is  now  Ashtabula 
County. 

Two  months  had  elapsed  since  they  left  Connecticut.  It  had  been 
a  journey  fraught  with  even  greater  hardships,  more  dangers  and  far 
more  delays  than  they  had  anticipated.  But  they  had  come  to  found  a 
new  land  in  the  wilderness  of  what  was  then  the  West  and  there  was 
unrestrained  joy  that  the  pilgrimage  was  ended.  It  was  especially 
fitting  that  they  landed  on  the  birthday  of  the  nation,  not  only  because 
they  were  founding  a  new  colony,  too,  but  because  they  were  Revolu- 
tionary    war     soldiers    and     the     sons     of     Revolutionary     war     sol- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         47 

diers  who  had  witnessed  the  birth  of  their  own  country  but  a 
few  years  before.  That  they  had  fenced  with  the  British  a  few  weeks 
earlier  at  Oswego  and  had  outwitted  them  as  Washington  would  have 
outwitted  them,  probably  added  considerable  zest  to  this  Independence 
Day  celebration.  At  any  rate  they  pledged  their  loyalty  anew  to  Amer- 
ica, to  their  home  state,  to  the  new  land  that  they  were  to  conquer 
peaceably,  and  fired  a  salute  from  their  small  arms  in  honor  of  the  day. 
They  had  reached  the  threshold  of  a  great  empire  that  had  at  that  time 
not  one  solitary  white  inhabitant  with  a  permanent  abode,  a  land  of 
magnificent  forests,  splendid  streams  and  fertile  soil.  They  hoped  to 
make  it  a  populated  and  prosperous  land — as  great  perhaps  as  Con- 
necticut— a  country  where  there  would  be  not  alone  material  pros- 
perity but  also  the  learning  and  the  religion  that  the  promoters  of  the 
land  company  had  wisely  provided  for.  Their  visions,  of  course,  were 
wholly  unable  to  comprehend  a  land  that  in  a  century  and  a  quarter 
would  have  upwards  of  three  millions  of  inhabitants,  a  land  that  would 
become  great  in  agriculture  as  they  planned,  but  whose  farms  would 
be  dwarfed  in  wealth  in  comparison  with  the  vast  industrial  richness  of 
its  cities.  In  their  happiness  they  named  their  landing  place  Port  In- 
dependence and,  in  clear  water  from  the  lake,  and  in  whisky  too,  drank 
the  following  toasts: 

"The  President  of  the  United  States. 

"The  State  of  Connecticut. 

"The  Connecticut  Land  Company. 

"May  the  Port  of  Independence  and  the  fifty  sons  and  daughters 
who  have  entered  it  this  day  be  successful  and  prosperous. 

"May  these  sons  and  daughters  multiply  in  sixteen  years  sixteen 
times  fifty. 

"May  every  person  have  his  bowsprit  trimmed  and  ready  to  enter 
every  port  that  opens." 

And  probably  a  score  or  two  of  other  toasts  equally  resolute  and 
optimistic. 

However  there  was  work  ahead.  On  July  5th  business  was  suspended 
only  long  enough  to  greet  the  Indians  who  came  with  friendly  intent 
and  made  flowery  speeches,  presenting  General  Cleaveland  with  a  pipe 
of  peace.  The  general  reciprocated  by  bestowing  presents  of  wampum, 
silver  trinkets  and  whisky  to  the  value  of  $20.  That  the  Con- 
necticut voyagers  were  supplied  with  such  ample  quantities  of  strong 
liquors  may  appear  strange  in  this  year  when  national  prohibition  be- 
came effective  and  alcoholic  drinks  were  outlawed,  but  one  cannot  judge 
a  past  age  by  the  present.  Whisky  was  then  one  of  the  most  common 
of  commodities.  It  was  the  chief  stock  in  trade  of  the  white  men  who 
bargained  with  the  Indians  for  furs,  and  while  some  of  these  traders 
were  low-bred  and  vicious,  many  others  were  men  of  recognized  stand- 
ing in  their  home  communities.  Whisky  was  an  every-day  article  of  use 
even  in  homes  where  the  rigidly  strict  lives  common  to  that  day  were 
lived.  That  the  whisky  of  these  olden  days  was  a  vastly  superior  article 
with  none  of  the  evil  properties  attached  to  it  today  is  a  pure  myth.  There 
were  drunkards  then  as  there  are  now,  and  there  were  men — and  many 


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48         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

more  women — who  opposed  the  use  of  strong  liquors  in  any  form. 
The  curse  was  not  the  less,  except,  perhaps,  that  alcohol  was  less  potent 
for  evil  in  the  staunch  minds  and  the  iron  constitutions  of  the  fore- 
fathers of  this  prohibition  state. 

On  July  5  work  was  begun  on  the  erection  of  a  log  house  on  the 
east  bank  of  Conneaut  Creek.  It  was  a  structure  of  no  architectural 
pretensions,  being  intended  as  a  storage  place  for  supplies.  On  July 
7,  Porter,  Holley  and  Pease,  surveyors,  and  five  other  men,  left  the 
headquarters  at  Conneaut  Creek  to  seek  the  south  line  of  the  Reserve. 
With  the  project  fairly  under  way  General  Cleaveland  started  for  the 
mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga  River  to  lay  out  the  township  that  was  to  mark 
the  first  settlement  on  the  Western  Reserve,  the  Conneaut  settlement 
not  being  considered  a  permanent  one.  General  Cleaveland  reached  his 
destination  on  July  22,  1796.  He  was  accompanied  by  Commissary  Stow, 
by  Job  Stiles  and  wife  Tabitha,  and  perhaps  by  others.  While  in  many 
respects  the  site  did  not  look  promising  in  its  raw  and  primeval  state, 
it  appealed  to  the  farseeing  and  sagacious  General  Cleaveland.  After 
preliminary  observations  he  journeyed  to  Conneaut  Creek  on  August 
5,  1796,  and  from  there  sent  word  to  the  directors  of  the  Connecticut 
Land  Company  that  the  choice  of  a  place  of  beginning  settlement  was 
a  wise  one.  He  then  returned  to  Cleveland  to  complete  his  work.  When 
he  left  for  Connecticut  three  months  later  General  Cleaveland  was 
destined  never  to  return  to.  Ohio  to  locate,  but  he  bequeathed  his  name 
to  the  settlement  he  founded — an  embryo  village  that  was  intended  to 
be  the  "capital"  of  New  Connecticut  and  that  was  eventually  to  be- 
come the  greatest  city  in  Ohio. 

Meanwhile  the  surveying  party  under  Pease,  Holly  and  Porter  jour- 
neyed southward.  They  experienced  no  difficulty  in  finding  the  Penn- 
sylvania line,  which  had  been  cleared  some  time  before,  and  the  work 
ahead  of  them  therefore  was  that  of  making  observations  of  the  country 
and  taking  measurements  to  find  the  forty-first  parallel  of  latitude, 
the  southern  line  of  the  land  purchase.  By  training  and  knowledge  they 
were  equipped  for  the  former  task  as  well  as  the  latter  and  their  in- 
spection was  made  carefully,  as  they  were  under  pledge  to  make  reports 
to  the  land  company  that  would  acquaint  prospective  purchasers  with 
the  nature  of  the  Western  Reserve  country.  These  observations  were 
faithfully  made  and  truthfully  reported.  They  speak  of  the  excellent 
land,  the  clear  and  ample  creeks  and  rivers  and  the  wealth  of  chestnut, 
oak,  maple,  beach,  whitewood,  and  walnut  timber;  but  likewise  make 
note  of  "abominable"  swamp  land,  of  miasmatic  forests  and  of  stony 
ridges. 

Working  with  comparative  rapidity,  considering  that  they  were  land 
observers  as  well  as  surveyors,  the  party  reached  the  southeast  corner 
of  the  Reserve  on  July  21,  1796.  It  was  from  this  spot  that  their 
actual  work  of  surveying  the  land  purchase  began.  It  is  now  the  south- 
east corner  of  Poland  Township,  Mahoning  County.  As  the  Western 
Reserve,  or  "New  Connecticut"  was  to  include  only  lands  lying  north 
of  the  forty-first  parallel  of  latitude  it  is  reasonable  to  presume  that 
the  surveyors  believed  they  had  located   the   spot   where  this  parallel 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         49 

intersects  the  Pennsylvania  state  line.  In  this  they  were  mistaken,  as 
they  were  some  distance  below  the  forty-first  parallel — one-half  mile 
it  is  generally  estimated,  and  perhaps  more.  Later  when  the  south  line 
was  surveyed  to  the  extreme  western  end  of  the  Reserve  the  southwest 
corner  was  located  exactly  on  the  forty-first  parallel.  This  variation 
was  destined  to  cause  much  controversy  between  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment and  the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  a  dispute  that  was  finally 
terminated  by  the  surrender  of  the  contested  ground  to  the  land  com- 
pany. This,  it  might  be  remarked,  was  the  usual  result  when  the  Fed- 
eral Government  and  the  people  of  Connecticut  happened  to  want  the 
same  thing. 

On  July  23,  Warren  and  Spafford,  with  their  assistants,  arrived  at 
the  same  spot  and  a  marker  was  set  up  at  the  starting  point  of  the 
survey.  Range  lines  were  run  back  to  the  lake,  Holley  running  the  first 
range,  Spafford  the  second,  Warren  the  third,  and  Pease  and  Porter 
the  fourth.  The  range,  or  meridian,  lines  were  five  miles  apart.  Lines 
of  latitude  were  then  run,  also  five  miles  apart,  thus  dividing  the  land, 
as  directed,  into  townships  approximately  five  miles  square.  The  sur- 
vey, however,  was  made  with  instruments  far  inferior  to  those  in  use 
1  today,  it  was  made  in  haste  because  the  summer  was  already  far  ad- 
vanced, there  was  no  time  for  the  surveyors  to  take  correct  observations 
or  check  up  their  work,  and  they  labored  under  the  extreme  difficulties 
common  to  wilderness  country.  Because  of  these  great  drawbacks  the 
work  was  done  imperfectly;  a  circumstance  that  quite  evident  in 
the  varying  size  of  Trumbull  County  townships  and  the  Reserve  Town- 
ships of  Mahoning  County.  It  was  intended  that  each  of  these  should 
contain  twenty-five  square  miles,  or  16,000  acres,  while  as  a  matter 
of  fact  there  is  not  one  of  the  thirty-five  townships  in  these  two  counties 
that  contains  exactly  that  area  of  ground.  They  range  in  size  from 
14492  acres  in  the  case  of  Lordstown  Township. to  17,317  in  the  case 
of  Hartford  Township.  The  nearest  approach  to  accurate  measurement 
is  in  the  case  of  Bloomfield  Township  with  its  16,039  acres. 

Just  how  much  time  was  required  to  run  these  first  four  rows  of 
townships  back  to  the  lake  does  not  appear,  but  the  work  probably  was 
completed  early  in  September.  There  was  no  time  to  return  to  the 
south  base  and  begin  a  survey  of  additional  townships,  as  it  was  neces- 
sary for  the  surveyors  to  adjourn  to  the  mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga  River 
to  plat  the  ground  in  that  vicinity.  Here  they  met  Gen.  Moses  Cleave- 
land,  who  had  picked  the  township  in  which  the  "first  settlement,,  on 
the  Reserve  was  to  be  made,  as  provided  by  Article  III  of  the  Con- 
necticut Land  Company's  articles  of  agreement  and  association,  and 
proceeded  to  survey  that  township  into  "small  lots,"  an  undertaking 
ordered  by  the  same  article.  The  lots  within  the  proposed  village  were 
to  consist  of  two  acres,  lots  immediately  adjoining  the  village  were 
to  contain  ten  acres,  and  the  remainder  of  the  township  was  divided 
into  100-acre  lots.  These  may  not  appear  as  "small"  after  all, 
but  as  a  "lot"  in  the  vernacular  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  was 
160  acres,  the  smallness  of  the  Cleveland  Township  lots  is  easily  under- 
stood. It  is  a  tribute  to  the  discretion  and  foresight  of  Cleaveland,  also 
Vol.  1—4 


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50         YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

that  he  so  shrewdly  prepared  for  the  expansion  of  the  village.  The 
Cleveland  survey  began  in  mid-September  under  direction  of  Augustus 
Porter  with  Peace  and  Spafford  as  assistants. 

Until  late  in  October  the  surveying  party  remained  at  work  on  the 
northern  part  of  the  Reserve  and  then  the  trip  back  to  Connecticut 
began.  The  explorers  reached  their  homes  a  few  weeks  later,  leaving 
at  Cleveland  Job  Stiles  and  wife  and  Joseph  Landon,  and  at  Conneaut 
Creek  Elijah  Gunn  and  wife,  their  nephew,  a  boy  of  thirteen,  and  James 
Kingsbury  and  wife.  Landon  later  returned  to  Connecticut,  while 
Edward  Paine  arrived  at  Cleveland.  Apparently  these  were  the  sole 
white  residents  of  the  Western  Reserve  in  the  winter  of   1796-97. 

The  Connecticut  Land  Company  had  now  completed  the  first  year  of 
its  existence  and  its  affairs  were  in  anything  but  a  favorable  shape.  The 
articles  of  association  and  agreement  adopted  by  the  company  had  pro- 
vided that  the  survey  of  the  Reserve  should  be  "made  within  two  years, 
or  sooner,  if  possible/1  and  yet  with  one-half  that  time  expired  the  sur- 
vey had  not  been  completed  even  in  that  part  of  the  tract  lying  east  of 
the  Cuyahoga  River.  The  south  base  line  of  the  Reserve  was  120  miles 
in  length  and  yet  but  twenty  miles  of  this  had  been  run.  Of  the  six- 
townships  that  were  to  be  sold  outright  by  the  company  to  settlers  only 
the  two  in  the  Cleveland  neighborhood  had  been  platted. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  find  the  reason  for  this  failure  to  complete  the 
survey  in  the  summer  of  1796.  The  surveying  party  had  met  unex- 
pected delays  in  reaching  the  Reserve.  Its  members  could  not  be  ex- 
pected to  have  the  same  interest  in  hurrying  the  work  that  the  land 
company  members  had,  for  General  Cleaveland  appears  to  have  been  the 
only  person  among  the  fifty-three  members  of  the  surveying  party  who 
was  a  shareholder  in  the  land.  The  others  were  employes,  working  for 
a  salary  or  a  wage.  On  looking  over  the  field  they  decided  that  their 
compensation  was  not  enough  and  actually  "struck"  for  better  pay. 
General  Cleaveland  solved  this  tangle  by  setting  aside  the  township  now 
known  as  Euclid,  in  Cuyahoga  County,  to  be  sold  to  them  at  a  nominal 
sum.  They  were  working  in  a  wilderness  country.  Rainfall  has  ever 
been  abundant  in  Northeastern  Ohio,  and  this  meant  that  even  in  the 
uplands  there  was  heavy  shrubbery  and  foliage  to  impede  the  work. 
Some  of  the  land  was  low-lying  swamp  that  they  had  to  struggle 
through.  Cutting  and  slashing  a  way  was  laborious  work,  not  alone 
because  the  timber  and  underbrush  were  thick,  but  because  rainfall  made 
the  shrubbery  heavy  and  watersoaked  in  wet  weather,  while  the  sun 
beat  fiercely  in  dry  weather.  Clothing  and  shoes  became  torn,  rent  and 
worn,  and  there  was  opportunity  for  only  the  rudest  kind  of  mending. 
The  surveyors  proclaimed  loudly,  and  probably  profanely,  not  only 
against  the  myriad  of  mosquitoes,  but  against  the  gigantic  size  of  these 
insects.  Dysentery  and  malaria  attacked  the  workmen,  pack-horses 
carrying  supplies  and  food  wandered  away  in  the  forests,  and  there  was 
sometimes  hunger  and  also  a  shortage  of  rum.  Gases  from  the  swamps 
hung  heavy  over  the  ground  at  some  places  and  the  malaria  was  at- 
tributed to  this,  for  the  disease-carrying  propensities  of  the  mosquito 
were  then  unknown.    The  surveying  instruments  were  imperfect  and  the 


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YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         51 

area  to  be  covered  was  enormous.  There  were  predatory  animals,  even 
wolves,  about,  but  these  do  not  appear  to  have  inconvenienced  the  work- 
ers. Snakes  were  abundant  in  Northeastern  Ohio  then  as  they  are  now, 
and  at  that  day  even  the  rattlesnake  and  copper-head  were  common. 
There  is  no  complaint,  however,  that  these  caused  any  apprehension  on 
the  part  of  the  surveying  party.  On  the  contrary  they  may  have  been 
found  useful.  Commissary  Stow  is  said  to  have  had  a  liking  for  snake 
meat,  while  others  of  the  party  would  eat  it  if  food  were  scarce.  Con- 
sidering all  these  handicaps,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  showing  made 
was  not  great.  It  is  rather  surprising  that  so  much  was  done.  Yet  the 
fact  that  not  enough  of  the  land  had  been  surveyed  to  warrant  a  division 
of  it  among  the  shareholders  prevented  any  such  distribution  when 
Daniel  Holbrook,  Moses  Warren,  Jr.,  William  Shepard,  Jr.*,  Seth  Pease 
and  Amos  Spafford  were  appointed  on  January  27,  1797,  to  apportion 
the  land  among  the  investors. 

The  wrath  of  the  protestants  was  too  great,  however,  to  be  easily 
silenced.  At  a  meeting  of  the  land  company  on  January  28,  1797,  a 
committee  was  named  "to  enquire  into  causes  which  have  occasioned  the 
very  great  expense  to  which  the  land  company  have  been  subjected  in 
the  course  of  the  year  past,  and  also  to  enquire  into  the  causes  which 
prevented  the  surveyors  and  agents  of  the  directors  from  completing  the 
survey  and  location."  This  committee,  consisting  of  Pierpont  Edwards, 
Uriel  Holmes,  Jr.,  Caleb  Atwater,  William  Ely  and  Samuel  Hinkley, 
was  ordered  to  make  a  report  on  February  22,  1797. 

It  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  the  shareholders  were  in  anything 
but  a  pleasant  mood  at  this  time.  They  had  risked  a  great  deal  on  the 
western  lands  and  had  hoped  for  early  profits.  Instead  they  were  paying 
interest  to  the  state,  were  being  assessed  for  expenses  and  were  getting 
no  revenues  in  return.  They  wanted  an  investigation,  just  as  modern 
day  folks  would.  Their  anger  appears  to  have  been  directed  against 
General  Cleaveland,  head  of  the  mission  to  the  Reserve,  with  perhaps  a 
minority  of  the  blame  falling  on  Augustus  Porter,  his  chief  surveyor. 
They  had  to  be  content  to  expend  their  wrath  in  this  manner,  however, 
as  the  investigators  returned  a  report  at  the  February  meeting  exonerat- 
ing the  surveyors  and  finding  that  the  delay  was  due  to  Indian  troubles 
and  "various  causes."  What  these  "various  causes"  were  we  have  tried 
to  outline  above.  The  probing  committee  even  recommended  that  Gen- 
eral Cleaveland  be  thanked  for  his  very  capable  services  in  quieting  the 
Indian  titles. 

Whether  it  was  because  of  this  dissatisfaction  or  because  they  re- 
tired voluntarily,  it  is  certain  that  Cleaveland  and  Porter  were  not  in- 
cluded in  the  surveying  party  that  started  out  in  1797  to  complete  the 
running  of  lines  on  the  Reserve.  Rev.  Seth  Hart  was  made  superin- 
tendent of  this  second  expedition,  with  Seth  Pease  as  principal  sur- 
veyor. Spafford,  Stoddard  and  Warren  also  went  along  as  surveyors, 
indicating  that  there  could  have  been  no  great  dissatisfaction  with  them, 
although  Warren  was  accused  by  others  in  his  party  of  being  "indolent," 


*  Given  also  as  Shepperd  and  Shepherd. 


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52 


YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 


which  may  have  meant  after  all  that  he  was  merely  painstaking  and 
deliberate  and  therefore  less  rapid  in  his  work  than  some  of  his  co- 
workers. 

This  second  surveying  party  reached  Conneaut  Creek  on  May  26. 
1797,  and  went  on  to  Cleveland.  There  was  another  summer  of  hard 
work  ahead  and  it  began  unpropitiously  with  the  death  of  David  El- 
dredge,  one  of  the  party,  who  was  drowned  on  June  3  while  attempting 
to  ford  the  Grand  River.  The  body  was  taken  to  Cleveland  for  burial, 
services  being  conducted  by  Reverend  Hart,  the  superintendent.  There 
was  more  sickness  even  this  second  summer  than  there  had  been  the 
first,  but  in  spite  of  this  the  work  of  surveying  that  part  of  the  Reserve 
lying  east  of  the  Cuyahoga  and  Tuscarawas  rivers  was  completed,  and 


on  October  22,  1797,  the  party  reported  at  Conneaut  ready  for  the  trip 
home  to  Connecticut.     They  departed  immediately. 

Everything  was  in  readiness  now  for  the  partition  of  the  eastern 
part  of  the  Reserve,  but  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  members  had 
not  waited  final  reports  before  preparing  to  engage  in  the  land  business. 
In  1797  Connecticut  was  placarded  with  glowing  circulars  descriptive 
of  the  wonders  of  the  promised  land  of  "New  Connecticut."  To  the 
skilled  publicity  agents  of  that  day  it  was  a  veritable  garden  of  Eden, 
with  much  stress  laid  upon  the  beauty  of  the  country  and  the  marvelous 
fertility  of  the  soil  and  no  emphasis  at  all  on  its  mosquitoes  or  wilder- 
ness drawbacks.  Outside  Connecticut  this  publicity  was  treated  with 
some  ribaldry,  but  within  Connecticut  this  appears  to  have  had  no  ill 
effects.  The  canny  Connecticut  folk  formed  their  own  opinions  and 
in  general  accepted  the  Ohio  country  at  its  face  value.  Flaming  litera- 
ture of  this  sort  was  not  new  to  them,  as  the  Ohio  Company  had  adver- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         53 

tised  its  lands  in  the  Marietta  vicinity  in  the  same  manner  ten  years 
earlier  and  ridicule  had  been  helpful,  rather  than  injurious,  then,  since 
it  came  mainly  from  the  Tory,  or  loyalist  British,  element. 

On  December  13,  1797,  the  equalizing  committee  appointed  in  the 
preceding  January  met  at  Canandaigua,  New  York,  and  drafted  a  re- 
port defining  the  manner  in  which  the  lands  east  of  the  Cuyahoga  River 
were  to  be  distributed  among  shareholders  in  accordance  with  the  plan 
agreed  upon  on  April  9,  1796. 

The  Township  of  Cleveland,  that  was  to  be  sold  in  small  lots,  the 
townships  of  Euclid  in  Cuyahoga  County,  Madison,  Mentor  and  Wil- 
loughby  in  Lake  County  and  Youngstown  in  Mahoning  County  (as  these 
counties  are  now  constituted),  were  omitted  from  the  distribution,  as 
was  a  tract  of  land  to  satisfy  the  General  Parsons  claim.  Otherwise  the 
surveyed  lands  of  the  Reserve  were  apportioned  as  follows,  on  January 

3i,  1798: 

The  four  best  townships  of  the  surveyed  ground  were  cut  up  into 
an  average  of  100  lots  to  a  township.  As  there  were  400  of  these  shares 
and  $1,200,000  capital,  each  shareholders  drew  one  lot  for  each  $3,000 
he  had  subscribed.  The  four  townships  thus  divided  are  now  known 
as  Perry,  in  Lake  County;  Northfield,  in  Summit  County;  Bedford  and 
Warrensville,  in  Cuyahoga  County. 

The  townships  now  known  as  Poland  in  Mahoning  County;  Hart- 
ford in  Trumbull  County;  Pierpont,  Monroe,  Conneaut,  Saybrook  and 
Harpersfield  in  Ashtabula  County;  and  Parkman  in  Geauga  County, 
were  then  selected  as  the  eight  standard  townships,  and  all  remaining 
townships  not  assigned  were  to  be  raised  to  the  value  of  these  eight. 

To  make  this  equalization  the  townships  now  known  as  Auburn, 
Newbury,  Munson,  Chardon,  Bainbridge,  Russell  and  Chester  in  Geauga 
County ;  Concord  and  Kirtland  in  Lake  County ;  Springfield  and  Twins- 
burg  in  Summit  County;  Solon,  Orange  and  Mayfield  in  Cuyahoga 
County,  and  fractional  parts  of  the  townships  of  Conneaut,  Ashtabula, 
Saybrook,  Geneva,  Madison,  fPainesville,  Willoughby,  Independence, 
Coventry  and  Portage  were  selected  as  the  best  townships  next  to  the 
four  divided  into  lots. 

These  fourteen  townships  and  ten  parts  of  townships  were  then  cut 
up  into  parcels  and  the  ownership  of  these  parcels  was  to  fall  to  the 
men  who  drew  the  remaining  townships  of  the  Reserve,  .being  dis- 
tributed in  such  manner  that  each  township  would  be  brought  up  to  the 
value  of  the  eight  standard  townships  given  above.  There  were  there- 
fore ninety-three  equalized  townships  to  be  drawn  for,  so  that  an  in- 
vestment of  $12,903.23  entitled  a  shareholder  to  ownership  of  a  full 
township.  In  the  "Western  Reserve  Book  of  Drafts/'  at  the  court- 
house at  Warren  is  a  complete  record  of  the  drawings  for  each  town- 
ship. Among  those  participating  in  the  distribution  were  many  whose 
names  were  not  given  among  the  original  members  of  the  Connecticut 
Land  Company,  but  who  apparently  became  members  by  the  purchase  of 
shares  before  1798. 

The  second  draft  of  Western  Reserve  lands  was  made  in  1802  and 
was  for  the  unsold  remainder  of  the  six  townships  set  aside  for  direct 


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54         YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

sale  and  for  the  land  in  Weathersfield  Township  omitted  in  the  first 
draft  to  satisfy  the  Parsons  claim.  The  third  draft  was  in  1807  and 
was  for  the  townships  west  of  the  Cuyahoga  and  Tuscarawas  rivers. 
The  fourth  draft  was  in  1809  anc*  was  for  surplus  lands  and  for  notes 
given  by  purchasers  of  lands  in  the  six  townships  that  were  sold  out- 
right. 

The  total  acreage  of  land  in  the  Western  Reserve,  according  to  fig- 
ures prepared  by  Judge  Frederick  Kinsman,  follows: 

Connecticut  Land  Company  lands  east  of  the  Cuyahoga 

River    2,002,970  acres 

Lands  west  of  the  Cuyahoga  River,  exclusive  of  surplus 

and  islands    827,291  acres 

Surplus  land  (so  called) 5,286  acres 

Islands 5,924  acres 

Total  Connecticut  Land  Company  lands 2,841,471  acres 

Parsons,  or  Salt  Spring,  tract 25,450  acres 

"Fire  Lands"    500,000  acres 


Grand  total  of  Connecticut  Western  Reserve  lands  3,366,921  acres 

A  Philadelphia  company  that  had  entered  as  a  competitor  of  the 
Connecticut  Land  Company  in  bidding  for  the  Western  Reserve  in  1795 
had  been  persuaded  to  accept  instead  all  the  surplus  lands  over  3,000,000 
acres.  As  the  total  acreage  outside  the  "Fire  Lands"  was  below  this 
figure  nothing  came  of  this  arrangement. 

To  say  that  the  Connecticut  men  were  the  first  white  persons  to  trod 
the  soil  of  the  Western  Reserve  would  be  a  manifest  error,  of  course. 
There  were  French  voyageurs  who  probably  passed  through  Northern 
Ohio  more  than  100  years  before  Connecticut  offered  the  Reserve  for 
sale.  Pennsylvanians  visited  the  Salt  Spring  tract  before  and  during  the 
Revolution,  and  traders  threaded  their  way  through  the  Ohio  forests  to 
and  from  the  lakes  and  the  Pennsylvania  settlements.  Yet  when  the 
eastern  part  of  the  Reserve  was  apportioned  among  Connecticut  Land 
Company  shareholders  in  January,  1798,  the  sole  settlements  were  at 
Youngstown,  Cleveland  and  Mentor.  Youngstown  had  a  population  of 
ten  families,  and  was  the  largest  of  the  three  villages.  It  was  the  1798 
distributiori  that  opened  the  lands  for  general  settlement. 

Perhaps  the  first  actual  permanent  emigrants  to  the  Western  Reserve 
were  James  Kingsbury,  wife,  and  one  or  more  children,  who  reached 
Conneaut  soon  after  the  surveying  party  under  General  Cleaveland 
landed  there  on  July  4,  1796.  When  the  surveyors  returned  to  Connecti- 
cut in  the  fall  of  that  year  the  Kingsburys  remained,  occupying  one  of 
the  cabins  built  by  the  surveying  party.  Elijah  Gunn  and  wife  occupied 
the  other.  In  the  fall  Kingsbury  found  it  necessary  to  go  back  to  his  old* 
home  in  New  Hampshire,  for  what  he  believed  would  be  a  short  stay. 
While  there,  however,  he  was  taken  ill  and  his  return  was  long  delayed. 
While  absent  his  wife  gave  birth  to  a  child.  When  able  to  travel  Kings- 
bury started  back  anxiously  to  the  Ohio  country,  but  an  early  winter  and 


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YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         55 

a  disabled  horse  delayed  him  and  it  was  Christmas  Eve  when  he  reached 
home  to  find  his  family  starving.  Although  still  weak  he  started  with  a 
sled  for  Erie  for  provisions,  and  obtained  but  meager  ones.  During  the 
winter,  it  is  related,  the  cow  that  was  a  greatly  needed  possession  of  the 
Kingsbury  family,  died.  With  the  mother  ill-nourished  and  unable  to 
give  her  child  sustenance  the  death  of  the  cow  doomed  the  babe  and  it 
died  of  starvation.  This  was  the  fate  of  what  was  undoubtedly  the  first 
white  child  born  on  the  Western  Reserve. 

The  Connecticut  Land  Company  gave  recognition  to  the  three  brave 
women  who  spent  that  first  winter  on  the  Western  Reserve.  On  the  com- 
pany's minutes,  under  date  of  January  29,  1798,  we  find  it  recorded  that 
the  company  "gave  to  Tabitha  Stiles,  wife  of  Job  Stiles,  one  city  lot,  one 
ten-acre  lot  and  one  100-acre  lot;  to  Ann  Gunn,  wife  of  Elijah  Gunn,  one 
100-acre  lot;  to  James  King*  and  wife,  one  100-acre  lot;  to  Nathaniel 
Doan,  one  city  lot  if  he  would  stay  as  a  blacksmith."!  All  these  properties, 
of  course,  were  located  in  Cleveland.  The  Stiles  family  had  settled  there 
in  1796  and  later  returned  east.  The  Gunns  went  on  from  Conneaut  to 
Cleveland  early  in  1797,  and  also  returned  east  a  few  years  afterwards. 
The  Kingsbury s  journeyed  to  Cleveland  with  the  Reserve  surveying  party 
in  the  spring  of  1797  and  remained  on  the  Western  Reserve. 

The  difficulties  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  did  not  end,  how- 
ever, with  the  distribution  of  the  lands  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Reserve 
in  the  opening  month  of  1798.  In  a  sense  they  had  just  begun,  for  tlyf 
grave  questions  of  ownership  of  the  Western  Reserve  and  jurisdiction 
over  that  Reserve  could  no  longer  be  avoided.  The  Federal  Government 
had  ignored  Connecticut's  claim;  Connecticut  had  evaded  any  direct  test 
of  the  Federal  Government's  claim.  Now  a  situation  had  arisen  under 
white  man's  rule  almost  identical  with  that  which  prevailed  in  what  is 
now  Northeastern  Ohio  under  red  man's  rule.  It  was  a  "No  Man's 
Land,"  claimed  by  several,  actually  owned  by  none. 

In  ceding  its  other  claims  to  the  United  States  in  1786,  Connecticut 
not  only  reserved  ownership  of  the  Western  Reserve  lands,  but  adhered 
as  well  to  the  right  to  govern  those  lands.  It  was  apparently  the  intent 
that  residents  of  the  Reserve  were  to  be  subject  to  the  government  at 
Hartford,  just  as  though  the  Ohio  country  were  contiguous  to  Connecti- 
cut. But  when  the  Northwest  Territory  was  created  under  the  Ordinance 
of  1787,  all  the  present  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan  and 
Wisconsin  were  included  within  it,  Connecticut's  claim  being  ignored.  In 
1788  Governor  St.  Clair  included  alt  that  part  of  the  Western  Reserve 
lying  east  of  the  Cuyahoga  and  Tuscarawas  rivers  in  the  County  of 
Washington,  Northwestern  Territory,  the  county  seat  being  at  Marietta. 
In  1796  he  included  the  western  part  of  the  Reserve  in  Wayne  County, 
with  the  county  seat  at  Detroit.  To  him  Connecticut's  claim  merely  did 
not  exist  at  all. 

Being  Connecticut  men,  it  is  but  natural  that  the  members  of  the 
Connecticut  Land  Company  should  have  been  in  sympathy  with  the  aims 


*  While  the  name  is  given  as  King  in  the  Connecticut  Land  Company's  minutes, 
this  is  unquestionably  an  error.  The  grant  was  undoubtedly  to  James  Kingsbury 
and  wife. 


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56         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

of  their  mother  state.  Furthermore  the  success  of  their  entire  enterprise 
depended  upon  the  maintenance  of  Connecticut's  claim,  for  unless  that 
claim  were  sustained  then  Connecticut  could  not  sell  the  Western  Re- 
serve lands  and  they  could  not  buy  them.  By  1795,  however,  there  was 
probably  considerable  doubt  of  Connecticut's  ability  to  govern  this  great 
stretch  of  territory  so  far  removed  from  the  parent  state,  for  in  that 
year  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  petitioned  Congress  to  set  up  a  terri- 
torial government  in  "New  Connecticut."  Congress  apparently  did  not 
even  dignify  the  petition  with  a  hearing.  In  1797  the  land  company  re- 
verted to  the  original  plan  of  jurisdiction  by  passing  a  resolution,  on 
January  27th  of  that  year,  asking  the  Legislature  of  Connecticut  to  erect 
the  Western  Reserve  into  a  county  of  the  state  of  Connecticut,  with  suit- 
able laws  to  govern  the  territory  for  a  limited  time,  the  cost  of  administra- 
tion to  fall  on  the  land  company  proprietors.  Connecticut  was  equally  as 
coy*  as  the  Federal  Government.  Being  sound-minded,  the  Connecticut 
legislators  knew  that  any  such  action  would  be  illegal  and  inoperative,  as 
it  would  be  in  direct  contradiction  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  Further- 
more it  might  precipitate  an  actual  test  of  Connecticut's  right  to  the 
Reserve,  and  Connecticut  was  not  so  certain  of  its  title  that  a  direct  con- 
test was  invited. 

Six  months  after  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  appealed  to  the 
home  state  for  the  creation  of  a  county  government  the  Northwest 
Territory  again  tried  to  enforce  its  claim  to  jurisdiction  over  the  Re- 
serve. This  was  in  July,  1797,  when  Governor  St.  Clair  created  the 
county  of  Jefferson,  with  the  county  seat  at  Steubenville.  In  doing  this 
he  annexed  to  Jefferson  County  much  of  Washington  County,  including 
that  part  of  the  Western  Reserve  lying  east  of  the  Cuyahoga  River. 

This  was  the  situation  when  the  movement  for  a  general  settlement 
of  the  Western  Reserve  began  in  1798,  following  the  division  of  land 
among  the  company  shareholders.  It  was  a  condition  of  divided  allegi- 
ance— and  yet  no  allegiance — that  lasted  for  two  and  one-half  years. 
Once  the  Federal  Government's  Northwest  Territory  claim  to  jurisdic- 
tion was  advanced — but  only  once.  This  was  in  1798  when  Jefferson 
County  sent  Zenas  Kimberly,  its  taxing  officer,  to  the  Western  Reserve 
to  assess  taxes.  He  was  met  with  jeers  and  laughter  and  retired  in  dis- 
comfiture. His  visit  was  profitable  in  experience  but  wholly  profitless 
financially.  Again  in  1799,  when  the  first  election  was  held  in  the  North- 
west Territory,  Jefferson  County  chose  a  representative  in  the  territorial 
legislature,  but  Western  Reserve  residents  seem  to  have  had  no  part  in 
the  election. 

This  chaotic  state  of  affairs  could  not  last  indefinitely,  of  course.  It 
was  well  enough  between  1786  and  1796  when  there  were  no  permanent 
white  residents  on  the  Western  Reserve;  it  was  well  enough  even  in 
1796  and  1797  when  the  Reserve  was  an  unsettled  land  except  for  the 
tiny  villages  of  Youngstown  and  Cleveland.  But  with  the  partitioning 
of  the  land  in  the  opening  month  of  1798  immigration  began  in  earnest, 
and  the  roads  to  the  Western  Reserve  were  much  traveled  highways  in 
1798  and  1799.  Appeals  to  Connecticut  to  set  up  some  kind  of  govern- 
ment were  futile;  appeals  to  the  Federal  Government  to  introduce  gov- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         57 

ernriient  other  than  that  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  which  held  nominal 
jurisdiction  over  the  Reserve,  were  even  more  futile. 

Meanwhile  the  Western  Reserve  lived  without  law  or  overlordship, 
a  most  vexatious  situation.  There  was  perhaps  little  need  of  criminal 
law,  of  courts,  or  of  the  exercise  of  police  powers.  The  unique  manner 
in  which  Western  Reserve  lands  were  taken  up  precluded  lawlessness. 
The  dissolute,  the  refugees  from  justice,  the  restless  outlaws  who 
swarm  to  frontier  communities  were  missing,  for  the  Western  Reserve 
settlers  had  bought  their  land  before  they  came  to  the  Ohio  country,  or 
came  here  prepared  to  purchase  ground  and  build  homes.  They  were 
adventurers  of  course,  for  only  adventurers  pierce  the  wilds  and  assume 
the  burdens  of  the  frontiersman,  but  they  were  adventurers  of  the  best 
type.  With  the  growth  of  the  villages  they  set  up  their  own  forms  of 
law  and  order  and  these  sufficed. 

But  without  legal  officers  there  could  be  no  transfers  of  property,  no 
enforced  collection  of  property  payments  or  other  debts,  no  legal  ex- 
change of  land  ownership.  And  even  the  title  granted  by  the  State  of 
Connecticut  to  the  Connecticut  Land  Company — the  basis  on  which  all 
land  titles  in  the  Reserve  rested — was  still  in  jeopardy.  The  situation 
was  so  grave  in  fact  that  even  the  Federal  Government  could  ignore  it 
no  longer  and,  in  April,  1800,  Congress  granted  a  hearing  to  Connecticut, 
its  representative  being  the  great  John  Marshall,  afterwards  chief  justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  The  magnificent  argument 
he  made  on  Connecticut's  claim  finally  resulted  in  a  proposal  to  the  state 
that  the  United  States  would  quit  claim  all  right  to  ownership  of  the 
land  in  the  Western  Reserve  if  Connecticut  would  cede  to  the  Federal 
Government  the  right  of  jurisdiction  over  that  land.  This  agreement 
was  accepted  and  was  ratified  on  May  30,  1800. 

Thus  ended  one  of  the  most  unique  contests  in  American  history. 
It  was  a  bloodless  struggle,  differing  in  this  respect  from  the  similar  con- 
test over  Connecticut's  claims  in  Pennsylvania.  The  chief  asset  of  the 
Connecticut  people  was  a  typical  New  England  determination  in  the 
face  of  odds — a  Yankee  unwillingness  to  surrender  anything  they  had 
once  gotten  hold  of.  Ostensibly  it  was  a  compromise — yet  it  is  notice- 
able that  Connecticut  compromised  by  keeping  the  lands  it  wanted  and 
surrendering  a  jurisdiction  that  it  already  refused  to  exercise  and  prob- 
ably realized  was  untenable.  The  Connecticut  Land  Company  and  the 
purchasers  of  land  from  that  company  retained  their  lands,  obtained 
clear  titles  to  them  and  accepted  a  jurisdiction  that  could  not  be  very 
objectionable,  while  the  Federal  Government  received  in  return  a  con- 
cession of  jurisdiction  that  it  might  have  enforced  anyway. 

The  Western  Reserve  having  passed  definitely  to  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Northwest  Territory,  Governor  St.  Clair,  on  July  10,  1800,  erected 
this  area  into  a  new  county  under  the  name  of  Trumbull.  Trumbull 
County,  named  after  Governor  Jonathan  Trumbull,  of  Connecticut,  was 
identical  in  boundaries  with  the  Reserve.  The  county  seat  was  fixed  at 
Warren,  a  decision  that  caused  much  joy  at  Warren  and  much  rage  at 
Youngstown  when  it  was  made  known.  It  is  not  improbable  that  Cleve- 
land, too,  aspired  to  this  honor,  although  it  was  then  a  community  of  less 


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58         YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

importance  than  Youngstown  or  Warren.  As  officers  of  the  new  coun- 
ty, Governor  St.  Clair  named  John  Young,  Turhand  Kirtland,  Camden 
Cleveland,  James  Kingsbury  and  Eliphalet  Austin,  justices  of  the  peace 
and  quorum;  John  Leavitt,  judge  of  probate  and  justice  of  the  peace; 
Solomon  Griswold,  Martin  Smith,  John  Struthers,  Caleb  Baldwin,  Cal- 
vin Austin,  Edward  Brockway,  John  Kinsman.  Benjamin  Davidson,* 
Ephraim  Quinby,  Ebenezer  Sheldon,  David  Hudson,  Aaron  Wheeler, 
Amos  Spafford,  Moses  Park  and  John  Minor,  justices  of  the  peace; 
David  Abbott,  sheriff;  Calvin  Pease,  clerk;  John  Hart  Adgate,  coroner; 
John  S.  Edwards,  recorder. 

The  justices  were  the  sole  law  dispensers  of  the  county,  those  being 
designated  as  the  "quorum"  taking  a  higher  rank  while  the  remainder 
were  associate  justices.  They  met  four  times  a  year,  hence  were  known 
as  "the  court  of  quarter  sessions."  By  direction  of  the  governor  the 
sheriff  summoned  the  court  to  meet  at  Warren  on  August  25,  1800.  The 
court  assembled  as  directed  on  that  day,  the  spot  where  the  first  session 
was  held  being  described  as  "a  bower  of  native  trees  standing  between 
two  large  corn  cribs."  As  it  was  the  custom  of  the  early  days  to  roof 
over  the  space  between  two  corn  cribs  and  use  this  enclosure  as  a  wagon- 
shed,  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  judges  at  least  had  some  sort  of  shelter 
other  than  the  trees  and  sky,  although  historians  adhere  closely  to  the 
open-air  court  room  version.  Regardless  of  this,  the  fact  remains  that 
when  the  court  of  quarter  sessions  opened  that  day  at  Warren  civil  gov- 
ernment actually  began  on  the  Western  Reserve. 

In  a  session  that  lasted  five  days  the  foundation  was  laid  for  law  and 
order  in  the  new  County  of  Trumbull.  A  synopsis  of  the  record  of  the 
session,  in  the  handwriting  of  Judge  Pease — for  all  the  justices  bore  this 
title — follows : 

"Trumbull  County      } 

August  Term,   1800       f 

"Court  of  general  quarter  session  of  the  peace  begun  and  holden  at 
Warren,  within  and  for  said  County  of  Trumbull,  on  the  fourth  Monday 
of  August,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  eighteen  hundred  and  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States  the  twenty-fifth.  Present,  John  Young, 
Turhand  Kirtland,  Camden  Cleveland,  James  Kingsbury,  and  Eliphalet 
Austin,  esquires,  justices  of  the  quorum,  and  others,  their  associates,  jus- 
tices of  the  peace,  holding  said  court. 

"The  following  persons  were  returned  and  appeared  on  the  grand 
jury,  and  were  empanneled  and  sworn,  namely:  Simon  Persons,  fore- 
man ;  Benjamin  Stowe,  Samuel  Menough,  Hawley  Tanner,  Charles  Daly, 
Ebenezer  King,  William  Cecil,  John  Hart  Adgate,  Henry  Lane,  Jonathan 
Church,  Jeremia  Wilcox,  John  Partridge  Bissell,  Isaac  Palmer,  George 
Phelps,  Samuel  Quinby,  and  Moses  Park. 

"The  court  appointed  George  Tod,  Esq.,  to  prosecute  the  pleas  of  the 
United  States,  for  the  present  session,  who  took  the  oath  of  office. 

"The  court  appointed  Amos  Spafford,  Esq..  David  Hudson,  Esq., 
Simon  Perkins,  John  Minor,  Esq.,  Aaron  Wheeler,  Esq.,  Edward  Payne, 


*  Or  Davison. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         59 

Esq.,  and  Benjamin  Davidson,  Esq.,  a  committee  to  divide  the  County  of 
Trumbull  into  townships,  to  describe  the  limits  and  boundaries  of  each 
township  and  to  make  report  to  the  court  thereof." 

The  townships  spoken  of  in  the  last  provision  were  to  be  civil 
townships,  in  contradistinction  to  the  surveyors'  townships  already  laid 
out.  The  committee  divided  the  county  into  eight  townships,  known  as 
Youngstown,  Warren,  Hudson,  Vernon,  Richfield,  Middlefield,  Paines- 
ville  and  Cleveland.  All  the  territory  in  the  present  Mahoning  and  Trum- 
bull counties  was  included  in  the  townships  of  Youngstown,  Warren, 
Vernon  and  Middlefield,  except  of  course  the  lower  or  most  southerly 
tier  of  townships  of  the  present  Mahoning  County.  These,  it  must  be 
'understood,  were  never  part  of  the  Western  Reserve.  Provision  was 
made  for  a  county  jail — which  permitted  a  prisoner  to  wander  about  out 
of  doors  within  certain  areas  while  he  behaved  himself — while  constables 
were  named  to  enforce  law  and  order.  Those  picked  for  the  lower  town- 
ships of  the  county  were  James  Hillman,  Youngstown ;  Jonathan  Church, 
Warren ;  Titus  Brockway,  Vernon ;  Simon  Rose  and  Ruf us  Grinell,  Mid- 
dlefield. Ephraim  Quinby  was  recommended  to  the  governor  as  "a  fit 
person  to  keep  a  publick  house  of  entertainment  in  the  town  of  Warren,'' 
and  Jonathan  Fowler  was  recommended  for  a  similar  responsibility  in 
Youngstown.  At  this  court  also  came  up  initial  consideration  of  one  of 
the  famed  cases  in  the  history  of  Mahoning  and  Trumbull  counties,  that 
of  the  "United  States  vs.  Richard  Storer,"  on  a  charge  of  murdering 
Spotted  John,  an  Indian,  and  the  "United  States  vs.  Joseph  McMahon," 
on  a  charge  of  killing  Captain  George. 

On  the  second  Tuesday  in  October,  1800,  the  Western  Reserve  fur- 
ther emphasized  its  readiness  to  become  a  part  of  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory by  holding  an  election  to  name  a  Trumbull  County  member  of  the 
territorial  legislature.  The  election  was  held  in  Warren  and  was  by  viva 
voce  vote.  In  this  vast  district,  now  constituting  thirteen  Ohio  counties 
and  parts  of  counties,  but  forty-two  votes  were  cast  and  the  election  par- 
took of  the  nature  of  a  frolic  rather  than  a  serious  political  contest.  Ed- 
ward Paine  polled  thirty-eight  of  the  forty-two  votes  and  took  his  seat 
in  1 801,  remaining  in  the  territorial  legislature  as  the  representative  of 
Trumbull  County  until  the  Ohio  state  government  came  into  being  in 
1803.  Since  that  day  the  history  of  the  Western  Reserve  has  been  linked 
indissolubly  with  the  history  of  Ohio. 


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CHAPTER  VI 

THE  PIONEERS  AND  THEIR  SUCCESSORS 

The  People  of  the  Mahoning  Valley — Their  Origin,  National 
Characteristics,  Religious  Affiliations  and  Motives  in  Com- 
ing Here 

The  early  settlers  of  the  Western  Reserve  were  principally  of  New 
England  stock,  although  not  all  of  them  came  directly  from  New  Eng- 
land. They  were  of  many  different  nationalities  and  almost  as  many 
different  creeds,  but  those  most  numerous  were  Scotch-Irish  and  Presby- 
terians. Later  these  pioneers  were  joined  or  succeeded  by  people  of 
almost  every  nation  and  religious  belief,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  course  of 
a  brief  discussion  of  the  subject,  without  which  no  history  of  the  Mahon- 
ing Valley  would  be  complete,  and  in  which  an  effort  will  be  made  to 
treat  of  the  various  groups  in  the  order  of  their  arrival  here  in  con- 
siderable numbers. 

The  Scotch-Irish 

The  Scotch-Irish  are  so  called  from  the  fact  that  they  are  descended 
from  people  who  migrated  to  Ireland  in  the  Seventeenth  century  and  later 
in  order  to  occupy  estates  confiscated  from  native  owners  in  the  northern 
part  of  that  country  during  the  religious  persecutions  under  Queen  Eliza- 
beth and  James  I  of  England,  who  was  also  King  of  Scotland,  with 
the  title  of  James  VI.  Writers  and  orators  of  Gaelic  blood  are  some- 
times inclined  to  dispute  the  right  of  these  people  to  the  name  of  Irish. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  still  less  reason  to  call  them  Scotch,  for  most 
of  the  original  emigrants  to  Ireland  for  the  purpose  mentioned  came 
from  the  border  lands  between  Scotland  and  England,  and  were  really 
neither  Scotch  nor  Irish,  but  a  mixture  of  Scotch  and  English.  Later, 
under  Cromwell,  persecution  of  the  Irish  in  Ulster  was  renewed,  and 
most  of  the  estates  confiscated  at  that  time  were  leased  to  Englishmen,  a 
considerable  number  of  these  lessees  being  members  of  the  Established 
Church,  although  some  of  them  were  dissenters  of  one  kind  or  another. 

During  the  succeeding  generations  there  was  naturally  a  considerable 
admixture  of  Irish  blood  among  the  immigrants,  many  of  these  marrying 
into  Irish  families  whose  lesser  zeal  for  their  religion  or  greater  diplo- 
macy had  prevented  them  from  sharing  the  fate  of  their  original  neigh- 
bors. Eventually  much  of  the  population  of  Ulster,  which  is  the  most 
northern  province  of  Ireland,  came  to  be  of  this  mixed  blood,  in  which 
Irish  characteristics  seem  to  predominate,  although  to  this  day  in  certain 

60 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         61 

of  its  counties  there  is  a  native  population  as  determined  as  ever  to 
maintain  its  original  religious  and  political  entity.  This  blending  of 
these  peoples,  or  rather  of  the  most  enterprising  and  daring  elements 
among  these  peoples,  has  created  a  type  in  which  is  exemplified  the 
intellectuality  and  idealism  of  the  Irish,  the  stubborn  determination  of 
the  English,  and  the  intense  practicality  of  the  Scotch.  This  union  of 
qualities  so  essential  to  a  dominant  civilization  has  had  much  to  do 
with  government  and  progress  in  all  parts  of  the  English-speaking  world, 
although  its  most  marked  achievements  have  been  in  new  lands,  where, 
as  in  the  early  times  of  America,  enormous  difficulties  had  to  be  sur- 
mounted and  tasks  accomplished  that  would  not  have  been  even  under- 
taken by  people  of  any  other  type. 

The  first  striking  result  of  the  inbreeding  of  these  three  great  peoples 
was  the  improvement  of  agriculture  and  the  stimulation  of  manufactures 
in  the  north  of  Ireland.  This  aroused  jealousy  and  brought  about  inter- 
ference from  the  English  government  during  the  reign  of  William  III, 
conditions  which  were  responsible,  in  part  at  least,  for  the  transplanting 
of  Scotch-Irish  blood  to  the  colonies  of  the  New  World.  There  were 
ether  causes  for  this,  however. 

Separation  of  the  English  ecclesiastical  system  from  the  Roman 
communion  was  followed  by  the  rise  of  a  number  of  religious  sects  or 
groups,  and  in  time  the  people  of  England  were  divided  into  four  great 
parties  more  or  less  accurately  defined  in  a  religious  and  political  way. 
Most  of  the  clergy  and  people  had  quietly  accepted  the  change.,  which 
affected  only  a  portion  of,  their  belief  and  disturbed  but  slightly  the 
ancient  forms.  Those  who  opposed  the  new  order  of  things  were  in- 
spired by  various  motives.  Some  of  them  believed  that  the  change  did 
not  go  far  enough;  others  that  it  went  too  far.  All  dissenters  came  in 
for  their  share  of  persecution,  which  at  that  time  was  repugnant  to 
neither  churches  nor  kings,  especially  if,  as  often  happened,  they  were 
associated  in  the  business  of  regulating  society;  and  the  vigor  with 
which  it  was  carried  on  was  measured  largely  by  the  vociferousness  of 
the  objectors.  As  might  have  been  expected,  the  dissenters  were  only 
made  more  determined  by  persecution,  which  has  always  been  the  seed 
of  religious  fervor. 

Calvinism  had  made  great  headway  in  the  north  of  England  and  in 
Scotland.  Among  the  Highlanders  it  developed  its  most  ultra  form — a 
form  in  which  its  modern  prototype,  Presbyterianism,  would  scarcely 
be  recognized  as  related  to  it.  The  Scotch  were  violently  opposed  to 
the  Established  religion,  as  well  as  more  or  less  disaffected  on  political 
grounds,  and  they  suffered  the  heavy  hand  of  the  Church  and  State  in 
corresponding  degree.  Many  different  methods  were  adopted  to  break 
down  their  resistance,  the  most  effective,  according  to  contemporaneous 
writers,  being  the  confiscation  of  property  and  the  imposition  of  fines. 
A  few  Presbyterians,  chiefly  the  more  wealthy,  yielded  far  enough  to 
save  their  wealth,  but  the  majority  defied  all  efforts  to  bring  them  under 
the  influence  of  the  state  church.  They  scorned  with  unutterable  con- 
tempt those  who  subscribed  to  the  test  oath,  harbored  their  outlawed 
preachers  and  listened  to  them  by  the  hour  in  Highland  glen  and  on 


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62         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

wind  swept  moor,  at  the  same  time  battling  the  "Established  Kirk" 
with  mighty  argument  and  also  with  what  physical  force  they  could  con- 
trive, until  they  finally  wore  out  king  and  clergy  and  compelled  a  com- 
promise. 

The  most  violent  and  picturesque  of  these  dissenters  were  known 
as  Covenanters,  but  they  were  little  more  determined  to  have  their  own 
way  than  were  the  Lowlanders,  although  the  latter,  having  more  to 
lose  and  being  more  easily  reached,  sought  more  diligently  to  avoid  the 
loss  of  their  "warldly  gear"  by  a  pretended  submission.  These  Low- 
landers,  from  whom  were  descended  many  of  those  who  later  came  to 
be  known  as  Scotch-Irish,  were  trained  for  generations  in  a  school 
which  admirably  fitted  them  for  the  adventures  which  they  later  en- 
countered in  Ireland  and  which  their  descendants  were  to  meet  in  the 
colonies.  They  had  not  only  the  persecution  of  England  to  make  them 
strong,  as  persecution  always  makes  men  strong;  but  they  had  also  the 
ever-present  menace  of  Highland  bands  to  make  them  watchful  and  to 
instill  into  them  the  skill  to  defend  their  own.  Perhaps  it  might  also 
be  said  that  they  had  the  example  of  these  upland  clans  to  teach  them 
the  notions  concerning  the  rights  of  property  later  displayed  in  their 
dealings  with  the  American  Indians.  Perhaps,  too,  they  had  inherited 
some  of  the  qualities  that  compelled  the  ancient  Romans  to  build  a  stone 
wall  across  England  as  the  only  method  of  keeping  their  remote  fore- 
fathers, the  Scots  and  Picts,  within  bounds.  At  any  rate,  these  border 
Scotchmen  had  for  generations  to  stand  guard  over  their  possessions 
in  fear  of  raids  from  the  Highlands  in  which  cattle,  grain  and  other 
movables  were  the  the  object  of  the  raiders.  While  they  were  watching 
their  hard-earned  substance,  they  spent  much  time  in  earnest  disputa- 
tion over  the  abstruse  and  metaphysical  doctrines  of  Oilvinism,  for 
any  proper  participation  in  which  a  goodly  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures 
was  deemed  absolutely  essential.  Studying  the  Bible  by  candle-light 
and  enlarging  upon  its  texts  at  their  frugal  meals  and  at  their  work, 
they  acquired  the  love  of  learning  and  the  keenness  of  intellect  which 
we  have  seen  displayed  by  their  descendants.  And,  in  their  long  and 
stubborn  fight  for  the  right  to  believe  as  they  saw  fit,  we  may  be  able 
to  trace  a  cause  of  the  intense  love  of  liberty  and  stern  determination  to 
have  their  own  way  that  has  always  marked  them  in  this  country, 
although  they  might  well  have  inherited  some  of  this  from  the  Irish 
whose  blood  was  intermingled  with  their  own  after  leaving  their  native 
land. 

It  was  perfectly  natural  that  when  James  sought  for  volunteers  in 
the  neither  safe  nor  pleasant  task  of  occupying  estates  from  which  he 
had  expelled  their  rightful  owners  in  Ireland,  he  should  find  them  most 
readily  among  these  border  people,  who  neither  loved  him  nor  feared 
danger,  and  who  naturally  sought  to  profit  by  an  adventure  that,  in 
those  days,  seemed  legitimate  and  to  them  was  even  an  opportunity  to 
serve  the  Lord.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  at  this  adolescent  stage  of 
the  human  mind  religion  was  a  vital  thing  and  could  without  hesitation 
advance  ideas  that  would  not  be  either  safe  or  easy  of  promulgation  in 
these  later  days.     Men  did  not  then,  as  they  did  in  the  simpler  times 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         63 

of  the  Middle  Ages,  walk  in  the  veritable  presence  of  their  own  in- 
dividual conception  of  the  Creator;  but  religious  belief  was  a  much 
more  potent  thing  than  ordinarily  it  is  at  present,  and  it  could  drape 
strange  fancies  and  not  entirely  righteous  policies  in  a  garment  of 
justice  and  godliness  almost  as  successfully  as  in  the  days  when  the 
Israelites,  in  obedience  to  heavenly  direction,  slew  the  Moabites,  ap- 
propriated their  vineyards  and  enslaved  their  virgins.  No  sincere  relig- 
ious conviction  is  hard  to  understand,  for  the  wandering  of  the  human 
intellect  in  search  of  truth  will  ever  form  the  most  remarkable  and  most 
interesting  chapter  of  human  history;  but  that  ancient  faith  could  and 
did  influence  men  to  actions  such  as  are  often  attributed  to  its  prompt- 
ings seems  strange  in  these  later  days,  when  the  world  has  come  to 
know  that  the  purpose  of  all  religions  is  to  make  men  better,  as  well  as 
that  human  nature,  rather  than  religious  teaching,  has  been  responsible 
for  the  crimes  and  wrongs  which  have  stained  the  fair  name  of  all 
creeds  in  all  ages. 

At  the  time  the  emigration  of  the  Scotch-Irish  to  America  began 
they  were  being  made  uncomfortable  in  Ireland  by  a  combination  of 
circumstances,  chief  among  which  was  the  accession  to  the  English 
throne  of  CharlesA  This  monarch  regarded  all  dissenters  alike,  and 
visited  upon  the  Presbyterians  the  same  sort  of  persecution  which  had 
formerly  been  reserved  for  his  Catholic  subjects,  but  in  slightly  less 
brutal  form.  His  successor,  William  III,  authorized  restrictions  on  the 
industries  at  Belfast  and  repressed  the  flourishing  industry  of  agri- 
culture in  ways  that  were  unendurable,  at  the  same  time  reviving  the 
political  disabilities  among  the  people  of  Ulster,  as  well  as  among  the 
Catholic  population  of  the  south  and  west. 

Fleeing  from  Ireland  to  escape  persecution  was  already  no  novelty, 
and  the  more  sturdy  and  independent  of  the  Scotch-Irish  began  to  seek 
in  the  New  World  the  independence  and  freedom  denied  them  across 
the  seas. .  It  may  have  been  that  the  first  of  them  passed  by  the  colony 
of  Massachusetts  because  they  did  not  entirely  trust  the  Puritans  in 
their  protestations  of  desires  similar  to  their  own,  and  they  may  have 
been  influenced  by  the  fact  that  Connecticut  was  further  west  and 
nearer  the  frontier.  The  most  plausible  explanation,  however,  is  that 
the  Scotch-Irish  did  not  care  to  locate  where  they  could  not  dominate 
affairs.  At  any  rate,  they  gathered  chiefly  at  New  Haven,  and  soon 
were  in  absolute  control  there,  in  spite  of  some  opposition  they  met  from  ' 
the  original  settlers  of  that  colony,  who  were  non-conformists  from  the 
neighborhood  of  London.  Neither  did  they  mix  with  the  other  settlers 
of  New  England  to  any  great  extent,  although  some  of  them  eventually 
did  locate  in  Massachusetts.  The  greater  portion  of  the  overflow  went 
westward,  settling  in  the  Pennsylvania  colony,  and  later  spreading  to 
Maryland  and  Virginia.  There  is  evidence  that  these  hardy  pioneers 
did  not  greatly  care  who  was  located  in  any  portion  of  the  country  on 
which  they  set  their  hearts,  so  long  as  they  were  given  a  free  hand ;  and 
they  did  not  hesitate  to  become  residents  of  any  colony,  if  there  were  no 
vigorous  objections  made  to  their  presence.  In  Pennsylvania  they  were 
sorely  at  variance  with  the  peaceful  Quakers,  who  welcomed  them  grudg- 


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64         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ingly  because  of  their  disposition  to  quarrel  with  the  Indians,  as  well  as 
because  they  were  not  at  all  backward  in  expressing  contempt  for  people 
who  expected  to  get  through  life  without  an  occasional  fight.  Like- 
wise in  Maryland,  where  Catholics  predominated,  they  took  advantage 
of  the  assurance  of  religious  freedom  $nd  became  so  strong  that  one 
of  their  leaders,  named  Green,  was  appointed  to  the  governorship  by 
the  proprietor.  This  was  probably  arranged  by  Lord  Baltimore  in  hope 
to  prevent  trouble  with  the  English  government,  but  it  shows  the  aggres- 
siveness of  the  Scotch-Irish  pioneers  and  their  disposition  to  rule  things 
where  they  chose  to  live. 

The  Scotch-Irish  who  came  first  to  Penn's  colony  did  not  remain 
among  the  Quakers  and  Germans  who  had  already  established  them- 
selves at  Philadelphia  and  in  the  eastern  portion,  but  continued  west- 
ward, many  of  them  locating  first  in  the  Cumberland  and  Susquehanna 
valleys.  They  drove  the  Indians  from  this  fertile  region  in  short  order 
by  their  determined  and  heroic  methods,  and  even  made  war  upon  the 
luckless  savages  in  the  territory  around  Bethlehem  and  along  the  head- 
waters of  the  Susquehanna.  It  is  a  matter  of  record  that  a  party  of 
these  settlers  at  one  time  raided  an  Indian  village  called  Conestoga,  in 
Lancaster  County,  killing  all  of  its  population  except  thirteen  braves 
who  happened  to  be  away  on  a  hunting  expedition.  These  absent  In- 
dians were  gathered  up  by  the  sheriff  of  Lancaster  County  when  they 
returned,  and  placed  in  jail  to  protect  them  from  the  "Paxton  Boys," 
as  the  Cumberland  raiders  were  known.  The  sheriff,  who  was  a  Quaker, 
hastily  secured  a  company  of  English  soldiers  to  guard  the  jail.  In 
spite  of  these  precautions,  the  "Paxton  Boys"  slipped  into  Lancaster 
one  night,  captured  the  jail  and  slew  the  Indian  prisoners. 

Demand  by  the  Quaker  government  that  the  participants  in  this 
performance  be  punished  resulted  in  the  Cumberland  settlers  organizing 
and  marching  on  Philadelphia,  where  a  large  number  of  Moravian 
Indians  had  been  gathered  to  save  their  lives.  This  was  rather  too 
much  for  even  the  peaceful  Quakers,  who  stationed  themselves  in  force 
at  Germantown,  prepared  to  make  it  hot  for  the  invaders.  Although 
the  Scotch-Irish  wisely  desisted  at  this  show  of  spirit,  they  did  not 
retire  until  they  had  drawn  up  and  presented  to  the  governor  a  lengthy 
memorial  demanding  that  the  men  charged  with  the  affair  at  Lancaster 
be  tried  by  their  own  neighbors,  as  well  as  that  the  Quakers  be  com- 
pelled to  help  them  exterminate  the  Indians,  whom  they  accused  of 
plotting  against  the  settlers  and  carrying  on  treasonable  relations  with 
the  French.  Among  these  hardy  and  pugnacious  pioneers  was  one  man 
whose  descendants  are  well  known  among  the  people  of  this  valley  and 
point  with  pride  to  the  fact  that  their  ancestors  were  among  the  first 
to  settle  here.  This  man,  Capt.  James  Gibson,  drew  the  memorial 
referred  to,  and  its  language  indicates  that  he  was  both  a  scholar  and  a 
man  of  strong  convicions. 

An  even  more  interesting  incident  illustrating  how  Caledonian  pru- 
dence sometimes  tempered  Celtic  audacity  is  furnished  by  the  episode 
known  as  the  "Whiskey  Rebellion."  This  occurred  in  1794,  at  which 
time  the  population  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  outside  of  the  villages 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         65 

at  least,  was  almost  entirely  Scotch-Irish,  and  because  they  have  been 
censured  not  a  little  for  their  part  in  it,  perhaps  a  few  words  on  this 
subject  will  not  be  out  of  place  here. 

Pennsylvania  had  early  adopted  an  excise  law,  being  among  the 
first  states  to  take  this  plan  of  raising  revenue.  No  general  attempt 
had  been  made  to  enforce  it  west  of  the  Mountains,  however,  and  the 
business  of  "moonshining,"  as  it  is  now  called,  was  regarded  as  legitimate, 
stills  being  established  on  all  of  the  more  prosperous  farms,  just  as 
cider  mills  are  at  present.  The  reason  for  this  lay,  not  alone  in  the 
fondness  of  the  Scotch-Irish  pioneer  for  distilled  spirits,  but  also  in 
the  fact  that  in  making  such  spirits  he  found  about  the  only  method 
then  possible  of  turning  his  grain  into  money,  since  the  roads  over  the 
mountains  were  so  bad  that  it  could  not  be  hauled  on  them  and  the 
population  so  scattered  that  there  was  no  market  in  any  other  direction. 

When  Congress  passed  an  excise  law  it  looked  to  these  pioneers 
like  a  deliberate  stroke  against  their  prosperity *by  the  national  govern- 
ment. The  wars  associated  with  the  French  Revolution  had  made  the 
eastern  farmers  prosperous,  and  the  whisky  tax  came  just  at  a  time 
when  the  hard  conditions  surrounding  the  pioneers  were  emphasized 
by  this  condition.  When  it  was  found  that  the  objectionable  law  was 
to  be  enforced,  the  Western  Pennsylvania  pioneers  terrorized  the  col- 
lectors with  tar  and  feathers,  and  even  captured  the  house  of  General 
Nevelle,  the  excise  commissioner.  For  some  reason  not  entirely  plain, 
they  blamed  their  troubles  on  the  people  of  Pittsburgh,  then  a  collection 
of  log  houses  containing  a  small  fort  and  a  few  stores  and  having  a 
population  of  about  1,200  people.  The  Scotch-Irish  farmers  regarded 
this  town  as  sort  of  Sodom,  and  announced  that  it  was  to  be  burned. 
They  actually,  about  the  beginning  of  August,  1794,  after  the  trouble 
had  been  going  on  for  four  years,  gathered  at  Braddock's  Field,  as  the 
city  of  Braddock  was  then  known,  preparatory  to  attacking  Pittsburgh. 
Documents  regarding  this  affair  place  the  number  of  malcontents  in  this 
gathering  at  5,400,  although  it  seems  hardly  possible  that  so  many  men 
could  have  participated  in  it  at  that  early  date.  The  people  of  Pittsburgh 
felt  that  in  the  face  of  such  a  force  the  small  garrison  kept  there  by  the 
Government  could  do  nothing,  so  they  set  about  to  placate  the  unwel- 
come visitors  and  dissuade  them  from  their  purpose  by  showing  them 
that  the  city  was  not  merely  a  nest  of  luxury  and  a  den  of  vice.  The 
entire  force  at  Braddock  became  guests  of  the  little  municipality  for  one 
day,  drinking  about  all  the  whisky  and  eating  up  about  all  the  pro- 
vender the  frightened  inhabitants  could  gather;  but  the  warlike  farmers 
finally  went  away  without  burning  the  town. 

This  demonstration  aroused  the  National  Government,  which  had 
been  temporizing  with  the  situation,  and  an  army  of  15,000  men  was 
raised,  a  special  commission  being  at  the  same  time  dispatched  to  West- 
ern Pennsylvania  to  effect  a  peaceful  settlement,  if  possible.  The  com- 
mission could  make  no  headway,  so  the  army  was  started  westward 
from  Philadelphia  over  the  old  Forbes  Road,  by  which  the  Scotch-Irish 
had  first  penetrated  west  of  the  mountains.  They  h^ard  it  was  coming, 
and,  as  they  had  done  when  the  doughty  Quakers  shouldered  their  guns, 


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66         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

they  took  off  their  hunting  shirts,  unbound  the  red  handkerchiefs  from 
around  their  heads  and  went  back  to  their  farms.  Except  in  a  clash 
which  occurred  the  day  previous  to  the  capture  of  General  Nevelle's 
house,  in  which  one  man  was  killed  and  five  wounded,  no  blood  was 
rhed  in  the  "Whiskey  Rebellion.,,  It  was  an  incident  in  which  the 
Scotch-Irish  pioneers  presented  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  Indians 
whom  they  had  driven  from  that  locality,  with  the  other  settlers  occupy- 
ing the  position  formerly  held  by  themselves.  Particularly  did  the  method 
of  saving  Pittsburgh  resemble  that  sometimes  used  in  dealing  with  the 
savages  when  the  latter  were  too  strong  to  be  handled  in  a  less  gentle 
manner. 

Reference  has  been  made  in  the  chapter  dealing  with  early  land 
grants  and  titles  to  the  long  and  stubborn  fight  which  the  Connecticut 
pioneers  made  for  the  Wyoming  Valley.  Much  more  might  be  written 
concerning  the  history  made  by  them  in  Pennsylvania,  from  which 
colony  many  of  them  came  to  the  Mahoning  Valley.  It  will  be  sufficient, 
however,  to  say  that  as  civilization  advanced  and  the  land  in  the  East 
became  occupied  they  moved  westward  over  the  mountains,  settling  in 
considerable  numbers  in  Westmoreland,  Washington,  Indiana  and  other 
western  counties  in  Pennsylvania,  many  of  them  remaining  there  only 
until  opportunity  for  further  adventure  presented  itself  in  the  settle- 
ments along  the  Ohio  and  in  the  Western  Reserve.  Not  a  great  many 
of  these  people  went  to  the  Ohio  river  settlements,  however,  the  greater 
portion  striking  northward  after  they  reached  the  confluence  of  the 
Beaver  and  Ohio  rivers.  They  should  not,  therefore,  be  connected  with 
the  wrongs  that  were  perpetrated  against  the  Indians  by  some  of  the 
group  which  came  mainly  from  Virginia  and  was  so  relentless  and  merci- 
less in  its  dealings  with  the  natives  as  to  deserve  from  them  the  name 
of  "The  Long  Knives/'  In  the  Western  Reserve  the  Indians  may  not 
have  had  much  consideration  at  the  hands  of  the  early  settlers,  but  they 
were  not  forcibly  dispossessed  of  their  lands  without  compensation,  or 
hunted  with  dogs  and  guns  like  wild  animals,  as  was  the  case  in  many 
other  localities. 

In  their  lives,  their  customs,  their  habits  of  thought  and  their  actions, 
the  early  Scotch-Irish  pioneers  constituted  an  incident  in  American  his- 
tory which  should  be  better  preserved.  It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  parts 
of  the  story  with  what  we  know  of  the  descendants  of  these  people. 
Energy,  shrewdness,  courage  and  patriotism  seem  to  be  their  only  char- 
acteristics surviving.  The  original  pioneers  were  great  drinkers,  con- 
suming whisky  of  their  own  manufacture  in  amazing  quantities,  a  prac- 
tice common  among  all  the  settlers.  They  were  rough-spoken  and  often 
had  little  conception  of  the  delicacy  which  now  surrounds  intercourse 
between  the  sexes.  They  were  equally  fond  of  fights  or  frolics,  admired 
physical  courage  and  strength  above  all  other  qualities,  and  scorned 
weakness  and  love  of  ease  in  either  men  or  women.  They  danced, 
played  cards  and  were  prone  to  rough  practical  jokes.  Fierce  partisans 
in  politics  and  religion,  they  seem  to  have  gotten  along  well  with  neigh- 
bors who  did  not  agree  with  them  on  either  of  these  subjects,  so  long 
as  such  neighbors  were  of  their  own  hardy,  industrious  and  courageous 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         67 

type.  They  would  walk  or  ride  all  day  to  a  gathering  in  order  to  dance 
and  drink  all  night,  and  at  daylight  start  back  to  their  clearing  and 
grubbing.  But  they  would  go  just  as  far  to  meeting,  at  which  the  prin- 
cipal attraction  was  a  long  sermon  dealing  with  the  exceeding  slender- 
ness  of  their  chances  for  salvation ;  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  they  returned  just  as  cheerfully  from  these  services,  frequently 
held  in  the  open  air  and  with  their  guns  stacked  close  by,  to  take  up 
again  without  fear  or  complaint  a  life  which  would  seem  to  us  an  in- 
tolerable round  of  danger,  privation  and  toil. 

Their  rough  and  ready  qualities  and,  as  we  are  now  accustomed  to 
look  at  such  things,  unwholesome  habits,  did  not  keep  the  Scotch-Irish 
from  being  excellent  citizens.  They  were  the  very  type  needed  for  the 
arduous  task  of  subduing  the  wilderness,  and  they  did  it  as  they  did 
other  things,  most  thoroughly  and  as  speedily  as  was  possible.  They 
never  failed  to  provide  schools  for  their  children,  and  they  were  real 
Americans.  Then,  as  now,  no  call  of  their  country  went  unheeded,  and 
the  alacrity  with  which  they  were  wont  to  respond  jto  summons  for 
military  service  provokes  the  suspicion  that,  in  addition  to  being  patri- 
otic, they  were  fond  of  a  fight.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  would  be  quite 
natural,  even  if  their  entire  existence  had  not  been  made  up,  especially 
during  the  forty  years  between  Braddock's  defeat  and  the  victory  of 
General  Wayne  at  Fallen  Timbers,  of  a  constant  vigil  against  the 
savages.  , 

Next  to  their  unwavering  patriotism  and  their  sturdy  independence, 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  occasionally  conflicted  so  as  to  bring  about 
strange  situations,  the  most  admirable  characteristic  of  the  early  settlers 
was  their  love  of  knowledge  and  the  respect  in  which  they  held  intellec- 
tual development.  It  is  to  this,  a  disposition  rather  remarkable  among 
people  who  had  descended  directly  from  the  times  when  education  was 
scorned  as  a  sign  of  weakness,  and  reading  and  writing  regarded  as  ac- 
complishments fit  only  for  clergymen  and  clerks,  that  succeeding  genera- 
tions owe  the  splendid  facilities  for  education  existing  here  at  this  time. 
These  pioneers  provided  for  their  children  better  opportunities  than 
they  had  themselves  in  the  way  of  schools ;  but  they  did  even  more  than 
this.  They  instilled  into  these  children  a  desire  for  knowledge  and 
esteem  for  mental  culture  which  seems  to  be  lacking  in  these  later  days, 
and  without  which  no  real  education  is  possible. 

The  passing  years  have  dimmed  the  picture  of  these  doughty  pioneers. 
Except  as  it  has  been  preserved  in  very  limited  writings,  such  as  those  of 
Rev.  Joseph  Doddridge,  who  spent  much  of  his  life  among  them  preach- 
ing the  gospel,  it  has  been  almost  forgotten.  We  are  accustomed  to  find 
in  their  descendants,  their  characteristics  so  much  refined  and  modified 
that  we  are  apt  to  forget  what  manner  of  men  were  these,  who  came 
uninvited  to  the  wilderness  and  stayed  there  until  it  blossomed  as  the 
rose,  in  spite  of  loneliness,  poverty,  wild  beasts  and  treacherous  savages ; 
leaving  to  us  when  they  fared  farther  on  to  new  frontiers,  or  laid  them 
peacefully  down  to  sleep  in  the  valley  they  had  conquered,  a  heritage 
of  all  that  is  good  in  both  mental  and  material  things. 


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68         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 
The  Church  of  England  Men 

Less  numerous  but  scarcely  less  important  than  the  Scotch-Irish  in 
the  Mahoning  Valley's  early  history  were  the  settlers  of  English  or 
Scotch-English  origin,  almost  all  of  them  Episcopalians  or,  as  they  were 
generally  known  in  those  days,  "Church  of  England  Men."  Many  of 
these  established  themselves  in  Youngstown  and  Warren  soon  after 
these  places  were  founded,  the  latter  town  and  its  vicinity  for  some 
reason  having  attracted  the  larger  number.  These  men  and  their  de- 
scendants may  claim  some  of  the  most  illustrious  names  in  local  history 
and  have  had  a  large  part  in  developing  the  wealth  as  well  as  in  promot- 
ing the  progress  of  the  Mahoning  Valley. 

Considering  the  fact  that  on  the  other  side  of  the  sea  these  two 
groups  represented  the  persecutor  and  the  persecuted,  the  English  and 
Scotch-Irish  seem  to  have  mingled  in  the  Western  Reserve  with  remark- 
able amity  and  good  feeling.  This  was  due,  in  part  at  least,  to  the  fact 
that  both  the  Episcopalians  and  the  Presbyterians  were  represented 
here  by  those  whose  manner  of  living  and  whose  close  contact  with  na- 
ture and  love  of  adventure  widened  their  mental  and  spiritual  horizons 
and  discouraged  pettiness  of  mind,  without  which  religious  animosity 
cannot  well  exist.  Had  it  been  otherwise  the  two  groups  could  hardly 
have  dwelt  together  in  peace  and  striven  with  unanimity  for  the  things 
they  accomplished. 

Many  of  the  English  settlers  came  from  New  England,  of  course, 
and  a  few  direct  from  England;  but  the  larger  number  were  immi- 
grants from  the  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  colonies.  Those  who  came 
from  the  first-named  state  were  probably  induced  to  move  farther  west 
because  they  did  not  receive  a  very  cordial  welcome  among  the  follow- 
ers of  Penn.  The  Quakers  were  the  most  advanced  and  most  liberal  of 
all  the  sects  while  they  were  in  England,  but  when  they  reached  this 
country,  like  many  others,  they  promptly  forgot  some  of  the  principles 
for  which  they  were  most  vociferous  while  suffering  persecution  in  their 
native  land.  Because  of  this,  the  Episcopalians  had  reason  to  complain 
of  their  treatment  at  Philadelphia,  and  when  the  Quakers  imprisoned 
those  who  petitioned  for  the  establishment  of  a  chapel  in  that  city  in 
1695,  they  committed  the  only  concrete  offense  against  religious  liberty 
recorded  in  their  whole  history.  Perhaps  we  should  not  judge  the  mild 
and  thoroughly  honest  Quakers  too  severely  in  this  matter.  The  Episco- 
palian communion,  or  the  government  which  was  at  its  head,  had  treated 
them  badly  in  England ;  the  times  were  such  as  to  encourage  suspicion, 
and  the  flower  of  freedom  of  conscience  had  only  begun  to  open  its 
petals.  Moreover,  the  energy,  better  education  and  greater  aggressive- 
ness of  the  Episcopalians,  unhampered  by  any  of  the  restrictions  which 
Quaker  customs  threw  around  the  members  of  that  sect,  soon  gave  the 
newcomers  a  decided  advantage,  and  they  threatened  to  eclipse  the  orig- 
inal settlers  of  the  colony  in  the  direction  of  its  affairs.  Unwilling  to 
endure  restrictions  that  were  placed  about  their  activities  in  Philadelphia, 
many  of  the  Church  of  England  Men  came  farther  west,  and  to  this 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         69 

fact  the  Mahoning  Valley  owes  not  a  few  of  its  most  energetic  and  use- 
ful pioneers. 

Ihe  Episcopalians  who  came  here  were  mainly  of  the  "Low  Church" 
group,  and  this  fact  helped  them  to  secure  a  welcome  among  the  Pres- 
byterians, since  they  cherished  none  of  the  ancient  ritual  and  symbols 
that  offended  the  Calvinistic  mind.  It  is  worth  noting  that  this  fact 
had  a  gTeat  deal  to  do  with  the  situation  just  described  in  Philadelphia, 
for  it  led  many  of  the  more  progressive  of  the  rising  generation  among 
the  Quakers  to  desert  their  old  faith  and  join  the  Episcopalian  com- 
munion, in  which  they  found  fewer  of  the  restrictions  that  have  always 
been  so  difficult  of  acceptance  by  youth.  It  is  a  matter  of  record  that 
the  Church  of  England  men  in  America  are  good  mixers,  and  their 
disposition  to  let  others  alone  in  the  practice  of  religion  has  always  been 
to  their  advantage.  Many  of  them  among  the  early  settlers  here  were 
but  slightly  attached  to  any  creed,  and  not  a  few  of  them  were  as  much 
Unitarians  as  anything  else. 

In  the  Mahoning  Valley,  as  elsewhere,  the  Church  of  England  peo- 
ple seem  to  have  been  troubled  less  by  severity  of  conscience  than  those 
of  most  other  creeds.  Their  spiritual  convictions  are  more  gentle  and 
their  manner  of  living  more  liberal.  They  have  always  shown  a  devo- 
tion to  education,  music,  and  the  arts  unequalled  among  other  groups. 
And  they  have  always  tended,  in  practice  and  in  principle,  toward  the 
development  of  wealth  and  aristocracy.  It  is  true  that  they  left  largely 
to  the  harder  and  sterner  Scotch-Irish  the  rough  work  of  taming  the 
Indians  and  conquering  the  forests,  but  they  were  not  a  whit  behind 
these  in  devotion  to  education  and  the  welfare  of  any  community  of 
which  they  were  a  part. 

Even  the  most  cursory  investigation  shows  that  these  people  and 
their  descendants  have  done  at  least  their  share  in  the  development  of 
the  Mahoning  Valley,  and  more  than  their  share  in  giving  it  a  place  in 
history.  They  have  usually  become  wealthy  rather  by  making  money 
than  by  saving  it,  in  which  they  differ  from  some  other  groups.  Their 
names  will  be  found  associated  with  many  of  the  industrial  enterprises 
that  opened  to  the  people  of  this  locality  opportunity  for  wealth,  and 
with  practically  all  of  those  which  have  made  for  the  kindlier  things  in 
life  and  a  greater  development  of  the  spiritual  and  artistic. 

Nor  have  the  Church  of  England  rnen  been  outdistanced  by  any 
other  group  in  the  matter  of  patriotism  and  public  service,  at  least  so 
far  as  the  Mahoning  Valley  is  concerned.  They  were  accused  of  Tory 
proclivities  during  the  Revolution,  but  that  accusation  came  from  the 
attitude  of  the  more  wealthy  and  aristocratic  of  those  residing  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  it  was  perfectly  natural  that  they,  having  maintained  all 
their  ties  with  the  mother  country  and  having  no  memory  of  religious 
grievances  against  her,  should  be  less  enthusiastic  for  the  cause  of  liberty 
than  their  poorer  and  long  suffering  neighbors.  Outside  of  Phila- 
delphia, the  allegation  that  Episcopalians  were  likely  to-  prove  Tories  if 
their  skins  were  scratched  was  seldom  made  and  was  never  just.  His- 
tory establishes  the  fact  that,  during  the  Revolution  and  since  that  time, 
from  this  group  of  people  have  come  many  of  our  greatest  statesmen 


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70         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

and  purest  patriots,  and  it  has  contributed  more  than  its  share,  consider- 
ing its  numerical  strength,  to  the  development  and  upbuilding  of  our 
national  greatness. 

The  Germans 

The  next  group  to  claim  attention,  because  its  arrival  followed  close 
upon  that  of  the  Episcopalian  English,  is  that  containing  the  Germans. 
The  majority  of  those  settling  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  belonged  to  the 
two  German  state  churches — Lutheran  and  Reformed — although  there 
came  later  quite  a  number  affiliated  with  one  or  more  of  the  almost  num- 
berless sects  into  which  the  Germans  divided  after  the  Reformation. 
Perhaps  the  most  interesting,  if  not  most  important,  group  of  all  is 
formed  of  those  who  are  best  known  as  "Pennsylvania  Germans,"  or, 
as  they  usually  call  themselves,  "Pennsylvania  Deutsch." 

The  Pennsylvania  Germans  and  their  descendants  form  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  elements  in  the  population  of  the  United  States,  as 
well  as  of  the  Mahoning  Valley.  One  reason  for  this  is  their  wide  dis- 
tribution and  their  solid  prosperity.  Another  is  the  stubborn  resistance 
they  at  first  offered  to  the  influence  of  new  surroundings  and  the  ten- 
acity with  which  they  clung  to  their  language  and  the  customs  of  their 
forefathers.  Unless  it  be  the  Swedes,  now  a  very  important  part  of  the 
population  in  certain  localities,  but  not  very  numerous  in  this  section, 
the  Germans  showed  less  inclination  to  education  and  more  desire  to 
live  together  in  separate  communities  than  any  other  portion  of  our 
pioneer  population.  Everywhere  they  were  marked  by  the  sternest  of 
thrift,  lack  of  interest  in  education  and  contempt  for  things  that,  to  the 
American  mind,  are  necessary  to  make  life  worth  living.  The  contrast 
between  their  content  with  solitude,  their  devotion  to  labor,  their  econ- 
omy and  the  introspective  tendency  of  their  minds,  and  the  character- 
istics shown  by  the  Celtic  and  Latin  races  is  remarkable. 

Very  much  of  this  is  due,  no  doubt,  to  the  fact  that  these  people 
are  descended  from  ancestors  who  had  through  centuries  been  intimate- 
ly acquainted  with  life  in  its  most  cheerless  aspect.  Generations  of  them 
were  bred  in  poverty,  hardship  and  oppression,  as  well  as  in  the  sombre 
climate  of  northern  and  central  Europe.  Such  conditions  seem  to  have 
created  in  the  German  mind  a  mysticism  and  fatalism  entirely  foreign 
to  the  people  of  countries  where  cold  and  mists  and  swamps  are  less 
conspicuous,  and  the  problem  of  existence  not  so  difficult  to  solve.  The 
mere  preservation  of  life  was  for  many  of  the  German  peasantry  at  that 
time  a  serious  task,  and  for  many  of  their  descendants  in  this  country 
it  still  seemed,  under  happier  conditions,  a  problem  demanding  first  and 
most  earnest  consideration,  with  the  result  that  they  were  inclined  to 
give  but  little  attention  to  the  refinements  and  pleasures  that  are  usually 
accepted  among  Americans  as  necessary  to  comfort  and  enjoyment,  as 
well  as  to  progress.  This  moroseness  in  the  German  mentality  was  doubt- 
less accentuated  in  the  early  immigrants  by  the  political  conditions  from 
which  they  fled,  because  the  Lower  Palatinate  and  adjacent  regions  had 
been  for  ioo  years  the  plaything  of  despots  and  fanatics,  whose  highest 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         71 

conception  of  human  life  was  its  usefulness  in  armies  or  its  suscepti- 
bility to  suffering  from  persecution. 

The  Germans  began  to  come  to  America  in  or  about  1682,  and  for  the 
next  twenty  years  their  immigration  was  comparatively  small,  being 
estimated  by  some  historians  at  less  than  200  families,  all  of  whom  settled 
in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  for  the  most  part  at  Germantown,  near  the  City 
of  Philadelphia.  Among  these  early  arrivals  were  both  Dutch  from 
Holland,  and  Germans  from  the  Upper  Palatinate.  They  came  on  the 
invitation  of  William  Penn,  who  was  half  Dutch,  his  mother  being  a 
native  of  Holland.  All  of  these  were  members  of  the  group  of  sects 
known  as  "Pietists."  The  later  and  more  numerous  arrivals  were  chiefly 
from  the  Lower  Palatinate,  and  with  them  were  some  Swiss  with  Ger- 
man leanings  and  characteristics,  acquired  from  their  neighbors  across 
the  Rhine.  They  were  primarily  moved  to  seek  the  New  World  by  the 
persecution  they  endured  because  of  their  belief  and,  particularly,  be- 
cause this  belief  frowned  upon  the  bearing  of  arms,  a  fact  which  made 
them  seem  of  small  use  to  the  rulers  of  that  day.  The  immediate  influ- 
ence bringing  Germans  to  America  early  in  1700  was,  however,  a  series 
of  pamphlets  prepared  in  England  and  distributed  in  the  Palatinate  and 
along  the  Rhine  under  the  direction  of  Queen  Anne,  of  England,  whose 
counsellors  desired  to  people  their  colonial  possessions  with  any  sort  of 
immigrants  that  could  be  obtained,  so  long  as  they  were  Protestants  and 
not  in  sympathy  with  the  Spanish  government.  These  pamphlets  were 
known  as  the  "Golden  Books/'  because  the  title  was  printed  in  gold. 
Some  of  them  are  in  the  possession  of  German  families  in  America  to 
this  day. 

These  early  Germans,  whose  hardships  and  wrongs  during  their  jour- 
ney from  the  Rhine  to  the  Delaware  were  almost  unbelievable,  may  be 
generally  classified  in  two  groups,  the  church  people  and  the  sects.  The 
former  were  members  of  the  Lutheran  or  the  Reformed  churches,  both 
recognized  in  Germany  at  that  time.  The  sects  were  composed  of  those 
who,  refusing  to  accept  the  doctrines  of  the  regular  churches,  followed 
the  teachings  of  many  preachers,  each  of  whom  seemed  to  have  some  one 
distinguishing  idea  concerning  manner  of  life,  dress  or  thought  sufficient 
to  separate  his  followers  from  those  of  any  other  leader.  They  all 
showed  more  or  less  evidence  of  being  an  extreme  development  of  the 
monastic  cult  so  generally  in  favor  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
and  were,  perhaps,  a  survival  of  that  idea.  These  Pietist  sects  included 
the  Tunkers  (or  Dunkards),  Schwenkf elders,  Amish,  United  Brethren, 
Labadists,  New  Born,  New  Mooners,  Zion's  Breuder,  Ronsdorfer,  In- 
spired, Quietist,  Gichtelians,  Depellians,  Mountain  Men.  River  Brethren. 
Brinser  Brethren,  several  divisions  of  Mennonites,  and  many  others 
whose  names,  to  say  nothing  of  their  peculiar  doctrines,  are  seldom  heard 
now.  Closely  allied  to  them  in  origin  and  other  ways  were  the  Moravians, 
whose  pathetic  story  has  been  told  in  the  chapter  dealing  with  the  Indians. 
In  general  these  were  all  mystics,  entertaining  some  special  form  of 
belief,  the  central  pillar  of  which  was  an  insistence  on  simplicity  carried 
to  a  point  at  which  simplicity  became  complexity.  To  the  introspective 
German  mind,  with  its  tenacious  adherence  to  any  idea  that  finds  lodg- 


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72         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ment  in  it,  each  sect  offered  something  that  made  a  special  appeal  to  its 
believers,  even  if  it  did  seem  ridiculous  to  those  of  other  creeds. 

Aside  from  the  two  regular  churches,  the  two  sects  now  strongest  are 
the  Mennonites  and  Dunkards,  both  of  which  have  small  but  flourishing 
organizations  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  The  Amish  have  probably  sur- 
vived the  trials  of  time  with  the  third  most  numerous  communion.  Sev- 
eral communities  of  these  people  may  be  found  in  Geauga  County  and  in 
other  parts  of  Ohio,  and  in  Lawrence  County,  Pennsylvania,  near  the 
state  line. 

The  Mennonites  allege  that  they  originated  with  descendants  of 
the  Waldenses,  an  ancient  sect  for  centuries  persecuted  as  heretics  be- 
cause they  did  not  believe  in  infant  baptism  and  held  other  doctrines 
unorthodox.  This  claim  is  disputed  by  some  writers,  who  associate  the 
Mennonites  with  the  Anabaptists.  The  Mennonites  should  be  the  best 
authority,  however,  and  their  origin  is  of  less  importance  than  their 
peculiar  beliefs  and  customs,  which  have  persisted  with  little  variation 
to  this  day.  Their  first  known  leader  was  Simon  Menno,  an  insurgent 
priest,  who  dated  about  1540.  Their  chief  belief  is  in  what  they  call 
"the  inward  light,"  a  form  of  grace  extended  through  the  coming  of 
Christ  to  all  the  world.  They  are  opposed  to  dogma  and  ritual,  as  are 
the  Quakers,  and  they  were  organized  by  Simon  Menno  much  in  the 
same  way  and  for  much  the  same  reasons  that  George  Fox,  a  century 
later,  organized  the  Quakers.  They  fraternized  naturally  with  the  latter, 
and  in  the  early  days  their  volunteer  preachers — they  would  have  none 
of  hired  ministers — frequently  exchanged  meeting  places  with  the  fol- 
lowers of  Penn.  Sometimes  the  Mennonites  were  called  German  Quak- 
ers, because  of  a  marked  similarity  of  dress  and  customs.  The  Men- 
nonites, whatever  else  they  may  have  neglected,  have  just  claim  to  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  organization,  civil  or  religious,  to  suggest  the 
abolition  of  Negro  slavery,  and  the  quaintly  worded  petition  which  mem- 
bers of  their  sect  sent  to  the  Quakers  in  Philadelphia  in  1688  upon  the 
subject  is  unimpeachable  evidence  of  this  fact. 

The  Amish  resembled  the  Mennonites  in  many  ways,  cherishing 
among  them  the  custom  of  washing  one  another's  feet,  and  similar  prac- 
tices of  the  Mennonites.  These  sects  differed  only  in  some  minor  beliefs 
and  in  their  customs,  some  of  which  were  astonishing,  to  say  the  least. 
One  of  the  quaint  doctrine  of  the  Amish  held  that  it  is  wrong  and  vain- 
glorious to  wear  buttons  on  clothing,  and  some  of  them  still  depend 
entirely  upon  hooks  and  eyes  to  perform  the  function  of  those  useful 
and,  to  most  of  the  world,  perfectly  harmless  contrivances.  Many  of 
the  Mennonites,  Amish,  Brethren  and  others  of  this  group  will  not  at- 
tend elections,  hold  office,  make  oath  or  bear  arms,  some  of  them,  at 
least,  basing  their  refusal  to  vote  on  the  ground  that  the  American  Con- 
stitution does  not  specifically  recognize  Christianity.  A  great  deal  of 
the  trouble  experienced  by  the  military  authorities  from  conscientious 
objectors  during  the  recent  war  with  Germany  came  from  members  of 
these  sects.  It  proved  a  most  perplexing  problem,  and  was  only  partially 
solved  by  the  decision  to  compel  service  from  them  as  from  other  citi- 
zens, but  to  limit  this  as  far  as  possible  to  such  tasks  as  would  not 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         73 

violate  their  religious  scruples.  Nevertheless,  the  members  of  the  vari- 
ous sects  were  excellent  people  in  many  very  important  respects,  and 
it  seems  a  pity  that  some  of  their  qualities  and  beliefs  could  not  hav** 
been  combined  with  those  that  more  ordinarily  distinguish  American 
citizenship. 

Besides  the  Lutherans,  the  Reformed  Church  people,  and  the  ad- 
herents of  the  various  sects,  who  seem  to  have  been 'numbered  in  the 
German  element  of  the  population  up  to  the  middle  of  the  last  century 
in  about  the  order  in  which  they  have  been  named,  there  were  many 
Catholics  among  the  early  immigrants  from  the  Rhine  lands,  and  even% 
more  of  them  among  the  Germans  who  came  to  America  later.  These 
Catholic  German  immigrants  first  settled  chiefly  in  Pennsylvania,  where 
they  were  given  the  same  welcome  extended  by  the  Quakers  to  the  sects. 
They  usually  gathered  in  groups  and  displayed  much  the  same  tendency 
as  the  others  to  retain  their  language,  customs  and  ideals.  Like  the 
Lutherans  and  the  Reformed  element,  however,  they  did  not  evince  the 
contempt  for  education  shown  by  the  Pietist  group,  and  there  are  in 
this  country  numerous  schools  and  colleges  established  by  their  religious 
orders  a  century  ago  which  are  still  in  flourishing  condition.  If  these 
schools,  which  were  model  institutions  in  many  respects,  had  any  fault, 
it  was  the  disposition  to  accent  the  study  of  German  and  to  exalt  Ger- 
man ideals. 

Interesting  as  it  might  be,  it  is  useless  to  speculate  at  length  on  rea- 
sons for  the  disposition  so  generally  shown  by  Germans  in  America  to 
retain  their  language  and  customs.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  present  any 
convincing  justification  of  the  remarkable  reverence  in  which  they  seem 
to  have  held  the  institutions  and  ideals  of  their  native  land,  especially 
when  it  is  known  that  most  of  them  fled  from  it  in  search  of  liberty  and 
opportunity  which  it  had  denied  to  them  and  to  their  forefathers.  The 
pitiless  exposure  of  the  German  system  by-  the  World  war,  with  its 
astounding  revelations  concerning  the  attitude  of  the  modern  German 
mind  upon  questions  fundamental  to  Christianity  and  humanity,  increase 
our  wonder  that  these  people  should  have  desired  to  perpetuate  their 
recollections  of  Germany  even  in  a  strange  country,  where  love  of  native 
land  always  furnishes  a  certain  compensation  for  lack  of  friends  and 
familiar  customs. 

The  logical  explanation  seems  to  be  that  the  Germany  loved  and 
revered  by  the  German  Americans  before  the  war  was  not  the  Germany 
overwhelmed  by  the  united  might  of  an  outraged  world  in  1918;  but 
another  Germany — a  Germany  filled  with  memories  of  poverty  and  op- 
pression perhaps,  but  also  with  those  of  industry,  music,  love  of  home 
and  kindred,  faith  in  God  and  humanity — a  Germany  untouched  by  the 
brutal  hand  of  a  Bismarck,  undeceived  by  the  insane  egotism  of  a  Ho- 
henzollern, — a  Fatherland  in  which  no  pagan  cult  had  yet  replaced  the 
gentle  doctrines  of  the  Man  of  Galilee  and  no  cold  philosophy  had  de- 
throned human  fellowship  or  destroyed  the  hope  of  a  better  life  to  come. 

It  was  from  such  a  Germany  as  this  that  the  immigrants  arriving 
here  before  the  middle  of  the  last  century  came,  and  it  was  natural  that 
they  should  cherish  a  certain  degree  of  reverence  and  affection  for  the 


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74         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Fatherland  as  they  had  known  it,  passing  such  sentiments  along  to  their 
children.  The  German  is  not  one  who  forgets  easily,  but  when  he  has 
made  up  his  mind  he  seldom  hesitates.  There  was  undoubtedly  among 
the  citizenship  of  this  country  bearing  German  names  much  sympathy 
with  the  Fatherland  in  the  recent  great  war  until  the  United  States  be- 
came involved;  but  from  that  time  on  this  element  of  our  population 
sustained  its  full  portion  of  the  burden  and  exhibited  its  full  share  of 
the  loyalty  and  united  effort  required  for  the  exhibition  of  military 
power  with  which  America  astonished  the  world. 

Penn's  colony  was  the  gateway  for  a  very  large  part  of  the  pioneer 
population  of  America,  and  nearly  all  the  element  known  as  Pennsyl- 
vania Deutsch  came  through  the  Quaker  colony.  The  other  German 
immigration  was  somewhat  scattered,,  but  most  of  it  arrived  by  the  same 
route.  Gradually  the  Germans  spread  westward,  occupying  the  choicest 
lands  as  they  went.  The  Scotch-Irish  and  English  were  no  match  for 
these  people  as  farmers,  and  they  frequently  took  up  tracts  that  the 
former  had  abandoned  as  unprofitable  and  soon  made  them  blossom  like 
the  rose. 

Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  one  of  the  finest  farming  regions  in 
the  world,  was  at  one  time  occupied  entirely  by  Pennsylvania  Deutsch, 
and  they  are  still  exceedingly  numerous  there.  Easton,  Allentown  and 
Reading  were  also  their  strongholds.  After  the  Revolution,  the  Hes- 
sians captured  at  Trenton,  who  had  been  confined  in  a  stockade  near 
the  present  City  of  Reading,  were  released  and  nearly  all  of  them  settled 
there  permanently.  The  Pennsylvania  Deutsch  came  westward  after 
the  pioneers.  They  had  no  taste  for  fighting  the  Indians,  and  left  that 
to  others.  Thousands  of  them  are  located  within  the  limits  of  Ohio, 
and  hundreds  of  the  most  prosperous  and  useful  citizens  of  the  Ma- 
honing Valley  are  descended  from  this  source.  It  was  with  them,  or 
immediately  following  them,  that  the  Quakers  came  to  this  region,  and 
the  same  sympathy  existing  between  the  two  groups  farther  east  con- 
tinued here. 

Americans  of  German  birth  or  ancestry  are  proverbial  for  large 
families,  solid  prosperity  and  patient  industry.  They  are  frugal,  plain 
and  sensible  in  their  habits  and  must  be  recognized  as  one  of  the  very 
best  elements  in  our  citizenship.  They  have  contributed  liberally  to  the 
roster  of  men  who  have  attained  fame  in  the  professions,  and  not  a  few 
statesmen  and  soldiers  of  prominence  bear  German  names.  Most  of 
those  who  have  become  noted  in  public  life  were  not  of  the  group  re- 
ferred to  as  sects,  but  belonged  to  the  other  divisions  distinct  from  the 
Pietists.  A  goodly  number  of  those  who  have  shed  lustre  on  the  pro- 
fessions, as  well  as  of  those  who  have  contributed  in  a  large  way  to 
industrial  and  commercial  development  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  will  be 
found  to  have  emigrated  direct  from  Germany,  most  of  them  coming 
within  the  last  seventy-five  years. 

In  the  communities  along  the  Mahoning  River,  as  well  as  throughout 
the  Western  Reserve,  are  now  thousands  of  men  and  women  who  trace 
their  origin  to  Germany,  but  who  manifest  few  of  the  traits  exhibited 
by  the  earliest  immigrants  from  the  Rhine.     They  have  abandoned  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         75 

besetting  sin  of  the  Pennsylvania  German  and  no  longer  insist  that  their 
children  shall  shun  education  or  preserve  the  German  language  and 
customs.  They  are  progressive,  energetic  and  persistent,  and  most  of 
them  are  comparatively  well-to-do.  In  many  respects  they  are  our  very 
best  citizens. 

The  Irish 

Next  in  chronological  order,  and  one  of  the  most  numerous  and  in- 
teresting of  the  racial  or  national  groups  of  which  our  cosmopolitan 
population  was  originally  made  up  is  that  best  referred  to  by  the  term 
Irish,  by  which  is  meant  people  originating  in  Ireland  and  being  of 
Celtic,  or  native  Irish  blood.  The  native  Irish  are  sometimes  referred 
to  as  Gaelic,  but  this  term  is  perhaps  more  correctly  applied  to  the  High- 
land Scotch,  who,  while  doubtless  of  similar  ancient  origin,  lack  many 
characteristics  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  South  of  Ireland,  and  differ 
from  them  in  many  ways.  The  latter  are  probably  more  Celtic  than 
Gaelic,  and  are  certainly  more  Irish  than  either.  In  few  countries  has 
the  native  blood  been  mixed  with  that  of  strangers  so  often  and  so  free- 
ly as  in  Ireland,  and  in  few  have  the  primitive  characteristics  of  the  peo- 
ple been  so  faithfully  preserved.  The  original  inhabitants  of  Ireland  were 
not  likely  of  Celtic  origin,  although  they  have  preserved  better  than  any 
other  people  the  traits  supposed  to  have  been  implanted  by  that  myste- 
rious race,  which,  emerging  from  the  forests  of  Western  Asia  and  South- 
eastern Europe  before  the  Christian  era,  swept  over  what  was  then  the 
Western  World.  The  original  Celtic  tongue  is  best  preserved  there,  and 
scholars  generally  believe  that  the  Gaelic  of  the  Highland  Scojch,  the 
Manx  and  the  Welsh  languages  are  corruptions  of  the  Erse,  or  ancient 
Irish.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  Irish  have  survived  the  incursions  of  the 
Normans,  Saxons  and  Danes,  with  the  persecution  of  centuries  by  the 
English,  and  retained  their  ancient  traits.  To  this  day  they  cherish  the 
mysticism  of  the  Druids,  the  chivalry  and  purity  of  morals  inculcated 
by  St.  Patrick,  the  gaiety  of  the  French  and  with  this  a  hospitality  and 
generosity  all  their  own.  They  have  the  same  distaste  for  authority  that 
dethroned  their  petty  kings  and  the  same  yearning  for  liberty  that  led 
them  to  follow  Brian  Boru.  In  a  country  so  long  denied  the  privilege  of 
schools  it  is  surprising  to  find  a  people  so  keen  of  intellect.  In  a  land 
that  has  endured  so  much  poverty,  famine,  persecution  and  wrong,  we 
are  astonished  to  find  so  many  light  hearts.  It  is  strange  to  see  a  people 
whose  battles  have  all  been  lost,  so  universally  inclined  to  military  service 
and  so  careless  as  to  what  banner  they  serve,  so  long  as  it  is  not  British. 

Ireland's  position  at  this  time,  much  as  it  may  interest  many  people 
in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  cannot  be  touched  upon  here ;  but  it  may  be  safd 
that  no  other  people  has  been  able  to  preserve  for  so  long  a  period  its 
racial  characteristics  and  its  national  entity  in  the  face  of  efforts  to 
destroy  both  which  must  rank  as  the  most  brutal  and  persistent  the 
world  has  ever  seen. 

Celtic,  or  native,  Irish  predominate  strongly  in  the  three  southern 
provinces  of  Ireland  and  form  a  vigorous  and  pugnacious  minority  in 


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76         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Ulster,  predominating  numerically  in  five  of  the  nine  counties  in  that 
province.  The  natives  of  the  South  of  Ireland  are  Catholics  in  belief, 
farmers  by  occupation,  everlasting  protestants  in  politics,  light-hearted, 
hospitable,  sociable  and  idealistic  by  nature.  Like  the  Scotch-Irish, 
they  are  eloquent  and  courageous  defenders  of  their  personal  and  politi- 
cal rights,  lovers  of  excitement  and  adventure,  and  not  averse  to  physical 
combat.  Like  these  also,  but  in  much  greater  numbers,  they  have  been 
led  to  seek  the  new  world  by  oppression  and  tyranny,  causes  which  had 
operated  to  drive  Irishmen  out  of  Ireland  for  hundreds  of  years  before 
the  first  colony  was  settled  in  America. 

The  most  marked  difference  between  these  two  groups  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  Celtic  Irish  are  not  generally  pioneers.  No  one  has  ever 
accused  them  of  lack  of  courage,  but  they  are  by  nature  too  gregarious, 
too  fond  of  human  companionship,  too  much  enamored  of  mental  excite- 
ment and  to  little  inclined  toward  the  silence  and  loneliness  of  forest  and 
prairie  efficiently  to  conquer  the  wilds.  Most  of  them  who  came  to 
America  have  remained  in  the  cities  or  found  occupation  in  enterprises 
employing  large  bodies  of  men,  such  as  the  building  of  canals  and  rail- 
roads, or  the  operation  of  mines  and  steel  mills,  although  in  the  eastern 
states  may  be  found  numerous  agricultural  settlements  in  which  people 
of  Irish  extraction  still  predominate. 

In  discussing  this  trait  of  the  Irish  character,  which  has  subjected  it 
to  much  criticism  by  those  not  particularly  eager  to  do  it  justice,  Irish 
writers  point  out  that  emigrants  from  Erin  have  been  induced  to  stay  in 
towns  and  cities,  not  so  much  by  a  love  for  the  occupations  of  policemen 
and  politicians,  as  by  a  desire  to  rear  their  families  within  reach  of  a 
church  pf  their  own  communion.  The  Irishman  is  usually  a  Catholic, 
and  the  Catholic  is  taught  to  regard  his  faith  as  a  gift  from  God,  to  be 
cherished  at  any  cost.  At  the  time  when  Irish  emigration  into  this  coun- 
try was  at  its  height  there  were  few  Catholic  priests  or  churches  on  the 
frontiers,  and  this  argument  may  be  sound.  The  more  plausible  ex- 
planation, however,  seems  to  be  the  natural  hospitality  and  sociability  of 
the  Irish,  their  love  of  company  and  their  distaste  for  solitude.  It  mat- 
tered little  to  them  if  labor  was  hard  or  pay  small  if  they  could  mingle 
with  others  at  their  work  and  spend  their  leisure  in  entertaining  or  being 
entertained  by  their  neighbors  and  friends. 

The  first  immigration  from  the  south  and  west  of  Ireland  began 
about  the  time  the  Presbyterians  of  Ulster  set  out  in  the  same  direction. 
After  Cromwell's  bloody  campaign,  which  followed  the  execution  of 
Charles  in  1649,  40,000  Irish  soldiers  were  deported  and  forced  to  serve 
in  European  armies,  no  provision  being  made  for  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren. These  were  later  sent  by  Cromwell's  commissioners  to  America 
and  the  West  Indies  with  funds  raised  by  private  subscription,  and  they 
were  the  first  Irish  to  cross  the  sea,  although  many  others  had  been  driven 
into  England,  Wales,  France  and  other  European  countries.  The  fate 
of  these  involuntary  emigrants,  all  of  whom  were  women  and  children, 
is  unknownTalthough  in  the  Barbadoe  Islands  a  tribe  of  negroes  speak- 
ing the  Gaelic  tongue  may  hint  at  its  pathetic  horror.  The  earliest 
immigration  records  show  that  in  1729  the  number  of  emigrants  from 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         77 

Ireland  was  5,655,  some  of  these,  of  course,  being  Scotch-Irish.  The 
famine  of  1762  caused  many  more  South  of  Ireland  people  to  come  to 
America,  and  from  that  time  forward  there  was  a  constant  voluntary  or 
involuntary  migration  from  that  afflicted  country. 

The  Irish  reaching  America  during  this  period  came  practically  as 
slaves,  and  they  had  but  little  opportunity  until  the  Revolution,  when 
their  native  courage  and  their  detestation  of  England  made  them  con- 
spicuous as  soldiers  and  adherents  of  the  Revolutionary  cause.  At  least 
six  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  were  Irish,  and-  at  least 
two  of  these  were  from  the  Soulh  of  Ireland.  After  the  Revolution 
there  was  a  distinct  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  American  people  to- 
ward these  immigrants,  and  more  of  them  came  as  the  years  passed,  the 
number  arriving  by  1846  being  estimated  at  2,000,000.  In  1847,  tne 
most  terrible  of  all  the  famines  in  Ireland  occurred,  and  the  uprising  of 
1848  followed.  These  caused  immigration  to  America  on  an  immense 
scale,  which  continued  for  forty  years,  bringing  a  vast  number  of  men, 
women  and  children  from  the  South  of  Ireland  to  our  shores,  where  they 
always  found  a  welcome  and  usually  in  time  were  able  to  lift  them- 
selves from  the  deplhs  of  poverty  into  comparative  comfort. 

While  there  were  a  number  of  natives  of  Ireland  here  at  the  earliest 
period  of  settlement  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  at  least  one  of  these  being 
an  emigrant  from  the  South  of  Ireland,  immigrants  native  to  that  sec- 
tion first  began  to  arrive  in  large  numbers  about  1839-40,  at  which  time 
the  construction  of  the  Ohio  &  Pennsylvania  Canal  and  the  opening  of 
coal  mines  furnished  employment  for  what  were  then  regarded  as  large 
bodies  of  men.  Few  of  these  new  arrivals  came  direct  from  Ireland. 
Most  of  them  had  spent  some  time  in  Pennsylvania,  either  at  what  were 
then  called  "public  works"  or  at  iron  works  or  coal  mines.  They  were 
very  poor.  Many  of  them  could  net  read  or  write,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  political  conditions  in  Ireland  prevented  the  maintaining  of  schools 
other  than  those  conducted  beneath  the  hedges.  Most  of  these  men 
were  without  families,  but  as  quickly  as  they  could  accumulate  sufficient 
funds,  they  sent  for  wives  and  children  and  frequently  for  parents  and 
other  relatives.  The  first  large  group  to  reach  the  Mahoning  Valley 
located  at  Brier  Hill,  and  found  employment  in  the  mining  of  coal  and 
the  operation  of  blast  furnaces.  The  building  of  a  railroad  some  time 
later,  and  the  extension  of  the  canal  made  work  for  many  more. 

When  the  manufacture  of  iron  on  a  larger  scale  began  in  the  Ma- 
honing Valley,  a  few  years  later,  labor  for  that  industry  was  recruited 
largely  from  this  same  source.  Many  of  the  men  employed  in  this  field 
also  came  from  Pennsylvania,  where  they  had  spent  some  years  at 
Pittsburgh  or  Johnstown. 

A  peculiar  circumstance  brought  to  light  by  investigation  of  this  sub- 
ject is  the  fact  that  a  great  many  of  the  Irish  who  came  to  Youngstown 
after  the  Civil  war  emigrated,  not  from  Ireland,  but  from  England  and 
Wales,  their  parents  or  grandparents  having  been  forced  to  leave  Ireland 
and  seek  refuge  elsewhere — probably  at  the  nearest  point  where  they 
could  find  a  welcome  of  any  sort.  There  was  a  marked  difference  be- 
tween these  later  arrivals  and  those  who  came  earlier.    The  first  comers 


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78         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

were  practically  all  laborers,  without  skill  or  means  of  any  kind,  while 
those  who  came  after  1861,  at  which  time  there  was  a  decided  revival 
in  the  iron  industry,  were  mainly  skilled  laborers.  They  also  showed  the 
advantage  of  the  better  conditions  existing  in  England  and  Wales  in  the 
fact  that  they  all  had  the  rudiments  of  an  education,  and  among  them 
were  many  men  of  wide  information  and  considerable  native  eloquence. 

The  Welsh 

So  far  as  arrival  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  in  any  considerable  num- 
bers is  concerned,  the  Welsh  are  entitled  to  fifth  place  in  this  discussion. 
In  regard  to  their  appearance  in  this  country,  however,  they  have  a  posi- 
tion among  the  earliest  immigrants.  For  the  first  twenty  years  after  the 
founding  of  Philadelphia  in  1682,  they  seem  to  have  been  the  most 
numerous  of  all  the  immigrants  whom  Penn  was  able  to  induce  to  try 
their  own,  and  thus  improve  his,  fortunes  in  the  New  World. 

Although  few  names  giving  evidence  of  Welsh  origin  appear  among 
the  records  of  the  first  few  years  of  civilization  in  the  Mahoning  Valley, 
it  is  probable  that,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Irish,  there  were  some  adventur- 
ous Welshmen  among  those  who  first  came  here.  James  and  Daniel 
Heaton,  brother,  probably  of  Welsh  extraction,  built  the  first  blast  fur- 
nace in  the  Mahoning  Valley  about  1803  or  1804. 

The  Welsh  are  among  the  purest  surviving  specimens  of  the  ancient 
Briton  stock.  Their  language  is  certainly  of  Celtic  origin,  or  at  least 
largely  influenced  by  Celtic  additions,  however,  and  it  is  probable  that, 
like  the  Irish,  they  are  really  a  Celtic  people,  rather  than  a  Briton  race. 
This  language  is  closely  related  to  both  Irish  and  Gaelic,  and  is  generally 
classed  as  Cymric  Celtic,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Gaelic  or  Gadhelic 
(northern)  branch  of  that  tongue.  The  Welsh  were  never  conquered 
by  invaders,  although  they  were  attacked  by  both  the  Normans  and 
Saxons  and  driven  into  the  mountainous  country  they  now  occupy, 
whither  the  continental  marauders  either  could  not  or  did  not  care  to 
follow  them. 

It  is  entirely  natural  that  the  Welsh  in  America  have  always  shown 
a  marked  preference  for  mountainous  land.  Their  first  settlement  in 
Penn's  colony  was  a  hilly  district  containing  40,000  acres  and  lying  west 
of  the  Schuylkill  River,  on  which  they  established  a  government  inde- 
pendent of  that  set  up  by  Penn  and  relinquished  their  idea  of  a  Welsh 
barony  there  with  considerable  reluctance  after  the  state  was  organized. 

Perhaps  more  than  any  other  of  the  groups  with  which  we  have  dealt 
except  the  Germans,  the  Welsh  are  inclined  to  cling  to  their  ancient 
language  and  customs.  They  have  gathered  in  large  communities  in 
many  states,  and  in  numerous  of  these  Welsh  is  still  spoken  exclusively. 
One  of  the  largest  and  most  prosperous  of  these  communities  was  lo- 
cated in  Cambria  County,  Pennsylvania,  a  mountainous  region  in  which 
they  settled  about  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  naming  the  coun- 
ty for  their  native  land  and  establishing  there  a  center  from  which  many 
famous  Welshmen  have  gone  forth. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  the  Welsh  people  coming  to  this  coun- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         79 

try  previous  to  1700  were  nearly  all  Quakers.  A  considerable  number 
of  them  were  of  that  faith  in  their  native  land,  and  these  were  used  to 
being  dealt  with  no  more  gently  than  was  the  custom  with  dissenters. 
Penn  squght  to  establish  in  his  wilderness  empire  a  home  for  all  Quak- 
ers, no  1  matter  what  their  race,  and  he  brought  the  first-comers  from 
Wales.  Among  these,  however,  were  some  Baptists  and  a  few  members 
of  the  Episcopal  Church.  Later  arrivals  represented  numerous  of  the 
Protestant  churches,  the  majority  being  Congregationalists.  In  politics 
they  were  divided,  most  of  them,  however,  being  Republicans,  especially 
since  the  Civil  war,  in  which  they  proved  themselves  remarkably  good 
soldiers  and  did  much  to  strengthen  the  Union  cause. 

Unlike  the  other  groups  mentioned  up  to  this  time,  most  of  the 
Welsh  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  where  they  form  a  numerous  and  im- 
portant element  in  the  population,  did  not  come  from  eastern  and  earlier 
settlements,  but  direct  from  Wales.  They  seem  to  have  been  attracted 
here  in  large  numbers  about  1854  by  the  opening  of  coal  mines  and  the 
erection  of  iron  works,  and  the  first  groups  located  at  Niles  and  Mineral 
Ridge.  Later  their  numbers  were  increased  materially  by  iron  workers 
who  found  employment  at  Warren,  Niles  and  Youngstown.  In  this 
locality  few  of  the  Welsh  people  have  engaged  in  farming,  although  they 
are  very  successful  in  that  occupation.  Here  they  have  attained  much 
prominence  in  the  iron  and  steel  industries,  in  politics  and  in  other  pur- 
suits. They  are  remarkably  fond  of  music  and  inclined,  even  up  to  this 
time,  to  cherish  their  national  melodies  much  as  they  do  their  language 
and  customs,  although  they  have  never  permitted  this  trait  to  interfere 
with  their  advancement.  The  Welsh  have  a  very  honorable  record  in 
the  service  of  this  country,  both  during  the  War  of  18 12  and  since  that 
time. 

The  chief  characteristic  of  people  of  Welsh  nativity  or  descent  is  a 
disposition  to  remain  where  they  have  established  homes.  Many  of 
them  are  still  to  be  found  in  the  locality  where  the  earliest  group  to 
reach  America  were  first  located,  although  they  have  long  since  lost  con- 
trol of  that  section  and  become  to  a  great  extent  absorbed  in  the  other 
races  which  flowed  in  upon  them  on  this,  the  natural  highway  between 
the  East  and  West.  In  other  colonies  or  groups  they  have  undergone 
much  the  same  experience,  seldom  migrating  and  usually  amalgamating 
with  their  neighbors.  They  are  a  decidedly  thrifty  race,  marked  by 
exceeding  diplomacy  and  inclined  to  industry  and  frugality,  even  after 
they  have  accumulated  a  competence.  In  religion  they  are  generally 
regarded  dogmatic  and  less  liberal  than  the  Episcopalians,  and  in  poli- 
tics they  are  energetic  partisans.  No  other  people  indulge  in  a  greater 
pride  of  race,  and  few  others  display  a  greater  interest  in  public  affairs. 
They  make  excellent  mechanics,  good  farmers  and  valuable  citizens, 
and  have  attained  marked  success  in  the  industrial  field  and  in  the  learned 
professions.  No  other  race  in  America  has  exhibited  the  same  devotion 
to  vocal  music  or  attained  the  same  eminence  in  the  development  of  that 
form  of  art.  If  the  descendants  of  people  who  came  from  Wrales  were 
to  be  suddenly  removed  from  the  life  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  one  of 
its  most  valuable  and  interesting  elements  would  disappear  with  them. 


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80         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  Scotch 

Next  in  order  following  the  Welsh,  reference  should  be  made  to  the 
Scotch,  although  all  that  has  been  said  concerning  the  Scotch-Irish  ap- 
plies to  them.  These  Caledonians  differ  from  the  Scotch-Irish,  how- 
ever, in  one  important  respect.  They  are  not  pioneers  by  nature,  and 
comparatively  few  of  them  came  to  America  at  the  same  time  that  their 
close  relatives,  the  Scotch-Irish,  emigrated.  Scattered  along  the  Mahon- 
ing Valley  there  are  many  Scotch  people,  or  rather  people  of  purely 
Scotch  extraction,  and  names  indicating  this  origin  are  quite  common 
in  the  long  list  of  those  who  have  had  a  part  in  the  development  of  in- 
dustries here,  including  the  agricultural  industry.  They  are  also  found 
among  the  professions.  Like  the  Welsh,  the  Scotch  are  inclined  to  be 
clannish  and  to  preserve  their  recollections  of  the  land  from  which  their 
forefathers  came,  and  like  the  Welsh,  there  are  still  in  this  part  of  Ohio 
enough  of  them  to  hold  an  annual  gathering  in  large  numbers  at  which 
bagpipes,  Highland  dances  and  Scotch  amusements  are  the  principal 
attractions.  They  have  equalled  the  Welsh  in  keenness  of  intellect  and 
accomplishment  in  letters,  and  outdistanced  them  in  the  domain  of  in- 
dustry so  far  as  marked  executive  ability  is  concerned.  The  Scotch  are, 
as  might  be  supposed,  almost  universally  Presbyterians  or  United  Pres- 
byterians. 

The  Hebrews 

People  of  the  Hebrew  race  form  an  important  part  in  the  popula- 
tion of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  their  number  at  this  time  being  variously 
estimated  at  from  5,000  to  6,000.  As  everywhere  else  in  the  world,  the 
Hebrews  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  are  chiefly  merchants,  although  a 
goodly  number  of  them  have  entered  the  professions  of  law  and 
medicine.  They  have  come  here  from  every  part  of  the  world,  local 
Jews  including  about  every  kind  and  class  of  Hebrew  in  existence, 
each  of  which  is  commonly  recognized  by  the  prefix  of  the  nationality 
from  which  it  or  its  ancestors  in  the  Old  World  came,  such  as  German, 
Polish,  Russian,  Roumainian,  etc.  Many  of  the  older  and  more  pros- 
perous Jews  adhere  to  the  ancient  beliefs  and  customs  of  the  race  with 
a  fidelity  that  commands  admiration  in  these  days  of  changing  creeds. 

The  Jews  are  and  have  been  the  most  generally  maligned  and  least 
understood  of  all  the  peoples  in  the  world.  No  other  race,  not  even 
the  Irish,  has  suffered  so  long  and  so  bitterly  from  persecution,  the 
greater  part  of  which  has  been  inspired  by  jealousy  of  Jewish  talent  for 
acquiring  wealth,  although  it  has  often  had  for  its  excuse  the  scarcely 
less  defensible  plea  of  religious  fervor.  Long  ages  of  this  persecution 
have  bred  in  the  Hebrew  qualities  that  enable  him  to  dominate  in  many 
lines  of  endeavor  where  he  has  for  his  competitors  races  which  have 
less  persistently  and  less  patiently  cultivated  the  virtues  of  self-denial 
and  self-control. 

To  the  student  of  human  nature  and  human  affairs  there  is  no  other 
race  so  interesting  as  the  Semitic,  which,  from  the  very  beginning  of 
recorded  things,  was  the  chief  custodian  of  human  progress  and  of  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         81 

spiritual  advancement  of  men.  To  appreciate  the  Jewish  people  it  is 
necessary  to  look  back  over  the  ages,  a  survey  for  which  there  is  neither 
room  nor  an  excuse  in  this  work,  but  if  those  who  read  it  would  make 
such  an  excursion  into  the  dim  and  distant  past,  they  would  acquire 
therefrom  a  much  better  opinion  of  the  Jew,  who  has  still  in  large  de- 
gree the  same  qualities  that  made  his  prophets  for  thousands  of  years 
the  divinely  appointed  or  at  least  self -constituted  intermediary  between 
the  inscrutable  Architect  of  the  great  scheme  of  things  and  the  race  of 
men  climbing  slowly  and  with  infinite  patience  upward  toward  the  light. 
They  would  find  also  in  his  seemingly  arbitrary  customs  and  religious 
teachings  the  seed  of  human  progress — progress  that  to  a  less  extent 
than  usual  carries  in  itself  the  germs  of  its  own  decay. 

The  Jews  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  are,  as  has  been  said,  liberal  in 
their  views;  but  they  are,  as  elsewhere,  intensely  loyal  to  the  traditions 
of  their  race  and  no  more  inclined  than  those  found  elsewhere  to  inter- 
marry with  Gentiles.  Practically  all  of  them  came  here  poor  and  clothed 
in  humility.  Many  of  them  are  now  among  our  most  prosperous  citi- 
zens. Difficult  as  it  may  be  for  some  of  us  to  lay  aside  the  prejudice 
which  ages  have  woven  about  these  people,  we  must  admit  that  they 
make  excellent  citizens,  especially  when  success  raises  them  above  con- 
ditions in  which  necessity  urges  their  national  trait  of  acquisitiveness 
to  its  utmost.  When  poor  the  Jew  is  a  most  uncomfortable  competitor, 
penurious  and  grasping,  his  energy  and  indefatigable  industry  making 
life  a  nightmare  for  those  who  must  keep  pace  with  him.  He  has  the 
faculty  of  adapting  himself  and  his  manner  of  life  to  his  condition  and 
environment  in  a  remarkable  degree.  When  he  has  amassed  wealth  he 
is  a  prince  in  hospitality,  a  spendthrift  in  indulgence,  and  a  most  liberal 
giver  to  every  worthy  cause.  And  through  it  all  he  is  a  lover  of  educa- 
tion, art,  music  and  the  refinements  of  life,  little  as  this  might  be  sus- 
pected from  the  manner  in  which  he  has  lived  in  days  of  poverty.  The 
Jewish  intellect  has  no  superior  in  point  of  keenness,  and  has  produced 
some  of  the  greatest  scholars  and  philosophers. 

There  are  those  who  may  find  it  hard  to  accept  this  description  of 
the  Hebrew  character,  but  such  persons  have  known  it  only  in  the  rivalry 
of  business  pursuits,  or  have  been  deprived  of  the  opportunity  to  esti- 
mate it  fairly  by  the  unchristian  and  uncharitable  attitude  maintained 
by  most  of  the  world  toward  this  indefatigable  people  which,  having 
no  land  of  its  own  for  twenty  centuries,  has  left  an  indelible  mark  upon 
the  civilization  of  every  nation  under  the  sun. 

The  local  Hebrew  element  has  been  characterized  by  excellent  citi- 
zenship. It  is  beginning  to  widen  out  and  abandon  the  exclusive  pursuit 
of  trade  for  participation  in  industry  and  the  learned  professions.  In 
point  of  liberality  on  behalf  of  public  movements  deserving  support,  of 
patriotic  effort  in  times  of  stress,  and  of  the  conscientious  performance 
of  civic  duty,  it  is  entitled  to  rank  with  the  best. 

The  Later  Immigrants 

Having  dealt  with  the  Scotch-Irish,  the  English,  the  Germans,  the 
Irish,  the  Welsh  and  the  Jews,  the  elements  of  local  population  existing 


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82         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

here  in  considerable  numbers  until  a  period  quite  recent  have  been  dis- 
cussed, perhaps  at  a  length  that  has  taxed  the  patience  of  the  reader.  It 
remains  to  shed  some  light  upon  what  has  become  the  most  numerous,  if 
not  the  most  important  or  interesting  group  in  the  population  of  the 
Mahoning  Valley — the  people  commonly  referred  to  among  us  as  "for- 
eigners." 

It  may  be  said  at  the  beginning  that  races  and  types  included  in  this 
classification  are  so  numerous  and  their  relation  so  complex  that  any 
attempt  to  deal  with  these  at  length  would  inevitably  become  tiresome 
and  just  as  surely  exceed  the  limits  of  the  space  which  can  be  devoted 
to  this  chapter.  Nevertheless,  since  these  people  of  foreign  birth  are 
not  only  a  most  important  part  of  our  population,  as  viewed  from  an 
industrial  standpoint,  but  also  constitute  a  problem  demanding  the  best 
thought  of  those  who  sincerely  desire  to  serve  their  community  and 
their  country,  it  may  be  well  to  follow  the  subject  somewhat  farther 
than  indulgence  of  the  author's  desire  for  brevity  would  make  possible. 

The  present  foreign-born  population  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  has 
been  recruited  largely  from  Southern  and  Southeastern  Europe,  and  is 
composed  almost  entirely  of  the  Latin  and  Slavonic  races,  although,  as 
will  be  seen,  it  actually  embraces  almost  every  race  on  earth  and  con- 
tains representatives  of  every  nationality  under  the  sun.  This  popula- 
tion first  began  to  arrive  in  this  country  in  any  considerable  numbers 
shortly  after  the  Civil  war.  The  era  of  expansion  following  that  strug- 
gle, with  the  enormous  advance  in  wages  and  the  demand  for  labor  to 
carry  out  the  extensive  programs  of  railroad  and  industrial  extension, 
led  to  an  organized  effort  to  secure  labor  abroad.  This  was  also  inspired 
to  a  certain  extent  by  the  peculiar  effect  which  long  service  in  the  armies 
and  the  considerable  depletion  of  American  manhood  in  the  war  had 
upon  the  normal  labor  supply.  It  is  said  that  in  the  years  immediately 
following  the  Civil  war  there  were  a  million  tramps  in  America.  This 
is  probably  an  exaggeration,  but  it  is  certain  that  many  men  who  had 
spent  years  in  the  excitement  of  that  conflict  never  returned  to  their 
original  occupations  and  at  its  close  the  country  was  filled  with  wander- 
ers unable  or  unwilling  to  resume  the  tasks  they  had  laid  down  at  its 
beginning.  To  fill  the  needs  of  the  country  for  labor  railroads  and  other 
industries  began  to  import  men  from  central  and  southern  Europe,  and 
the  flood  of  immigration  of  this  character,  once  started,  continued  with 
little  interruption  for  fifty  years,  or  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  World 
war,  in  1914. 

The  first  of  these  people  to  come  were  Italians,  and  they  were 
rapidly  followed  by  Hungarians.  In  a  few  years  large  numbers  of 
French,  Germans,  Sicilians,  Russians,  Poles,  Swedes,  Lithuanians,  Bo- 
hemians, Czechs,  Slovaks,  Greeks,  Belgians,  Serbians,  Austrians,  Bul- 
garians, and  even  a  few  Turks,  Arabians,  Syrians  and  Armen:ans  ar- 
rived in  America.  With  these  natives  of  Continental  Europe  and 
Western  Asia  came  also  not  a  few  Irish,  English  and  Scotch,  although 
by  the  term  "foreigner"  we  have  come  to  mean  those  who  do  not  speak 
English. 

These  people  were  induced  to  leave  the  Old  World  by  a  number  of 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         83 

influences,  chief  among  which  was  their  weariness  of  the  eternal  struggle 
for  existence  in  crowded  countries,  lack  of  opportunity,  and  a  belief 
in  America  as  a  land  of  opportunity.  In  this  they  were  not  unlike 
the  early  settlers  who  conquered  the  wilderness  and  gave  to  mankind  a 
haven  of  opportunity  and  a  refuge  from  political  oppression;  but  there 
the  resemblance  ceases,  at  least  to  a  great  extent.  These  central  and 
southern  Europeans  were  of  an  entirely  different  type.  They  were  al- 
most all  peasants  and  farmers  by  occupation  in  their  native  lands,  but 
when  they  reached  America  few  of  them  except  among  the  Swedes 
sought  opportunity  on  the  land.  The  greater  number  were  dazzled  by 
the  wages  offered  for  labor  in  coal  mines,  on  railroads  and  in  steel  and 
iron  centers,  and  around  these  they  gathered  in  great  numbers.  Used 
to  the  most  meagre  fare  and  accustomed  to  living  conditions  far  below 
American  standards,  they  herded  together  in  droves,  living  on  little  or 
nothing  and  hoarding  most  of  their  earnings. 

They  were  the  unfortunate  victims  of  the  ancient  system  of  despotism 
which  had  through  centuries  erected  barriers  of  class  which  those  in  "the 
lower  strata  of  existence  had  no  hope  of  ever  being  able  to  pass.  Taken 
as  a  whole,  these  people  formed  a  most  striking  evidence  of  the  frightful 
iniquity  of  long  continued  political  injustice  and  emphasized  the  calamity 
which  overtakes  a  nation  that  permits  the  powers  of  government  to  pass 
from  the  hands  of  its  people  into  those  of  a  ruling  class.  Physically, 
mentally  and  in  every  other  way,  these  immigrants  were  typical  of  the 
conditions  under  which  they  had  been  bred.  Finding  the  problem  of 
mere  physical  existence  all  that  they  could  solve,  they  had  never  mounted 
to  spiritual  heights  or  learned  to  yearn  for  the  better  things  that,  with 
liberty  and  opportunity,  men  of  any  race  may  soon  acquire  for  them- 
selves and  for  their  children. 

We  have  seen  how  the  early  emigrants  to  the  New  World  were  often 
without  property  or  education,  but  the  lack  of  these  qualities  was  coun- 
terbalanced by  strength  and  a  courageous  determination  to  achieve  per- 
sonal and  political  independence.  The  English,  Irish,  Scotch  and  Welsh 
were  scarcely  landed  until  they  made  it  evident  that  they  meant  to  have 
a  hand  in  the  government  and,  in  turn,  to  make  themselves  a  permanent 
part  of  the  new  nation  coming  into  birth.  On  the  other  hand,  the  immi- 
grants from  the  south  of  Europe,  if  the  same  may  not  be  said  to  be  in 
some  degree  true  of  those  from  the  whole  of  the  continent,  took  little 
interest  in  the  politics  of  their  new  land,  many  of  them  openly  professing 
a  purpose  to  remain  in  this  country  only  until  such  time  as  they  could 
accumulate  enough  wealth  to  overcome  the  poverty  from  which  they 
had  fled,  and  then  return  to  the  political  serfdom  of  their  native  countries, 
content  to  live  in  more  or  less  ease  and  luxury  without  the  aspirations 
for  liberty  which  formed  the  undying  motives  of  the  immigrants  from 
other  lands. 

Perhaps  this  is  only  another  illustration  of  the  damning  effect  of 
despotism  endured  through  long  centuries,  but  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  it  is  in  part  due  to  an  inherent  difference  in  the  Latin  and  Anglo- 
Saxon  characters.  At  any  rate,  the  immediate  effect  of  the  tremendous 
immigration  from  Southern  and  Central  Europe  has  been  to  introduce  a 


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84         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

new  and  complex  problem  into  our  western  civilization — a  problem  which 
has  not  yet  been  entirely  solved,  although  it  bids  fair  to  reach  a  solution 
in  due  time.  The  worst  feature  of  this  problem  has  been  the  tendency 
of  these  people  to  congregate  in  large  numbers  at  industrial  centers,  to 
which  they  are  attracted  by  high  wages  and  the  growing  lack  of  "common 
labor,  and  at  which  they  are  inclined  to  perpetuate  the  incongruous  cus- 
toms, languages  and  standards  of  living  brought  with  them  from  the 
Old  World.  Where  they  are  gathered  in  large  numbers  they  are  likely 
to  be  left  almost  entirely  to  themselves,  and  the  fact  that  a  considerable 
percentage  of  them  are  men  without  families,  or  who  have  left  their 
families  behind  them,  tends  to  accentuate  the  rather  low  standard  of 
morals  to  be  expected  among  them.  The  churches  to  which  they  owe 
allegiance  exercised  a  tremendous  influence  over  them  in  Europe,  but 
these  lose  their  power  for  good  to  a  great  extent  here  because  they  are 
compelled  to  seek  financial  support  among  adherents  accustomed  to 
enjoy  the  ministrations  of  religion  at  the  expense  of  the  state  and  there- 
fore to  regard  churches  as  unnecessary  burdens.  Added  to  this  is  the 
fact  that  the  severing  of  home  ties  and  the  journey  across  the  seas  has 
a  tendency  to  overturn  former  conceptions  of  duty,  loosen  the  bonds 
which  held  these  immigrants  to  such  standards  of  life  as  they  may  have 
had,  and  make  them  more  than  ordinarily  susceptible  to  unsound  social 
and  political  propaganda,  which  reacts  strongly  upon  their  experience 
with  government  in  the  Old  World. 

At  this  particular  time  the  upheaval  which  has  occurred  in  Europe 
furnishes  a  further  tendency  to  disturbance  among  the  foreign-born 
people  of  this  country,  and  adds  not  a  little  to  the  task  they  find  in  ac- 
commodating themselves  to  American  ideals  and  American  principles. 
All  this  applies  only  to  those  born  on  foreign  shores  and  gathered  in  large 
communities.  It  is  very  different  with  the  immigrants  from  the  European 
Continent  who  come  to  America  to  settle  on  farms.  They  are  excellent 
agriculturists  and,  when  engaged  in  that  occupation,  rapidly  develop  into 
good  citizens.  All  through  the  country,  and  especially  in  the  eastern 
states,  where  they  could  not  form  agricultural  communities  of  their  own, 
but  have  been  compelled  to  locate  on  farms  among  Americans,  they  have 
mixed  with  the  population  to  such  an  extent  that  their  foreign  origin 
is  almost  entirely  forgotten. 

In  spite  of  the  unfortunate  facts  mentioned  above,  much  that  is  good 
can  be  said  of  these  people,  even  where  they  are  gathered  together  and 
form  so  important  a  part  of  the  population  as  they  do  in  the  Mahoning 
Valley.  They  are  industrious  and  frugal,  amenable  to  instruction  and 
eager  to  improve  their  condition.  Those  who  establish  homes  are  ambi- 
tious for  their  children,  especially  in  the  important  matter  of  education, 
and  these  children  make  excellent  progress  in  the  schools,  where  an  in- 
herited capacity  for  effort  and  self-denial  gives  them  a  marked  advantage. 
This  is  particularly  fortunate  in  view  of  the  large  families  usually  found 
among  these  immigrants,  who  seem  to  have  preserved  better  than  Amer- 
icans the  original  idea  of  the  purpose  of  marriage,  and  who  still,  like  the 
pioneers,  esteem  children  as  an  asset.  It  seems  possible  that  within  half  a 
century  these  people  will  form  the  most  important  part  of  the  population 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         85* 

of  this  valley,  not.  only  from  the  standpoint  of  numbers,  but  from  every 
other  standpoint,  and  it  is  therefore  gratifying  to  observe  the  progress 
they  are  making  toward  American  citizenship,  as  well  as  the  painstaking 
effort  of  industrial  corporations  to  instill  among  them  the  principles  and 
practice  of  Americanism. 

At  the  time  this  work  is  written  no  figures  worthy  of  consideration 
can  be  obtained  as  to  the  number  of  foreign-born  residents  in  the  Ma- 
honing Valley.  The  census  of  1910  is  of  little  or  no  value,  owing  to  the 
great  development  and  the  number  of  arrivals  while  the  census  figures 
for  1920  are  not  yet  available.  It  can  be  said,  however,  that  more 
than  half  of  the  men  employed  in  the  great  iron  and  steel  industries 
of  this  valley  were  born  in  Europe.  The  following  figures,  furnished  by 
the  most  important  of  these  local  industries  from  its  employment  records 
in  May,  1920,  throw  light,  not  only  upon  the  relative  number  of  people 
of  foreign  birth  employed  in  this  locality,  but  also  upon  the  amazing  num- 
ber of  nationalities  represented  by  them.  During  the  World  war  this 
company  had  on  its  payrolls  an  even  greater  variety  of  race  and  nation- 
ality, and  at  that  time  it  is  probable  that  there  were  in  the  Mahoning  Val- 
ley representatives  of  every  recognized  nation  on  earth. 

Nationality                        Number  Nationality  Number 

American   3.573      Canadian    14 

Slovak    1,105     Hollander 2 

Italian  775     Norwegian  5 

Roumanian 843      French    6 

Horwat-Croatian   794      Syrian 3 

Greek    419     Danish 2 

Polish    630     Saxon    17 

Hungarian    634      Swiss    3 

Colored    < .  436      Albanian 2 

Russian 215      Belgian   .    1 

Austrian   155      Arabian    30 

Servian   197      Salvadorian    4 

Bulgarian    131      Argentine  1 

English  120      Persian    2 

German    36     Luxemberger 1 

Irish    95      Abyssinian   1 

Lithuanian    76      Kriner    12 

Swedish    70      Ruthenian    5 

Spanish    21      West  India 1 

Welsh   51      Ukranian    35 

Scotch    31      South  American  1 

Bohemian   19      East  India  4 

The  above  classifications  are  not  strictly  accurate,  either  in  an 
ethnological  or  a  national  sense,  but  as  they  are  most  familiar  in  this 
locality  it  has  been  thought  best  to  give  them  here. 

Although,  as  has  been  stated,  a  majority  of  the  people,  who  have 
come  to  the  Mahoning  Valley  from  Eastern  and  Southern  Europe  dur- 


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86         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ing  recent  years  are  industrious  workmen  and  marked  by  the  virtues  of 
economy  and  thrift,  conditions  following  the  European  war  emphasized 
the  fact  that  their  communities  furnish  a  fertile  field  for  the  revolution- 
ary propaganda  which  gained  such  headway  in  Russia  and  other  parts 
of  Continental  Europe  during  that  struggle.  Investigations  made  by 
the  Secret  Service  Department  of  the  United  States  Government  during 
1919  disclosed  the  existence  at  East  Youngstown  of  a  regularly  organ- 
ized society  with  purposes  similar  to  those  of  the  revolutionary  elements 
in  Russia,  and  more  than  200  persons  of  foreign  birth  were  arrested  and 
examined  here  during  that  period.  The  strike  in  the  steel  industry  oc- 
curring on  September  22,  1919,  seemed  to  bear  out  the  suspicion  that 
this  element  was  expected  to  align  itself  with  revolutionary  plans,  also, 
since  this  difficulty  was  confined  almost  entirely  to  this  portion  of  the 
industrial  population.  With  the  elimination  of  dangerous  leaders,  how- 
ever, the  radical  tendency  instilled  among  these  people  by  organized 
propagandists  seems  likely  to  fail  of  its  purpose,  and  indications  at  this 
time  point  to  the  gradual  decline  of  insidious  doctrines  imported  from 
abroad  and  sown  among  them.  A  more  energetic  effort  to  Americanize 
this  large  foreign  population  has  been  one  of  the  benefits  of  this  mani- 
festation. 

An  incident  of  the  war  period,  resulting  from  shortage  of  labor  due 
to  mobilization  as  well  as  later  to  radical  tendencies  developing  among 
laborers  of  foreign  birth,  was  the  large  number  of  colored  people  who 
came  to  the  Mahoning  Valley.  Previous  to  this  time  there  had  been 
comparatively  few  negroes  employed  in  the  great  industrial  plants. 

People  from   Other  American  Communities 

Finally,  a  most  important  portion  of  the  population  of  the  Mahoning 
Valley  not  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  is  composed  of  people  who  came 
after  1870,  at  which  time  the  industrial  progress  of  the  locality  became 
marked.  These  people  could  probably  find  their  origin  in  all  of  the 
groups  discussed  in  this  chapter,  but  nearly  all  of  them  were  American- 
born  and  many  of  them  able  to  trace  their  ancestry  on  American  soil 
back  to  the  Revolution.  They  were  of  all  political  parties  and  all  re- 
ligions. They  came  to  the  communities  along  the  Mahoning  River  in 
search  of  opportunity,  found  it,  and  remained  to  become  excellent  citi- 
zens, with  a  just  pride  in  their  new  hfcme  and  full  sense  of  their  duty  to 
their  communities. 

No  estimate  of  the  number  of  this  group  can  be  made,  but  it  must 
have  been  large,  for  the  tremendous  growth  of  population  after  1870  is 
not  accounted  for  by  natural  increase  or  by  immigration  from  foreign 
lands.  These  people  cannot  claim  the  honor  of  descent  from  Mahoning 
Valley  pioneers.  Most  of  them  would  not  prefer  to  do  so,  for  they  have 
pride  in  their  own  ancestors.  They  are  as  much  a  part  of  the  commu- 
nity, however,  as  those  whose  forefathers  preceded  them,  and  have  con- 
tributed to  its  later  growth  and  prosperity  in  proportion  equal  to  any. 
They  may  be  found  in  all  occupations,  and  the  new  blood  and  new  ideas 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         87 

they  brought  have  often  appeared  to  great  advantage.  Forming  a  homo- 
geneous, harmonious  part  of  the  various  communities,  they  have  all  done 
their  part,  and  if  they  are  mentioned  last  in  this  discussion,  it  is  not  be- 
cause they  have  been  least  among  the  elements  contributing  to  prosper- 
ity and  progress  in  the  Mahoning  Valley. 


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CHAPTER  VII 

THE  FOUNDING  OF  YOUNGSTOWN  IN  1797 

Its  First  Settlers  and  Its  Early  Growth — the  McMahon-Captain 
George  Tragedy — Youngstown  to  1802 

One  hundred  and  twenty-three  years  ago,  when  John  Young  and  his 
intrepid  followers  encamped  on  the  banks  of  the  Mahoning  River,  their 
campfire  signalized  the  beginning  of  the  permanent  occupation  of  the 
spot  that  is  now  the  City  of  Youngstown.  To  them  goes  this  honor,  for 
history  reckons  as  the  founders  of  any  community  those  who  first  come 
to  make  their  homes  therein,  not  those  who  have  come,  tarried  and  then 
have  journeyed  on  or  retraced  their  steps. 

Before  the  advent  of  these  hardy  founders  of  Youngstown,  however, 
the  Mahoning  Valley  was  known  to  men  of  the  white  race.  La  Salle  is 
credited  with  being  the  first  white  man  to  penetrate  into  what  is  now 
the  State  of  Ohio.  But  before  him  there  were  those  mysterious  persons 
who  have  left  their  record  of  habitation  here  in  strange  mounds  and 
fortifications,  and  who  may  have  been  of  the  white  race.  And  the  West- 
ern Reserve  bears  testimony  to  the  presence  of  perhaps  another  white 
people ;  a  people  skilled  in  the  art  of  making  almost  modern  implements 
and  who  left  traces  of  an  occupancy  that  must  have  antedated  even  that 
of  the  most  daring  of  the  French  explorers.  In  1838  a  tree  was  cut 
down  in  Canfield  Township  that  showed,  seven  inches  from  its  heart, 
distinct  marks  of  the  use  of  a  sharp  ax.  Over  these  bruises  was  the  tree 
growth  of  160  years.  Toward  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  a 
skilled  axman  had  hewn  this  tree  nearly  to  its  center.  Trees  bearing 
similar  marks  are  found  in  other  parts  of  the  Western  Reserve.  Who 
these  stout-muscled  woodsmen  were  has  never  been  fathomed. 

While  La  Salle  and  his  followers  navigated  the  Ohio  River  as  early 
as  1676,  and  ten  years  later  unfurled  the  first  sail  on  Lake  Erie,  it  is  not 
likely  that  their  explorations  brought  them  to  the  Mahoning  Valley. 
Nor  did  Celeron,  Colonel  Bouquet,  Lord  Dunmore's  men  or  the  venture- 
some Virginians  of  the  early  days  come  so  far  northward.  Yet  as  early 
as  1755  the  salt  springs  in  what  is  now  'Weathersfield  Township  were 
recorded  on  Lewis  Evans*  map,  and  before  the  Revolution  Pennsyl- 
vanians  from  Washington  and  Westmoreland  counties  drove  their 
canoes  or  flat  boats  up  the  Mahoning  to  the  salt  springs  to  extract  this 
necessary  product  from  the  saline  water  by  the  process  of  evaporation. 
Ground  was  cleared  and  cabins  erected  there  by  the  salt  makers,  but  this 
industry  appears  to  have  been  abandoned  during  the  Revolution.  In 
1778  General  Edward  Hand,  in  command  at  Pittsburgh,  followed  the 

88 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         89 

Mahoning  Valley,  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  soldiers,  en  route  to  capture 
British  stores  believed  to  be  cached  along  the  Cuyahoga  River.  Mor- 
avians encamped  temporarily  along  the  Cuyahoga  as  early  as  1786,  and 
in  1756  there  was  a  French  trading  cabin  on  that  stream.  Duncan  & 
Wilson,  of  Pittsburgh,  traders,  employed  men  who  made  trips  over 
the  route  that  led  from  Pittsburgh  to  the  mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga  by  way 
of  the  Mahoning  Valley  ten  years  or  more  before  Youngstown  was 
founded.  In  1786  one  of  their  employes,  a  storekeeper  in  charge  of  the 
company's  cabin  at  the  salt  springs,  was  murdered  by  the  Indians.  In 
1786,  too,  Col.  James  Hillman  built  a  cabin  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cuy- 
ahoga for  Duncan  &  Wilson  and  the  Mahoning  Valley  was  a  familiar 
spot  to  him  a  decade  before  he  located  here.  To  other  Pennsylvania 
traders,  trappers  and  hunters  the  Mahoning  Valley  region  was  also  well 
known. 

General  Samuel  H.  Parsons,  who,  in  1788,  purchased  the  Salt  Spring 
tract  from  Connecticut,  was  not  unfamiliar  with  this  territory.  It  was 
in  1789,  after  he  had  been  west  of  the  Cuyahoga  River  negotiating  a 
treaty  with  the  Wyandot  Indians,  that  this  jurist-soldier-pioneer  lost 
his  life  at  the  falls  of  the  Big  Beaver  River  after  he  had  passed  along 
the  Mahoning  in  his  canoe  in  an  attempt  to  prove  that  this  stream  was 
navigable.  Then,  too,  there  were  restless,  and  frequently  shiftless, 
"squatters"  who  had  pre-empted  lands  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  in  the 
closing  decades  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  were  living  here  in  com- 
fortable isolation  when  the  Connecticut  Land  Company's  surveyors  and 
the  earliest  of  the  pioneers  who  had  purchased  their  titles  from  the  State 
of  Connecticut  reached  here  in  1796-97. 

Chance  or  good  judgment — just  which,  no  one  can  say — dictated 
that  Youngstown  should  be  the  first  actual  settlement  on  the  Western 
Reserve.  It  is  an  honor  Youngstown  fairly  holds,  as  the  village  laid  out 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga  River  in  1796  by  Gen.  Moses  Cleaveland 
was  not  settled  at  that  time  by  men  who  came  as  permanent  residents. 

In  providing  for  the  distribution  of  the  lands  of  the  Connecticut 
Land  Comp&ny  the  members  of  that  company  prudently  decided  that  six 
townships  of  the  Western  Reserve  should  be  sold  outright,  in  whole  or 
in  part,  to  actual  settlers.  With  considerable  foresight  they  knew  that 
the  survey  and  apportionment  of  the  Reserve  would  entail  considerable 
expense  before  any  revenues  would  be  returned.  The  immediate  sale 
of  the  six  townships  was  proposed  to  insure  earlier  returns,  and,  in 
keeping  with  instructions  given  them,  the  directors  of  the  Connecticut 
Land  Company  made  the  six-township  selection  some  time  in  1796. 
Five  of  the  townships  chosen  border  on  Lake  Erie  and  it  is  reasonable  to 
conclude  that  this  influenced  their  selection. 

Just  why  township  two  of  range  two — now  known  as  the  City  of 
Youngstown — should  have  been  selected  as  the  sixth,  is  unexplained. 
Surveyors  in  the  employ  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  who  ran  the 
lines  in  southeastern  part  of  the  Reserve  in  the  summer  of  1796,  speak 
of  encamping  on  the  banks  of  the  Mahoning,  and  from  two  white  men, 
traders  or  salt  makers,  whom  they  met  there,  they  learned  that  "about 
twelve  miles  below  the  Pennsylvania  line  on  Big  Beaver  River  there  was 


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90         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

an  excellent  set  of  mills,  and  farther  on,  or  about  twenty-five  miles  be- 
low the  Pennsylvania  line,  there  was  a  town  being  built  where  provisions 
of  all  kinds  could  be  procured,  and  carried  thence  up  the  river  into  the 
heart  of  the  Connecticut  Reserve."  This  favorable  location  is  some- 
times accepted  as  influencing  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  to  select 
township  two,  range  two,  as  one  of  the  desirable  townships  that  might 
be  offered  for  immediate  sale.  This  deduction  is  wholly  incorrect,  in- 
asmuch as  the  surveyors'  report  referred  to  territory  within  township 
one,  range  one,  of  the  Reserve,  now  known  as  Poland  Township.  If 
proximity  to  the  Town  of  Beaver  had  influenced  the  directors  Poland 
Township,  and  not  Youngstown  Township,  would  have  been  offered  for 
sale.  It  could  not  have  been  the  coal  afterwards  found  in  Youngstown 
Township  that  made  this  sub-division  appear  especially  desirable  as 
little  heed  appears  to  have  been  given  this  valued  product.  It  could  not 
have  been  bodies  of  lean  iron  ore,  as  there  is  no  record  that  their 
presence  was  known  when  the  sale  was  made.  It  could  not  have  been 
the  falls  of  Mill  Creek — valuable  as  they  would  be  in  an  age  when  the 
gristmill  and  sawmill  were  the  most  necessary  of  all  industries — for  the 
presence  of  these  falls  was  apparently  unknown  to  the  Connecticut  Land 
Company  prior  to  the  settlement  of  the  township. 

It  is  merely  a  matter  of  record  that  the  directors  of  the  land  com- 
pany— or  someone  else — selected  this  especial  spot  out  of  the  entire 
Reserve  east  of  the  Cuyahoga  River — and  chose  so  well  that  after  a 
lapse  of  a  century  and  a  quarter  the  sub-division  they  offered  for  imme- 
diate sale  is  the  site  of  the  richest  city  in  the  entire  Western  Reserve 
outside  the  spot  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga  River  that  was  unerringly 
chosen  while  it  was  yet  in  a  wilderness  state  as  the  location  for  the  me- 
tropolis of  New  Connecticut. 

In  fixing  the  date  for  the  actual  settlement  of  Youngstown  history 
and  tradition  conflict,  as  they  have  done  on  many  another  occasion. 
Tradition,  and,  to  some  extent,  even  written  history,  records  that  it  was 
in  the  early  summer  of  1796  that  John  Young  and  his  party  of  settlers 
reached  their  western  acres  to  remain  permanently,  but  the  entire  pre- 
ponderance of  evidence  indicates  that  it  was  actually  a  year  later  when 
permanent  settlement  was  made. 

The  exact  date  at  which  John  Young  purchased  from  the  Connecticut 
Land  Company  the  tract  of  land  that  now  bears  his  name,  and  the  cir- 
cumstances surrounding  that  purchase,  are  unanswered  questions. 
Young  was  not  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  nor  even 
a  resident  of  the  State  of  Connecticut.  Born  at  Petersborough,  New 
Hampshire,  on  March  8,  1763,  John  Young  emigrated  to  Whitestown, 
or  Whitesboro,  New  York,  about  1780.  There,  in  June,  1792,  he  was 
married  to  Mary  Stone  White,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Judge  Hugh 
White,  the  founder  of  Whitestown.  Judge  White  was  a  New  England- 
er,  of  English  descent,  who  had  removed  from  Middletown,  Connecti- 
cut, to  the  wilderness  of  New  York  State,  having  purchased  a  tract  of 
land  there  large  enough  to  provide  a  good  farm  for  each  of  his  eight 
children.  Four  years  after  his  marriage,  or  in  1796,  Young  caught  the 
prevailing  fever  for  westward  migration  and.  while  not  a  Connecticut 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         91 

man,  it  was  natural  that  his  footsteps  should  have  been  directed  toward 
the  Western  Reserve. 

There  were  several  considerations  that  probably  influenced  Young 
in  his  decision.  These  settlements  of  Eastern  and  Central  New  York 
State  were  made  up  largely  of  New  England  people  and  there  was  a 
close  association  between  them  and  their  neighbors  across  the  line  in 
Connecticut  and  adjoining  states.  The  purchase  made  by  the  Connecti- 
cut Land  Company  was  probably  known  to  New  York  State  settlers 
soon  after  it  was  negotiated  and  further  interest  and  enthusiasm  must 
have  been  awakened  by  the  westward  journey  of  the  land  company's 
surveying  party  in  the  spring  of  1796,  for  this  party  passed  Whitestown 
in  making  its  way  slowly  up  the  Mohawk,  poling  the  clumsy  batteaux 
or  flat  boats  against  the  river's  current.  Furthermore  a  direct  connec- 
tion is  established  between  Young  and  the  Connecticut  Land  Company 
when  it  is  understood  that  Young  did  not  act  alone  in  making  the  pur- 
chase of  township  two,  range  two,  of  the  Western  Reserve,  but  was 
joined  in  this  purchase  by  his  brother-in-law,  Philo  White,  and  by 
Lemuel  Storrs,  of  Middletown,  Connecticut,  who  was  one  of  the  orig- 
inal members  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  and  a  signer  of  the 
articles  of  association  and  agreement  of  the  company  on  September  5, 

1795. 

The  original  contract  between  Young,  White  and  Storrs  on  one  hand 
and  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  on  the  other  cannot  be  found  and 
undoubtedly  was  destroyed.  In  a  letter  to  John  M.  Edwards,  read  at  a 
meeting  of  pioneers  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  on  September  io,  1875, 
Charles  C.  Young,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  son  of  John  Young,  says 
that,  "after  my  father's  death  in  1825,  and  my  mother's  sale  of  her  home 
farm  a  few  years  later,  the  old  .tin  case  containing  the  Ohio  title,  deeds, 
surveys,  maps,  etc.,  was  mislaid  and  finally  lost.  *  *  *  A  small 
package  has,  however,  come  to  me  from  which  I  will  select  a  few  and 
send  you." 

Only  one  of  these  documents  throws  any  light  on  the  purchase  made 
from  the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  and  this  one  document  is  not  the 
original  contract  for  the  land  purchase.  It  is  merely  a  map  of  the  town- 
ship divided  into  lots.  On  one  of  these  lots,  which  includes  about  one- 
third  of  the  entire  township,  on  the  east  side,  is  an  entry  reading : 

"Five  thousand,  five  hundred  acres  disposed  of  to  Hill,  Sheehy  and 
others,  by  contract  with  John  Young,  on  which  they  are  to  settle  with 
seventeen  families." 

On  the  margin  of  the  map  is  the  following  entry: 

"This  may  certify  that  we,  being  equally  interested  in  township  two 
in  the  second  range  in  the  Connecticut  Reserve,  do  agree  to  the  above 
sale  of  the  five  thousand,  five  hundred  acres  to  the  actual  settlers  as 
above,  and  do  likewise  agree  to  the  division  of  the  remainder  in  the 
manner  to  which  our  names  are  annexed  in  the  above  sketch. 

"Middletown,  January  30,  1797." 

The  names  of  those  signing  the  agreement  are  cut  off  but  they  were 
undoubtedly  John  Young,  Philo  White  and  Lemuel  Storrs*. 

Annexed  to  this  map  is  a  conveyance  from  Philo  White  to  John 


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92         YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Young  of  White's  interest  in  the  land.  This  conveyance  is  dated  Febru- 
ary 9,  1797,  the  consideration  paid  by  Young  to  White  being  $1,050. 
There  is  no  record  of  the  conveyance  of  Storrs'  interest  to  Young  but  it 
is  apparent  that  this  was  executed  about  the  same  time,  and  with  their 
release  White  and  Storrs  pass  out  of  existence  insofar  as  Youngstown 
and  the  Mahoning  Valley  are  concerned.  Their  interest  appears  to  have 
been  merely  that  of  investors  anyway.  It  is  not  likely  that  either  one  of 
them  ever  visited  the  Western  Reserve,  and  that  they  did  not  expect  to 
locate  here  is  apparent  from  the  fact  that  they  were  at  all  times  silent 
partners  in  the  transaction.  In  the  letter  above  quoted  Charles  C.  Young 
touches  on  this  by  saying  that 

"  *  *  *  It  appears  that  my  mother's  brother,  Philo  White,  of 
Whitestown,  New  York,  together  with  Lemuel  Storrs,  of  Middletown, 
Connecticut,  a  lawyer  by  profession,  *  *  *  were  at  first  equally 
interested  with  my  father  in  the  purchase;  that  a  private  company- 
article  was  entered  into  between  them  in  regard  to  it,  but  the  contract 
was  made  by  my  father  alone  with  the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  to 
whom  only  they  executed  their  deed  for  the  township  *  *  *  that 
the  date  of  the  contract  must  have  been  in  1796,  if  not  in  1795,  to  give 
time  for  the  survey,  inspection,  and  location  of  the  land,  which  my 
father,  as  a  practical  surveyor,  zvould  hardly  have  thought  of  buying 
without;  and  then  for  the  sale  to  Sheehy  and  division  of  the  balance  on 
paper,  for  which  preliminary  surveys  must  have  been  made,  all  before 
January,  1797,  and  February  9,  1797,  the  date  of  White's  conveyance 
back  to  my  father  of  all  his  interest  therein." 

Thus,  on  February  9,  1797,  John  Young  became  sole  owner  of  the 
yet  unnamed  township  in  the  Connecticut  Western  Reserve,  his  claim  of 
course  being  subject  to  the  purchases  made  by  Daniel  Sheehy,  Phineas 
Hill,  "and  others."  These  sales,  including  as  they  did,  about  one-third 
of  the  township,  did  not  figure  in  the  negotiations  between  Young  and 
the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  so  that  title  was  to  be  delivered  to  him 
alone.  At  this  time  Young  was  a  purchaser  only  by  land  contract.  The 
actual  conveyance  of  the  deed  for  township  two,  range  two  of  the  West- 
ern Reserve  from  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  to  Young  was  not 
made  until  April  9,  1800.  This  conveyance  shows  that  John  Young  pur- 
chased the  15,560  acres  of  land  in  the  township — now  practically  identi- 
cal with  the  City  of  Youngstown — for  a  consideration  of  $16,085.16. 
Young  at  that  time  executed  a  mortgage  on  the  township  to  the  Con- 
necticut Land  Company  for  the  purchase  price,  or  part  of  that  price. 
The  negotiations  between  Young  and  the  Connecticut  Land  Company 
were  conducted  during  the  year  1798  to  1800  by  Turhand  Kirtland, 
agent  for  the  land  company. 

While  the  actual  settlement  of  Youngstown  Township  was  not  made 
in  1796,  John  Young  and  his  party,  including  Alfred  Wolcott  and  Dahiel 
Sheehy.  made  a  preliminary  trip  here  that  year.  Pioneer  tradition  tells 
of  such  a  visit,  and  this  tradition  is  supported  by  the  statement  of 
Young's  son.  given  above,  that  "he  (Young)  would  hardly  have  thought 
of  buying  without  a  survey,  inspection  and  location  of  the  land." 

Further  corroboration  is  found  in  the  legend  that  surrounds  Council 


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YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 


93 


Rock,  an  immense  granite  boulder  that  attracts  the  attention  of  passers- 
by  in  Lincoln  Park,  in  the  East  End  of  the  city.  The  legend  of  Council 
Rock  was  set  down  in  print  almost  twenty-five  years  ago  by  William  G. 
Conner,  a  pioneer  resident  of  the  Dry  Run  Valley,  of  which  Lincoln 
Park  is  a  part. 

In  his  story  Mr.  Conner  relates  that  while  on  a  hunting  trip  in  a 
sparsely  settled  section  of  Illinois  in   1865  he  met  a  veteran   trapper, 


John  Young,  Founder  of  Youngstown 
(Courtesy  of  Hitchcock  Bros.) 

Cyrus  Dunlap  by  name,  who  showed  a  familiarity  with  the  Dry  Run 
Valley.  In  explanation  of  this  Dunlap,  then  a  white-haired  man  of 
eighty-five  years,  told  his  auditor  that  he  was  a  boy  of  sixteen  years 
residing  in  Fayette  County,  Pennsylvania,  when  a  surveying  party 
headed  by  Alfred  Wolcott  passed  through  Fayette  County  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1796,  en  route  to  survey  and  inspect  township  two,  range  two,  of 
the  Connecticut  Reserve  for  John  Young.  Dunlap  was  eager  to  accom- 
pany the  surveyors,  and  when  permission  to  do  so  was  refused  by  his 
parents  he  and  a  boy  companion  stole  away  from  home  two  days  after 
the  surveyors  had  gone  on,  and  overtook  Wolcott's  party.     The  lads 


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94         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

journeyed  on  to  the  Reserve  with  the  surveyors  and  spent  the  summer 
of  1796  helping  the  men  who  were  laying  out  John  Young's  township. 
On  completing  the  work  about  December  1,  Dunlap  said,  the  surveyors 
went  back  East,  his  boy  companion  returned  home,  but  Dunlap  himself 
had  become  enamored  of  the  free  life  of  the  wilds  and  remained  behind,, 
only  to  move  ever  westward  as  civilization  overtook  him. 

The  old  trapper's  assurance  that  this  survey  took  place  in  1796  and 
that  the  surveying  party  returned  to  the  East  before  winter  set  in  con- 
firms the  belief  that  an  initial  visit  was  made  here  a  year  before  settle- 
ment was  begun.  His  insistence  that  the  Connecticut  Land  Company's 
surveyors  were  running  the  meridian  lines  of  the  Reserve  in  this  local- 
ity at  the  same  time  confirms  his  story,  since  it  is  known  that  township- 
two,  range  two,  was  run  by  Amos  Spafford  and  his  assistants  in  late 
July  or  early  August,  1796.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  John  Young 
himself  did  not  actually  accompany  the  surveyors  on  the  first  trip  as  the 
story  of  the  old  trapper,  handed  down  through  Mr.  Conner,  speaks  of 
Alfred  Wolcott  being  in  charge  of  the  surveying  party. 

The  Council  Rock  legend  is  a  fascinating  one  in  its  entirety.  Con- 
tinuing his  tale,  the  white-haired  old  trapper  told  Mr.  Conner  that  dur- 
ing the  progress  of  the  survey  in  1796  Wolcott  and  members  of  his 
party  found  two  French-Canadian  trappers  encamped  in  the  Valley  of 
Dry  Run,  having  built  for  themselves  a  rude  cabin  within  what  is  now 
Lincoln  Park.  These  French-Canadians  assured  Dunlap  that  the  east- 
ern part  of  Youngstown  was  once  a  favorite  place  of  residence,  or  meet- 
ing place,  for  the  Indians  and  that  a  large  area  of  ground  in  what  is  now 
Haselton  was  devoted  to  growing  corn.  Three  times  a  year  the  Indians 
came  from  East  and  West  to  hold  seasonal  celebrations  and  feasts,  their 
gathering  place  being  about  a  large  rock  that  stood  on  the  hill  above 
Dry  Run.  This  great  boulder  was  known  as  Nea-To-Ka,  or  Council 
Rock. 

In  the  year  1755  there  was  especial  cause  for  rejoicing.  On  July  g, 
1755,  the  French  and  Indians  had  overwhelmed  the  British  forces  under 
General  Braddock  near  the  spot  where  Pittsburgh  now  stands  and  ad- 
ministered a  defeat  that  the  Indians  believed  would  forever  prevent  the 
white  men  crossing  the  Alleghany  Mountains  into  the  hunting  grounds 
of  the  Indians.  The  day  of  the  autumnal  feast,  about  September  20, 
1755,  found  3,500  Indians  of  the  Seneca,  Shawnee,  Mingo  and  Dela- 
ware tribes  assembled  at  Nea-To-Ka  to  celebrate  this  victory.  The  corn 
crop  was  heavy  and  game  was  plentiful.  The  white  dog  had  been 
roasted  and  the  savages  were  engaged  in  the  feast  when  a  violent  wind 
storm  suddenly  descended  on  the  assemblage.  Its  path  was  but  200 
yards  wide,  but  in  this  area,  the  trees  were  laid  low  as  with  an  ax,  and 
in  falling  they  crashed  down  on  the  tepees  killing  squaws  and  children. 
In  the  midst  of  the  storm  one  single  flash  of  lightning  struck  in  the 
middle  of  the  party  of  feasting  braves,  splitting  the  great  rock  about 
which  they  were  gathered  and  killing  four  of  the  chiefs.  Fearful  that 
the  Great  Spirit  was  displeased  with  them  the  savages  biiried  their  dead 
— 300  in  number — and  hurried  away.  This  was  the  last  Indian  council 
ever  held  at  Council  Rock. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         95 

The  fantastic  story  of  the  old  trapper  is  curiously  corroborated  by 
several  circumstances.  When  the  white  men  first  came  here  the  Ma- 
honing Valley  was  a  No-Man's-Land,  inhabited  only  by  a  spiritless  band 
known  as  the  Blacksnake  Indians.  The  whites  found  a  tract  of  ground 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township  overgrown  with  underbrush  but  that 
had  apparently  been  tilled  many  years  before.  When  excavations  were 
made  for  the  foundation  of  the  original  Haselton  blast  furnace  fifty 
years  ago  skeletons  were  dug  up  that  indicated  that  this  spot  had  at 
some  time  been  an  Indian  graveyard,  although  mystery  surrounded  the 
time  and  the  circumstances  of  the  burials.  And  finally  Council  Rock  yet 
stands  in  Lincoln  Park  bearing  a  ragged  scar  where  one  end  of  the  great 
boulder  was  cleaved  off  generations  ago  by  some  mighty  act  of  nature. 

This  digression  into  the  story  of  Council  Rock  will  perhaps  be  for- 
given by  the  reader.  To  return  to  John  Young  and  the  founding  of 
Youngstown,  it  is  virtually  certain,  therefore,  that  Young,  or  his  rep- 
resentatives, visited  here  in  the  summer  of  1796,  and  it  is  highly  prob- 
able that  township  two,  range  two,  was  selected  as  one  of  the  six  town- 
ships of  the  Reserve  to  be  sold  outright  to  bona  fide  settlers  after  John 
Young  himself  had  made  the  selection,  the  directors  of  the  Connecticut 
Land  Company  agreeing  with  the  choice  made  rather  than  dictating  it. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  a  man  with  Young's  keen  judgment 
would  have  made  this  selection.  The  Mahoning  River  was  a  good  sized 
stream  and  this  would  have  a  natural  attraction  to  a  prospective  settler 
and  land  dealer.  Township  two  of  range  two  was  the  nearest  available 
land  to  the  settlement  at  Beavertown  except  for  the  township  now  known 
as  Poland,,  and  it  had  the  advantage  over  the  latter  of  a  wide  river 
valley,  Poland  Township  having  only  a  limited  area  in  the  river  valley 
between  the  hills.  That  the  commodious  valley  would  have  appealed  to 
John  Young  after  he  had  inspected  it  himself  or  it  had  been  viewed  for 
him  by  competent  representatives  is  apparent  from  the  fact  tihat  he  later 
pursued  a  course  opposite  to  that  followed  by  other  settlement  founders 
on  the  Reserve  when  he  laid  out  his  village  in  the  river  valley.  The  tend- 
ency at  that  time  was  to  build  on  the  hills,  a  not  unnatural  movement 
since  the  swamp  lands  of  the  lower  levels  were  looked  upon  askance  by 
the  early  settlers  while  the  good  drainage  of  the  high  ground  had  a 
decided  appeal.  In  defying  precedent  as  he  did  Young  showed  the  same 
canny  judgment  that  distinguished  all  his  actions. 

When  John  Young,  or  his  representatives,  visited  the  site  of  his 
future  town  in  1796  their  stay  could  not  have  been  for  more  than  three 
or  four  months.  That  Young  was  in  Connecticut  during  the  winter  of 
1796-97  is  certified  to  by  his  dealings  there  with  Philo  White  and  Lemuel 
Storrs  in  February  of  that  year  and  his  sales,  made  in  conjunction  with 
White  and  Storrs,  to  Sheehy  and  Hill,  on  January  30,  1797,  at  Middle- 
town,  Connecticut.  But  with  the  survey  of  the  township  completed  by 
the  Connecticut  Land  Company — and  probably  by  Young's  own  sur- 
veyors— and  with  Young  given  sole  ownership  early  in  1797  of  the 
western  lands  that  he  had  contracted  for,  the  stage  was  set  for  the  settle- 
ment and  occupation  of  the  wilderness  territory. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1797  that  John  Young  and  party  started  out 


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96         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

from^New  York  State,  or  perhaps  from  Connecticut^  to  the  Western 
Reserve.  Just  how  many  were  in  this  party  is  not  known,  nor  is  there 
any  record  of  the  trip  of  500  miles  or  more  through  the  almost  pathless 
wilds.  It  is  merely  known  that  he  was  accompanied  by  Alfred  Wolcott, 
his  surveyor,  and  by  Daniel  Sheehy  and  Phineas  Hill,  the  two  sub-pur- 
chasers mentioned  before.  That  there  were  others  is  probable.  Unlike 
the  Connecticut  Land  Company  surveying  parties  that  traveled  over 
the  northern  route  along  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  John  Young  and  his 
party  chose  the  southern  route  through  Pennsylvania,  crossing  the 
Alleghany  Mountains  and  following  the  slight  paths  through  the  river 
valleys  to  Pittsburgh.  That  they  had  the  full  equipment  of  supplies  is 
probable  but  it  is  unlikely  that  they  were  encumbered  with  any  pioneer 
wagons  or  even  horses.  In  June  the  party  had  reached  Beavertown, 
then  a  thriving  village,  but  the  outpost  of  the  wilderness.  Here  they 
stopped  with  Abram  Powers,  and  on  resuming  their  journey  up  the 
Beaver  and  Mahoning  Rivers  were  accompanied  by  his  son,  Isaac 
Powers. 

The  party  was  now  nearing  its  destination.  Its  members  had  under- 
gone hardships  and  privations  but  these  the  sturdy  pioneersmen  accepted 
as  necessities;  so  much  so  that  they  never  went  to  the  trouble  of  leaving 
any  printed  records  of  their  long  trip.  Tradition  records,  however,  that 
it  was  on  June  25,  1797,  that  John  Young  and  his  party  reached  their 
goal  and  encamped  on  the  banks  of  the  Mahoning  River  preparatory  to 
laying  out  a  town  in  the  wilderness  country. 

The  sojourners  from  the  east  had  reached  a  pleasing  land  here  in 
the  wilds.  Except  for  the  two  or  three  cabins  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cuy- 
ahoga River  that  scarcely  deserved  to  be  dignified  with  the  title  of  a 
settlement,  the  Western  Reserve  was  unclaimed  land,  untenanted  by 
white  men  and  almost  untenanted  by  Indians.  To  the  north  and  west 
there,  was  only  the  far-away  village  of  Detroit ;  to  the  south  there  was 
forested  silence  to  the  outposts  of  the  Marietta  colony.  Wearied  of 
their  long  journey  and  reaching  their  destination  amid  balmy  days  it  is 
probable  the  pioneers  were  ready  for  a  rest,  but  there  was  work  for 
them  to  do.     They  had  come  to  found  a  new  state. 

Scarcely  had  they  encamped  in  their  new  surroundings,  however,  be- 
fore an  event  occurred  that  influenced  greatly  the  work  of  the  embryo 
settlers.  But  a  day  or  two  after  their  arrival  Col.  James  Hillman 
journeyed  down  the  Mahoning  River  in  his  canoe  after  a  trading  expedi- 
tion among  the  Indians,  intent  on  reaching  his  home  at  Beavertown  for 
Independence  Day.  Passing  what  is  now  the  site  of  Youngstown  he 
noticed  smoke  issuing  from  a  camp  on  the  river  bank.  The  trained  eye 
of  the  woodsman  told  him  that  this  was  not  the  smoke  of  an  Indian 
encampment,  and  curious  to  know  who  were  the  white  men  who  had 
ventured  into  this  country  Colonel  Hillman  drew  ashore  and  there 
greeted  John  Young  and  his  companions.  The  meeting  was  a  mutually 
pleasing  one,  and,  if  we  are  to  accept  traditional  version  of  the  pioneers 
concerning  it,  even  one  that  partook  of  the  nature  of  a  celebration. 
Says  this  version: 

"The  cargo  of   Mr.   Hillman    (meaning  the   wares  he  had  carried 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY         97 

northward  to  trade  to  the  Indians  for  furs)  was  not  entirely  disposed  of, 
there  remaining  among  other  things  some  whisky,  the  price  of  which 
was  to  the  Indians  one  dollar  a  quart  in  the  currency  of  the  country — a 
deerskin  being  the  legal  tender  for  one  dollar  and  a  doeskin  half  a  dollar. 
Mr.  Young  proposed  purchasing  a  quart,  and  having  a  frolic  during  the 
evening  on  its  contents,  and  insisted  upon  paying  Hillman  his  customary 
price  for  it.  Hillman  urged  that  inasmuch  as  they  were  strangers  in  the 
country,  and  just  arrived  upon  his  territory,  civility  required  him  to 
furnish  the  means  of  entertainment.  He,  however,  yielded  to  Mr. 
Young,  who  immediately  took  the  deerskin  he  had  spread  for  his  bed 
(the  only  one  he  had)  and  paid  for  his  quart  of  whisky.  His  descend- 
ants in  the  State  of  New  York,  in  relating  the  hardships  of  their  an- 
cestors, have  not  forgotten  that  Judge  Young  traded  his  bed  for  a  quart 
of  whisky." 

Which  legend  may,  and  may  not,  be  true,  but  inasmuch  as  John 
Young's  descendants  are  credited  with  telling  it  jokingly,  and  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  it  was  published  in  Ohio  historical  memoirs  before  the 
death  of  Colonel  Hillman,  its  truth  appears  to  be  fairly  well  established. 

Other  versions  of  this  meeting  credit  Hillman  with  being  encamped 
on  the  Mahoning  when  Young's  party  arrived,  and  with  hiring  out  at 
Beavertown  to  guide  Young  and  his  companions  to  their  newly  acquired 
lands,  but  the  version  above  given  is  unquestionably  the  correct  one. 

The  meeting  was  a  fortunate  one.  In  reaching  a  decision  relative  to 
the  establishment  of  their  town  the  advice  of  Colonel  Hillman  was  in- 
valuable to  the  settlers,  and,  appreciating  this,  he  remained  with  them 
for  two  or  three  days.  By  this  time  a  fast  friendship  had  resulted  and 
Colonel  Hillman  persuaded  the  party  to  accompany  him  to  Beavertown 
for  the  July  Fourth  celebration.  The  day  was  observed  with  fitting 
ceremony,  and  in  return  Young  persuaded  Hillman  to  return  with  him 
to  the  Reserve  and  assist  in  the  founding  of  the  settlement  that  Young 
had  planned.  A  woodsman  by  nature,  who  had  kept  consistently  on  the 
frontier,  Hillman  willingly  consented.  Reaching  the  site  of  Youngs- 
town  once  again  early  in  July,  1797,  Hillman  assisted  the  settlers  in 
building  a  log  house,  the  first  habitation  of  a  white  man  that  marked  the 
spot  that  is  now  a  great  city.  According  to  the  testimony  of  early  set- 
tlers this  house  stood  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mahoning  River,  near  what 
is  now  Spring  Common  and  about  where  the  stone  retaining  wall  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  is  today  located.  At  this  time,  or  shortly  there- 
after, Hillman's  wife  accompanied  him  to  Young's  settlement. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  these  pioneers  of  Youngstown  and 
the  Mahoning  Valley  were  of  that  rugged,  restless  type  never  afraid 
to  wrest  a  new  home  from  the  wilderness.  When  John  Young  came 
to  the  Western  Reserve  in  1797  he  left  behind  at  Whitestown,  New 
York,  a  wife  and  two  children,  John  and  George.  It  was  1799  before 
he  had  prepared  a  home  that  'he  believed  suitable  for  them.  In  that  year 
Young  brought  his  wife  and  family  to  the  new  settlement,  and  here  two 
more  children  were  born  to  them,  William  C,  in  November,  1799,  and 
Mary,  in  February,  1802.  In  1803  the  mother  found  the  trials  of  fron- 
Tol.  1—7 


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98         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VADLEY 

tier  life  too  great  for  her,  and  John  Young,  in  deference  to  her  wishes, 
returned  with  his  family  to  Whitestown 

Young  visited  the  settlement  on  several  occasions  thereafter,  the 
last  time  in  1814,  but  never  again  became  a  resident  here.  In  its  early 
days  his  family  thus  passed  out  of  the  active  history  of  the  city ;  there- 
fore no  descendant  of  John  Young  today  resides  in  the  great  community 
that  bears  his  name.  Young  died  at  Whitestown,  in  April,  1825,  aged 
sixty-two  years.  His  widow  survived  him  fourteen  years,,  passing  away 
in  September,  1839,  at  sixty-seven  years  of  age.  His  character  was  such 
that  he  was  a  man  who  always  commanded  respect  and  in  the  first  years 
of  the  settlement  was  one  whose  advice  was  much  sought. 

For  the  growth  of  the  struggling  settlement,  however,  John  Young, 
who  left  at  such  an  early  date,  is  perhaps  entitled  to  less  credit  than  is 
due  to  those  who  came  with  him  and  remained  to  fight  the  battles  of  the 
pioneers,  to  the  hardy  men  and  women  settlers  who  came  in  the  first 
dozen  years  of  the  existence  of  Youngstown,  and  above  all  to  Col.  James 
Hillman,  guide,  counsellor,  protector,  earliest  of  pioneers,  friend  to 
white  man  and  Indian  alike,  and  custodian  of  law  and  order  in  the  early 
and  struggling  days  of  the  settlement. 

James  Hillman  was  born  in  Northumberland  County,  Pennsylvania, 
on  October  27,  1762.  While  a  boy  he  enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  According  to  Roswell  M.  Grant,  who,  when  a  youth,  lived 
for  some  time  with  Colonel  Hillman  and  his  wife,  Hillman  was  captured 
at  the  battle  of  Yorktown  but  escaped  after  he  had  whipped  a  British 
officer.  Following  the  war  he  resided  for  a  short  while  with  his  father, 
whose  name  was  also  James  Hillman,  who  had  located  on  the  Ohio 
River  three  miles  below  Pittsburgh.  Again  in  1784  he  was  a  soldier 
under  General  Harmar  in  the  Indian  wars  and  was  discharged  at  Fort 
Mcintosh,  at  Beavertown,  in  August,  1785,  when  the  treaty  with  the 
Indians  was  made  there. 

Hillman  was  married  in  1786,  his  courtship  and  marriage  being  con- 
ducted in  the  same  dashing  way  that  he  had  fought  the  British  and  the 
Indians.  According  to  Mr.  Grant,  Hillman  met  his  wife-to-be  at  a  corn- 
husking,  and  after  dancing  with  her  several  times  proposed  marriage. 
The  proposal  being  acceptable  and  there  being  a  justice  of  the  peace 
present,  they  were  married  on  the  spot,  a  wedding  in  haste  that  apparently 
disproved  the  old  adage,  as  their  marriage  tie  was  severed  only  after  sixty- 
two  years,  when  the  pioneer  died  at  Youngstown  on  November  12,  1848. 
He  was  survived  seven  years  by  his  wife,  her  death  taking  place  on  August 
7,  1855,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years.  That  she  was  a  worthy  mate  of 
the  old  pioneer  and  capable  of  bearing  the  hardships  of  early  day  life  is 
vouched  for  by  the  chronicler  above  quoted  who  avers  that  he  was  often 
assured  by  both  Colonel  Hillman  and  his  wife  that  the  latter  never  owned 
a  pair  of  shoes  or  stockings  until  after  her  marriage.  Hillman  and  his 
wife  were  childless. 

Hillman  is  described  by  a  contemporary  as  a  man  about  five  feet 
eight  inches  in  height,  broad  shouldered  and  possessed  of  great  physical 
strength,  due  to  a  naturally  rugged  constitution  and  a  life  in  the  out- 


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YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 


99 


doors.    Hillman  and  his  wife  were  Methodists  in  religion  and  Mrs.  Hill- 
man  was  accounted  a  great  beauty  in  her  day. 

Having  taken  on  the  responsibility  of  married  life,  Hillman  settled 
down  to  a  steady  occupation.  In  the  spring  of  1786  the  firm  of  Duncan 
&  Wilson  of  Pittsburgh  entered  into  a  contract  with  Caldwell  &  Elliott, 
of  Detroit,  to  deliver  a  quantity  of  flour  and  bacon  at  the  mouth  of  the 


Colonel  James  Hillman 
(Courtesy  of  Hitchcock  Bros.) 

Cuyahoga  River  to  a  man  named  James  Hawder,  who  had  put  up  a  tent 
there  for  receiving  the  supplies.  In  May,  1786,  Hillman  hired  out  to 
Duncan  &  Wilson  as  a  packhorseman  to  deliver  these  supplies.  At  the 
mouth  of  the  Cuyahc^a  the  purchasers  had  a  small  sailboat  in  which  to 
carry  the  supplies  to  Detroit.  There  Hillman  and  his  party  built  a  rude 
cabin  of  logs,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Cuyahoga. 

During  the  year  1786  Hillman  is  said  to  have  made  six  trips  to  the 
Cuyahoga,  his  outfit  consisting  of  ten  men  and  ninety  horses.  The  route 
lay  along  the  Mahoning  River  past  what  is  now  the  City  of  Youngstown* 
thence  past  the  salt  spring  and  northwestward  to  tfhe  Cuyahoga.  In 
1788  Hillman  settled  at  Beavertown  as  agent  for  Duncan  and  Wilson* 


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100       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VAULEY 

and  remained  there  for  two  or  three  years  when  he  again  located  near 
Pittsburgh  and  became  an  independent  trader  with  the  Indians  and  served 
also  as  a  guide  up  the  Beaver  and  Mahoning  rivers.  Remaining  at  this 
work  until  1797,  Hillman  acquired  not  only  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
country,  but  became  likewise  familiar  with  the  characteristics  and  the 
language  of  the  Indians,  whidh,  together  with  the  confidence  that  the 
Indians  reposed  in  him  and  their  knowledge  of  his  fearlessness,  proved 
most  valuable  to  the  white  people  in  later  years. 

In  the  new  settlement  Hillman  became  immediately  a  leader.  When 
Trumbull  County  was  organized  in  1800  he  was  made  constable  of 
Youngstown  Township  and  later  served  as  tax  collector,  justice  of  the 
peace,  tavern  keeper  in  the  village,  sheriff  of  Trumbull  County  and 
member  of  the  legislature  from  that  county  in  the  session  of  1814-15. 
During  the  War  of  1812  he  served  as  a  volunteer  under  Col.  William 
Rayen.  Not  only  in  actual  term  of  residence  but  in  leadership,  .Col. 
James  Hillman  was  the  first  citizen  of  Youngstown  in  its  youthful  days. 

Alfred  Wolcott,  Young's  surveyor,  was  instrumental  in  founding 
the  pioneer  settlement  but  did  not  remain  to  witness  its  growth.  On 
February  11,  1800,  he  was  married  to  Mercy  Gilson,  daughter  pf  a 
pioneer  family  of  Canfield,  but  a  short  while  later  returned  to  the  East. 
Phineas  Hill,  one  of  the  original  purchasers  from  John  Young,  likewise 
was  but. a  temporary  resident.  Like  Wolcott,  Hill  married  while  resid- 
ing at  Youngstown  but  a  few  years  later  removed  elsewhere. 

Daniel  Sheehy  was  born  in  Tipperary  County,  Ireland,  in  1759.  He 
was  given  a  classical  education,  having  been  destined  for  the  law  or  the 
priesthood,  but  early  in  life  left  his  native  land  to  carve  out  a  fortune 
in  the  New*  World.  His  decision  was  hastened  by  the  fact  that  he  was 
an  outspoken  enemy  of  the  British  government,  and,  impulsive  in  tem- 
perament, plunged  wholeheartedly  into  the  movement  for  Irish  freedom. 
With  two  of  his  near  relatives  executed  for  opposing  British  domina- 
tion and  his  own  life  certain  to  be  forfeited  if  he  remained  in  Ireland, 
.  Sheehy  came  to  America  and  enlisted  in  the  Revolutionary  Army. 

Serving  until  the  end  of  the  Revolution,  Sheehy  located  in  Connecti- 
cut or  New  York  State  and  met  John  Young  at  Albany,  New  York,  in 
1796.  Sheehy  had  $2,000  in  gold  which  he  wished  to  invest  in  land  and 
he  accepted  John  Young's  proposal  to  emigrate  to  the  Western  Reserve. 
He  contracted  with  Young  for  1,000  acres  of  land,  a  contract  that  later 
caused  difficulty  between  Sheehy  and  Young.  Not  having  a  title  himself 
until  1800,  Young  could  not  give  title  at  that  time  to  sub- purchasers  and 
Sheehy  alleged  that  in  1799  Young  made  a  second  sale  of  part  of 
Sheehy's  land  at  an  advance  of  50  cents  an  acre.  To  prove  his  rights 
Sheehy  was  forced  to  make  two  trips  to  Connecticut,  both  of  these  being 
made  afoot  through  the  wilderness  in  the  dead  of  winter.  An  adjust- 
ment was  finally  reached  by  which  Sheehy  retained  title  to  400  acres  of 
land  but  relinquished  his  claim  to  another  600  acres. 

For  threatening  Young's  life  during  this  controversy  Sheehy  was 
arrested  and  fined  $25,  but  that  their  differences  were  later  settled  ami- 
cably is  apparent  from  the  fact  that .  Sheehy's  second  son  was  named 
after  the  founder  of  'the  city.     According  to  one  account  this  was  a 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       101 

feminine  wile  adopted  by  Sheehy's  wife,  and  really  brought  about  the 
adjustment  of  the  dispute  instead  of  following  it.  This  pioneer  woman 
was  born  at  Ligonier,  Westmoreland  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1775,  a 
daughter  of  Robert  McLain,  an  early  settler  of  Central  Pennsylvania. 
Having  accompanied  Hillman,  Young  and  the  others  to  Beavertown  to 
celebrate  the  Fourth  of  July,  1797,  Sheehy  there  met  Jane  McLain  and 
later  he  journeyed  to  Beavertown  on  horseback  for  the  wedding  cere- 
mony. Sheehy  died  at  Youngstown  on  January  20,  1834,  and  his  widow 
in  1856,  leaving  numerous  descendants  here. 

Isaac  Powers  was  the  youthful  member  of  the  Young  party.  He 
western-bound  emigrants  at  Beavertown.  Powers  apparently  had 
was  but  twenty  years  of  age  in  the  spring  of  1797  when  he  joined  the 
visited  what  is  now  known  as  the  Mahoning  Valley  prior  to  this  and  his 
father,  Abram  Powers,  had  been  here  several  times,  usually  on  hunt- 
ing trips,  although  on  one  occasion,  in  1778,  he  had  headed  a  party  of 
white  men  from  the  Ligonier  Valley  of  Western  Pennsylvania  who  had 
come  here  in  pursuit  of  a  band  of  murderous  Indians. 

Knowing  the  county  so  well  Abram  Powers  agreed  to  purchase  some 
of  Judge  Young's  lands,  and  Isaac  Powers  was  sent  along  with  the 
Young  party  to  make  the  selection.  He  also  acted  as  assistant  to  the 
surveyors.  On  his  arrival  here  the  younger  Powers  selected  600  acres  of 
land  for  his  father,  200  acres  of  this  lying  in  the  south  part  of  the  town- 
ship, across  the  river  from  Sheehy's  land,  while  the  remaining  400  acres 
lay  west  of  the  Mahoning  River  in  the  northern  part  of  the  township. 
Subsequently  the  younger  man  purchased  land  from  Young  on  his  own 
account.  Abram  Powers  came  here  soon  after  the  land  purchase  had 
been  made  for  him. 

Isaac  Powers  was  married  to  Leah  Frazier  of  Poland  in  1801  and 
died  in  Youngstown  in  1861,  at  eighty-three  years,  the  last  survivor  of 
the  founders  of  Youngstown. 

Powers  was  a  substantial  citizen  and  left  a  numerous  posterity.  It 
is  to  one  of  his  sons,  William  Powers,  and  to  John  M.  Edwards,  that  a 
great  measure  of  the  credit  must  go  for  collecting  and  preserving  in  later 
years  much  of  the  data  relating  to  the  founding  of  Youngstown  and  its 
early  history,  without  which  the  story  of  the  city  might  be  forever  lost. 
Their  work,  and  the  work  of  those  who  labored  with  them,  was  under- 
taken at  a  time  when  there  were  still  survivors  of  the  days  of  the  pio- 
neers living  in  Youngstown,  men  and  women  who  have  long  since  passed 
away  and  whose  voices  are  now  silent. 

Little  work  was  done  in  Young's  settlement  in  1797.  The  first  house, 
mention  of  which  has  been  made,  was  occupied  by  James  Hillman  and 
wife,  while  cabins  were  built  for  the  remainder  of  the  party.  One  Sun- 
day morning  in  August,  1797,  Isaac  Powers  and  Phineas  Hill  left  their 
cabin  on  an  exploring  trip,  and  after  proceeding  from  the  tiny  settle- 
ment for  some  distance  up  the  Mahoning  River  came  to  a  large  creek 
that  they  decided  to  follow.  A  trip  of  two  miles  or  more  brought  them 
to  the  falls  of  Mill  Creek,  they  being  the  first  of  the  settlers  to  gaze  upon 
this  cataract.  As  sawmills  and  gristmills  were  the  most  important  in- 
dustries  in  any  community  at  that  day,  and  as  a   fall  of   water  was 


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102       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

essential  to  their  operation,  the  explorers  immediately  realized  the  value 
of  this  great  supply  of  water.  Powers  had  already  selected  the  land 
on  which  he  proposed  to  locate,  so  Hill  immediately  chose  this  site,  and 
on  his  return  opened  negotiations  with  Young  for  the  purchase  ot  the 
ground  on  which  the  falls  was  located.  His  anxiety  awakened  a  curios- 
ity in  Young  and  the  latter  refused  to  sell  until  he  had  determined  for 
himself  just  what  made  this  ground  so  especially  attractive. 

Hill  then  told  of  the  existence  of  the  falls,  and  Young  consented  to 
the  sale,  with  the  provision  that  Hill  was  "to  erect  a  sawmill  and  some- 
thing that  would  grind  corn,  within  eighteen  months."  Under  contract 
with  Hill,  Abram  Powers  and  his  son  Isaac,  assisted  by  John  Noggle, 
then  erected  a  combination  sawmill  and  gristmill  at  the  falls.  While  this 
contract  was  taken  in  1797  it  was  probably  the  next  year,  or  perhaps 
even  as  late  as  the  year  1799,  that  the  work  was  completed,  as  the  men 
were  compelled  to  quarry  the  stone  and  fell  the  trees  to  get  materia!  for 
the  structure.  "Raising"  a  mill  was  somewhat  of  a  ceremony  in  those 
days,  and  as  there  were  not  enough  workmen  in  the  settlement  to  carry 
on  the  work  Abram  Powers  sent  to  Darlington,  Pennsylvania,  for  men 
to  complete  the  crew.  This  mill  was  probably  what  was  contracted  for, 
"something  that  would  grind  corn,"  and  was  not  an  adequate  grist  mill, 
since  Youngstown  lacked  this  facility  for  some  years  after  its  founding. 
This  structure  later  gave  way  to  a  more  pretentious  mill  built  on  the 
same  site.  The  mill  finally  erected  is  still  standing  at  the  falls  but  has 
long  since  fallen  into  disuse  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  originally 
intended.  The  building  eventually  put  up  passed  some  years  later  into 
the  ownership  of  German  Lanterman  and  the  mill  and  the  picturesque 
falls  were  given  his  name.  The  latter  still  retains  the  title  of  Lanter- 
man's  Falls. 

In  1798  the  partitioning  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company's  hold- 
ings in  the  Western  Reserve  made  possible  the  settlement  of  all  the 
Reserve  east  of  the  Cuyahoga  River,  yet  the  tiny  settlement  increased 
but  little  in  size  during  that  year.  New  cabins,  of  course,  were  built. 
James  Hillman  and  wife,  who  had  occupied  the  first  structure  of  this 
kind,  purchased  a' farm  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mahoning  River  and 
removed  to  their  new  holdings.  And  the  settlement  had  acquired  a 
definite  name.  When  purchased  by  John  Young  it  was  merely  township 
two,  range  two,  of  the  Connecticut  Reserve,  but  automatically  it  became 
Young's  township,  or  Young's  town,  the  designation  being  naturally 
blended  into  Youngstown.  This  appellation,  it  should  be  understood,  did 
not  apply  merely  to  the  collection  of  primitive  homes,  that  marked  the 
early  site  of  Youngstown.  In  the  early  days  "town"  was  merely  a  con- 
traction of  township,  on  the  Western  Reserve,  and  Young's  town  there- 
fore applied  to  the  entire  township.  It  was  many  years  later,  in  fact, 
when  Youngstown  became  an  actually  incorporated  municipality  aside 
from  the  township  of  the  same  name. 

In  the  first  three  years  of  its  existence  the  township  occupied  the 
peculiar  status  of  a  settled  subdivision  without  a  legal  government  of 
any  kind.  To  the  Federal  Government,  however,  the  settlement  was 
in  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  in  1797  Governor  Arthur  St.  Clair  of 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       103 

the  territory  included  all  the  Reserve  east  of  the  Cuyahoga  River  in 
the  newly  created  Jefferson  County,  with  the  county  seat  at  Steuben- 
ville.  To  the  settlers  Youngstown  was  part  of  New  Connecticut,  and 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  old  Connecticut.  When  Jefferson  County  at- 
tempted to  assess  taxes  against  them  in  1798  the  tax  collector  sent  here 
was  beset  with  ridicule.  The  one  experience  in  attempting  to  govern 
from  Steubenville  was  sufficient.  The  settlers  paid  no  taxes  and  had  no 
law  except  their  own  home-made  law — which,  it  might  be  observed,  was 
sufficient  in  a  community  of  men  who  had  come  to  make  homes  for  them- 
selves. 

Settlements  were  made  in  four  nearby  townships  in  this  year  1798, 
pioneers  building  their  cabins  in  Canfield,  Liberty,  Vernon  and  Brook- 
field.  John  Young  built  a  cabin  at  what  is  now  the  site  of  the  city  of 
Warren  in  1798  but  does  not  appear  to  have  had  any  intention  of  settling 
there,  the  building  being  probably  a  storage  place  for  grain  he  had  raised 
on  a  few  acres  of  cleared  ground  up  the  river  from  Youngstown. 
Ephraim  Quinby  and  Richard  Storer  came  on  from  Washington  County, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1798,  and  made  the  first  purchases  of  land  in  Warren 
Township,  but  it  was  the  following  year  before  they  began  the  actual 
settlement. 

Meanwhile  Youngstown  acquired  new  residents  until  the  records 
give  it  a  population  of  ten  families  in  1798.  Nathaniel  Dabney,  a  native 
of  Boston,  located  here  in  1797  on  land  he  had  purchased  prior  to  com- 
ing to  the  Western  Reserve.  The  same  year  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Mary  Keifer  of  Pennsylvania.  Titus  Hayes,  Uriah  Holmes  and  Henry 
Brown  are  recorded  as  having  come  to  Youngstown  in  1797  or  1798, 
and  in  the  latter  year  we  find  among  the  settlers,  Martin  Tidd,  the  par- 
ents of  Philip  Kimmel,  and  also  Robert  and  Hannah  Stevens,  John 
Swager,  William  Potter,  John  Swazy  and  Frederick  Ague. 

In  this  year,  too,  John  Young  achieved  his  ambition  of  laying  out  an 
embryo  village  in  the  heart  of  his  township.  In  this  work  he  was  for- 
tunate in  having  the  assistance  of  Turhand  Kirtland,  agent  for  the  Con- 
necticut Land  Company,  who  had  contracted  to  open  a  road  through  the 
wilds  from  Grand  River  to  Youngstown.  On  August  3,  1798,  Kirtland 
reached  Youngstown  and,  with  John  Young,  laid  out  the  new  town. 

The  town  plat  describes  Federal  Street  as  100  feet  in  width  and 
i>752  feet  in  length,  beginning  at  a  corner  post  in  front  of  Caleb  Bald- 
win's house  a  little  west  of  his  well,  and  running  east  through  the  middle 
of  the  plat  and  through  the  public  square.  Two  streets  paralleling 
Federal  are  provided  for,  known  as  North  Street  and  South  Street,  now 
Wood  Street  and  Front  Street.  North  and  South  streets  are  described, 
the  entire  tract  providing  for  100  lots  of  which  two  were  set  aside  as 
burying  ground.  These  two  lots  later  became  the  sites  of  the  old  court- 
house and  the  Elks'  Club,  both  being  at  Wick  Avenue  and  Wood  Street 
and  now  destined  to  be  lost  to  the  mapmakers  entirely  with  the  comple- 
tion of  the  grade  crossings  elimination  work.  Adjoining  the  town,  lots 
of  a  few  acres  each  were  laid  out  while  the  remainder  of  the  township 
was  set  aside  for  farms.  Today  Youngstown  includes  within  its  cor- 
porate  limits   the   entire  township   of   Youngstown   and    overlaps   into 


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104       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Boardman  and  Coitsville  townships.  The  town  plat  was  not  recorded 
until  August  19,  1802,  and,  as  we  have  explained  before,  was  not  an 
incorporated  municipality. 

The  marks  by  which  the  original  village  were  described  are  long 
since  lost  to  sight  but  even  to  the  present  generation  the  limits  of  John 
Young's  town  are  easy  to  visualize.  It  began  a  few  hundred  yards  west 
of  Hazel  Street  and  ended  just  east  of  Walnut  Street,  the  two  points 


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Original  Town  Plat  of  Youngstown  as  Laid  Out  by  John  Young 

in  1798 
This  drawing  was  made  from  the  original  map  about  1880  and  gives  the 
names  by  which  the  streets  were  then  known.     North  Market  Street  is 
now  Wick  Avenue,  and  Wick  Street  is  now  Commerce  Street. 

where  Federal  Street  narrowed  being  the  eastern  and  western  extremi- 
ties of  the  town.  It  is  rather  singular  that  while  this  history  is  being 
written  (in  the  summer  of  191 9)  workmen  are  engaged  in  widening 
West  Federal  Street  and  removing  the  last  visible  sign  of  the  limits  of 
Young's  original  town  in  that  direction.  That  John  Young  had  the 
vision  to  provide  for  a  public  thoroughfare  100  feet  in  width  through 
the  heart  of  his  village  is  an  act  of  wisdom  for  which  Youngstown  will 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       105 

be  indebted  to  him  forever.  It  is  highly  regrettable  that  his  successors 
did  not  have  the  same  foresight  as  the  village  expanded.  In  providing 
for  a  public  square  the  old  pioneer  likewise  showed  judgment  that 
proved  to  be  a  blessing. 

Turhand  Kirtland,  the  early  day  surveyor  who  acted  for  Young  in 
running  out  the  new  town,  likewise  had  land  interests  here.  While  en- 
gaged in  this  survey  he  disposed  of  two  lots  and  a  mill  site  near  the 
mouth  of  Yellow  Creek,  to  John  Struthers,  this  land  being  located  in 
Poland  Township  in  what  is  now  the  city  of  Struthers.  Judge  Kirtland 
was  a  prominent  figure  of  pioneer  days,  being  state  senator  from  Trum- 
bull County  in  the  session  of  1814-15  and  for  many  years  justice  of  the 
peace,  obtaining  his  title  as  an  associate  justice  of  the  court  of  quarter 
sessions. 

In  the  two  years  following  the  location  of  the  village  more  hardy 
pioneers  came  to  make  Youngstown  their  home.  In  the  spring  of  1799 
James  McCay  (or  McCoy),  a  native  of  Maryland,  emigrated  to  Youngs- 
town with  John  S.  Edwards.  McCay  resided  here  for  three  or  four 
years  and  achieved  considerable  prominence,  but  later  removed  to  New 
Orleans.  In  1829,  however,  he  returned  to  Youngstown  where  he  be- 
came a  substantial  citizen.  John  S.  Edwards  located  in  Warren  and 
later  was  destined  to  exercise  a  great  influence  on  the  Western  Reserve. 
Camden  Cleaveland  located  in  Youngstown  between  1798  and  1800. 

No  more  typical  example  of  hardy  pioneer  can  be  found  than  Capt. 
James  Gibson  who  also  made  Youngstown  his  home  in  1799.  Born  in 
Ireland  in  1740,  Captain  Gibson  came  to  America  while  still  a  boy  and 
eventually  located  in  Cumberland  County,  Pennsylvania.  Indian  fighter 
and  captain  of  company  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  Gibson  saw  all  the 
hardships  of  life  on  the  frontier,  but  with  courage  undiminished  we  find 
him  at  fifty-nine  years  of  age,  and  with  a  wife  and  large  family,  selling 
out  his  farm  in  Cumberland  County  and  coming  over  the  mountains  to 
New  Connecticut.  The  trip  was  made  in  wagons,  and  in  passing  through 
Youngstown  Gibson's  attention  was  attracted  to  a  profusely  flowing 
spring  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township.  The  objective  of  the  family 
was  Warren,  but  after  reaching  that  locality  Captain  Gibson  responded 
to  the  lure  of  the  clear  spring.  Returning  to  Youngstown  he  purchased 
300  acres  of  land  surrounding  this  natural  water  supply  and  erected 
thereon  a  pioneer  cabin.  The  city  has  now  built  itself  up  about  the  Gib- 
son farm  but  the  original  homesite  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family, 
and  Gibson's  Spring  down  along  Poland  Avenue  is  one  of  the  familiar 
spots  of  the  city.  As  the  father  of  four  boys  and  six  girls,  Captain 
Gibson  became  the .  progenitor  of  a  family  that  is  numerous  and  prom- 
inent in  Youngstown  today. 

In  1799  or  1800  came  David  Randall  and  Caleb  Baldwin,  the  lat- 
ter a  native  of  New  Jersey  and  later  resident  of  Washington  County, 
Pennsylvania,  Revolutionary  war  soldier,  farmer,  tavern  keeper,  a  jus- 
tice of  the  first  court  established  for  Trumbull  County  and  man  of 
prominence  and  influence.  Married  to  Elizabeth  Pitney  in  New  Jersey, 
Caleb  Baldwin  and  wife  were  the  parents  of  twelve  children  and  left 
many  descendants  in  Mahoning  County. 


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106       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Early  in  1800,  George  Tod,  native  of  Connecticut,  Yale  graduate, 
and  practicing  lawyer  in  his  home  state,  visited  Youngstown  with  a  view 
to  locating  here.  The  location  meeting  his .  expectations  he  brought  his 
family  to  Youngstown  the  following  year.  As  the  first  lawyer  to  settle 
here  he  was  destined  to  become  a  most  influential  figure  in  the  upbuild- 
ing of  Youngstown  and  the  Western  Reserve.  He  served  successively 
as  prosecuting  attorney  of  Trumbull  County,  secretary  of  the  Northwest 
Territory,  township  clerk  of  Youngstown,  state  senator  from  Trumbull 
County,  judge  of  the  common  pleas  and  supreme  courts  and  president 
judge  of  the  latter  court.  In  the  later  years  of  his  life  Judge  Tod  turned 
to  the  care  of  his  farm  at  Brier  Hill.  He  stood  out  prominently  in  the 
pioneer  days,  not  only  as  a  public  official  but  as  a  citizen,  and  his  mantle 
was  worthily  assumed  after  his  death  by  his  son,  the  late  Governor 
David  Tod. 

When  George  Tod  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law  in  Ohio,  at 
a  special  court  held  at  Warren  on  September  17,  1800,  fellow  counsellors 
admitted  with  him  were  Calvin  Pease  of  Youngstown  and  John  S. 
Edwards,  Benjahiin  Tappan  and  David  Abbott  of  Warren.  Elisha 
Whittlesey,  Homer  Hine  and  Samuel  Huntington  also  rank  with  Judge 
Tod  among  the  pioneer  lawyers  of  Youngstown. 

Previous  to  1800  Youngstown,  and  indeed  the  entire  Western  Re- 
serve, offered  but  a  limited  field  for  members  of  the  bar.  Legally  this 
territory  was  a  No-Man's-Land,  without  courts  or  means  of  prosecuting 
either  criminal  or  civil  suits.  The  residents  did  not  know  whether  they 
were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Connecticut  or  of  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory, but  happily,  about  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  George  Tod,  this 
vexatious  situation  came  to  an  end.  The  agreement  reached  between 
Connecticut  and  the  Federal  Government  in  the  spring  of  1800  made 
the  Western  Reserve  definitely  a  part  of  the  Northwest  Territory  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  Governor  St.  Clair.  His  proclamation  of  July  10, 
1800,  created  the  county  of  Trumbull  out  of  the  Western  Reserve,  the 
county  seat  being  Warren,  and  John  Young,  Camden  Cleveland  and 
Caleb  Baldwin  of  Youngstown  were  numbered  among  the  judges  of  the 
first  court  of  quarter  sessions  and  common  pleas  named  by  the  governor. 

The  opening  of  this  first  court  at  Warren  on  August  25,  1800,  was  a 
gala  occasion  for  the  entire  eastern  part  of  the  Reserve  and  from  all 
the  townships  the  hardy  pioneers  came  on  horseback  for  the  memorable 
event.  The  court  appointed  George  Tod  prosecuting  attorney  of  Trum- 
bull County,  named  James  Hillman  constable  of  Youngstown  Township 
and  granted  a  license  to  Jonathan  Fowler  to  keep  "a  publick  house  of 
entertainment/'  at  Youngstown,  this  institution  being  of  course  a  tavern, 
or  pioneer  hotel,  and  actually  located  at  Poland.  The  "township"  over 
which  James  Hillman  was  named  first  custodian  of  the  law  did  not  in- 
clude merely  the  surveyor's  township  known  as  Youngstown.  It  was  an 
artificially  created  civil  township  embracing  Poland,  Boardman,  Can- 
field,  Ellsworth,  Coitsville,  Youngstown,  Austintown  and  Jackson  town- 
ships in  what  is  now  Mahoning  County  and  Liberty  and  Hubbard  town- 
ships in  Trumbull  County,  ten  townships  in  all,  embracing  a  territory  of 
approximately  250  square  miles.    It  is  needless  to  say  that  Colonel  Hill- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       107 

man  not  only  patrolled  this  district  capably  but  that  he  had  no  hesitation 
at  taking  in  additional  territory  when  the  occasion  demanded.  The 
veteran  woodsman  who  spent  much  of  his  life  in  pathless  forests  in- 
habited by  wild  animals  and  Indians  was  not  concerned  about  distances. 

At  a  succeeding  term  of  the  court,  in  May,  1801,  the  county  was 
divided  into  districts  for  the  purposes  of  collecting  territorial  taxes  on 
land  and  was  also  divided  into  two  election  districts.  The  lower  districts 
included  the  civil  townships  of  Youngstown,  Warren,  Hudson  and 
Vernon,  elections  being  held  at  the  home  of  Ephraim  Quinby  at  Warren. 

But  if  there  had  been  no  need  of  courts  and  constables  heretofore, 
an  incident  occurred  during  the  summer  of  1800  that  showed  the  neces- 
sity for  some  lawful  protection  for  the  settlement.  This  incident  is  also 
notable  because  it  was  the  one  occasion  when  the  white  settlers,  not 
only  of  Youngstown  but  of  the  other  settlements  in  the  Mahoning 
Valley,  faced  that  horror  of  frontier  life — trouble  with  the  Indians. 

For  three  years  the  settlers  had  been  unmolested,  and,  on  their  part, 
if  they  had  little  respect  or  liking  for  the  red  men,  they  at  least  did  not 
molest  the  aborigines.  On  Sunday,  July  20,  1800,  however,  an  armed 
clash  came  between  white  man  and  native  that  resulted  in  the  killing 
of  Captain  George  and  Spotted  John,  two  of  the  Indians,  by  Joseph 
McMahon  and  Richard  Storer,  white  men.  The  white  men  charged  that 
the  direct  cause  of  the  outbreak  that  brought  these  two  deaths  was 
that  the  Indians  had  threatened  the  lives  of  McMahon's  wife  and  chil- 
dren during  his  absence.  The  Indians  charged  that  the  ill-feeling  went 
back  still  further  and  was  traceable  to  that  fruitful  source  of  trouble 
on  many  another  occasion — whisky. 

According  to  this  version  the  Indians  had  gathered  in  mid-July  at 
an  old  Indian  camping  ground  near  the  Salt  Spring,  in  what  is  now 
Weathersfield  township,  and  an  outcome  of  their  reunion  was  a  drunken 
frolic  in  which  they  were  joined  by  white  men.  McMahon,  who  lived 
on  ground  near  the  Salt  Spring  that  was  owned  by  Richard  Storer,  was 
one  of  this  party.  When  the  Indians'  supply  of  whisky,  which  they  had 
shared  with  the  white  men,  was  exhausted,  the  whites  sent  to  Warren 
and  obtained  a  new  supply,  but  refused  to  reciprocate  by  inviting  the 
Indians  to  join  with  them  in  consuming  it.  The  result  was  a  natural 
feeling  of  resentment. 

Whether  the  white  men  were  guilty  of  this  or  not,  it  is  certain  that 
McMahon's  family  became  an  object  of  persecution  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians.  That  they  were  selected  as  especial  target  for  the  red  men's 
spite  appears  to  have  been  due  also  to  their  isolated  position,  some  dis- 
tance removed  from  neighboring  settlers,  since  the  McMahon  family 
was  living  at  that  time  in  an  old  cabin  that  had  been  abandoned  by  the 
early  salt  makers.  Terrified  by  the  threats  against  her  life  and  the 
lives  of  her  children,  Mrs.  McMahon  gathered  her  children  together  and 
hastened  to  Storer's  house,  her  husband  being  employed  at  that  time 
by  Storer.  McMahon  and  Storer  returned  to  the  spring  with  them  and 
remonstrated  with  the  Indians,  who  promised  to  molest  the  family  no 
further.  This  was  on  Thursday,  July  17.  Friday  when  McMahon  re- 
fumed   to    Storer's  to  work  the  Indians  reappeared  at  the   McMahon 


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108       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

cabin  and  renewed  their  threats,  even  going  to  the  extent  of  striking 
one  of  the  children  on  the  head  with  a  tomahawk. 

On  Saturday  the  terrified  mother  again  started  to  Storer's  with  her 
children,  but  on  her  way  met  her  husband.  Accompanying  his  family 
to  the  Storer  home,  McMahon  told  his  story,  and  in  anger  he  and  .Storer 
at  first  decided  to  inflict  private  vengeance  on  the  red  men.  On  debat- 
ing the  matter,  however,  they  resolved  to  seek  the  counsel  of  Captain 
Ephraim  Quinby  of  Warren,  a  man  of  judicial  mind  and  calm  reasoning 
powers. 

Quinby  proposed  a  council  with  the  Indians  in  the  hope  that  he 
would  be  able  to  exact  a  promise  from  them  that  McMahon's  family 
would  be  left  unmolested.  While  it  was  his  intention  to  deal  peaceably 
with  the  natives,  he  mustered  all  the  available  men  in  Warren  as  a  pre- 
caution, and  with  his  armed  force  started  on  Sunday,  July  20,  for  the 
Indian  encampment.  Reaching  a  ravine  a  short  distance  from  the  camp 
Quinby  counseled  the  remainder  of  the  party  to  halt  until  he  had 
counseled  alone  with  the  Indians. 

Encountering  the  Indians  Captain  Quinby  asked  the  cause  of  the 
trouble  between  McMahon  and  the  red  men.  Captain  George,  who 
spoke  English,  dismissed  the  difficulty  lightly.  "Oh,  Joe  damn  fool," 
the  Indian  assured  Quinby.  "The  Indians  don't  want  to  hurt  him  or 
his  family.  They  drank  up  all  the  Indians'  whisky  and  then  wouldn't 
let  the  Indians  have  any  of  theirs.  They  were  a  little  mad  but  don't 
care  any  more  about  it.  They  (McMahon  and  his  family)  can  come 
back  and  live  as  long  as  they  like.  The  Indians  won't  hurt  them." 
Feeling  satisfied  that  the  trouble  had  been  adjusted  Captain  Quinby 
started  back  to  join  his  party. 

In  the  meantime,  however,  Quinby's  followers  had  left  the  ravine 
and  reached  the  high  ground  on  which  the  Indians  were  located.  On 
meeting  Quinby  all  the  other  members  of  the  party  halted  to  hear  the 
outcome  of  the  conference,  but  McMahon  passed  on  toward  the  Indian 
camp  and  failed  to  stop  when  Quinby  called  to  him  to  do  so.  While 
Quinby  was  relating  his  conversation  with  Captain  George  he  and  the 
remaining  members  of  the  party  ascended  the  hill  until  they  were  in 
plain  view  of  the  Indians.  McMahon  and  two  boys  of  the  party, 
Thomas  Fenton  and  Peter  Carlton,  who  had  meanwhile  hurried  on, 
were  already  at  the  Indian  camp. 

McMahon  saluted  Captain  George  with  "Are  you  for  peace?  Yes- 
terday you  had  your  men,  now  I  have  mine."  Captain  George,  who 
was  lolling  at  the  foot  of  a  tree,  sprang  to  his  feet,  seized  a  tomahawk 
which  was  sticking  in  the  tree  and  was  swinging  it  when  McMahon 
whipped  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder  and  fired.  Captain  George  fell  dead. 
Turning  to  the  white  men  McMahon  commanded  that  they  shoot.  The 
Indians  had  by  this  time  seized  their  guns  and  taken  refuge  behind 
trees.  Several  shots  were  fired  from  each  side  but  the  morning  was 
damp  and  thfe  guns  missed  fire.  Spotted  John  had  shielded  himself 
behind  a  tree,  with  his  squaw  and  papooses,  and  aimed  at  Storer. 
Storer  fired,  killing  the  Indian,  the  same  ball  grazing  the  squaw's  neck 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       109 

and  injuring  two  of  her  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  all  four  of  the  Indians 
being  in  the  direct  path  of  the  missile.* 

The  news  of  the  clash  between  the  Indians  and  the  whites  caused  a 
panic  in  the  settlements  along  the  Mahoning.  The  settlers  had  little 
fear  of  the  Indians  encamped  hereabouts  but  the  knowledge  that  the 
red  men  had  departed  hastily  in  the  direction  of  the  Indian  villages  at 
Sandusky  created  uneasiness  as  the  natives  on  the  western  part  of  the 
Reserve  were  more  warlike  in  character.  McMahon  was  placed  under 
arrest  and  hurried  to  Fort  Mcintosh,  at  Beavertown,  where  the  nearest 
jail  was  located,  while  Storer  evaded  a  like  fate  by  escaping  to  the 
woods.  The  following  day  Mrs.  Storer  and  her  children  started  for 
their  former  home  in  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  coolness,  courage,  woodmanship  and 
knowledge  of  the  Indians  possessed  by  Colonel  James  Hillman  saved 
the  settlers  from  a  possible  visitation  of  red  man's  vengeance.  Hillman 
had  not  yet  been  named  constable  of  Youngstown  township  and  had 
no  authority  other  than  the  natural  bravery  of  a  hardy  frontiersman 
who  was  respected  by  the  Indians.  Hurrying  to  Warren  on  Monday, 
Colonel  Hillman  learned  that  the  Indians  had  taken  the  trail  to  San- 
dusky, and  on  the  same  evening  he  started  alone  through  the  wilderness 
to  overtake  the  red  men  and  offer  them  friendship.  Hillman  appears 
to  have  had  little  sympathy  with  McMahon  and  Storer,  believing  the 
killings  to  have  been  unnecessary  and  unjustifiable. 

Hillman  overtook  the  Indians  on  Wednesday  morning  and  found 
them  at   first   suspicious  and  hostile  but   finally   succeeded  in   making 


*  The  version  of  the  McMahon  story  which  credits  the  Indians  with  a  promise 
to  molest  the  McMahon  family  no  further  is  the  generally  accepted  one.  It  is  given 
full  credit  by  Leonard  Case  in  his  manuscripts.  According  to  another  version, 
however,  Quinby  had  left  John  Lane  in  command  of  his  men  in  the  ravine  and  had 
instructed  Lane  that  if  he  (Quinby)  did  not  return  in  a  half  hour  Lane  would  be 
justified  in  believing  that  the  Indians  had  killed  him  and  should  march  on  and 
battle  with  the  Indians.  Quinby  not  returning  at  the  appointed  time,  Lane  and  his 
men,  all  of  them  armed,  emerged  from  the  ravine  and  found  Quinby  and  Captain 
George  in  conversation.  Quinby  informed  his  party  that  the  Indians  had  threatened 
to  kill  McMahon  and  Storer,  having  a  grievance  against  the  latter  because  he  had 
punished  the  red  men  for  stealing  his  whisky. 

The  white  men  reached  the  camp  with  McMahon  and  Storer  in  the  lead. 
Captain  George  grasped  his  tomahawk,  and  flourishing  it  in  the  air  walked  up  to 
McMahon,  saying,  "If  you  kill  me,  I  will  lie  here — if  I  kill  you,  you  will  lie  there," 
and  then  ordered  his  men  to  prime  their  guns.  The  different  versions  of  the  killing 
of  Captain  George  and  Spotted  John  agree  thereafter. 

Dealing  with  occurrences  after  the  killings,  one  account  relates  that,  "The 
whole  Warren  party  then  hurried  away  at  a  quick  pace,  while  the  Indians  were 
terror-stricken  but  remained  to  bury  their  dead,"  while  another  version  assures  us 
that,  "After  the  killing,  the  Indians  fled  with  horrid  yells ;  the  whites  hotly  pursued 
them  for  some  distance,  firing  as  fast  as  possible,  yet  without  effect.  *  *  *  The 
party  then  gave  up  the  pursuit  and  returned  and  buried  the  dead  Indians." 

That  the  white  men  showed  this  latter  consideration  seems  improbable. 

Judge  Kirtland,  a  most  reliable  and  fair-minded  man,  records  in  his  diary  that 
on  July  23,  1800,  he  was  in  Youngstown  on  a  business  trip,  adding  that,  "I  found 
that  Joseph  McMahon  and  the  people  of  Warren  had  killed  two  Indians  at  Salt 
Spring,  on  Sunday,  20th,  in  a  hasty  and  inconsiderate  manner;  that  they  had  sent 
after  a  number  (of  Indians)  that  had  gone  off,  in  order  to  hold  a  conference  and 
settle  the  unhappy  and  unprovoked  breach  they  had  made  on  the  Indians." 

Judge  Kirtland's  impatient  comment  indicates  that  he  believed  the  white  men 
were  at  least  seeking  trouble,  even  if  they  did  not  actually  start  it. 


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110       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

known  his  mission.  Yielding  to  Hillman's  diplomacy  the  Indians  con- 
ferred with  him,  but  were  deaf  to  persuasion  when  he  asked  them  to 
return  and  make  an  immediate  peace  with  the  white  men.  Even  prom- 
ises that  McMahon  and  Storer  would  be  tried,  and  offers  of  money, 
were  futile.  The  Indians  would  not  be  dissuaded  from  their  purpose 
of  going  to  Sandusky  and  holding  a  council  with  their  chiefs  there. 

"You  will  hold  a  council  there,  light  the  war  torch,  rally  all  the 
warriors  throughout  the  forest,  and  with  savage  barbarity  come  and 
attempt  a  massacre  of  all  your  friends,  the  whites,  throughout  the 
Northwest  Territory,"  Hillman  is  credited  with  bluntly  telling  the  In- 
dians. They  disclaimed  any  possibility  of  such  treachery,  declaring 
they  would  lay  the  case  before  the  council,  "and  within  fourteen  days 
four  or  five  of  their  number  would  return  with  instructions  on  what 
terms  peace  could  be  restored/' 

Hillman  returned  to  the  settlements  with  this  message.  His  failure 
to  persuade  the  Indians  to  return  with  him  is  said  to  have  been  accepted 
by  the  settlers  as  a  sign  that  a  general  massacre  was  possible,  and  some 
versions  of  the  McMahon  affair  credit  the  whites  with  having  repaired 
to  Ephraim  Quinby's  cabin  at  Warren  where  they  garrisoned  them- 
selves to  repel  the  red  men's  attack.  That  all  the  settlers  thus  fortified 
themselves  at  Warren  while  awaiting  the  Indian  messengers  is  improb- 
able, although  it  is  likely  that  at  Youngstown  and  Warren  the  whites 
suffered  dread  and  anxiety  and  worked  with  their  rifles  near  at  hand. 

Within  a  week  the  Indian  delegation  had  returned  with  the  message 
from  their  chiefs  at  Sandusky,  and  in  keeping  with  their  agreement 
met  the  white  men  in  conference  at  Youngstown  on  July  30,  1800.  Ten 
red  men  represented  the  natives  while  almost  all  the  whites  in  fhe 
Mahoning  Valley  assembled  to  learn  the  result  of  the  council.  Colonel 
Hillman,  John  Young,  Ephraim  Quinby,  Judge  Calvin  Pease  and  Sam- 
uel Huntington,  the  latter  afterward  governor  of  Ohio,  were  spokes- 
men for  the  white  men,  with  Hillman  as  the  chief  representative  of  the 
settlers.  The  Indians  asked  that  McMahon  be  turned  over  to  them  to 
be  taken  to  Sandusky  and  tried  by  Indian  tribal  law.  If  found  guilty 
he  was  to  be  punished  according  to  the  red  man's  code.  Apparently 
there  was  less  resentment  toward  Storer,  as  his  victim,  Spotted  John, 
was  an  outcast  Indian  and  not  a  favorite  among  his  own  people  while 
Captain  George  was  highly  regarded. 

The  Indians  were  told  that  this  settlement  was  impossible  as  Mc- 
Mahon had  been  arrested  by  the  white  men  and  was  now  at  Fort  Mc- 
intosh, out  of  reach  of  the  settlers  of  Youngstown  and  Warren.  The 
red  men  were  assured,  however,  that  McMahon  would  be  given  a  fair 
trial  by  white  man's  law  and  that  he  would  be  punished  if  guilty.  The 
Indians  finally  accepted  this  decision.  While  tradition  generally  makes 
it  appear  that  the  council  held  at  Youngstown  on  that  July  day  more 
than  a  century  ago  was  long  and  protracted  and  marked  by  impassioned 
speeches  on  both  sides,  Judge  Kirtland,  who  was  present,  dismisses  it 
briefly.    In  his  diary  he  says : 

"Wednesday,  July  30,  1800,  I  went  to  Youngstown  (from  his  home 
at  Poland)  to  attend  the  conference  with  the  Indians  on  account  of  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       111 

murder  of  two  of  their  men  at  Salt  Spring,  on  Sunday,  20th,  by  Joseph 
McMahon  and  Storer.  We  assembled,  about  three  hundred  whites  and 
ten  Indians,  had  a  very  friendly  talk,  and  agreed  to  make  peace  and 
live  as  friends." 

Meanwhile  Trumbull  County  of  the  Northwest  Territory  had  been 
organized  by  proclamation  of  Governor  St.  Clair  on  July  10,  1800,  with 
the  county  seat  at  Warren,  and  the  way  was  open  to  redeem  the  promise 
made  to  the  Indians  that  the  slayers  would  be  given  a  legal  trial.  Late 
in  July  or  early  in  August  the  governor  appointed  a  court  of  quarter 
session  and  common  pleas  for  the  county  at  the  first  session  of  this 
court,  held  at  Warren,  on  August  25,  1800,  George  Tod  was  appointed 
prosecuting  attorney  for  the  county,  bills  of  indictment  for  murder  were 
brought  against  McMahon  and  Storer,  and  Benjamin  Davidson,  John 
Bentley,  John  Lane,  James  Hillman,  Ephraim  Quinby  and  William  Hall 
were  required  to  file  a  $500  bond  each  as  material  witnesses  in  the  case. 

By  proclamation  of  Governor  St.  Clair  a  special  session  of  court  was 
held  at  Warren  to  try  McMahon.  The  prisoner  was  brought  from  Fort 
Mcintosh  under  guard  of  twenty-five  troops  from  Pittsburgh  and  placed 
on  trial  on  Thursday,  September  18,  1800,  with  George  Tod  as  prose- 
cutor and  Benjamin  Tappan,  John  S.  Edwards  and  Steel  Sample,  the 
latter  of  Pittsburgh,  as  counsel  for  the  prisoner. 

The  trial  attracted  not  alone  all  the  settlers  from  up  and  down  the 
river  but  from  most  remote  points.  Great  uneasiness  prevailed  and 
nerves  were  strained  to  the  utmost  for  there  was  still  fear  of  an  out- 
break on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  or  even  an  outburst  from  McMahon's 
friends.  Friday  was  devoted  to  taking  testimony  and  Saturday,  Sep- 
tember 20,  the  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  not  guilty.  According  to 
published  versions  of  the  trial  testimony  was  introduced  in  McMahon's 
defense  that  he  had  retreated  a  step  or  two  before  firing  on  Captain 
George  and  that  Captain  George  had  met  with  the  challenge  that 
"If  you  kill  me,  I  will  lie  here — if  I  kill  you,  you  shall  lie  there."  Ac- 
cording to  the  testimony  of  a  white  girl  who  had  been  a  prisoner  among 
the  Indians  and  understood  their  language  and  customs,  this  meant  that 
if  Captain  George  were  killed  the  Indians  would  consider  that  he  had 
been  slain  in  a  fair  fight  and  feel  no  hostility  toward  McMahon,  while 
on  the  other  hand  the  whites  should  ask  no  restitution  if  McMahon 
were  slain. 

For  some  strange  reason,  it  is  generally  accepted  that  the  McMahon 
trial  took  place  at  Youngstown.  This  error  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  McMahon  trial  has  been  confused  with  a  trial  held  at  Youngstown 
in  1804,  when  an  Indian  was  arraigned  for  killing  a  white  man  at  these 
same  Salt  Springs.    The  McMahon  trial  was  held  at  Warren. 

Pioneers,  in  fact,  were  wont  to  relate  incidents  relating  to  the  re- 
moval of  McMahon  from  Fort  Mcintosh  to  Warren  by  way  of  Youngs- 
town. According  to  these  stories  McMahon  was  not  only  accompanied 
by  a  guard  of  soldiers  but,  further  to  impress  the  Indians,  his  hands 
were  bound  with  hickory  thongs. 

"Dp  they  hurt,  Joe?    If  they  do  we'll  take  them  off,"  was  one  assur- 


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112       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ance  given  McMahon  while  the  prisoner  was  passing  through  here  en 
route  to  the  trial. 

McMahon  signified  that  they  were  no  incumbrance,  and  it  is  likely 
that  they  were  not.  \ 

While  it  has  often  been  intimated  that  McMahon's  trial  was  not  fair 
to  the  Indians  there  seems  little  evidence  to  sustain  this  view.  McMahon 
was  undoubtedly  guilty  of  over-aggression  in  interfering  with  what 
promised  to  be  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  difficulty  between  the  whites 
and  the  Indians,  but  it  is  equally  true  that  he  actually  fired  in  self- 
defense.  Storer,  apparently  was  still  absent  at  the  time  of  the  trial,  al- 
though he  subsequently  returned  to  Warren. 

Little  is  known  of  McMahon's  life  after  his  acquittal.  According  to 
popular  tradition  he  served  in  the  War  of  1812,  was  wounded  in  the 
Battle  of  the  Peninsula  in  September  of  that  year,  and  while  returning 
home  through  the  wilderness  after  being  given  a  disability  discharge 
was  slain  by  the  Indians.  Although  this  story  is  generally  accepted  it 
is  subject  to  serious  doubt.  A  man  of  somewhat  similar  name  served 
in  a  Trumbull  County  company  in  this  war,  but  the  company  roster 
gives  the  name  as  "John  McMahon"  and  Brigadier  General  Simon  Per- 
kins lists  a  "John  McMahon"  among  the  wounded  in  the  peninsula  fight. 
And  finally  a  "John  McMahon"  or  "John  McMahan"  of  Jackson  Town- 
ship served  as  a  Trumbull  County  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812  and,  ac- 
cording to  his  descendants,  was  wounded  and  slain  in  the  mariner 
recorded  above. 

While  the  outcome  of  the  McMahon  trial  was  a  complete  victory  for 
the  white  men,  the  result  was  accepted  without  protest  by  the  Indians. 
They  had  given  their  word  that  they  would  abide  by  the  verdict  and  the 
promise  was  kept.  The  red  men  returned  to  Youngstown  and  never 
constituted  a  menace  thereafter,  although  there  were  occasional  individual 
quarrels  between  white  men  and  aborigines. 

Meanwhile  the  settlement  grew  slowly  but  steadily  and  life  settled 
down  to  the  established  and  ordained  routine  of  work  and  frontier 
pleasures,  of  births,  marriages  and  deaths,  of  welcoming  new  immigrants 
and  of  churchgoing. 

While  there  have  been  various  claims  as  to  the  identity  of  the  first 
white  child  born  in  Youngstown,  the  first  that  can  be  found  recorded 
in  written  annals  was  a  daughter,  Betsey  Dabney,  born  to  Nathaniel 
Dabney  and  wife  in  1798.  She  was  married  to  Ransly  Curtis  of  Farm- 
ington  in  18 18.  Betsey  Dabney  was  not  the  first  white  child  born  on 
the  Western  Reserve,  however.  The  story  of  the  birth  and  tragic  death 
of  the  first  white  native  of  the  Reserve  is  told  in  the  preceding  chapter 
of  this  volume.  Other  records  of  early  births  in  Youngstown  show  that 
a  daughter,  Catherine  Sheehy,  was  born  to  Daniel  Sheehy  and  Jane 
McLain  Sheehy  on  February  17,  1799,  this  child  later  becoming  the 
wife  of  Neal  Campbell.  William  C.  Young,  son  of  John  Young  and 
wife,  was  born  here  on  November  25,  1799.  Prior  to  1800  a  son,  Isaac 
Swager,  was  born  to  Jotm  Swager  and  wife,  and  daughters  were  born 
to  Phineas  Hill  and  wife  and  Robert  and  Hannah  Stevens. 

For  two  years  the  settlers  here  had  existed  without  religious  services, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       113 

but  on  September  i,  1799,  the  first  clergyman  appeared  in  the  person 
of  Rev.  William  Wick,  who  held  services  and  preached  a  sermon  in 
Youngstown  on  that  day.  This  was  probably  the  first  sermon  ever 
delivered  to  an  audience  of  white  residents  on  the  Western  Reserve,  as 
well  as  being  the  first  in  Youngstown.  Reverend  Wick  was  but  a  visitor 
here  on  that  occasion,  having  been  ordained  but  a  few  days  before. 
From  1799  to  1801  he  was  pastor  of  the  churches  at  Hopewell  and 
Neshannock,  in  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania,  but  in  1801  he 
returned  to  Youngstown  to  become  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  congre- 
gation that  had  been  organized  here  the  year  before.    In  1801,  or  1802. 


r«OHlO    COONTICS 


'_  Map  Showing  Development  of  Ohio  Counties — 1799 

■r  ' 
the  Presbyterian  Society  erected  the  first  meeting  house  for  religious 
services  in  Youngstown,  this  building  being  a  log  structure  that  stood 
at  Wick  Avenue  and  Wood  Street,  on  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
present  Rayen  School  lot,  and  directly  across  the  street  from  the  present 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  whose  progenitor  it  was.  The  First  Presby- 
terian congregation  was  therefore  the  pioneer  church  organization  of 
Youngstown. 

The  first  burial  here  took  place  in  1799,  when  Samuel  McFarland, 
a  native  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and  a  teacher  of  vocal  music, 
was  interred  in  the  old  burying  ground  on  the  west  side  of  Wick  Avenue. 
His  death  took  place  on  September  20,  1799,  at  twenty-eight  years  of 
age.  The  entire  population  of  the  township  turned  out  to  attend  the 
funeral  ceremonies. 

Naturally  there  is  lively  interest  concerning  the  first  marriage  in 
Youngstown.     There   is   a   tradition    that   the    Rev.    Seth   Hart,    sur- 

Vol.  1—8 


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114       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

veyor  for  the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  performed  a  marriage  cere- 
mony at  Cleveland  in  1797,  but  if  this  wedding  took  place  it  is  not 
recorded.  In  Youngstown  marriages  began  almost  with  the  life  of  the 
settlement,  Daniel  Sheehy,  Phineas  Hill  and  Alfred  Wolcott  having 
taken  brides  within  two  years  of  their  arrival  here.  As  there  was  neither 
clergyman  nor  magistrate  at  Youngstown,  however,  these  marriages 
took  place  at  Beaver  Town,  Pennsylvania.  The  first  wedding  ceremony 
in  Youngstown,  and  the  first  on  the  Western  Reserve  of  which  there  is 
any  record,  was  performed  on  November  3,  1800,  when  Rebecca  Rush 
and  Stephen  Baldwin  were  married  by  the  Rev.  William  Wick. 

With  the  growth  of  family  life  came  the  need  of  educating  the 
young.  Coming  from  a  part  of  the  country  where  great  stress  was  laid 
upon  education,  the  settlers  did  not  long  neglect  this  important  duty, 
but  looked  about  for  a  meaps^of  giving  them  at  least  the  rudiments  of 
learning.  The  first  school  was  not  a  pretentious  affair  but  was  ample 
for  that  day.  This  school  building  was  a  log  structure  of  one  room, 
erected  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  Public  Square  about  the  year 
1802,  or  perhaps  a  year  later.  The  first  schoolmaster  was  Perlee  Brush, 
afterwards  a  Trumbull  County  lawyer.  At  this  school  some  of  the 
men  and  women  who  were  afterward  prominent  in  Youngstown  life 
received  their  early  schooling.  j 

The  first  industrial  ^laut.  in  the  viltage  of  Youngstown  proper  was 
launched  about  this  time  by  Caleb  Plumb,  a  miller  and  millwright  from 
New  York,  who  erected  a  sawmill  and  gristmill  on  the  Mahoning  River. 
The  site  selected  by  him  has  been  used  for  flour  mill  purposes  ever 
since,  being  the  location  on  which  the  Baldwin  mill  just  south  of  the 
Spring  Common  bridge  now  stands. 

Youngstown,  too,  had  increased  sufficiently  in  importance  by  1801 
that  it  craved  better  communications  with  the  outside  world,  something 
k  seriously  lacked,  since  the  day  of  the  steam  railroad  had  not  yet. 
arrived,  there  was  not  even  stage  communication  with  the  East,  and 
the  nearest  postoffice  was  at  Pittsburgh.  In  that  year  Gen.  Elijah 
Wadsworth  of  Canfield  succeeded  in  having  a  mail  route  established 
for  easterly  towns  of  Trumbull  County,  the  route  beginning  at  Pitts- 
burgh and  passing  through  Beavertown,  Georgetown,  Canfield,  and 
Youngstown  to  Warren,  a  distance  of  eighty-six  miles.  Eleazer  Gilson 
contracted  to  carry  the  mail  for  two  years,  one  delivery  each  two  weeks, 
for  $3.50  a  mile,  counting  the  distance  one  way.  The  route  was  actually 
traveled  most  of  the  time  by  his  son,  Samuel  Gilson,  the  trip  being  made 
frequently  on  foot,  we  are  assured.  Calvin  Pease  was  named  post- 
master at  Youngstown,  General  Wadsworth  at  Canfield  and  Simon 
Perkins  at  Warren. 

Youngstown  township  had  by  this  time  attained  a  population  of 
perhaps  200  to  300  and  was  attracting  settlers  with  a  fair  degree  of 
rapidity.  In  1798  or  1800  Joseph  Williamson  bought  land  in  the  south 
part  of  the  township  and  built  a  cabin  thereon.  He  farmed  in  a  small 
way,  and  "here  five  generations  of  the  Williamson  family  have  been 
born.  Warren  P.  Williamson  is  of  the  fourth  generation,  and  his 
residence  at  Warren  Avenue  and  Market  Street  is  located  on  the  old 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        115 

Williamson  farm.  In  1800  Joshua  Kyle  came  here  from  Westmoreland 
County,  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  on  lands  he  had  bought  along  Mill 
Creek,  and  in  1800,  or  perhaps  previously,  William  Wilson  and  his 
wife,  Temperance  Wilson,  came  here  from  Maryland.  In  1801  Dr. 
Charles  Dutton,  perhaps  the  first  physician  and  surgeon,  emigrated  from 
Connecticut  to  Youngstown,  and  Moses  Crawford,  of  Mifflin  County, 
Pennsylvania,  a  cabinet  maker  by  trade  and  the  first  undertaker  in  the 
village,  located  here.  In  1801,  or  at  an  earlier  date,  Josiah  Robbins, 
John  Rush  and  John  Bissell  purchased  lands  in  Youngstown  Township 
and  became  permanent  residents  here. 

Among  the  settlers  who  located  here  in  1802  there  were  two  who 
were  destined  to  have  a  profound  influence  on  the  community,  o'Ae'of 
these  William  Rayen,  the  other  Henry  .Wick.  Rayen,  known  to  the 
pioneers  as  Judge  Rayen  and  Colonel  Rayen,  since  he  held  both  titles, 
was  a  Maryland  man  and  a  merchant  by  profession.  Here  in  Youngs- 
town he  was  a  man  of  amazingly  numerous  activities,  serving  during 
a  useful  business  life  of  more  than  fifty  years  as  a  keeper  of  a  public 
house,  merchant,  postmaster,  township  treasurer,  township  clerk,  colonel 
in  the  War  of  181 2,  justice  of  the  peace,  judge  of  the  court  of  common 
pleas,  member  of  the  state  board  of  public  works,  organizer  and  first 
president  of  the  first  bank  in  Mahoning  County,  farmer,  canal  builder 
and  railroad  builder.  Dying  childless,  in*  1854,  he  left  no  heirs  to  bear 
his  name,  but  in  his  bequest  for  the  founding  of  Rayen  School  he  left 
a  legacy  that  will  forever  preserve  his  memory  in  Youngstown. 

Henry  Wick,  who  arrived  here  at  the  same  time  as  Colonel  Rayen, 
was  not  the  first  of  his  name  to  locate  in  Youngstown.  His  brother, 
Rev.  William  Wick,  had  located  here  a  year  earlier  and  his  father- 
in-law,  Caleb  Baldwin,  preceded  him  to  Youngstown  by  three  years. 
Henry  Wick,  too,  was  a  merchant  by  profession  and  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  trade  immediately  after  arriving  here  from  Washington 
County,  Pennsylvania.  Early  in  1802  he  purchased  the  square  now 
bounded  by  Federal,  Hazel,  Wood  and  Phelps  streets,  and  thirty-seven 
acres  of  land  outside  the  village  for  a  consideration  of  $235.  the  pur- 
chase being  made  from  John  Young.  On  the  village  land  he  erected 
a  store  room  and  residence  and  embarked  in  trade. 

These  were  not  the  only  settlers  in  Youngstown  Township,  how- 
ever, in  the  first  five  years  of  its  existence.  There  is  no  complete  record 
of  the  pioneers  of  that  day,  but  the  records  of  resident  taxpayers  filed 
by  the  tax  collectors  of  1801  and  1803  show  the  names  of  John  Ague, 
Lineas  Brainard,  William  Burr,  Samuel  Calhoun..  Alexander  Clarke, 
James  Caldwell,  Joseph  Carr,  Christopher  Coleman,  Aaron  Qarke, 
Thomas  Dice,  James  Davidson,  John  Dennick,  Nathaniel  G.  Dabney, 
John  Duncan,  Thomas  Farrell,  Michael  Fitzgerald,  James  Gibson,  James 
Hillman,  Henry  Hull,  Samuel  Hayden,  Joshua  Kyle,  John  Kyle,  Thomas 
Kirkpatrick,  Andrew  Kirkpatrick,  Moses  Latta,  John  Musgrove,  James 
McCoy,  John  MoCrary,  John  McDowell,  John  McWilliams,  Daniel 
McCartney,  Jesse  Newport,  Jeremiah  Norris,  Isaac  Powers,  Philip  Kim- 
met,  David  Randall,  Josiah  Robbins,  Caleb  Baldwin,  Benjamin  Ross, 
John  Rush,  William  Rayen,  John  Swager,  Robert -M.  Scott,  Matthew 


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116       YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Scott,  Daniel  Sheehy,  Robert  Stevens,  John  Swager,  Henry  Swager, 
Sefford  Thompson,  George  Tod,  Henry  Wick,  Joseph  Williamson,  James 
Wilson,  Joseph  Wilson,  Alfred  Wolcott,  John  Young,  Henry  Brown, 
Aaron  Clarke,  Samuel  H.  Duncan,  William  Potter,  Martin  Tidd,  John  P. 
Bissell,  Samuel  Bryson,  Michael  Crammer,  Samuel  Davenport,  Andrew 
Donaldson  and  Daniel  Gray. 

The  first  contracts  for  the  purchase  of  land  from  John  Young  were 
made  in  1796,  prior  to  his  removal  to  the  Western  Reserve  and  direct 
purchases  from  Young's  holdings  continued  until  1844,  or  almost  twenty 
years  after  his  death.  Until  he  had  received  the  deed  to  the  township 
from  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  in  1800,  however,  he  could  not 
give  title  to  land  buyers,  but  among  those  who  received  titles  for  land  in 
Youngstown  Township  directly  from  Young  between  1800  and  1810 
we  find  the  following: 

1800 — Benjamin  Applegate,  Henry  Champion,   Lemuel  Storrs. 

180 i — John  McDowell,  et  al.,  Abraham  Powers,  Abner  Lacock,  James 
Gibson,  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  James  Applegate,  Isaac  Powers,  John 
Kinsman,  Benjamin  Dilworth. 

1 8O2 — John  McMahon,  Aaron  Clark,  Robert  M.  Scott,  et  al.,  Andrew 
Willock,  Jeremiah  Sturgeon,  James  Matthews,  William  Cecil,  Joseph 
Eddy,  Matthew  Scott,  Christopher  Martin,  George  Tod,  William  Rayen, 
Hannah  Stevens,  Caleb  Baldwin,  Henry  Wick,  Nathaniel  Dabney,  Henry 
Brown,  Robert  Campbell,  John  McGonigal,  Andrew  Donaldson,  Wil- 
liam Potter,  Samuel  Huntington,  James  Alexander,  Josiah  Robbins,  Isa- 
bella Menough,  Samuel  Menough,  Henry  Hull,  Samuel  Calhoun,  Robert 
Stevens,  William  Thorn,  James  White. 

1803 — William  Rawland,  John  P.  Bissell,  Hugh  Bryson,  Ephraim 
Quinby,  William  Wilson,  James  Davison  (or  Davidson),  John  Farizena. 

1804 — Sarah  Randall,  Samuel  Hayden,  Benjamin  Ross,  Isaac  Kim- 
mel,  Turhand  Kirtland,  John  Rush,  Samuel.  Bryson,  Caleb  Plumb. 

1805 — David  Parkhurst,  James  Hillman,  Robert  Kyle,  John  Sher- 
rodle.  t 

1806 — Abraham  Kline,  John  Burkhart. 

1807 — Jane  Sheehy,  John  Stewart,  John  Young  Sheehy,  George 
Hays,  Elijah  Wadsworth,  Home  Hine* 

1808— John  Gibson. 

1809 — Richard  Holland. 

1810 — William  Stewart,  Christopher  Erwin,  William  Smith. 

Many  of  these  purchasers,  of  course,  had  actually  contracted  for 
their  lands  at  an  earlier  date  than  the  year  in  which  the  transfer  was 
made,  some  of  these  contracts  being  made  as  early  as  1796,  while  there 
were  more  in  1797  and  even  a  greater  number  in  1798  and  1799.  Also 
many  settlers  here  purchased  from  original  settlers  even  prior  to  1810, 
although  they  do  not  figure  in  the  direct  transactions  with  John  Young. 
In  the  transfers  are  also  found  a  number  of  titles  re-transferred  by 
Young  to  the  Connecticut  Land  Company* 

By  1802,  in  fact,  Youngstown  had  become  such  a  sizeable  settle- 
ment and  the  northern  townships  of  what  is  now  Mahoning  County 
had  become  so  well  populated  that  the  court  of  common  pleas  and 
quarter  sessions,  at  its  February  meeting  of  that  year,  ordered  that  a 


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YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        117 

township  government  be    formed.     The   Village  of   Youngstown   was 
the  place  selected  for  this  first  township,  or  town,  meeting. 

The  civil  township  referred  to  here  was  not  identical  with  the  single 
township  of  which  the  Village  of  Youngstown  was  the  center.  As  we 
have  explained  before,  it  included  the  townships  of  Austintown,  Coits- 
ville,  Youngstown,  Jackson,  Poland,  Boardman,  Canfield,  Ellsworth, 
Hubbard  and  Liberty.  On  April  5,  1802,  residents  of  these  townships, 
or  their  representatives,  met  at  the  public  house  conducted  by  Judge 
Rayen  at  Youngstown  and  organized  in  conformity  with  the  order  of 
the  court.  John  Young  presided  as  chairman  of  the  meeting  and  George 
Tod  acted  as  clerk.  The  record  of  the  meeting,  in  the  handwriting  of 
Judge  Tod,  shows  that  the  following  business  was  transacted: 

"Voted,  that  there  be  five  Trustees  chosen.  Accordingly,  James 
Doud,  John  Struthers,  Camden  Cleveland,  Samuel  Tylee  and  Calvin 
Pease  were  duly  elected. 

"Voted,  that  there  be  three  overseers  of  the  poor  chosen.  Accord- 
ingly, Archibald  Johnson,  James  Matthews  and  John  Rush  were  duly 
elected. 

"Thomas  Kirkpatrick  and  Samuel  Minough  were  duly  elected  fence 
viewers. 

"James  Hillman  and  Homer  Hine  were  elected  appraisers  of  houses. 

"George  Tod  was  chosen  lister  of  taxable  property. 

"William  Chapman,  Michael  Seamore,  James  Wilson,  Benjamin 
Ross,  William  Dunlap,  Amos  Loveland,  John  Davidson,  William  Service 
and  Thomas  Packard  were  elected  supervisors  of  highways. 

"Calvin  Pease  and  Phineas  Reed  were  elected  constables. 

"Voted,  that  the  next  stated  town-meeting  be  held  at  the  house  now 
occupied  by  William  Rayen,  aforesaid. 

"The  meeting  then  adjourned  without  day. 

"George  Tod,  Town  Clerk." 

The  trustees,  of  course,  constituted  the  important  township  body. 
They  met  at  the  home  of  William  Rayen  on  April  18,  1802,  and  the 
meetings  of  these  first  trustees  and  their  successors  were  generally  held 
at  the  same  place  for  the  next  ten  years,  Judge  Rayen  being  the  town- 
ship clerk  from  1805  to  181 3. 

Youngstown  had  now  reached  a  position  of  considerable  importance 
and  prominence  in  the  new  State  of  Ohio.  Its  only  rivals  on  the  Western 
Reserve  were  Warren  and  Canfield,  as  Cleveland  was  not  yet  a  serious 
contender  for  the  position  of  metropolis  and  trade  center  of  what  had 
been  New  Connecticut.  At  Burton,  Harpersfield.  Mentor,  Poland,  Ver- 
non and  in  other  scattering  settlements  between  the  Mahoning  Valley 
and  the  lake,  there  were  prosperous  communities,  but  the  center  of 
activities  was  at  the  first  settlement  in  the  valley.  Its  importance  can 
perhaps  be  gauged  by  the  fact  that  the  major  share  of  the  offices  at  this 
first  town  meeting  went  to  Youngstown  Township.  Of  the  five  trustees, 
two,  Calvin  Pease  and  Camden  Cleveland,  were  Youngstown  men,  while 
John  Struthers  was  from  Poland,  James  Doud  from  Canfield  and  Sam- 
uel Tylee  from  Hubbard.  From  the  lake  to  the  southern  boundary  of 
the  Reserve  Youngstown  held  first  rank  iri  the  estimation  of  the  pioneers. 


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CHAPTER  VIII 

PIONEER  DAYS  OF  THE  WESTERN  RESERVE 

Who  the  Pioneers  Were  and  What  They  Did — Their  Joys  and 
Sorrows  in  Transforming  a  Wilderness 

The  resident  of  Youngstown,  or  of  any  other  part  of  the  Mahoning 
Valley,  today,  finds  it  almost  impossible  to  visualize  this  country  in  the 
pioneer  days  of  a  century  to  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago.  In  the  mind, 
one  cannot  transpose  the  miles  of  industries,  the  villages  and  towns  as 
well  as  the  cities,  and  the  improved  highways  that  stretch  web-like  across 
the  country,  into  a  forested  and  almost  silent  wilderness.  What  manner 
of  people  then,  were  they  who  came  into  a  virgin  country  and  made  it 
into  a  home  for  millions  of  prosperous  people?  Who  were  they,  whence 
did  they  come,  by  what  process  of  alchemy  did  they  accomplish  this 
marvel  ? 

To  know  the  early  story  of  Youngstown,  of  the  Mahoning  Valley, 
or  of  the  Western  Reserve,  one  must  go  back  to  the  farms,  the  villages 
and  the  little  cities  of  the  East;  preferably  back  to  Connecticut,  from 
whence  the  Reserve  largely  drew  its  strength.  For  almost  two  hundred 
years  the  Atlantic  seaboard  had  been  settled,  this  populated  area  stretch- 
ing from  rugged  Maine  to  balmy  Georgia.  The  immigrants  from  the 
old  world  had  multiplied  by  more  immigration  and  by  births,  for  those 
were  days  of  large  families.  They  had  thrown  off  the  British  yoke  and 
had  become  a  free  people.  But  in  New  England  the  land  was  not  kind, 
and  a  living  was  wrought  from  the  soil  by  hard  labor  alone.  The  lands, 
too,  were  limited  in  area,  and  rising  generations  longed  for  a  field  in 
which  they  would  not  be  cramped  for  space.  Land  owning  and  home 
ownership  was  a  passion  with  these  people.  Agriculture  was  America's 
great  industry  in  the  eighteenth  century  and  in  the  opening  years  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  land  was  the  one  great  investment.  From  New 
England  ambitious  young  men  worked  westward  into  Central  New  York 
State,  from  other  Atlantic  coast  states  and  from  Eastern  Pennsylvania 
they  crossed  the  mountains  into  Western  Pennsylvania,  and  from  the 
South  Atlantic  states  they  emigrated  to  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  But 
ever  the  movement  continued  westward. 

"^That  Connecticut  should  have  been  so  instrumental  in  settling  t}ie 
Western 'Reserve  was  but  natural.  The  Connecticut  folk  were  thrifty — 
thrifty,  to  parsimompusness  if  anything — and  in  seeking  an  outlet  for 
hoarded  dollars  it  ;was  but  natural  that  a  half  hundred  or  more  of  them 
should  have  fTasped.Jbe  opportunity  of  purchasing  the  millions  of  acres 
of  -western  lanjds/  to- which  Connecticut  claimed., not  only  tjtle  but  the 
fight  of  jurisdiction.    That  Cormecticut  bjdders  should  have  been  given 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        119 

the  preference  when  the  sale  was  made  was  but  natural,  too,  for  the 
government  of  Connecticut  meant  to  make  the  territory  beyond  the 
Pennsylvania  line  part  of  the  old  home  state,  or  at  least  to  insure  that 
it  would  be  sold  to  purchasers  in  sympathy  with  Connecticut's  claim 
to  title  to  the  ground.  There  was  the  knowledge,  too,  that  these  Con- 
necticut people  were  as  honest  and  trustworthy  in  keeping  a  bargain 
as  they  were  shrewd  in  driving  one. 

The  Connecticut  Land  Company's  members  were,  in  fact,  the  shrewd- 
est of  tradesmen,  and,  with  their  purchase  ratified,  they  lost  not  a 
moment  in  awakening  interest  in  the  lands  they  had  for  sale.  Their 
home  state  and  adjoining  states  were  liberally  placarded  and  circularized 
in  1797  with  advertisements  relating  to  the  wonders  of  New  Connecticut. 
To  the  unencumbered  and  ambitious  youth;  to  the  young  man  and  wife 
about  to  make  their  start  in  the  world,  to  the  elders  of  the  family  who 
were  dissatisfied  with  the  inhospitable  soil  of  New  England  or  who 
were  willing  to  sacrifice  comfort  and  old  associations  for  the  sake  of  their 
children;  to  the  wealth  seekers  and  to  those  who  had  an  inherited 
instinct  for  land  but  no  hope  of  gratifying  that  instinct  at  home  in  the 
old  settled  parts  of  the  East,  this  literature  had  a  distinct  appeal. 

They  read,  pondered,  debated,  and  decided  to  go.  The  few,  of 
many,  belongings  were  sold  and  lands  in  the  Western  Reserve  were 
bought  or  contracted  for,  or  perhaps  the  prospective  home  builder  went 
forth  with  his  jgold  tucked  away  in  his  belt,  prepared  to  buy  if  the  West 
came  up  to  his  expectations.  The  scanty  goods  to  be  taken  along  were 
packed  into  a  canvas-covered  wagon,  drawn  by  two  or  four  oxen,  of 
horses,  or  perhaps  by  mixed  teams  of  oxen  and  horses.  A  few  head 
of  cattle  were  perhaps  driven  ahead  on  foot.  As  likely  as  not,  the  trip 
was  made  on  horseback,  without  the  accompaniment  of  wagons,  or  even 
on  foot,  for  many  of  these  homeseekers  of  one  hundred  years  or  more 
ago  made  this  weary  trip  without  either  wagon  or  mount.  It  is  recorded 
that  even  women  with  babes  in  their  arms  walked  the  entire  distance. 

It  was  a  toilsome  journey,  yet  one  that  was  repeated  year  after  year 
for  more  than  a  century  as  civilization  moved  ever  westward,  until  the 
land  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans  had  been  finally  bridged 
with  settlements.  Emigration  across  the  Rockies  after  Civil  War  days 
did  not  differ  greatly  from  emigration  across  the  Alleganies  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  earlier. 

Frequently  several  of  these  canvas-topped  wagons  started  out  to- 
gether ;  more  frequently  wagon  trains  were  made  up  as  the  emigrants 
met  along  the  road.  Crossing  the  Alleghanies  was  the  most  wearisome 
as  well  as  the  most  dangerous  part  of  the  journey,  yet  the  southern 
route  through  Pennsylvania  was  usually  selected  in  preference  to  the 
trip  by  way  of  New  York  State.  In  the  opening  years  of  the  Nineteenth 
century  there  was  but  one  highway,  f ronj .  the  East,  the  road  leading 
from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh.  It  professed. to  be  a  turnpike,  but 
the  term  was  most  flattering  as  applied  to  it.  "The  roads  over  the  Alle- 
ghanies to  Pittsburgh  were  rude,  steep,  and  dangerous,  and  some  of  the 
more  precipitous  slopes  were  strewn  with  the  carcasses  of  wagons, 
horses,  carts  and  oxen,  which  had  been  shipwrecked  in  their  perilous 


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120       YOUNGSTOVVN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 


Emigrating  to  New  Connecticut,  1817-1818. 

From  an  engraving  in  Peter  Parky  t  Rwllectiont 

This  Picture  Entitled  "Emigrants  Westward  Bound"  is  from 
"Peter  Parley's  Recollections,"  and  Shows  the  Manner  in  which 
Most  of  the  Pioneer  Families  Made  the  Long  Journey  from 
Eastern  Points  to  the  Western  Reserve. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       121 

descent/'  writes  one  chronicler  of  the  hardships  of  the  pioneers.  "The 
scenes  on  the  road — of  families  gathered  at  night  in  miserable  sheds, 
called  taverns,  mothers  frying,  children  crying,  fathers  swearing — were 
a  mingled  tragedy  and  comedy  of  errors." 

Richard  Iddings,  of  Warren,  who  made  the  trip  over  the  mountains 
in  1809,  or  a  dozen  years  after  the  earliest  of  the  pioneers,  wrote  in 
later  years  the  story  of  his  trip. 

"We  (Iddings  and  his  bride  of  a  few  weeks)  started  from  Reading, 
Pennsylvania,  for  Ohio,  in  a  two-horse  sleigh,  with  our  household" 
furniture,  for  which  there  was  plenty  of  room.  When  we  reached  the 
top  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains  the  snow  was  four  feet  deep;  but  we 
learned  there  was  no  snow  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  nor  westward 
to  Ohio.  Therefore  we  went  to  the  house  of  an  uncle  to  my  wife,  who 
resided  in  Fayette  County,  some  twelve  miles  from  Brownsville.  Leav- 
ing my  wife,  the  sleigh,  and  one  horse,  I  proceeded  to  Warren  on  horse- 
back. Here  I  hired  a  canoe,  and,  engaging  Henry  Harsh  to  assist  me, 
I  went  down  the  Mahoning  and  Beaver  rivers  to  Beavertown,  and  up 
the  Ohio  and  Monongahela  to  Brownsville.  Taking  my  wife  and  a  few 
household  fixings  on  board,  we  floated  down  to  Pittsburgh,  where  I 
purchased  a  barrel  of  flour  and  went  on  to  Warren.  The  weather  was 
quite  cold,  and  the  settlers  few  and  scattering.  Some  nights  we  lodged 
in  houses  near  the  river,  and  sometimes  on  its  banks,  without  shelter. 
Sometimes  we  had  plenty  to  eat,  and  sometimes  we  went  without  food 
for  a  whole  day.  We  were  two  days  getting  over  the  falls  of  the  Beaver 
River.  Mr.  Harsh  and  myself  were  most  of  the  time  in  the  water 
(frequently  up  to  our  waists),  pulling  up  the  empty  canoe,  while  my 
wife  sat  on  the  shore  watching  the  goods  which  we  had  landed.  At 
the  mill 'dams  011  the  Mahoning  the  same  process  was  repeated.  We 
reached  Warren  on  the  20th  day  of  April,  having  been  twenty-one  days 
coming  from  Brownsville.,, 

Yet  the  liomeseekers  went  on.  Only  the  fainthearted  turned  back. 
That  they  persevered  was  due  to  the  natural  willingness  of  human  be- 
ings to  undergo  hardships,  disappointments,  and  disillusionments  when 
there  is  hope  of  gain  in  the  end.  These  New  Englanders  were  bred 
to  the  soil  and  accustomed  to  hardy,  outdoor  life,  yet  they  came  from  a 
settled  country  where  the  cruder  hardships  of  the  frontier  had  dis- 
appeared, so  that  even  to  them  this  was  a  new  and  rude  life. 

A  private  carriage  across  the  Alleghanies — affected  by  a  few — was 
considered  a  badge  of  aristocracy.  In  the  East  such  conveyance  earned 
deference,  but  on  the  road  to  the  Ohio  country  its  presence  was  often 
resented.  Such  a  vehicle  was  in  fact  often  crowded  off  the  road  by 
the  wagoners.  Later  there  sprang  up  professional  wagoners  who  trans- 
ported westward  bound  settlers  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh  in 
great  wagons  capable  of  carrying  three  to  four  tons,  or  even  more. 
These  wagoners  charged  by  the  pound,  and  one  early  day  emigrant 
records  that  members  of  the  family  were  weighed  along  with  household 
goods,  for  mothers  and  children  were  taken  on  board  the  wagons  while 
the  father  of  the  family  journeyed  along  on  horseback,  or  even  afoot. 

To  the  Western.  Reserve  the  road  lay  along  the  Ohio  River  from 


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122       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Pittsburgh,  up  the  Beaver  River  past  the  Town  of  Beaver,  and  thence 
south  of  the  Mahoning  River  to  Youngstown,  whence  the  settlers  radiated 
to  the  various  parts  of  the  Reserve.  From  Maryland  the  journey  was 
made  through  Somerset,  Fayette  and  Westmoreland  counties  to  Pitts- 
burgh and  thence  along  the  Beaver  River  path.  Some  early  day 
pioneers  from  New  England  even  chose  this  route  through  Maryland 
and  Southern  Pennsylvania  in  preference  to  negotiating  the  mountains 
of  Central  Pennsylvania. 

Circumstances,  of  course,  varied  with  different  parties  of  pioneers. 
Sometimes  a  band  of  young  men  made  the  journey  from  the  East  to 
the  Reserve,  or  to  other  parts  of  Ohio,  on  horseback,  with  light  hearts 
and  song  and  story  and  a  careless  disregard  of  all  hardships.  In  gen- 
eral, however,  the  route  the  pioneers  followed,  the  motives  that  actuated 
them,  the  procedure  they  pursued  in  leaving  their  old  homes,  the  hard- 
ships they  underwent  on  the  road,  were  much  the  same  in  every  party 
that  made  the  trip  to  the  Western  Reserve  in  the  first  quarter  of  a 
century  or  more  of  its  existence.  There  were  compensations,  even  on 
the  way  West,  that  offset,  but  did  not  balance,  the  hardships.  .  It  was 
a  free  life,  the  emigrants  were  accompanied  by  neighbors  or  were  going 
to  join  old  neighbors,  and  there  was  exhilaration  and  excitement  in  the 
journey  to  the  western  wilds. 

Unlike  the  process  followed  in  most  newly  opened  country,  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Western  Reserve  was  not  a  gradual  movement  onward  a 
few  miles  farther  each  year.  The  method  selected  for  apportioning  the 
Connecticut  Land  Company's  holdings  was  responsible  for  this.  Each 
stockholder  drew  his  allotment  of  land,  and  it  was  to  his  interest  to  move 
thereon  at  once,  or  to  procure  settlers  to  move  thereon.  The  settlement, 
therefore,  of  the  townships  of  the  Reserve — east  of  the  Cuyahoga 
River  at  least — was  dependent  on  the  eagerness  of  the  land  owner  to 
take  possession  of  his  ground,  or  on  his  ability  to  sell  it  to  bonafide 
settlers.  This  explains  why  settlements  were  made  at  random  in  what 
are  now  interior  townships  of  Geauga,  Ashtabula,  or  Portage  counties, 
when  the  next  human  habitation  might  be  miles  away.  Originally  it 
had  been  expected  that  the  extreme  northern  townships  of  the  Reserve 
would  be  settled  first,  but  circumstances  changed  this  program.  The 
inhospitable  winds  of  Lake  Erie  chilled  the  enthusiasm  of  many  a 
settler  who  hurriedly  moved  southward,  although  often  settling,  curiously 
enough,  along  the  high  watershed  between  the  lake  and  the  Mahoning 
Valley  where  the  snow  piles  up  in  winter  to  depths  unknown  along  the 
lake  and  where  the  thermometer  registers  lower  than  in  any  other  part 
of  Ohio.  This  high  ground  was  also  preferred  for  the  sensible  reason 
that  it  was  free  of  the  swamps  that  then  marked  a  great  deal  of  North- 
eastern. Ohio. 

*.••  Regardless  of  their  ultimate  destination,  however,  the  preference 
shown  by  the  early  homeseekers  for  the  route  from  the  East  that  lay 
through  Pennsylvania  *  made  Youngstown  the  center*  from  which  all 
the  colonists  began  th^*  final  Jeg  of  their  journey  to  their  new"  homes. 
Youngstown  was  the  -first  settlement  m  th«  Mahoning  Hi ver  valley 
across  the  Pennsylvania,  lifls,  it  "was- the  first  settlement  founded  on  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        123 

Western  Reserve,  and,  except  for  Warren,  the  most  important  village 
on  the  Reserve.  Back  in  their  eastern  homes  the  settlers  directed  their 
steps  toward  Youngstown,  and  probably  three-fourths  of  the  newcomers 
to  the  Reserve  halted  here  to  adjust  their  affairs  preparatory  to  moving 
on  to  their  new  homes. 

The  name,  "New  Connecticut,"  that  was  selected  for  Northeastern 
Ohio  before  the  jurisdiction  of  the  federal  government  and  the  North- 
west Territory  over  this  great  territory  was  acknowledged,  would  not 
have  been  a  misnomer,  for  the  Western  Reserve  was  almost  a  trans- 
planted Connecticut.  Connecticut  blood  was  overwhelmingly  in  the 
majority.  The  settlers  were  of  that  Scotch,  Irish  and  English  stock  that 
had  helped  colonize  the  Atlantic  coast,  win  freedom  for  the  colonies 
in  the  Revolution,  and  extend  American  jurisdiction  westward.  In 
temperament  they  were  serious,  and  yet  lovers  of  pleasure — lovers  at 
times  even  of  dancing  and  other  unorthodox  pastimes.  In  religion  they 
were  Congregational,  or  Presbyterian,  for  in  their  home  state  of  Con- 
necticut the  Congregational  church  was  almost  akin  to  the  state  church 
until  the  political  revolution  of  1818,  each  person  there  being  taxed  for 
its  support  unless  he  professed  adherence  to  some  other  denomination. 
They  were  the  type  of  men  who  had  written  freedom  of  conscience  into 
the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  yet  in  practice  they  were  often 
intolerant  of  the  religious  beliefs  of  all  dissenters.  In  this,  however, 
they  had  no  monopoly,  as  intolerance  of  all  kinds  was  the  rule  rather 
than  the  exception  in  that  day. 

They  followed  the  rigid  New  England  observance  of  the  Sabbath 
Day,  to  extremes  we  would  think  today.  One  Western  Reserve  settler, 
we  are  assured,  was  arrested  and  fined  in  the  early  days  for  hunting 
on  the  Sabbath,  although  he  had  merely  hurried  forth  with  his  rifle  and 
slain  a  marauding  bear  that  was  making  way  with  one  of  his  hogs.  The 
offender,  it  is  related,  thereupon  joined  the  Mormon  church,  an  organ- 
ization that  may  have  faults  but  that  does  not  fine  a  man  for  protecting 
his  stock,  even  on  the  day  of  rest. 

This  story,  in  itself,  of  course,  is  open  -to  question,  but  that  the 
New  Englanders  came  here  with  their  strict  religious  ideas  is  not  to  be 
doubted.  Yet,  as  is  customary  in  a  new  country,  religion  naturally  suf- 
fered by  removal  of  its  adherents  from  accustomed  surroundings  and 
accustomed  influences.  Rev.  Joseph  Badger,  pioneer  missionary  for 
the  Presbyterian  church  on  the  Western  Reserve,  sometimes  expressed 
discouragement  at  the  irreligion  into  which  settlers  and  their  children 
had  fallen.  They  were  painfully  indifferent  to  church,  he  said,  and  in 
literature  Voltaire  sometimes  vied  with  the  Bible. 

It  is  doubtful,  however,  if  there  have  b$en  many  newly  settled  parts 
of  this  country  where  churchgoing  persisted  as  it  did  on  the  Western 
Reserve.  If  Voltaire  was  read  it  is  not  surprising,  for  the  opening  days 
of  the  nineteenth  century  witnessed,  an  era  when  atheism,  w^s  for  a 
time  fashionable  and^affectejd  by  those  who  .believed  themselves  .super- 
e^dqw^dc  intellectually.     The  West  saw  far  less  of  this  than  therEast. 

This  Connecticut  atmosphere  on  the  Western  Reserve  was  also 
emphasized. by  comparison.    In  the .Cincini^uti  neighborhood  New, Jersey 


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124       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

natives  predominated.  In  Southern  Ohio  were  the  Virginians  and 
Kentuckians  who  had  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  West.  They  were 
English  in  descent  and  Episcopalian  in  religion,  less  strict  in  their  ways 
than  the  Connecticut  men.  South  of  Trumbull  County  was  the  "Seven 
Ranges,,,  peopled  by  Pennsylvanians  of  Quaker  and  "Pennsylvania 
Dutch"  stock.  In  the  Marietta  settlements  New  Englanders  were  in  the 
majority,  but  Massachusetts  men  vied  with  Connecticut  natives  there  in 
representation,  and  both  around  Marietta  and  in  the  land  peopled  by 
the  Pennsylvanians  the  Virginia  element  was  strong.  The  convention 
at  Chillicothe  that  gave  Ohio  its  first  state  constitution  in  1802  was  a 
gathering  dominated  by  men  of  Virginia  blood. 

It  should  not  be  understood,  of  course,  that  the  Western  Reserve 
was  peopled  by  natives  of  Connecticut  alone.  Next  to  Connecticut,  the 
chief  contribution  came  from  Pennsylvania,  Washington  and  West- 
moreland counties  being  drawn  upon  heavily.  Outside  a  limited  emigra- 
tion from  Massachusetts  there  was  little  New  England  blood  other  than 
that  of  the  Connecticut  folks.  New  York  was  well  represented  and 
New  Jersey  and  Maryland  in  a  lesser  degree,  while  few  Virginians  or 
Kentuckians  came  so  far  northward.  From  the  old  world  too  came 
emigrants  from  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  Wales  and  Germany.  War- 
ren, long  the  seat  of  justice  for  the  Western  Reserve  and  the  most  New 
England  in  character  of  any  of  the  larger  communities  on  the  Reserve, 
was  founded  by  Pennsylvanians,  while  religious  denominations  other 
than  the  Presbyterian  flourished  here  even  at  an  early  day.  It  will  prob- 
ably be  surprising  to  know  that  Lake  and  Portage  counties  were  once 
strongholds  of  Mormonism. 

One  hundred  years  has  altered  the  character  of  the  population  in 
the  cities  of  the  Western  Reserve,  but  in  all  of  them  the  "Scotch-Irish" 
Connecticut  strain  is  still  strong  and  influential,  while  many  rural  town- 
sTiips  of  Northeastern  Ohio  are  today  more  thoroughly  New  England 
in  strain  than  New  England  itself  is.  More  than  fifty  years  after  the 
Western  Reserve  was  settled  William  Dean  Howells  was  struck  by  the 
contrast  between  the  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  people  of  his  native 
county  of  Belmont,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  New  England  character- 
istics of  the  people  of  Ashtabula  County,  where  he  located  just  prior 
to  the  Civil  war,  on  the  other.  Howe,  the  historian,  says  of  the  people 
of  the  Reserve: 

"When  the  Reserve  was  surveyed  in  1796  by  General  Cleaveland 
there  were  but  two  families  on  the  entire  lake  shore  region  of  Northern 
Ohio.  By  the  close  of  the  year  1800  there  were  thirty-two  settlements 
on  the  Reserve,  though  no  organization  of  the  government  had  been 
established.  But  the  pioneers  were  a  people  who  had  been  trained  in 
the  principles  and  practices  of  civil  order,  and  these  were  transplanted 
to  their  new  homes.  In  New  Connecticut  there  was  little  of  the  law- 
lessness which  so  often  characterized  the  people  of  a  new  country.  In 
many  instances  a  township  organization  was  completed  and  a  minister 
chosen  before  the  pioneers  left  home.  Thus  they  planted  the  institu- 
tions of  old  Connecticut  in  their  new  wilderness  home. 

"The  pioneers  who  first  broke  the  ground  here  accomplished  a  work 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       125 

unlike  that  which  will  fall  to  the  lot  of  any  succeeding  generation.  The 
hardships  they  endured,  the  obstacles  they  encountered,  the  life  they 
led,  the  peculiar  qualities  they  needed  in  their  undertakings,  and  the 
traits  of  character  developed  by  their  work  stand  alone  in  our  history. 

"These  pioneers  knew  well  the  three  great  forces  which  constitute 
the  strength  and  glory  of  a  free  government  are — the  family,  the  school 
and  the  church.  These  three  they  planted  here,  and  they  nourished  and 
cherished  them  with  an  energy  and  devotion  scarcely  equaled  in  any 
other  quarter  of  the  world." 

This  is  the  type  of  venturesome  homeseekers  who  crossed  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains  and  came  up  the  Mahoning  River  to  the  Connecticut 
Reserve  in  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the  opening 
years  of  the  nineteenth.  Although  pioneers  by  inheritance,  the  change 
was  not  a  slight  one  for  them.  Most  of  them  came  from  country  that 
was  fairly  well  settled,  to  find  the  land  to  which  they  had  emigrated 
one  of  dense  and  almost  impassable  forests,  covered  with  a  growth  of 
oak,  elm,  hickory,  maple,  walnut,  butternut,  basswood,  locust,  cucumber, 
beech,  buckeye,  and  birch  timber,  and  even  trees  of  other  varieties. 

Eastern  Ohio  is  a  favored  land  in  one  respect  at  least.  Lying  between 
mountains  and  plains,  it  has  none  of  the  harsh,  though  sometimes  beau- 
tiful, ruggedness  of  the  former  and  none  of  the  flat  monotony  of  the 
plains,  or  the  prairie  lands  that  begin  in  Western  Ohio  and  extend  on- 
ward to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  There  were  few  open  spots  here  when 
the  first  white  settlers  arrived.  Forest  fires  were  not  common  in  Indian 
days  for  the  red  man  seldom  shows  that  criminal  recklessness  in  the 
Woods  that  too  often  distinguishes  the  white  man.  There  were  fires  of 
this  kind  occasionally,  of  course,  but  a  new  growth  of  timber  supplanted 
whatever  was  destroyed.  It  was  small  foliage  and  underbrush  that  gen- 
erally suffered  on  such  occasions,  and  brush  grows  rapidly  in  this  land 
of  plentiful  rainfall. 

Forests  today  are  valuable  merely  because  they  are  forests,  but  in 
pioneer  days  deep  timber  meant  only  back-breaking  work  for  the  set- 
tlers. Not  only  must  the  ground  be  cleared  before  crops  could  be  raised, 
but  heavy  foliage  had  other  disadvantages.  The  trees  and  undergrowth 
shut  out  the  warmth  of  thte  sun,  winter  snows  lingered  long  in  the  spring 
and  moisture  remained  long  in  the  ground  even  after  the  winter  snows 
had  melted.  Winter  came  early  too,  for  the  frost  was  a  frequent  visitor 
when  the  sun  had  little  chance  to  penetrate  through  the  trees.  The  rain- 
fall and  the  melting  snows  found  their  way  slowly  to  the  streams,  and 
in  consequence  the  rivers  and  creeks  of  the  Western  Reserve  were 
uniformly  higher  a  hundred  years  ago  than  they  are  now,  while  floods 
were  infrequent.  In  1806  the  Ohio  Legislature  declared  the  Mahoning 
River  a  navigable  stream  to  Newton  Township  in  Trumbull  County. 
In  1829  it  was  declared  navigable  to  Warren,  as  the  clearing  of  the 
timber  in  the  meantime  had  reduced  the  volume  of  the  river  to  that 
extent.  Flat  boats  were  poled  up  the  stream  from  Beavertown  to  War- 
ren without  difficulty  except  at  the  shoals.  Technically  the  Mahoning  is 
still  a  navigable  stream  for  part  of  its  course;  a  pleasant  fiction  that 
fools  no  one. 


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126       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Swamp  land  .was  frequent,  even  m  this  rolling  country  between  Lake 
Erie  and  the  Ohio  River,  providing  breeding  places  for  the  malaria- 
carrying  mosquitoes.  "Fever  and  ague"  was  a  common  ill,  and  a  dis- 
heartening and  distressing  one  to  the  pioneers.  This  affliction,  in  fact, 
disappeared  in  Ohio  only  in  comparatively  recent  years,  with  the  reclam- 
ation of  the  swamps,  the  draining  of  farm  lands  and  the  installation 
of  sewerage  systems  in  the  cities. 

To  the  early  settlers  the  raising  of  crops,  primarily  corn,  was  an 
utmost  necessity.  Game  might  furnish  meat,  but  grains  were  essential 
to  the  welfare  of  the  white  man  and  wild  meat  palls  on  all  but  savages 
and  half-civilized  persons.  The  forests  were  an  enemy  to  soil-tilling, 
and  the  forests,  therefore,  had  to  go. 

The  first  requirement  of  a  pioneer,  however,  was  a  home,  and  the 
first  work  undertaken  by  him  was  the  clearing  of  an  acre  or  two  of  land 
and  the  construction  of  a  cabin  for  himself  and  his  family.  These 
pioneer  cabins,  crude  as  they  were,  represented  a  great  amount  of  labor. 

"Raising"  a  cabin  was  also  quite  a  ceremony  in  its  day.  Obviously 
it  was  work  that  one*  man  could  not  do  alone,  so  that  this  construction, 
or  "raising"  was  a  task  that  enlisted  the  services  of  every  man  within 
call.  Usually  the  number  was  great  enough  that  one  of  the  party  was 
made  leader,  or  perhaps  automatically  filled  this  place  by  reason  of  ex-r 
perience  or  especial  skill. 

Under  his  direction  smaller  trees  were  cut  down,  or  small-sized  logs 
selected  if  the  occupant-to-be  of  the  cabin  had  already  cleared  the 
ground,  and  these  were  cut  into  proper  lengths  for  the  walls  of  the 
building.  Heavy  flat  stones  were  placed  at  each  corner  of  the  proposed 
structure  and  logs  of  somewhat  heavier  weight  were  laid  on  these,  one 
at  each  side  of  the  building.  These  were  notched  at  intervals  of  three 
or  four  feet  and  smaller  timbers  fitted  into  these  notches,  joining  the 
two  logs  together.  These  were  the  joists  to  support  the  floor.  The 
logs  to  form  the  sides  and  the  front  and:  the  rear  of  the  cabin  were  then 
raided  one  upon  another  to  a  height  of  eight  or  nine  feet,  when  another 
row  of  supports  were  laid  across  for  the  upper  floor  of  the  cabin.  These 
logs,  of  course,  were  notched  at  the  corners  of  the  cabin  to  fit  into  each 
other.  One  or  two  more  logs  made  sufficient  space  for  this  small  second 
story  of  the  building.  The  primitive  architects  could  not  hope  to  bring 
the  logs  together  even  by  notching,  so  the  space  between  the  tiers  in 
the  walls  of  the  cabin  were  filled  with  mortar  made  from  clay. 

Clean  grained  trees  were  split  for  puncheons  and  clapboards  out  of 
which  the  floor  and  roof  of  the  building  was  made.  The  puncheons  for 
the  floor  were  split  to  perhaps  three  inches  in  thickness  and  one  -side 
was  hewn  flat  with  a  broad  ax.  Perhaps  even  both  sides  were  dressed  this 
way.  The  roof  and  ceiling  were  made  of  clapboards,  a  form  of  pioneer 
lumber  resembling  barrel  staves  before  they  are  dressed,  but  split  longer 
and  wider.    The  roof  was  weighted  down  with  logs. 

With  an  ax  the  rough  logs  were  dressed  down  inside  and  an  opening 
cut  in  one  end  of  the  cabin  for  a  fire  place,  while  a  second  opening  per- 
haps j6  feet  high  and  4  feet  wide  was  cut  in  one  side  of  the  building 
for  a  door.     The  door  was  made  of  the  same  material  as  the  floor. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       127 

Oftentimes  a  door  was  not  an  immediate  adjunct,  a  quilt  or  the  dressed 
hide  of  an  animal  serving  instead  while  the  weather  was  mild.  One 
window  at  least  was  cut  in  the  walls.  To  complete  this,  glass  was  a 
distinct  luxury.  A  few  of  the  pioneers  brought  window  glass  with  them 
from  the  East,  but  only  the  more  fastidious  or  the  most  affluent  at- 
tempted this.  Usually  paper  treated  with  lard  or  bear's  grease  sufficed. 
Reinforced  with  narrow  laths  and  properly  oiled,  this  form  of  window 
pane  resisted  the  rain  fairly  well  and  gave  a  soft,  mellow  light  to  the 
interior  of  the  cabin.  The  chimney  for  the  great  fireplace  was  built  on 
the  outside  of  the  cabin,  being  made  of  split  lath  or  puncheons,  well 
mortared.  Nails  were  almost  unknown,  of  course,  as  they  were  made  by 
blacksmiths  who  hammered  them  out,  one  nail  at  a  time.  Wooden  pins 
were  substituted  whenever  necessary.     The  settler  seldom  aspired  to 


Type  of  Pioneer  Home 
This  drawing,  made  many  years  ago  from  a  description  by  an  old  settler, 
illustrates  the  cabin  erected  by  Daniel  Sheehy,  who  came  here  with  John 
Young  in  1798  and  built  the  cabin  in  that  year  or  the  year  following. 

more  than  a  one-room  cabin  at  first.  When  a  second  room  was  added 
this  was  in  reality  but  another  cabin  separated  from  the  parent  building 
by  a  corridor,  or  hallway,  perhaps  six  feet  in  length.  Here  the  saddles, 
tools  and  both  farm  and  household  implements  were  hung  or  stored. 

With  the  advent  of  a  sawmill  better  homes  were  possible.  Some- 
times these  were  frame  buildings;  at  other  times  they  were  log  cabins 
but  built  of  squared  Jogs  instead  of  the  rounded  ones. 

The  interior  of  the  cabin  boasted  only  the  plainest  necessities,  and 
these  of  home  construction,  unless  a  small  table  had  been  brought  along 
from  the  East  with  the  scant  household  belongings. 

Bedsteads  were  made  of  round  poles  for  the  sides  and  puncheons 
for  the  bottom,  the  poles  being  driven  into  the  sides  of  the  cabin  be- 
tween the  logs  or  supported  on  blocks.  A  mattress  made  of  straw,  husks 
or  leaves  sufficed  and  the  skins  of  wild  animals  constituted  the  covering 
until  somethingvbetter  was  available. 

Shelves  were  made  of  clapboards  set  on  wooden  pegs  that  had  been 


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128        YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

driven  in  between  the  logs.  Dishes  were  of  wooden,  pewter,  or  earthen- 
ware. For. cooking,  a  spider  and  a  ''Dutch"  oven  were  generally  used. 
Cooking  utensils  varied,  of  course,  with  the  circumstances  of  the  home 
maker,  but  one  pot,  a  kettle  and  a  frying  pan  were  indispensable.  Home 
made  stools  and  benches  were  the  chief  articles  of  household  furniture 
aside  from  the  table  and  bed,  split  bottom  chairs  being  a  luxury  not 
possible  for  all  pioneers.  Food  was  coarse  and  limited  in  variety,  corn 
being  the  great  staple,  as  even  wheat  was  often  impossible  to  obtain. 

For  heat  there  was  only  the  great  fireplace  with  its  stone  fire  chamber 
to  protect  the  wooden  structure  of  the  building  and  its  great  fore  log 
and  crackling  smaller  logs.  Often  this  fire  furnished  the  only  light  too, 
as  candles,  that  very  primitive  form  of  illumination,  were  unobtainable. 
Blazing  pine  knots  too  were  used  at  times.  There  was  perhaps  little 
need  of  lighting  as  books  were  few  in  those  days  and  reading  was  a 
pleasure  almost  denied. 

The  cabin,  of  course,  housed  a  spinning  wheel  and  perhaps  even  a 
loom  if  one  were  fortunate.  If  there  was  a  baby  to  rock  a  well  rounded 
log  was  cut  into  a  four-foot  length  and  hollowed  out  to  form  a  primitive 
cradle.  ,\ 

With  his  home  built  and  his  family  installed  therein,  the  next  work 
of  the  pioneer  Was  to  clear  off  the  forests.  Creating  grain  fields  in  this 
manner  was  a  wjprk  of  years,  although  an  energetic  worker  sometimes 
cleared  off  eight  for  ten  acres  in  a  single  season. 

In  clearing  off  the  timber  much  of  the  chopping  was  done  in  winter. 
The  trees  were  razed  one  at  a  time  with  a  trusty  ax  if  the  homemaker 
were  working  alone,  the  underbrush  was  cut  and  piled,  the  dead  timber 
perhaps  fired  on  the  spot,  while  the  timber  fitted  for  rails  was  felled 
and  cut  into  lengths  and  hauled  to  the  place  where  the  fences  were  to  be 
built.  The  remaining  timber  was  cut  into  lengths  suitable  for  hauling; 
the  rail  timber  was  split  and  the  zig-zag  fence  that  is  now  disappearing 
from  the  landscape  was  built. 

When  the  warm  days  of  summer  had  dried  out  the  brush  and  logs 
sufficiently,  the  brush  was  fired  and  the  logs  hauled  by  oxen,  or  horses, 
into  heaps  and  burned,  the  smoke  of  the  burning  timber  blending  with 
the  Indian  Summer  haze.  These  "log  rollings"  were  conducted  in  much 
the  same  manner  as  "raisings."  Usually  the  space  to  be  "rolled"  was 
divided  between  two  parties,  each  in  charge  of  a  captain,  who  in  turn 
divided  his  men  into  gangs,  placing  with  each  a  man  specially  skilled  in 
piling  the  logs.  There  was  great  rivalry  between  these  main  parties 
as  to  which  could  finish  first,  and  they  worked  with  great  energy.  Piling 
the  logs  in  such  a  way  that  they  would  burn  up  was  a  highly  skilled 
business.  One  man  could  direct  tHe  building  of  a  heap  so  that  it  would 
burn  completely  up,  while  another,  less  skillfully  arranged  would  burn 
only  partially,  leaving  large  half -burned  timbers  which  were  difficult  to 
handle.  The  victor  in  the  log-rolling  contest  won  his  laurels  as  much  by 
the  skill  with  which  his  heaps  were  piled  as  in  the  amount  of  land 
cleared.  After  the  logs  were  rolled,  they  were  usually  permitted  to  lie 
for  some  time  to  still  further  dry,  and  then  fired.     From  time  to  time 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       129 

they  were  "stirred"  during  the  burning,  and  this  was  also  a  job  always 
entrusted  to  a  man  familiar  with  the  work,  as  it  required  skill. 

"Log  rollings"  were  always  accompanied  by  apple  butter  boilings, 
quiltings  and  carpet  rag  sewings  at  which  the  girls  applied  themselves 
while  the  men  piled  the  timbers.  The  women,  too,  prepared  the  hearty 
food  for  the  workers.  These  "log  rollings"  were  social  events  in  their 
nature  as  well  as  hard  labor  and  therefore  never  lacked  for  men.  Even 
the  shirkers  were  on  hand — usually  among  the  earliest  arrivals — for 
generous  quantities  of  wmsky  were  always  provided  for  a  "rolling"  or 
a  "raising"  and  the  liquid  was  dispensed  openhandedly.  Affairs  of  this 
kind,  in  fact,  were  popular  and  were  common  in  the  early  days  when 
settlements  were  of  sufficient  size  to  permit  a  large  body  of  men  to 
congregate  for  mutual  assistance. 

This  waste  of  timber  may  appear  now  to  have  been  wanton  but  at 
that  day  it  was  an  absolute  necessity.  Without  fields  there  could  be  no 
crops,  with  the  trees  standing  undisturbed  there  could  be  no  fields,  and 
burning  the  timber  was  the  only  recourse  for  the  settler.  A  market  for 
lumber  did  not  exist  outside  the  immediate  neighborhood  and  logs  were 
too  plentiful  to  justify  hauling  them  more  than  a  short  distance  to  the 
sawmill.  Much  of  the  work  of  burning  off  the  logs  and  brush  was  done 
at  night  to  economize  on  time,  and  the  light  of  these  woods  fires  illum- 
inated the  pioneer  settlements  in  a  day  when  candles  were  a  luxury. 

When  cleared  ground  was  not  an  immediate  necessity  the  scheme  of 
killing  the  trees  by  "girdling"  them  was  sometimes  resorted  to.  This 
process  saved  much  labor,  but  it  had  its  inconveniences  too  and  was  not 
a  generally  accepted  method  of  forest  clearing. 

"Slashing"  timber,  still  a  third  method  of  destruction,  was  the  work 
of  an  artisan.  It  was  a  scheme  that  could  be  employed  only  when  the 
wind  was  from  the  right  quarter  and  other  considerations  were  favor- 
able. The  "slasher"  first  surveyed  with  his  eye  the  tract  of  ground 
that  had  to  be  cleared  or  estimated  the  extent  of  the  tract  that  he  be- 
lieved himself  able  to  clear.  With  his  ax  he  then  chopped  each  tree  on 
the  tract  part  way  through,  and,  reaching  the  end  of  the  area,  selected 
the  tree  that  was  to  begin  the  holocaust.  This  was  felled  by  sturdy 
blows.  In  falling  it  struck  the  tree  next  in  line  and  started  that  one 
toppling.  The  weakened  trees  responded  in  turn  to  the  crashing  timber, 
the  entire  strip  gradually  succumbing  with  a  fearful  roar.  An  expert, 
it  is  said,  could  clear  an  acre  a  day  in  this  manner,  whereas  a  single  ax- 
man  attacking  one  tree  at  a  time  required  nearly  a  month  to  lay  bare  the 
same  area.  But  it  was  a  work  that  required  skill  and  judgment  beyond 
that  of  an  ordinary  chopper. 

The  pioneer's  barn  was  a  necessary  adjunct,  of  course,  just  as  neces- 
sary as  his  house.  It  might  be  said  in  fact  that  it  was  even  more  of 
a  necessity,  for  life  on  the  frontier  was  absolutely  dependent  on  draft 
animals  and  live  stock  and  these  had  to  be  cared  for  to  the  best  of  the  set- 
tler's ability.  The  early  barn  was  built  of  logs,  too,  and  was  as  large  as 
the  circumstances  of  the  pioneer  farmer  would  permit.  "Barn  raisings" 
were  events  that  ranked  with  "log  rollings"  and  "house  raisings"  in  the 
life'of  the  early  day  residents  of  the  Western  Reserve. 

Vol.  1—9 


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130       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

With  the  trees  and  underbrush  cut  and  destroyed  the  ground  was 
considered  ready  for  grain  growing,  although  pioneer  agriculture  was 
even  then  carried  on  under  wearisome  disadvantages  since  the  fields 
were  merely  stump-filled  areas  after  all.  In  corn  planting  the  ground 
was  raised  with  a  hoe,  the  seed  thrown  in  and  the  ground  stamped  back 
into  shape.  Wheat  was  sown  in  harrow  scraped  soil  and  the  seed  car- 
ried beneath  the  surface  by  the  teeth.  Grass  and  clover  were  sown  with 
the  wheat,  to  come  up  after  the  grain  had  been  harvested,  and  cut  with 
scythes  as  winter  feed  for  the  stock.  Wheat  was  cut  with  a  sickle,  the 
cradle  coming  into  use  in  later  years  and  harvesting  machinery  at  a 
still  later  period.  Threshing  was  done  with  a  flail,  that  implement  so 
cumbersome  to  the  uninitiated  and  yet  an  effectual  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  an  expert.  Sometimes  the  grain  was  tramped  out  by  horses 
on  the  barn  floors,  as  in  Biblical  days. 

Plowing,  of  course,  was  not  possible  in  the  clearings  at  first  as  the 
stumps  and  the  green  roots  were  successful  barriers.  The  original  plows, 
when  it  became  possible  to  resort  to  these,  were  made  with  wooden 
mold  boards  and  iron  plow  points.  All  labor  was  manual.  Even  the 
simplest  of  labor-saving  agricultural  implements  were  unknown  to  the 
pioneers. 

Clearing  the  fields  of  stumps  was  a  labor  of  vears.  Smaller  ones 
were  rooted,  dug  or  pulled  out,  but  for  the  larger  ones  the  only  means 
of  relief  was  to  wait  until  time  had  rotted  them  or  until  they  had  been 
slowly  burned  away.  Many  summers  might  pass  before  the  field  was 
cleared  of  roots  and  converted  into  a  clean  grain  field  or  meadow.  Oxen 
were  the  chief  beasts  of  burden  and  plodded  along  before  the  plow  or 
hitched  to  the  great  wide-wheeled  wagons  of  the  pioneers. 

As  corn  was  the  great  staple,  a  generation  of  great  Ohio  men  and 
women  were  raised  on  corn  pone,  dodgers,  johnnycake  and  mush  and 
milk.  Meat  was  not  as  plentiful  as  one  might  believe.  There  was  un- 
limited game  in  the  forests  in  the  early  days,  but  white  men  and  women 
did  not  care  for  a  steady  diet  of  wild  meat.  Cattle,  the  chief  stock  ani- 
mal, grazed  in  the  forests.  Hogs,  when  a  settler  was  fortunate  enough 
to  own  any,  also  ran  wild  in  the  woods  and  sometimes  lived  luxuriously 
and  without  human  care  for  months  at  a  time.  They  were  subject,  how- 
ever, to  depredations  from  predatory  beasts.  Sheep  raising  came  into 
fashion  only  after  the  country  was  fairly  well  settled.  They  were  beset 
even  more  than  hogs  by  the  beasts  of  prey  and  raising  sheep  was  often- 
times a  profitless  work.  Home  made  Yankee  cheese  helped  vary  the 
diet  in  the  early  days  of  the  Reserve.  Soap  was  made  from  ashes  and 
fats,  maple  sugar  and  wild  honey  were  substitutes  for  cane  sugar,  and 
salt,  now  the  cheapest  of  all  food  commodities,  and  yet  one  of  the  most 
necessary,  was  scarce,  and  often  sold  at  $6  to  $8  a  bushel. 

Grist  mills  were  the  one  great  essential  industry  in  pioneer  settle- 
ments. Settlers  might  clear  the  ground  with  a  grubbing  hoe  and  erect 
habitations  with  the  aid  of  the  ax  and  trowel  alone,  thus  living  in  a  fair 
degree  of  comfort  while  waiting  for  a  sawmill  to  come  into  being;  but 
every  settlement  and  every  individual  settler  felt  the  crying  need  of  a 
mill  where  he  might  take  his  corn  and  wheat  to  be  ground. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       131 

Mill  sites  were  snapped  up  quickly  along  the  streams,  and  yet  grist 
mills  were  not  always  available  for  the  settlers.  Sometimes,  indeed, 
corn  was  carried  many  miles  on  horseback  to  be  ground,  and  trips  of 
even  thirty,  forty,  or  fifty  miles  were  often  made  through  the  woods  to 
the  nearest  store  for  even  the  plainest  of  provisions.  One  of  the  first 
grist  mills  on  the  Reserve  was  that  built  at  Lanterman's  Falls  in  Youngs- 
town,  and  thi§  was  not  available  until  several  years  after  the  settlement 
had  been  founded  and  then  did  not  fill  all  the  requirements  of  the  set- 
tlers. 

Lacking  mills  to  grind  the  corn,  however,  the  settler's  family  was 
not  wholly  deprived  of  the  meal  for  making  cornpone  or  mush.  They 
might  be  handicapped  severely,  but  they  were  too  resourceful  to  sit  down 
and  pine  for  the  unattainable.  Women  of  the  family  resorted  to  the 
corn  grater  when  nothing  else  was  available,  this  instrument  being  pure- 
ly a  homemade  affair  and  not  unlike  a  huge  modern  nutmeg  grater.  In 
making  it,  one  side  of  an  old  tin  bucket  was  commandeered,  holes  were 
punched  in  this  that  left  the  raw  projections  outward,  and  the  grater 
was  nailed  to  a  board  for  use.  Another  device  was  made  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  a  pharmacist's  mortar  and  pestle,  a  stump  being  hollowed  out,  the 
shelled  corn  fed  therein  and  the  grain  pulverized  with  a  crude  pestle. 
Sometimes  a  sapling  at  a  proper  distance  from  the  stump  was  requi- 
sitioned for  service.  It  was  bent  over  and  the  pestle  attached  and 
worked  up  and  down,  the  advantage  being  that  the  sapling  gave  that 
perpendicular  play  to  the  pestle  that  would  otherwise  have  to  be  fur- 
nished by  main  strength.  This  was  a  man's  work,  one  may  be  sure, 
although  much  of  the  labor  of  preparing  grains  and  meats  for  food  was 
done  by  the  pioneer  women,  who  truly  underwent  even  greater  hard- 
ships than  the  men. 

The  commonest  substitute,  however,  when  a  grist  mill  was  lacking, 
was  the  "hand  mill/'  which  was  a  miniature  grist  mill  right  in  the  home. 
These  devices  varied  in  construction,  but  one  pioneer  leaves  a  descrip- 
tion of  one  of  these  mills  that  will  suffice  for  all. 

"The  stones  in  a  hand  mill,"  he  says,  "were  of  common  sandstone 
grit,  four  inches  thick  and  twenty  inches  in  diameter.  The  runner  was 
turned  by  hand,  with  a  pole  set  in  the  top  of  it,  near  the  verge.  The 
upper  end  of  the  pole  went  into  another  hole  inserted  into  a  board,  and 
nailed  on  the  under  side  of  the  joist,  immediately  over  the  hole  in  the 
verge  of  the  runner.  One  person  turned  the  stone  and  another  .person 
fed  the  corn  into  the  eye  with  his  hands.  It  was  very  hard  work  and  the 
operators  alternately  changed  places." 

The  unceasing  toil  required  of  the  pioneers  in  wresting  a  living  from 
the  soil  and  in  rearing  a  family  can  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  the  writer 
of  the  above  reminiscence  assures  us  that,  "it  took  the  hard  labor  of  two 
hours  to  supply  flour  enough  for  one  person  for  a  single  day."  Since 
families  in  pioneer  days  were  uniformly  large,  grinding  meal  for  them 
by  the  handmill  process  was  almost  a  continuous  process. 

Potatoes  were  a  crop  generally  plentiful  after  the  first  year  or  two, 
and  figured  largely  in  the  diet  of  the  pioneers.  Pastries  were  luxuries 
denied  the  habitants  of  the  wilderness. 


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132       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

These  early  days,  of  course,  were  not  wholly  devoid  of  diversions, 
although  there  was  little  except  what  was  self-created.  Debating  clubs 
for  the  men  where  ponderous  subjects,  chiefly  scientific  and  political, 
were  discussed,  were  organized  in  the  Western  Reserve  whenever  a 
settlement  had  grown  to  sufficient  proportions.  This  tendency  was 
marked  in  Northeastern  Ohio  because  the  settlers  were,  as  a  rule,  of 
better  education  than  the  average  of  pioneers.  Dances,  singing  school 
and  churchgoing  were  events  looked  forward  to  with  pleasure.  Militia 
mustering  day  each  year  was  a  period  of  intense  interest  to  the  pioneers 
of  the  Reserve,  for  the  martial  spirit  ran  high  here  and  war  was  always 
a  possibility.  Independence  Day  was  the  one  great  holiday  of  the  year, 
and  unrestrained  twisting  of  the  lion's  tail  featured  the  program,  for 
the  anti-British  feeling  kindled  by  the  Revolutionary  war  was  fanned 
into  renewed  flames  by  the  War  of  1812,  and  it  ran  higher  in  the  West 
than  in  the  East,  because  American  ownership  of  lands  west  of  Penn- 
sylvania was  never  fully  acknowledged  until  after  this  second  war  and 
the  country  was  harassed  constantly  in  the  meantime  by  British-inspired 
Indians.  Home  diversions  consisted  mostly  of  work,  for  the  women 
spun  and  wove  in  those  days,  making  not  only  their  own  clothes  but 
the  clothes  of  the  men  folks  too.  Rags  also  were  worked  into  warm 
quilts  to  replace  the  skins  of  animals  first  used  for  bedding. 

Log  "rollings,"  house  "raisings"  and  similar  gatherings  when  a  mill 
or  a  barn  was  to  be  put  up  were  hard  work  but  always  partook  of  the 
nature  of  a  holiday.  Needles  clicked  and  tongues  clattered  to  the  ac- 
companiment of  the  smell  of  cooking  viands,  coarse  yet  tempting  to 
these  outdoor  workers.  There  was  ample  to  eat,  and  to  drink  too.  A 
dance  in  the  evening  always  terminated  these  events,  despite  the  stem 
religious  scruples  of  these  New  Englanders.  Rough  puncheon  floors 
were  not  especially  adapted  to  dancing,  yet  they  constituted  no  great 
impediment  to  the  "square"  dancing  of  those  days,  and  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  violin,  or  even  a  good  whistler  in  the  absence  of  a  musical 
instrument,  men  and  maids  joined  hilariously  in  the  scamper-down, 
double  shuffle,  western  swing  and  the  half  moon. 

Men  and  their  wives,  lads  and  their  sweethearts,  traveled  horseback, 
one  horse  usually  sufficing  for  a  twain.  This  in  fact  was  the  only  means 
of  transportation,  aside  from  farm  wagons  and  sleighs,  for  the  early 
settlers.  Stage  coaches  came  into  being  on  the  Western  Reserve  only  in 
1824,  when  a  stage  route  was  established  between  Ashtabula  and  Wells- 
ville,  on  the  Ohio  River,  by  way  of  Youngstown  and  Warren,  with  daily 
service.  This  line  at  first  actually  ran  only  to  Poland.  The  running 
time  between  Ashtabula  and  the  Ohio  River  was  twenty  hours.  The 
stage  driver  was  an  exalted  being  then,  and  it  might  be  added  that  he 
remained  an  envied  figure,  around  whom  romance  clustered,  until  the 
recent  years  when  the  railroad  and  the  motor  vehicle  ended  his  career  in 
his  last  stand  in  the  far  West.  The  canal  came  fifteen  years  after  the 
stage  coach  and  the  railroad  at  a  still  later  date. 

Horse  racing  in  the  summer  and  sleighing  in  the  winter  were  royal 
sports.  In  his  reminiscences,  Roswell  M.  Grant  tells  of  the  existence  of 
a  club  of  Trumbull  County  blades  in  the  early  days  much  given  to  both 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       133 

of  these  sports.  In  this  club  were  numbered  Judge  George  Tod,  Judge 
William  Rayen,  John  E.  Woodbridge  and  Col.  James  Hillman,  of 
Youngstown;  Gen.  Elijah  Wadsworth  and  Comfort  Mygatt,  of  Can- 
field;  Simon  Perkins  and  Calvin  Pease,  of  Warren;  Doctor  Tylor,  of 
Tylortown,  and  Robert  Montgomery  and  David  Clendennen,  of  Coits- 
ville.  When  the  Mahoning  River  froze  over  the  challenge  would  go 
forth  for  a  race  on  the  ice  from  Youngstown  to  Warren.  They  would 
start  in  their  two-horse  sleighs,  all  abreast,  for  the  winding  trip  of 
fifteen  miles,  the  Mahoning  River  being  passable  then  for  sleighs  all 
along  its  lower  course.  The  men  in  the  last  sleigh  to  reach  the  destina- 
tion of  the  party  were  assessed  for  dinner  for  all  the  party. 

As  interesting  evidence  of  the  changes  that  have  come  with  the 
passing  years  is  the  fact  that  the  Mahoning  River  now  never  freezes  be- 
tween Warren  and  its  mouth,  on  account  of  the  waters  being  pumped  so 
many  times  through  the  steel  plants  and  used  so  frequently  for  cooling 
purposes  that  their  temperature  never  goes  below  40  degrees,  even  in  the 
coldest  weather,  while  in  the  summer  the  temperature  is  so  high  that 
for  long  distances  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  steel  mills,  the  boys  cannot 
even  swim  in  it. 

It  is  not  so  many  years  ago  that  ice  cutting  was  a  winter  industry  on 
the  Mahoning  River  in  Youngstown.  It  is  scarcely  twenty  years  since 
thousands  of  skaters  glided  on  the  ice  from  Baldwin's  dam  northward 
and  when  swimming  and  even  fishing  in  the  backwater  of  this  dam  were 
still  possible,  but  all  this  is  gone  today,  and  it  is  hard  even  to  imagine  a 
day  when  bobsledding  from  Youngstown  to  Warren  was  a  pastime. 

From  the  same  authority  we  get  a  thrilling  account  as  well  of  one 
of  the  horse  races  of  pioneer  times.  The  stakes  were  a  county  seat, 
$1,000  and  about  everything  else  in  sight. 

The  race  took  place  during  the  heat  of  the  contest  between  Youngs- 
town and  Warren  for  the  honor  of  being  the  county  seat  of  Trumbull 
County,  and  occurred  at  some  time  prior  to  1810.  Warren,  in  addition 
to  boasting  of  superiority  to  Youngstown  in  other  ways,  announced  that 
it  also  had  a  horse  that  could  outrun  anything  in  the  village  down  the  river. 
Judge  Tod  accepted  the  challenge  on  behalf  of  Youngstown  and  to  up- 
hold the  honor  of  his  home  town  selected  a  bay  mare  named  Fly,  the 
property  of  Colonel  Hillman.  Tod  took  charge  of  the  horse  personally 
and  curried  and  trained  it  to  perfection.  Warren  had  enough  confidence 
in  its  horse,  Dave  by  name,  to  wager  $500  on  the  outcome  and  Tod 
covered  this1>et. 

The  course  selected  for  the  race  was  along  the  main  highway  that 
followed  the  river  valley — now  Federal  Street — and  the  stretch  to  be 
covered  extended  from  Judge  Raven's  residence  in  the  western  part  of 
the  village  to  Crab  Creek  in  the  eastern  part,  a  distance  of  approxi- 
mately a  mile.  On  the  day  of  the  great  contest  Warren  and  Youngs- 
town alike  suspended  work  and  turned  out  en  masse.  Those  who  were 
in  favor  of  fixing  the  county  seat  at  Youngstown  ranged  themselves  on 
the  south  side  of  the  highway  while  Warren  boosters  lined  up  on  the 
north  side.     "They  bet  what  money  they  had,  then  bet  their  watches, 


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134       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

penknives,  coats,  bats,  vests  and  shoes,"  says  the  scrupulous  chronicler 
of  the  event,  who  was  an  attendant  himself.    His  description  continues : 

"Alexander  Walker  rode  Fly,  and  under  his  tutelage  the  Youngs- 
town  horse  forged  ahead  in  passing  Henry  Wick's  store.  At  Hugh 
Bryson's  store  Dave  came  alongside,  but  the  spurt  was  unavailing  as 
Walker  plied  his  whip  and  gave  a  few  Indian  warwhoops  and  Fly  shot 
ahead  once  more.  Dave's  chance  vanished  then  and  there,  for  Fly 
reached  Crab  Creek  six  lengths  ahead.  In  fact  Fly  had  entered  so 
thoroughly  into  the  spirit  of  the  affair  by  this  time  that  she  refused  to 
stop  at  all  and  was  brought  up  only  at  Daniel  Sheehy's  cabin,  a  mile  be- 
yond the  goal." 

Youngstown  was  richer  that  night  in  money,  glory,  penknives  and 
clothes,  but  somehow  the  courthouse  was  built  at  Warren. 

Horse  racing  hJas  not  diminished  greatly  in  popularity  in  a  hundred 
years,  and  sleighing  is  still  a  common  outdoor  joy  on  the  Western  Re- 
serve, although  the  motor  driven  vehicle  has  cut  into  both  pleasures.  In 
the  olden  days,  however,  sleigh  racing  was  a  sport  of  first  magnitude. 
One  such  contest — preserved  in  Ohio  history  because  it  probably  out- 
ranked anything  of  its  kind  ever  held  before  or  since — occurred  after 
the  Reserve  had  been  fairly  well  settled,  or  in  the  winter  of  1855-56,  to 
be  exact. 

In  that  year  there  was  a  sleighing  season  of  100  days  in  Northern 
Ohio.  During  the  height  of  this  season  farmers  in  Solon  Township, 
Cuyahoga  County,  organized  a  party  that  traveled  to  Akron  in  seven 
four-horse  sleighs,  and  to  signalize  their  trip  carried  a  good  sized  Amer- 
ican flag  with  the  regulation  number  of  stars  and  stripes,  also  giving  oral 
demonstration  in  true  American  fashion  to  the  fact  that  they  were  out 
for  a  lark. 

Whether  it  was  intended  as  a  challenge  or  not  is  uncertain,  but  the 
people  of  neighboring  townships,  villages  and  towns  accepted  it  as  such. 
The  farmers  of  Twinsburg  Township  -ref used  to  remain  quiescent  under 
the  defi;  instead  they  mustered  a  party  in  fourteen  sleighs  drawn  by 
four  horses  each  and  the  flag  was  surrendered  to  them.  Solon  Town- 
ship folks  were  not  so  easily  vanquished,  however.  Appearing  at  Twins- 
burg with  thirty-eight  four-horse  sleighs  they  easily  won  back  the  lost 
banner. 

The  competition  was  now  on  in  earnest,  but  it  was  converted  into  a 
rival  county,  instead  of  township,  affair,  with  Cuyahoga,  Medina  and 
Summit  counties  competing.  On  March  14,  1856,  they  rallied  at  Rich- 
field, Summit  County,  for  what  was  supposed  to  be  the  final  muster,  and 
so  keen  had  become  the  rivalry  that  Medina  County  appeared  with  144 
sleighs,  Cuyahoga  County  with  151  and  Summit  County  with  171,  each 
sleigh  being  a  four-horse  affair,  a  total  of  466  sleighs,  drawn  by  1,864 
horses.  Naturally  these  were  the  commodious  old  bob-sleighs,  and  with 
their  liberal  seating  capacity  no  less  than  6,500  persons  engaged  directly 
in  the  contest.  Brass  bands  enlivened  the  occasion  and  hundreds  of  non- 
participants  came  to  witness  the  grand  roundup,  for  work  was  generally 
suspended  far  and  wide  over  the  Western  Reserve  to  witness  this  re- 
markable spectacle.     In  fact  the  contest  was  so  unique  that  newspaper 


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YOUNdSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       135 

readers  throughout  the  entire  United  States  followed  it  closely,  and  even 
in  Europe  it  was  commented  on  by  Old  World  people  who  marveled  at 
the  strange  ways  of  the  Americans. 

But  the  rivalry  was  not  yet  over  by  any  means.  Medina  County 
folks  were  much  chagrined.  They  not  only  had  not  captured  the  flag, 
but  they  had  finished  up  in  last  place  in  the  procession.  This  was  a  dis- 
grace that  sturdy  Medina  County  farmers  could  not  endure.  Four  days 
later,  on  March  18th,  they  appeared  at  Akron  with  182  four-horse  sleighs 
and  one  sleigh  drawn  by  four  mules,  and  claimed  the  flag.  In  fact  they 
did  more  than  this.  They  brought  along  brass  bands  and  banners  galore 
and  made  their  appearance  with  cheers  that  almost  shook  the  earth.  Far 
from  being  jealous,  Akron  declared  a  general  holiday  and  gave  the 
visitors  a  welcome  with  the  firing  of  cannon  and  the  ringing  of  bells. 
They  won  back  the  flag  and  kept  it.  "No  accidents  occurred  and  no 
one  got  drunk/'  records  Capt.  Milton  P.  Peirce,  the  chronicler  of  this 
remarkable  event. 

Women's  pleasures  were  more  limited  than  men's,  but  women  were 
just  as  earnestly  concerned  about  dress  100  years  ago  as  they  are  today, 
all  preachments  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  Their  tastes  were  as 
fully  developed  as  those  of  their  great-granddaughters;  necessity  merely 
modified  fashions  in  their  wearing  apparel.  A  patch  of  flax  was  planted 
each  year,  and  when  the  harvest  was  ready  was  pulled,  dried,  bleached 
and  hackled.  Whten  properly  beaten  into  a  tow  it  was  spun  by  the 
women.  Cotton  was  imported  in  its  raw  state  and  had  to  be  picked, 
carded  and  spun  like  flax.  Cotton,  flax  and  wool  alike  were  spun  or 
woven  into  cloths,  flannels  and  blankets,  while  some  portions  of  the 
yarns  were  dyed  madder  red,  indigo  blue  and  more  modest  colors  for 
weaving  into  plaids  for  wear  or  for  bed  coverings.  The  women  made 
their  own  clothing,  and  likewise  the  clothing  for  the  men  folks  and  the 
children,  until  opportunity  or  affluence  brought  them  "store"  clothes. 
For  summer  clothing  cotton  was  mixed  with  the  flax,  for  winter  wear 
wool  was  used  for  the  mixture.  "Fine  coats,  boots,  and  hats  were  then 
unknown;  the  settlers  used  to  go  to  meeting,  the  best  of  them,  in  their 
shirt  sleeves,  in  the  summer  with  clean  shirts  of  their  own  manufacture, 
(the  women's  manufacture,  rather)  ;  and  many  a  time  I  hav^  seen  our 
most  respectable  farmers  make  their  appearance  on  Sunday  barefoot," 
wrote  one  Youngstown  pioneer  in  his  reminiscences  of  early  days  here. 
"And  often,"  he  adds,  "I  have  seen  our  ladies  carry  their  shoes  and 
stockings  for  miles,  going  barefoot  until  within  sight  of  the  church,  and 
then  put  them  on,  feeling  that  they  could  not  afford  to  wear  such  luxu- 
ries on  the  road." 

Which  is  a  rather  convincing  refutation  in  itself  of  the  oft-repeated 
assertion  that  pioneer  women  set  no  great  store  on  dress.  We  would 
admire  them  less  if  we  believed  they  were  careless  in  this  respect. 

Every  day  clothing  was  much  plainer,  of  course,  than  the  Sunday 
dress.  Men's  trousers,  or  "pantaloons,"  were  made  of  deerskin  tanned 
by  hand.  They  were  not  altogether  comfortable  articles  of  wearing 
apparel.  In  wet  weather  they  would  stretch  and  become  sloppy ;  in  dry 
weather  they  shrank  and  became  stiff  and  hard.     It  is  recorded  that  a 


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136       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

pair  of  these  trousers  could  stand  up  unassisted  when  thoroughly  dried 
out.  Coonskin  caps  were  common,  too,  among  the  earliest  of  the 
pioneers. 

The  women  with  their  humming  spinning  wheels  and  thudding  looms 
were  the  real  manufacturers  of  the  early  days.  Aside  from  these  home 
workshops*  manufacturing  was  almost  non-existent  on  the  Western 
Reserve  in  the  first  half  century  of  its  existence,  agriculture  being  the 
one  great  industry.  The  United  States,  in  fact,  was  not  a  manufactur- 
ing country  for  many  years  after  its  founding,  and  it  appeared  to  make 
no  great  effort  to  become  one.  The  American  policy  was  rather  to  be- 
come the  great  shipping  nation  of  the  world,  and  energies  were  devoted 
to  acquiring  ship  tonnage  to  haul  the  world's  goods,  instead  of  making 
the  goods  to  ship. 

This  ambition  was  successfully  attained  and  American  clipper-built 
ships  became  famed  throughout  the  world.  Yet  it  was  a  shortsighted 
policy  for  American  raw  materials  were  hauled  to  Europe,  made  into 
manufactured  products,  and  then  brought  back  and  sold  to  Americans 
at  fat  profits  for  foreign  manufacturers.  •  The  mistake  that  America  was 
making  in  pursuing  this  course  was  made  even  more  serious  by  the  fact 
that  the  Jeffersonian  party  that  was  in  power  in  the  first  quarter  of  the 
nineteenth  century  opposed  any  extension  of  either  naval  or  land  de- 
fense, so  that  American  merchant  ships  could  expect  little  or  no  protec- 
tion in  event  of  war. 

The  War  of  1812  came  on  and  closed  the  seas.  Unable  to  get  manu- 
factured goods  from  abroad  Americans  were  forced  to  turn  to  making 
their  own  goods.  Under  the  spur  of  necessity  manufacturing  plants 
sprung  up  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard  and  America  flourished  indus- 
trially. The  stupidity  of  England  in  educating  Americans  into  the 
knowledge  that  they  could  get  along  without  British-made  goods  was  on 
a  par  with  the  course  that  Germany  obstinately  followed  just  100  years 
later  in  making  Americans  realize  that  they  did  not  need  German  chemi- 
cals, dyes  and  other  commodities  as  they  had  been  led  to  believe. 

Unfortunately  America  did  not  grasp  the  opportunity  fully.  The 
peace  of  181 5  came  on,  the  seas  were  reopened  and  foreign  goods  be- 
gan to  flpw  in  at  prices  that  America  could  not  duplicate.  The  fires  of 
industry  here  died  down  and  manufacturing  almost  ceased  until  the  tariff 
bill  of  1824  was  passed.  This  measure  of  1824  was  framed  with  the 
double  purpose  of  raising  funds  to  pay  off  the  war  debt  and  to  revive 
the  languishing  manufactures  of  the  country,  and  its  effect  was  soon 
seen  in  a  moderate  increase  in  the  number  of  blast  furnaces,  woolen 
mills  and  similar  establishments  in  this  part  of  the  country. 

Here  on  the  Western  Reserve,  however,  manufacturing  was  negligi- 
ble until  well  along  toward  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Saw- 
mills began  to  dot  the  landscape  soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  settlers  but 
they  were  local  in  their  patronage  and  made  no  attempt  to  turn  out  any- 
thing but  rough  lumber.  The  grist  mills  were  patronized  only  by  resi- 
dents of  the  immediate  neighborhood.  The  first  attempt  to  make  iron 
in  the  Mahoning  Valley  was  about  1803,  but  the  tiny  furnaces  here  at  the 
opening  of  the  War  of  181 2  had  to  suspend  when  their  workmen  enlisted 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       137 

or  were  drafted  for  service  in  that  conflict.  A  carding  and  cloth  dress- 
ing plant,  an  ax  works  and  a  woolen  factory  were  built  along  Mill  Creek 
but  these  gradually  passed  out  of  existence.  The  possibilities  of  the 
Mahoning  Valley  as  a  great  manufacturing  district  were  not  foreseen. 
Making  a  living  was  probably  a  great  enough  problem,  for  in  the  early 
days  there  was  little  money  in  circulation  in  the  West,  business  being 
confined  almost  entirely  to  barter. 

Education,  on  which  these  transplanted  New  Englanders  prided 
themselves,  was  carried  on  only  under  the  greatest  difficulties.  Presum- 
ably the  state  was  to  assist  and  foster  a -school  system,  but  in  other 
parts  of  Ohio  less  store  was  placed  in  education  so  that  there  was  liltle 
real  effort  made  in  this  direction  until  after  the  school  code  of  1825  was 
enacted.  Prior  to  that  education  was  left  largely  to  local  fancy,  and 
in  no  other  part  of  Ohio  did  the  people  acquit  themselves  as  well  as  in 
the  Western  Reserve. 

The  soil  being  their  chief  reliance  the  settlers  naturally  turned  to  it 
industriously.  The  ground  on  the  Western  Reserve  was  generally  fer- 
tile, but,  as  we  have  shown,  required  herculean  efforts  to  reduce  it  from 
forests  to  fields,  and  even  wrhen  the  clearing  had  been  made  for  grain 
fields  there  was  wild  animal  life  to  contend  with,  the  denizens  of  the 
forests  having  a  liking  for  domestic  grains  and  barnyard  stock.  Because 
of  its  forested  areas  the  Reserve  was  rich  in  animal  life,  not  only  in 
number  but  in  varieties.  The  buffalo  once  ranged  over  the  territory  that 
is  now  the  State  of  Ohio,  but  if  its  habitat  ever  extended  to  this  north- 
eastern area  this  great  animal  had  disappeared  before  the  advent  of  the 
white  man.  Birds  and  animals  of  all  other  kinds  were  found  here,  how- 
ever, in  great  profusion,  and  were  freely  hunted  in  the  early  days,  some- 
times for  sport,  but  more  often  merely  for  the  bounties,  for  the  meat  and 
furs,  and  even  in  reprisal  for  depredations  committed. 

The  elk,  the  largest  of  native  game  animals,  was  not  plentiful,  but 
deer,  bears,  wolves,  panthers,  wildcats,  gray  foxes,  squirrels  and  the 
fur-bearing  beaver  and  otter,  together  with  the  small  mammals  that  are 
still  existent — the  raccoon,  opossum,  skunk,  mink  and  similar  animals — 
were  abundant.  Wild  turkeys  and  other  game  birds  were  indigenous  and 
ducks  and  geese  and  acquatic  fowls  of  all  kinds  came  in  countless  num- 
bers. 

The  black  bear  did  not  long  survive  the  coming  of  the  white  man. 
His  meat  was  much  sought,  his  fur  made  fine  robes,  and  he  was  accused 
of  robbing  the  pioneers'  hog  pens,  although  in  this  respect  the  bear  is 
often  blamed  for  the  sins  of  fellow  animals.  The  bear  is  a  herbiverous 
animal  and  lives  comfortably  without  meat  if  there  is  none  easily  avail- 
able. The  deer  held  on  for  many  years,  until  the  '30s  or  later,  in  what 
is  now  Mahoning  County,  being  driven  gradually  into  the  swamp  lands 
and  finally  exterminated.  In  Northwestern  Ohio  they  were  found  until 
just  before  the  Civil  war,  and  it  is  rather  remarkable  that  they  are  now 
reappearing  in  Eastern  Ohio,  coming  from  Pennsylvania  and  West  Vir- 
ginia where  rigid  protection  has  caused  them  to  multiply. 

Wolves  and  panthers,  especially  the  former,  were  obnoxiously  plenti- 
ful.   Being  unfit  for  human  food  they  were  not  molested  by  the  Indians, 


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138       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

and  therefore  they  not  only  multiplied  rapidly  but  were  unusually  bold. 
They  were  deadly  enemies  to  the  cattle,  hogs,  sheep  and  horses  of  the 
white  man  just  as  they  had  been  to  the  deer  and  smaller  wild  animals  of 
Indian  days.  While  a  good  word  must  be  said  for  the  bear,  the  indict- 
ment against  wolves  and  panthers,  or  "catamounts,*'  is  well  founded 
— and  the  earliest  settlers  were  hard  put  to  save  their  stock  from  the 
depredations  of  these  marauders.  So  well  was  this  recognized  that  the 
first  territorial  legislature  of  the  Northwest  Territory  passed  a  law  in 
1800  requiring  county  officers  to  offer  bounties  for  the  killing  of  wolves. 
In  accordance  with  this  act  we  find  a  record  of  the  court  of  quarter  ses- 
sions of  Trumbull  County  of  the  May,  i8oi;  term,  reading: 

"Ordered  by  the  court  that  the  sum  of  two  dollars  shall  be  paid  out 
of  the  treasury  of  the  county  as  a  reward  for  each  and  every  wild  wolf, 
of  the  age  of  six  months  and  upwards,  that  shall  be  killed  within  this 
county,  to  the  person  killing  the  same ;  and  the  sum  of  one  dollar  for  each 
and  every  wolf  under  six  months,  that  shall  be  killed  in  this  county,  to 
the  person  killing  the  same ;  under  the  restrictions  and  regulations  of  an 
act  entitled,  'An  act  to  encourage  the  killing  of  wolves.' 

"Calvin  Pease,  Clerk." 

This  law  was  directed  against  the  wolf  alone  because  he  was  bolder 
than  the  panther,  the  latter  leaving  the  fastness  of  the  forest  only  under 
the  spur  of  great  hunger.  In  1805  the  State  Legislature  took  cognizance 
also  of  the  depredations  of  beasts  of  prey,  properly  including  the  panther 
with  the  wolf.  An  act  passed  in  this  year  ordered  county  authorities  to 
offer  bounties  for  the  killing  of  these  animals,  providing  that  for  wolves 
and  panthers  less  than  six  months  old  the  bounty  was  to  be  not  more 
than  $3  nor  less  than  50  cents,  and  for  the  scalps  of  animals  more  than 
six  months  old  the  bounty  was  to  be  not  more  than  $4  nor  less  than  $1. 

Since  a  dollar  in  real  money,  and  not  mere  barter,  was  a  valued  pos- 
session in  those  days,  this  law  was  vigorously  enforced  and  very  con- 
scientiously observed.  The  panther  disappeared  rapidly  before  the  cam- 
paign waged  against  him,  but  the  crafty  wolf  hung  on  for  many  years 
and  was  found  on  the  Western  Reserve  in  the  '40s  or  '50s.  Even  yet  an 
occasional  wolf  is  killed  in  Ohio. 

While  tradition  of  pioneer  days  on  the  Western  Reserve  and  in  every 
other  locality  is  replete  with  stories  of  attacks  made  on  human  beings 
by  ravenous  wolves  and  panthers,  it  is  extremely  doubtful  if  there  is  an 
authentic  instance  on  record  of  any  human  being  undergoing  an  attack 
from  an  animal  of  either  of  these  species.  If  wounded  and  cornered,  a 
wolf,  a  panther,  or  almost  any  being  will  fight  back,  but  animals  seldom, 
or  never,  attack  humans.'  Wolves  and  panthers  will  follow  man  at 
times,  but  they  are  often  actuated  by  the  hope  of  killing  an  accompany- 
ing dog  or  horse,  or  perhaps  are  attracted  by  the  scent  of  fresh  meat  be- 
ing carried  by  the  person  followed.  At  times  they  have  even  less  incen- 
tive— being  buoyed  up  merely  by  the  hope  "that  something  will  turn  up." 
The  bear  is  even  more  grossly  maligned  in  this  respect,  nursery  rhymes 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  The  American  black  bear  never  delib- 
erately attacks  a  human  being. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       139 

Squirrels  were  pronounced  the  greatest  pest  of  all.  They  were 
charged — and  the  evidence  is  strong  against  them — with  raiding  grain 
fields  in  a  most  demoralizing  fashion.  So  general,  in  fact,  was  the  dam- 
age done  by  them  that  the  State  Legislature  was  appealed  to,  and  hit 
upon  an  effective  method  for  curbing  the  inroads  of  these  busy  and 
destructive  little  rodents.  At  the  legislative  session  of  1807-08  an  act 
was  passed  requiring  that  every  male  person  of  military  age .  should 
annually  turn  in  to  the  clerk  of  the  township  in  which  he  resided  at  least 
100  squirrel  scalps,  for  which  a  receipt  was  to  be  given.  If  he  turned  in 
less  than  that  number,  or  none  at  all,  he  was  required  to  pay  3  cents  a 
scalp  for  each  scalp  below  the  required  number.  If  he  turned  in  more 
than  this  number  he  was  given  a  receipt  for  the  excess,  and  this  excess 
was  credited  on  his  next  year's  quota  or  he  was  given  a  bonus  of  3  cents 
a  scalp.  The  fines  assessed  against  those  failing  to  comply  with  the  law 
were  divided  among  those  who  turned  in  the  excess  scalps. 

Naturally  everyone  complied  with  this  law,  since  it  gave  an  oppor- 
tunity of  making  some  money  or  at  least  saving  some.  Great  or- 
ganized squirrel  hunts  were  sometimes  conducted  to  make  a  season's 
killing  all  at  once.  In  one  of  these  early  Ohio  roundups  a  total  of  20,000 
squirrel  scalps  were  turned  in  while  many  more  of  the  little  animals  were 
probably  slain  and  not  accounted  for.  The  slaughter  appears  shameful 
now  in  the  days  of  strict  game  law  enforcement  but  it  appears  to  have 
been  necessary  at  that  time — or  at  least  the  farmers  believed  it  was 
necessary. 

Coitsville  Township  gave  a  unique  demonstration  of  the  operation  of 
the  law  against  squirrels.  On  the  township  records  may  be  found  the 
following  entry : 

"At  a  meeting  of  Wm.  Huston,  Joseph  Jackson,  and  Wm.  Stewart, 
trustees  for  the  Township  of  Coitsville,  at  the  dwelling  house  of  Joseph 
Bissel,  of  said  town,  on  April  27,  1808,  ordered  that  every  person  sub- 
ject to  pay  a  county  tax,  according  to  the  act  passed  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  December  24,  1807,  to  kill  ten  squirrels, 
and  in  addition  to  the  ten  squirrels,  each  person  to  kill  two  squirrels  for 
each  cow  and  four  for  each  horse,  and  if  a  person  has  but  one  cow  she  is 
exempt. 

"Joseph  Bissel,  Township  Clerk." 

The  relation  between  cows,  horses  and  squirrels  is  not  explained  but 
is  perhaps  easily  understood.  The  crusade  against  the  squirrels  was 
begun  because  of  the  charge  that  they  were  inveterate  grain  destroyers, 
and  the  Coitsville  trustees  probably  believed  that  those  who  kept  stock 
that  subsisted  upon  grain  should  be  charged  with  the  duty  of  protecting 
that  grain.  The  final  sentence  in  the  trustees'  edict  should  not  be  ac- 
cepted as  an  indication  that  the  cows  were  required  by  law  to  engage  in 
squirrel-killing  expeditions  themselves.  The  exemption  was  for  the 
cow's  owner,  not  for  the  cow. 

A  game  drive  of  startling  proportions  is  described  by  Captain  Peirce, 
the  Medina  County  authority  previously  quoted.  This  great  hunt  oc- 
curred in  Medina  County  on  December  24,  18 18,  and  was  projected  by 


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140       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

New  England  settlers  in  one  of  the  townships  of  that  county,  who  had 
attempted  to  follow  the  sheep-raising  industry  to  which  they  had  been 
accustomed  and  had  been  thwarted  repeatedly  in  their  efforts  by  the 
depredations  of  wolves. 

Weeks  were  consumed  in  arranging  the  hunt.  As  the  second  war 
with  Great  Britain  had  ended  less  than  four  years  previously  and  the 
law  required  every  able-bodied  man  between  eighteen  and  forty-five  to 
own  a  musket,  there  was  an  abundance  of  weapons,  even  though  many 
of  the  settlers  did  not  care  for  hunting  as  a  sport.  Yet  there  were  not 
enough  to  go  around  the  6oq  men  and  boys  who  assembled,  and  some 
of  the  hunters  carried  axes,  hatches,  butcher  knives,  home  made  lances 
and  even  clubs. 

The  hunting  ground  was  to  include  the  entire  township  of  Hinckley. 
Surveyors  blazed  a  line  of  trees  in  a  circle  half  a  mile  around  in  the 
center  of  the  township.  The  hunters  lined  up  around  the  entire  town- 
ship and  when  the  word  to  go  ahead  was  given  they  moved  in  on  all 
sides,  with  horn  blowing  and  great  clatter,  until  the  blazed  circle  was 
reached.  The  frightened  animals  had  meanwhile  retreated  to  the  area 
within  this  circle.  At  another  signal  the  dogs  that  had  been  brought 
along  were  released  and  they  soon  drove  the  wild  animals  from  cover. 
The  deer  that  tried  to  break  between  the  lines  were  killed,  and 
when  all  the  outer  animals  in  sight  were  slain  the  circle  of  hunters 
moved  on  in  and  mowed  down  the  game.  The  hunt  began  at  daylight 
and  lasted  until  later  afternoon.  Refreshments,  both  eatables  and  drink- 
ables, had  been  sent  for  and  several  hundred  of  the  hunters  camped  out 
for  the  night.  An  enumeration  of  the  game  collected  showed  seventeen 
wolves,  twenty-one  bears  and  300  deer,  with  a  few  wild  turkeys,  foxes 
and  raccoons.  Whether  the  Medina  County  sheep  dwelt  in  safety  there- 
after the  chronicler  does  not  say,  although  it  is  not  apparent  that  they 
profited  greatly  since  the  fruits  of  the  hunt  were  mostly  deer,  and  deer 
do  not  harm  live  stock. 

Rattlesnakes  were  common  in  the  swamps  and  among  the  rocks  of 
Mahoning  County  and  adjoining  counties  in  the  early  days,  but  they 
were  small  and  not  very  venomous.  They  appear  to  have  awakened  no 
fear  on  the  part  of  the  settlers. 

According  to  the  early  settlers,  rabbits  and  red  •  foxes  were  not 
known  here  when  the  whitemen  came,  making  their  appearance  only 
about  181 5,  when  Mahoning  County  was  fairly  well  settled.  This,  if  the 
pioneers  were  not  mistaken,  offers  curious  proof  of  the  strange  pre- 
dilection these  animals  show  for  the  presence  of  human  beings.  It  is  a 
fact,  of  course,  that  the  rabbit  thrives  in  settled  communities  while  the 
red  fox  is  perhaps  more  numerous  in  Ohio  today  than  he  was  100  years 
ago,  but  it  has  never  been  generally  accepted  that  these  animals  shun 
completely  the  unpopulated  wilds. 

During  the  many  years  that  the  settlement  of  the  United  States  was 
under  way,  trouble  with  the  Indians  was  the  bane  of  the  frontiersman's 
life.  Scarcely  thirty  years  have  now  elapsed  since  the  red  man  definitely 
gave   up   the   struggle   against    the    encroachments   of    the   pale    faced 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       141 

strangers  who  moved  ever  westward,  driving  the  Indians  ahead  and 
converting  the  game-filled  forests  and  prairies  into  tilled  farm  lands. 

Ohio  was  no  exception  to  this  rule.  As  a  fighting  man  the  Indian 
has  been  highly  overestimated  by  tradition,  since  he  seldom  possessed 
the  courage  that  has  been  imputed  to  him,  but  in  bitter  opposition  to 
the  spread  of  white  man's  rule  few  Indians  have  excelled  those  who 
peopled  Ohio  in  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the  open- 
ing years  of  the  nineteenth.  The  Shawnees,  the  Ottawas,  the  Miamis, 
the  Wyandots  (of  the  Huron  tribe)  and  the  Dela wares  were  as  blood- 
thirsty as  the  Sioux  or  the  Pawnees  or  any  other  of  the  "horse"  Indians 
of  the  plains  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Tecumseh,  probably  the  ablest 
and  the  most  remarkable  Indian  that  ever  lived,  was  a  Shawnee,  born 
within  the  present  State  of  Ohio. 

In  Southern  Ohio  and  in  Northwestern  Ohio  the  red  men  contested 
for  the  ground  that  they  believed  theirs  by  right  of  ownership.  The 
land  was  not  won  until  lonely  settlers,  and  even  entire  families  at  times, 
had  fallen  before  the  Indian's  tomahawk,  and  Crawford  and  St.  Clair 
found  that  even  organized  bodies  of  white  men  could  fail  in  battle  against 
the  crafty  children  of  the  forest.  Pioneers  often  related  to  their  chil- 
dren in  after  years  the  stories  of  the  anxious  days  spent  in  blockhouses 
when  men,  women  and  children  of  a  struggling  settlement  had  assembled 
to  ward  off  an  expected  assault  from  the  painted  red  men.  As  a  rule  the 
savages  feared  an  open  fight.  Their  killings  were  almost  invariably 
cowardly;  they  fought  only  when  they  outnumbered  the  enemy.  To 
run  from  an  enemy  incurred  no  disgrace  on  the  part  of  an  Indian. 

On  the  side  of  the  white  man,  however,  the  record  is  far  from  clean. 
Too  many  of  them  considered  the  Indians  merely  a  species  of  "varmint," 
like  the  wolf  or  the  panther ;  something  that  should  be  exterminated.  And 
they  had  no  compunctions  whatever  about  the  methods  used  in  exter- 
minating them.  The  story  of  the  founding  of  Ohio  is  stained  with  sev- 
eral foul  crimes  perpetrated  by  white  men  against  the  natives. 

One  of  these  was  the  Yellow  Creek  massacre  of  April  30,  1774,  a 
wholly  indefensible  act  on  the  part  of  the  white  men.  This  slaughter 
occurred  on  Yellow  Creek  in  what  is  now  Muskingum  County,  and  its 
victims  were  Mingo  Indians  whose  entire  village  was  wiped  out  by  the 
whites  under  the  command  of  John  Greathouse.  Among  the  victims 
was  the  family  of  Logan,  noted  Indian  chief  and  friend  of  the  white 
men,  who  became  thereafter  one  of  their  bitter  enemies.  The  massacre 
appears  to  have  been  the  work  of  whisky-crazed  men  rather  than  a  move- 
ment in  retaliation  for  any  actual  wrongs.  Even  more  brutal  was  the 
Gnadenhutten  massacre  of  March  7,  1781,  described  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter, when  more  than  ninety  Christian  Moravian  Indians  were  murdered 
by  ruffians. 

Because  of  its  character  as  a  sort  of  no-man's-land  the  Western  Re- 
serve, or  at  least  that  part  of  it  east  of  the  Cuyahoga  River,  was  free  from 
the  worst  of  Indian  troubles.  The  natives  here  were  a  spiritless  lot; 
their  presence  was  tolerated  by  the  Iroquois  claimants  to  the  ground 
merely  because  they  were  considered  too  impotent  to  be  treated  as  rivals. 
In  the  Mahoning  Valley  and  adjacent  places  they  resented  the  intrusion 


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142       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

of  the  whites,  but  only  in  a  weak  way.  They  had  a  wholesome  respect 
for  the  white  man,  and  the  white  man  had  little  fear  of  them.  Sometimes 
they  stalked  silently  into  white  men's  cabins  and  made  themselves  at 
home ;  again  they  annoyed  women  and  children  in  the  absence  of  the  men 
of  the  family,  but  usually  they  went  no  further  than  threats  that  they 
never  meant  to  fulfill.  At  times  they  showed  an  actual  fondness  for  the 
white  children  and  even  brought  gifts  to  the  settlers.  Ugly  actions  on 
their  part  could  be  traced  as  often  as  not  to  indulgence  in  white  man's 
whisky.  Colonel  Hillman  was  highly  regarded  and  feared  as  well  by  the 
red  men,  and  for  some  years  after  the  settlement  of  Youngstown  Town- 
ship parties  of  Indians  came  down  the  Mahoning  River  frequently  in 
canoes  and  camped  in  the  orchard  on  his  farm,  just  above  where  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  passenger  station  now  stands.  The  red  men  often 
invoked  the  advice  of  Colonel  Hillman  in  their  disputes  and  complexities. 

The  McMahon  affair  was  the  one  serious  break  in  relations  between 
the  white  men  and  the  red  men  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,,  but  it  was  not  the 
sole  quarrel  between  the  races  here.  In  his  reminiscences  of  early  days 
in  Youngstown,  Roswell  M.  Grant  tells  of  other  incidents  in  the  life  of 
Colonel  Hillman  dealing  with  this  racial  strife. 

One  of  these  concerns  a  murder  committed  at  the  ill-fated  Salt  Spring 
tract  in  Weathersfield  Township  in  1804.  Even  at  this  date  there  was  no 
permanent  settlement  at  the  spring  but  settlers  from  the  entire  Mahoning 
Valley  and  even  from  across  the  line  in  Pennsylvania  came  up  the  trail 
to  make  salt,  carrying  their  evaporating  kettles  on  horseback  and  camping 
in  the  old  cabins  at  the  spring  while  at  work.  Usually  these  saltmakers 
traveled  in  parties,  but  on  one  occasion  in  the  above  year  one  man  passed 
through  Youngstown  by  himself  en  route  to  the  spring.  Two  weeks  later 
Colonel  Hillman  was  riding  by  the  spring  when  his  dog  began  to  bark 
and  scratch  at  the  ground,  showing  strange  excitement  that  indicated  he 
had  found  something  aside  from  the  mere  hiding  place  of  a  wild  animal. 
Colonel  Hillman  investigated  and  uncovered  the  body  of  a  man  buried 
about  one  foot  deep  and  covered  with  brush. 

A  large  body  of  Indians  who  had  been  about  Youngstown,  Canfield 
and  Ellsworth  but  a  few  weeks  previously  had  disappeared,  and  as  it  was 
reasonably  presumed  that  they  knew  the  circumstances  of  the  murder 
Colonel  Hillman  was  deputized  to  round  them  up.  He  started  out  alone 
and  near  old  Chillicothe  overtook  the  party  and  told  them  they  had  to 
return  to  Youngstown  and  answer  for  the  crime.  After  a  day's  delibera- 
tion they  agreed  to  do  this,  the  chief  having  admitted  in  the  meantime  that 
one  of  his  men  had  committed  the  murder.  The  Indian,  the  chief  said, 
had  stopped  at  the  saltmaker's  cabin  and  the  latter  had  given  the  red  man 
a  drink  of  whisky  from  a  jug  he  had  in  his  possession.  The  Indian  de- 
manded more  whisky,  and  when  this  was  refused  killed  the  saltmaker  and 
took  the  jug  of  liquor.  Digging  a  hole  with  knife  and  tomahawk,  he 
buried  the  body  and  drew  brush  over  the  spot  to  conceal  the  grave.  Fear- 
ing the  consequences  of  the  crime  the  entire  party  of  Indians  then  hurried 
away. 

Colonel  Hillman  brought  the  Indians  back  to  Youngstown  and  the 
murderer  was  arraigned,  the  trial  taking  place  on  the  bluff  overlooking  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        143 

Mahoning  River  south  of  Spring  Common.  Simon  Perkins  officiated  as 
judge  with  George  Tod  as  prosecutor  and  Calvin  Pease  as  counsel  for  the 
defense.  The  Indian  was  acquitted,  although  the  chief  was  required  to 
give  security  for  the  good  conduct  of  his  men  in  the  future. 

In  1806  a  killing  at  Deerfield  attracted  even  greater  attention.  A  band 
of  Indians,  variously  described  as  Mohawks,  Senecas  and  Onondagas, 
who  had  come  westward  on  a  hunting  trip,  camped  near  this  settlement 
and  John  Nickshaw,  one  of  the  band,  traded  horses  with  John  Diver,  a 
Deerfield  settler.  The  Indian,  believing  that  Diver  had  overreached  him 
in  the  trade,  later  demanded  his  horse  back,  but  Diver  refused  to  annul 
the  bargain. 

The  Indians  received  this  refusal  sullenly.  At  a  subsequent  gather- 
ing at  the  home  of  Daniel  Diver,  a  brother  of  John  Diver,  or  at  the  home 
of  Judge  Lewis  Day,  they  attempted  to  lure  John  Diver  from  the  house, 
but  instead  attracted  Daniel  Diver,  who  was  treacherously  shot  by  John 
Mohawk,  one  of  the  band,  the  shot  destroying  the  sight  of  both  eyes. 

Colonel  Hillman,  according  to  the  narrator,  was  sent  for  and  joined 
the  party  of  Deerfield  men  who  started  in  pursuit  of  the  murderous  band. 
That  Colonel  Hillman  went  alone  on  this  mission,  as  Mr.  Grant  says,  is 
improbable,  but  that  he  accompanied  the  pursuers  is  very  likely  as  his 
services  were  widely  sought  on  such  occasions.  The  Indians  were  over- 
taken just  west  of  the  Cuyahoga  River  and  Nickshaw  was  shot  in  resist- 
ing the  whites,  while  Mohawk  escaped.  The  remaining  Indians  were 
brought  back  to  Warren  and  placed  under  guard  but  were  subsequently 
released,  as  Nickshaw  and  Mohawk  were  the  guiltiest  of  the  party. 

Omick,  or  "Old  Omick,"  said  to  be  a  Chippewa,  was  an  Indian  of 
more  or  less  note  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  in  the  first  decade  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  and  was  generally  disliked  by  the  whites.  He  had,  or  was 
credited  with  having,  an  ugly  and  troublesome  disposition.  Omick  was 
the  father  of  a  young  brave  who  rejoiced  in  the  name  of  Devil  Poc-con, 
although  sometimes  derisively  called  "Tom  Jefferson,"  from  the  fact  that 
he  had  made  a  trip  to  Washington  during  Jefferson's  administration. 
Devil  Poc-con  and  two  other  Indians  killed  two  white  trappers,  Buell  and 
Gibbs  by  name,  at  Pipe  Creek,  and  for  this  crime  Devil  Poc-con  was  tried 
by  white  man's  law  and  condemned  to  be  hanged.  Death  by  hanging  is  a 
penalty  that  is  rare  in  the  history  of  the  Indian  people,  and  on  this  oc- 
casion Devil  Poc-con's  tribesmen  are  said  to  have  offered  to  shoot  him  to 
prevent  the  disgrace  of  having  him  die  on  the  gallows.  Poc-con  was 
equally  hostile  to  dying  at  the  end  of  a  rope.  The  white  men  were  inexor- 
able, however,  and  on  June  26,  181 2,  he  was  hanged  on  the  Public  Square 
at  Cleveland,  having  been  given  a  liberal  supply  of  whisky  beforehand, 
it  is  said,  to  prevent  resistance  that  might  excite  the  congregated  Indians 
to  reprisals. 

From  notes  gathered  during  a  period  of  many  years  in  the  early  days 
of  the  Reserve,  Rev.  H.  B.  Eldred,  once  resident  pastor  of  Kinsman, 
gives  an  insight  into  life  among  the  Indians  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  for 
the  first  few  years  after  the  coming  of  the  white  man. 

The  Indians  that  came  into  the  settlements  of  what  was  then  Trum- 
bull County,  he  says,  were  from  different  bands.     The  Senecas  from 


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144       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

New  York  State  came  here  only  to  hunt,  other  Indians  came  from  the 
vicinity  of  Sandusky  and  the  Delawares  came  from  Tuscarawas  County. 
Also  bands  came  from  Canada,  among  these  being  the  Chippewas,  later 
known  as  the  O  jib  ways,  and  some  who  were  called  the  Massasaugas. 

Although  there  were  no  permanent  resident  Indians  in  the  vicinity 
of  Kinsman,  small  straggling  bands  frequently  visited  the  settlement  for 
the  purpose  of  hunting  and  trapping  and  also  to  trade  at  John  Kinsman's 
store.  Furs,  skins*  and  various  articles  of  their  manufacture,  such  as 
baskets,  wooden  trays,  ladles,  curiously  worked  moccasins,  maple  sugar, 
and  various  trinkets  were  the  commodities  in  which  they  dealt.  They 
also  brought  in  native  fruits — June-berries,  strawberries,  raspberries, 
whortle-berries,  haws,  plums  and  crabapples,  to  exchange  for  milk,  flour, 
meal  bread — always  wanting  equal  measure,  no  matter  what  was  brought 
or  what  was  asked  in  return.  Calico,  blankets,  powder  and  lead,  flints, 
whisky,  tobacco,  skins  and  some  little  finery,  such  as  beads  and  the  like, 
comprised  their  purchases  at  the  store.  Some  of  the  Indians  were  sharp 
at  driving  a  bargain.  Many  could  talk  broken  English,  and  often  showed 
themselves  good  judges  of  the  character  of  those  with  whom  they  dealt. 
They  were  jealous  of  their  rights,  and  shy  of  those  white  men  in  whom 
they  lacked  confidence. 

The  Indians  were  generally  friendly,  withal,  and  gave  the  settlers 
but  little  trouble,  even  when  intoxicated.  Their  drunken  revels,  how- 
ever, were  not  infrequent.  They  had  some  religious  beliefs  that  seem 
to  have  been  held  in  common  by  all  members  of  their  race.  They  be- 
lieved in  the  Great  Spirit,  who  was  good;  also  in  an  evil  state  and  a 
future  state.  Dancing  was  one  of  their  religious  ceremonies.  Efforts 
to  Christianize  the  Indians  of  the  Western  Reserve  were  unsuccessful; 
and  in  truth  there  was  no  great  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  white  men 
to  perform  this  service. 

Col.  John  May,  of  Connecticut,  who  visited  the  Ohio  country  even 
before  the  Western  Reserve  was  settled,  expresses  in  his  diary  the  gen- 
eral opinion  that  the  white  men  entertained  of  the  Indians.  He  describes 
a  visit  of  a  band  of  red  men  to  the  settlement  where  he  was  temporarily 
located,  as  follows: 

"I  was  introduced  to  Old  Pipes,  chief  of  the  Delaware  nation,  and 
his  suite,  dressed  and  acting  like  the  offspring  of  Satan.  They  did  not 
stay  long  before  they  went  to  their  camp  in  the  woods.  I  went  to  bed  "at 
12  but  got  little  rest.  The  Indians  made  one  of  their  hellish  pow-wows, 
which  lasted  till  the  hour  of  rising.  I  have  no  doubt  psalmody  had  its 
origin  in  Heaven;  but  my  faith  is  just  as  strong  that  the  music  of  these 
savages  was  first  taught  in  a  place  the  exact  opposite.  About  2  o'clock 
I  got  some  sleep,  when  I  supoose  the  damnable  music  ceased." 

Settlers  who  located  in  some  of  the  more  remote  parts  of  the  Reserve 
and  who,  coming  from  a  settled  country  in  Connecticut,  were  unprepared 
for  the  privations  of  the  first  winter  of  pioneer  life  in  the  wilderness, 
found  the  Indians  Good  Samaritans  in  time  of  need  but  prone  to  become 
overfriendly  after  too  long  an  acquaintance. 

"The  Indians  rendered  valuable  aid  to  us  during  our  first  winter/' 
one  settler  writes,  "sharing  with  us  game  taken  during  their  hunting 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        145 

expeditions  and  .bringing  much  elk,  deer  and  bear  meat,  for  which  they 
wished  no  compensation.  In  some  respects,  however,  they  did  not  prove 
to  be  agreeable  neighbors.  They  were  accustomed  to  practice  all  sorts 
of  unceremonious  liberties.  They  pulled  the  latchstring  and  walked  in 
the  door  unannounced,  either  in  the  day  or  the  night,  whenever  they 
chose,  stretching  themselves  at  full  length  on  the  floor  in  front  of  the 
fire,  or  helping  themselves  to  food.  It  was  no  unusual  thing  to  have 
three  or  four  loafing  there  uninvited.  We  managed  to  live  in  peace  and 
friendly  relations  with  them,  however.  When  they  were  under  the  in- 
fluence of  liquor  they  were  treacherous  and  disagreeable.  On  one  oc- 
casion we  found  our  cabin  filled  with  drunken  Indians  when  we  returned 
home,  the  women  having  fled  in  terror  and  taken  refuge  in  a  cave." 

Pioneer  history  is  filled  with  stories  of  white  children  carried  away 
into  captivity  by  the  Indians.  Sometimes  these  were  returned  many 
years  later,  sometimes  they  were  never  Jheard  of  again.  When  taken  in 
extreme  youth  they  usually  acquired  Indian  ways  and  had  no  desire  to 
accept  the  place  among  white  men  that  belonged  to  them. 

After  the  advent  of  the  white  man,  however,  the  life  of  the  Indians 
was  short  on  that  part  of  the  Reserve  east  of  the  Cuyahoga  River.  In 
the  first  dozen  years  after  the  apportioning  of  the  eastern  townships  by 
the  Connecticut  Land  Company  settlers  came  in  with  a  fair  degree  of 
rapidity  and  the  consequent  conversion  of  forest  land  into  tilled  farms 
was  fatal  to  nomadic  life.  The  defeat  the  Indians  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne  at  the  battle  of  Fallen  Timbers  in  1794  gave 
them  a  wholesome  respect  for  the  white  men,  although  it  likewise  left 
them  embittered.  They  remained  on  in  Northeastern  Ohio  in  diminish- 
ing numbers  until  about  1810,  when  smallpox  broke  out  in  the  Indian 
camps,  killing  many  of  the  inhabitants.  The  Indians  accepted  this  afflic- 
tion as  a  visitation  from  the  Great  Spirit  who  was  displeased  with  them 
because  they  had  not  removed  to  western  lands  allotted  to  them  by  the 
whites.     Needless  to  say,  the  whites  fostered  this  superstition. 

Shortly  afterward  the  Indians  incurred  the  dislike  of  the  white 
men  by  allying  themselves  with  the  British  in  the  War  of  181 2.  They 
were  not  in  good  favor  in  Ohio  afterward.  Their  defeat  at  Tippecanoe 
by  Gen.  William  Henry  Harrison,  in  181 1,  broke  their  spirit  still  further. 
After  1812  few  red  men  were  found  on  the  eastern  part  of  the  Reserve, 
although  small  bands  occasionally  visited  here  as  late  as  1820.  In 
Western  Ohio  they  remained  until  1840  or  later. 

The  years  that  saw  the  settlement  and  the  early  development  of  the 
Western  Reserve  were  years  of  great  political  rivalry  and  Ohio  was  in 
the  midst  of  all  political  warfare  then,  just  as  it  is  now.  Politically  the 
early  residents  of  the  Reserve  were  naturally  predisposed  toward  the 
Federalist  party,  or  the  party  of  Alexander  Hamilton  and  the  early 
Adams.  New  England  was  the  stronghold  of  Federalism,  and  Con- 
necticut was  perhaps  the  most  Federalistic  of  even  these  New  England 
states.  The  creed  of  this,  the  home  state  of  so  many  of  the  Western 
Reserve  pioneers,  was  ultra-conservative.  Its  policy,  as  one  authority 
says,  "was  to  avoid  notoriety  and  public  attitudes;  to  secure  privileges 
without  attracting  needless  notice ;  to  act  as  intensely  and  as  vigorously 
Vol.  1— 10 


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146       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

as  possible  when  action  seemed  necessary  and  promising;  but  to  say 
as  little  as  possible,  and  evade  as  much  as  possible,  when  open  resistance 
was  evident  folly.*  In  other  words.  Connecticut  used  cold  reason  in- 
stead of  moving  with  enthusiasm,  and  frowned  on  impulsiveness. 

In  the  Revolutionary  war  Connecticut  was  intensely  loyal  and  un- 
compromisingly for  resistance.  Tories  received  little  consideration.  In 
the  War  of  1812  Connecticut  was  lukewarm.  From  the  organization  of 
the  state  in  1776  until  1818  the  state  was  governed  uninterruptedly  by 
the  Federalists,  and  the  members  of  this  party  had  little  patience  with 
the  Democratic-Republican  followers  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  whom  they 
looked  upon  as  mentally  inferior  persons,  advocates  of  governmental 
destruction,  and  little  better  than  infidels  in  religion.  On  their  side  the 
Democrats  hated  the  Federalists  with  equally  devout  fervor,  for  this  was 
an  era  of  political  as  well  as  religious  intolerance. 

With  the  major  share  of  its  immigration  coming  from  Connecticut 
it  would  naturally  be  presumed  that  Federalism  would  be  similarly  in- 
trenched on  the  Western  Reserve,  but  this  does  not  happen  to  have  been 
the  case.  In  its  early  days  the  Reserve  was  inclined  toward  the  party 
of  Jefferson,  now  known  as  the  Democratic  Party. 

Several  circumstances  contributed  to  this  reversal  of  sentiment.  It 
so  happened  that  among  the  Connecticut  men  who  came  to  the  Reserve 
were  some  who  were  staunch  Democrats  and  left  their  home  state  just 
because  of  its  Federalistic  control.  Party  feeling  ran  so  high  at  this 
time  that  an  ardent  party  man  was  often  made  uncomfortable  in  a 
neighborhood  dominated  by  his  political  opponents,  and  on  his  own  part 
many  a  party  man  emigrated  rather  than  reside  among  fellow  beings 
whom  he  believed  were  politically  depraved,  if  not  actually  dishonest. 
There  were  Pennsylvanians  and  New  Yorkers  and  New  Jersey  and 
Maryland  men  among  the  emigrants  who  were  not  influenced  by  Con- 
necticut's conservatism  or  who  were  Democrats  by  tradition.  Some,  in 
fact,  may  have  become  Democrats  through  resentment  at  Connecticut 
domination.  The  settlers  were  mostly  young  men,  too,  and  the  Demo- 
cratic party — then  known  as  the  Republican  Party — appealed  to  youth, 
while  the  conservative  Federalist  party  drew  men  of  more  mature  years 
and  calmer  judgment. 

The  customary  American  procedure  of  blaming  the  party  that  hap- 
pens to  be  in  power  for  all  real  or  fancied  injustices  also  influenced 
political  sentiment  on  the  Reserve.  St.  Clair,  governor  of  the  North- 
west Territory,  was  an  appointee  of  the  Federalistic  administrations  of 
Washington  and  Adams,  and  St.  Clair  was  generally  unpopular  through- 
out the  entire  West.  This  dislike  appears  to  have  been  engendered  by 
an  unfortunate  temperament  on  the  part  of  Governor  St.  Clair,  rather 
than  by  any  actual  wrongful  offenses  on  his  part.  He  was  a  non-resident 
governor;  something  intolerable  to  the  American  mind.  He  was  an 
easterner  in  thought  and  by  instinct;  with  little  sympathy  with  the 
aspirations  of  western  pioneers  and  no  understanding  of  them  at  all. 
He  acted  on  the  principle  that  he  was  governing  for  the  administration 


*  Johnson's,  Connecticut. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       147 

at  Washington,  rather  than  governing  merely  in  conjunction  with  the 
residents  of  the  territory.  He  was  a  brave  but  unfortunate  soldier  in  a 
day  when  successful  fighting  men  were  much  esteemed.  The  low  regard 
in  which  St.  Clair  was  held  was  exemplified  in  the  session  of  the  first 
Territorial  Legislature,  that  of  1799-1800,  when  he  was  beaten  for  dele- 
gate to  Congress  by  the  sturdy,  bluff  old  Gen.  William  Henry  Harrison, 
who  understood  the  westerners  thoroughly  and  was  their  idol.  St.  Clair 
did  not  make  these  self-reliant  pioneers  incline  toward  Federalism  by 
any  means. 

Perhaps  the  chief  influence,  however,  in  alienating  the  Western  Re- 
serve from  the  Federalist  party  was  its  general  tendency  to  consider  the 
western  pioneers  as  mere  wards  of  the  government,  or  unlettered  per- 
sons incapable  of  governing  themselves,  and  the  accompanying  disposi- 
tion to  confine  the  United  States  to  the  original  thirteen  colonies.  It 
was  the  same  mistake  that  England  made  in  trying  to  govern  those  self- 
same colonies.  The  Jefferson  party,  on  the  other  hand,  was  for  expan- 
sion and  local  self  government. 

One  who  was  a  lifelong  disciple  of  Alexander  Hamilton  and  had 
little  patience  with  the  Jeffersonians,  says : 

"The  Jeffersonian  Republican  party  did  very  much  that  was  evil,  and 
it  adopted  governmental  principles  of  such  utter  folly  that  the  party 
itself  was  obliged  immediately  to  abandon  them  when  it  undertook  to 
carry  on  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  only  clung  to  them 
long  enough  to  cause  serious  and  lasting  damage  to  the  country ;  but  on 
the  vital  question  of  the  West,  and  its  territorial  expansion,  the  Jeffer- 
sonian party  was,  on  the  whole,  emphatically  right,  and  its  opponents,  the 
Federalists,  emphatically  wrong.  The  Jeffersonians  believed  in  the  ac- 
quisition of  territory  in  the  West,  and  the  Federalists  did  not.  The 
Jeffersonians  believed  that  the  Westerners  should  be  allowed  to  govern 
themselves  precisely  as  other  citizens  of  the  United  States  did,  and 
should  be  given  their  full  share  in  the  management  of  national  affairs. 
Too  many  Federalists  failed  to  see  that  these  positions  were  the  only 
proper  ones.  In  consequence,  notwithstanding  all  their  manifold  short- 
comings, the  Jeffersonians,  and  not  the  Federalists,  were  those  to  whom 
the  West  owed  most. 

"Whether  the  Westerners  governed  themselves  as  wisely  as  they 
should  mattered  little.  The  essential  point  was  that  they  had  to  be  given 
the  right  of  self-government.  They  could  not  be  kept  in  pupilage.  Like 
other  Americans,  they  had  to  be  left  to  sink  or  swim  according  to  the 
measure  of  their  own  capacities  *  *  *  Many  of  the  Federalists 
saw  this,  and  to  many  of  them,  the  Adamses,  for  instance,  and  Jay  and 
Pinckney,  the  West  owed  more  than  it  did  to  most  of  the  Republican 
(Democratic)  statesmen;  but  as  a  whole,  the  attitude  of  the  Federalists, 
especialy  in  the  northeast  (New  England)  toward  the  West  was  un- 
generous and  improper,  while  the  Jeffersonians,  with  all  their  unwisdom 
and  demagogy,  were  nevertheless  the  western  champions."  * 

It  was  but  natural,  therefore,  that  even  the  Western  Reserve  should 


*  Roosevelt,  Winning  of  the  West. 


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148       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

have  inclined  toward  the  party  of  Jefferson.  Outside  the  Reserve,  Ohio, 
after  its  organization,  was  even  more  Democratic.  The  Democrats  who 
framed  the  state  constitution  at  Chillicothe  in  1802  showed  their  deter- 
mination to  place  all  authority  in  the  hands  of  the  people  by  declining 
to  give  the  governor  the  veto  power.  For  100  years  thereafter  Ohio  held 
to  this  curious  rule.  Oddly  enough,  however,  the  men  who  drafted  the 
Chillicothe  document  declared  that  constitution  ratified  without  referring 
it  to  the  people  of  the  state  at  all. 

These  combined  circumstances  swung  Trumbull  County  away  from 
Federalism.  The  county  gave  a  majority  to  the  Democratic-Republican 
candidate  for  governor  at  each  election  from  the  formation  of  the  state 
dates  for  this  office,  as  the  so-called  federalist  who  carried  the  county  in 
until  1822.  In  fact  the  Federalists  usually  did  not  even  put  forth  candi- 
dates for  this  office,  as  the  so-called  Federalist  who  carried  the  county  in 
1830,  who  were  also  given  majorities  in  Trumbull  County,  were  anti- 
Jackson  Democrats  rather  than  Federalists.  The  latter  party  virtually 
passed  out  of  existence  after  the  War  of  1812,  due  to  its  mistaken  atti- 
tude toward  that  war.  Ohio  as  a  state  was  consistently  Democratic  in  all 
presidential  elections  from  its  organization  to  1836  when  it  gave  its  vote 
to  William  Henry  Harrison,  the  Whig  candidate,  although  it  supported 
Henry  Clay  in  1824  when  he  was  the  anti-Jackson  candidate. 

The  one  governor  Trumbull  County  furnished  to  Ohio  in  the  early 
days  was  Samuel  Huntington,  a  Democrat,  who  served  from  1809  to  181 1. 
He  was  for  a  short  while  a  resident  of  Youngstown  but  was  a  Cleveland 
man  when  elected,  Cleveland  then  being  in  Trumbull  County.  With  this 
exception  Northeastern  Ohio  gave  no  governor  to  the  state  in  the  first 
forty-five  years  of  its  existence,  or  until  Seabury  Ford  of  Geauga 
County  was  elected  on  the  Whig  ticket  in  1848. 

Renewed  immigration  from  Connecticut  following  the  New  England 
drouth  of  1817-18  and  the  political  revolution  that  turned  Connecticut 
over  to  the  Democrats  in  the  latter  year,  probably  accounts  for  the  anti- 
Democratic  majority  recorded  in  1822.  When  Trumbull  County  swung 
away  from  the  Democratic  party  in  that  year,  however,  the  parting  was 
final.  It  remained  anti- Jackson,  Whig  and  abolitionist  until  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Republican  party  when  it  went  wholeheartedly  over  to  this 
new  organization.  The  remainder  of  the  Western  Reserve  followed  the 
same  course,  with  lesser  fervor  in  the  case  of  some  counties  but  even 
greater  fervor  in  the  case  of  others,  until  Northeastern  Ohio  became 
famed  throughout  the  entire  United  States  for  the  stunning  Republican 
majorities  it  rolled  up.  It  is  only  with  the  last  decade  that  the  strength 
of  Republicanism  has  been  shaken  here,  and  this  has  been  due  in  part 
to  the  growth  of  independent  voting.  Republican  majorities  have  fallen 
off  or  have  been  wiped  out,  but  a  similar  condition  exists  in  Northwest- 
ern Ohio — always  the  stronghold  of  the  Democratic  party  in  this  state — 
just  as  Northeastern  Ohio  was  the  bulwark  of  Republicanism — where 
Democratic  majorities  have  shown  a  similar  slump. 

In  local  politics  party  lines  were  not  so  closely  drawn  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Western  Reserve.  This  was  due,  perhaps,  to  the  fact  that 
county  seat  contests  and  similar  struggles  were  often  given  precedence 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       149 

over  partisanship.  Men  of  high  type  were  invariably  selected  to  repre- 
sent Trumbull  Courlty.  In  the  first  Legislature  of  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory, that  of  1799-1801,  Trumbull  County  was  unrepresented  because 
the  people  here  did  not  acknowledge  territorial  jurisdiction.  In  the  sec- 
ond Territorial  Legislature  they  were  represented  by  Gen.  Edward 
Paine,  after  whom  Painesville  was  named.  Samuel  Huntington  and 
David  Abbott  were  Trumbull  County  members  of  the  Chillicothe  con- 
vention of  1802  that  drafted  the  constitution  under  which  the  State  of 
Ohio  came  into  existence.  Among  the  Trumbull  County  men  who  sat 
in  the  early  Ohio  Legislatures — from  1803  to  1820 — were  Samuel  Hunt- 
ington, Benjamin  Tappan,  George  Tod,  Calvin  Cone,  Calvin  Pease, 
Daniel  Eaton,  Turhand  Kirtland,  John  W.  Seeley  and  Eli  Baldwin  in 
the  State  Senate,  and  Ephraim  Quinby,  Aaron  Wheeler,  David  Abbott, 
Homer  Hine,  Amos  Spafford,  James  Kingsbury,  James  Montgomery, 
John  W.  Seeley,  Richard  J.  Elliott,  Robert  Hughes,  Thomas  G.  Jones, 
Aaron  Collar,  Samuel  Bryson,  Samuel  Brown,  Benjamin  Ross,  Samuel 
Leavitt,  James  Hillman,  John  P.  Bissel,  Wilson  Elliott,  William  W. 
Cotgreave,  Henry  Lane,  Eli  Baldwin,  Edward  Scofield  and  Dr.  Henry 
Manning  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Trumbull  County  remained  identical  with  the  Connecticut  Western 
Reserve  from  its  organization  in  1800  until  1805  when  Geauga  County 
was  formed  from  within  it.  Portage  County  was  organized  in  1807, 
Cuyahoga  in  1810,  Ashtabula  was  created  in  1807  and  organized  in  181 1, 
Lake  County  in  181 1  and  the  counties  west  of  the  Cuyahoga  River  at  a 
later  date.  Summit  and  Mahoning,  the  two  most  important  counties  in 
Northeastern  Ohio  outside  Cuyahoga  County,  were  among  the  last  to 
come  into  existence,  the  former  being  organized  from  Medina  and  Stark 
counties  in  1840  and  the  latter  from  Trumbull  and  Columbiana  counties 
in  1846. 

As  might  be  expected  from  the  character  of  its  population,  the  West- 
ern Reserve  was  intensely  anti-slavery.  It  is  doubtful  indeed  if  any  sec- 
tion of  the  United  States  contributed  more  to  abolishing  serfdom  in  the 
United  States  than  this  northeastern  corner  of  Ohio.  In  the  first  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century  when  the  question  of  slavery  or  freedom 
agitated  the  entire  country  this  neighborhood  was  anathema  to  be- 
lievers in  slavery.  They  frankly  believed  that  the  Western  Reserve 
harbored  and  bred  the  country's  most  uncompromising  opponents  of  their 
system,  and  their  belief  was  fully  justified. 

There  was  no  quarrel  over  slavery  or  no  slavery  in  Ohio  as  the 
constitution  of  1787  prohibited  human  slavery  forever  in  the  Northwest 
Territory  or  in  the  states  that  should  be  carved  from  it.  But  the  New 
Englanders  who  came  here  inherited  and  brought  with  them  disbelief  in 
slavery  anywhere.  Some  of  them,  even  in  the  earliest  days,  were  open 
enemies  of  this  system,  while  even  those  less  severe  in  their  opinions 
had  no  sympathy  with  it.  Dislike  ripened  into  open  enmity  as  the  slave 
question  became  more  and  more  paramount  until  Western  Reserve  resi- 
dents became  contemptuous  of  both  law  and  court  decisions  that  blindly 
attempted  to  stem  agitation  or  settle  the  slavery  question  by  compromise. 

Even  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  anti-slavery 


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150       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

sentiment  even  in  the  North  was  confined  to  opposition  to  its  extension, 
the  people  of  Northeastern  Ohio  were  more  advanced  in  their  opposition 
and  did  not  hesitate  to  act  in  flat  violation  of  the  supposed  rights  of 
slaveholders  by  assisting  in  the  escape  of  fugitive  slaves. 

On  one  such  occasion,  in  1823,  a  negro,  his  wife  and  two  children, 
who  had  escaped  from  their  master  in  Virginia  and  had  made  their  way 
northward  into  Trumbull  County  on  foot,  were  observed  passing  through 
the  Village  of  Bloomfield,  en  route  to  Ashtabula  whence  they  hoped  to 
escape  into  Canada.  It  was  naturally  presumed  that  they  were  run- 
aways, but  among  such  a  sympathetic  people  they  were  not  molested.  At 
dark  the  same  eyening  the  owner  of  the  slaves,  his  son  and  a  third  man 
reached  the  village  and  made  inquiries  concerning  their  chattels.  Being 
assured  that  the  fugitives  were  but  a  short  distance  ahead,  and  being 
tired  frc>m  hard,  riding,  the  pursuers  decided  tdf  remain  over  night  and 
resume  the  pursuit  in  the  morning.  Charging  the  landlord  to  call  them 
without  fail  at  an  early  hour,  they  retired. 

Thd  accommodating  innkeeper  thereupon  gave'  orders  that  there  was 
to  be  absolute  quiet  in  the  tavern  the  following  morning  and  that  no  one 
was  to  stir  until  called  by  the  proprietor  himself.  The  word  was  then 
passed  about  that  the  slave  hunters  were  in  town  and  that,'  unless 
thwarted,  they  would  overtake  the  runaways  the  following  morning,  an 
announcement  that  occasioned  great  consternation.  The  inhabitants 
determined  that  the  hunt  was  going  to  be  unsuccessful  and,  under  the 
leadership  of  Ephraim  Brown,  a  party  of  villagers  started  out  after  dark 
in  a  covered  wagon,  drawn  by  a  team,  to  overtake  and  hide  the  fleeing 
family.  The  runaways  were  discovered  secreted  at  a  home  a  dozen  miles 
ntirth  of  BloQmfield  attd  tjhe  rescuers  met  a  hostile  reception,  being  mis- 
taken at  first  for  slave  huhters.  On  satisfying  the  home  owner  of  their 
good  intentions,  however*  and  acquainting  him  with  the  danger  that  the 
negroes  were  in,  he  JQincjd  iii^heir  plans  for  the  escape.  The  fugitives 
were  carried  to  a  farnt'thaf  lbb'asted  a  barn  standing  some  distance  back- 
from  the  toad.    Here  th^yW^Ve  secreted. 

Air  ;Meatnwhile  there  fr&s'wratli1  in  tble  Bloomfield  inn.  The  slave  owner 
afrd  his  aides  had  fod#4 'Hding/a  good  antidote  for  insomnia  and  in  the 
"tlissftil  stillness  ]of*tHe  ^drjilng  slumbered  on  until  long  after  the  sun 
had  risen.  Wh£n  tlity  awoke  and  realized  what  hour  it  was  the  storm 
broke.      '     '    '    °  J  \     , 

The  landlord  was  profuse  iti  his  apologies,  but  found  himself  beset 
'With  many  annoyances  in  his  desire  to  make  up  for  lost  time  by  speeding 
the  slave  hunters  onward.  He  dressed  hurriedly  down  to  his  boots,  but 
one  of  these  w^s  found  dnty  after  a  lengthy  search.  When  he  reached 
the  barn  with  his1  guests- the  tarn  was  locked  and  the  key  had  been  left 
at  the  tavemV  At  the  tavern  the.  key  was  not  in  its  accustomed  place 
and  it  was  found  only  after  a  long  httrit  When  the  horses  were  led  out 
each  lacked  a  shoe,  aJthbUgh  the  Virginians  swore  mightily  that  the 
animals  had  been  well' shod  the  night  before.  At  the  blacksmith  shop 
the  faithful  smithy  was  for  once  derelict.  Instead  of  being  at  his  forge 
he  was  absent  and  no  one  knew  his  whereabouts.  There  was  another 
search,  and,  when  found,  the  smith  lacked  his  accustomed  skill.     There 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       151 

was  not  a  shoe  or  a  nail  in  stock,  although  the  thrifty  blacksmiths  of 
those  days  usually  kept  a  good  supply  made  ahead.  It  was  unusually 
tedious  work  for  the  smith  to  forge  shoes  and  nail  them  on.  Hours 
after  the  time  at  which  they  had  hoped  to  resume  their  search,  the  slave 
hunters  finally  got  under  way. 

At  noon  the  pursuers  passed  the  barn  in  Southern  Ashtabula  County 
where  their  prey  was  hidden.  When  they  were  a  safe  distance  along 
the  road  the  wagon  and  its  inmates  drove  from  the  barn  and  the  negroes 
were  taken  back  to  Bloomfield  where  they  were  led  into  a  deep  wood  and 
secreted  in  a  rude  hut  that  had  been  hastily  erected  that  morning  by  the 
villagers.     They  were  provided  with  food  and  assured  of  their  safety. 

Three  days  later  the  slave  hunters  again  put  up  at  the  Bloomfield 
tavern  on  their  return  journey.  They  had  given  up  the  search.  But  at 
Bloomfield  they  were  arrested  on  a  charge  of  running  past  a  lollgate  on 
the  pike  just  north  of  Warren.  On  passing  the  gate  they  had  intended 
to  take  the  state  road  to  Painesville,  and  were  passed  with  the  payment 
of  half  fare  on  making  this  representation.  The  road  to  Bloomfield, 
which  they  subsequently  followed,  required  full  fare,  so  that  the  hunters 
were  guilty  of  misrepresentation,  although  not  intentionally  so.  They 
were  refused  food  for  their  horses,  they  were  arrested  for  hitching 
their  steeds  to  a  sign  post  after  they  had  been  refused  stall  place  at  the 
village  stable,  and  were  fined  $25  and  costs.  Altogether  it  was  neither 
a  fruitful  nor  an  enjoyable  trip  for  the  Virginians. 

Assisting  runaway  slaves  was  at  that  time  not  an  offense  against  the 
law  as  it  was  in  later  years,  except  that  a  slave  was  considered  property, 
and  helping  a  black  man  to  escape  was  helping  to  deprive  a  man  of  his 
property.  It  was  incidents  of  this  kind,  however,  that  brought  into  ex- 
istence the  "Underground  Railroad,"  that  strange  system  by  means  of 
which  black  fugitives  were  hurried  along  from  the  Mason  and  Dixon 
Jine  to  the  Canadian  border  and  freedom.  The  name,  of  course,  was 
descriptive  of  the  methods  used,  as  there  was  neither  a  railroad  nor  an 
underground  route  of  any  kind- for  the  use  of  the  blacks.  Slaves  who 
were  fortunate  enough  to  escape  from  their  masters  were  merely  carried 
along  under  cover  of  darkness  from  one  "station"  to  the  next ,  until 
finally  they  had  reached  Canada.  These  "stations,"  it  might  be  ex- 
plained, were  the  homes  of  persons  inimical  to  slavery,  or  secret  hiding 
places  known  only  to  these  persons. 

The  "Underground  Railroad"  was  largely  an  Ohio  organization,  fts 
members  were  lawbreakers  after  the  Fugitive  Slave  law  was  passed,  but 
they  were  proud  of  their  lawlessness ;  just  as  their  descendants  today  are 
proud  of  the  work  of  their  ancestors.  And  the  Western  Reserve  was  a 
haven  for  fugitives,  for  the  slave  who  reached  Northeastern  Ohio  could 
feel  almost  certain  that  he  would  never  be  returned  to  servitude. 

One  of  these  "underground"  stations  was  located  at  Yourigstown, 
runaway  slaves  generally  reaching  here  b£  way  of  Salem,  a  famous 
station  for  refugees.  Others  tame  by  way  of  Poland.  Those  prominent 
in  managing  the  Youngstown  fetation  were  John  Loughridge,  leader  of 
the  movement;  Henry  Burnett,  •James  Calvin,  John  Kirk  and  Doctor 
Bane. 


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152       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

In  North  and  South  alike  the  Reserve  was  famed,  or  damned,  accord- 
ing to  one's  views,  for  its  hatred  of  human  slavery  and  its  support  of 
the  doctrine  of  abolition.  In  Congress  Joshua  R.  Giddings  and  Benjamin 
F.  Wade  thundered  against  the  system  that  made  chattels  of  human 
beings,  and  their  denunciation  forced  recognition  of  the  evils  of  the 
system.  On  the  Reserve  Betsy  M.  Cowles  aroused  the  indifferent  and 
has  sometimes  been  credited  with  doing  more  than  was  done  by  any 
man  to  spread  the  doctrine  of  abolition.  John  Brown  was  a  Western 
Reserve  man,  and  a  vigorous  opponent  of  slavery  while  a  resident  of 
Portage  and  Summit  counties,  even  before  he  started  on  the  anti-slavery 
mission  that  cost  him  his  life. 

After  Brown's  ill-fated  raid  on  the  arsenal  at  Harper's  Ferry  his 
son,  John  Brown,  Jr.,  was  ordered  before  the  United  States  Senate  to 
give  evidence.  When  he  ignored  this  summons  the  sergeant-at-arms  of 
the  Senate  was  ordered  to  arrest  him.  Fearing  that  he,  and  Brown's 
other  sons,  would  be  taken  by  force  an  armed  organization  known  as  the 
"Sons  of  Liberty"  was  formed  on  the  Reserve  to  resist  by  force  any 
attempt  to  arrest  the  Browns.  Later  the  organization  was  expanded  to 
act  politically  in  the  overthrow  of  slavery.  In  the  decade  before  the 
Civil  war  the  Western  Reserve  was  the  scene  of  mass  meetings  arranged 
by  these  liberators  at  which  fiery  bolts  were  hurled  against  the  slave 
system. 

Oberlin  was  a  hotbed  of  abolition.  It  was  Oberlin  that  opened  to 
the  negro  the  opportunity  for  education,  and  it  was  Oberlin  that  trained 
the  lecturers  who  swarmed  forth  and  aroused  Ohio  against  slavery. 

Judge  James  Brownlee,  of  Poland,  cattle  dealer  for  a  score  of  years 
before  the  Civil  war,  attended  one  of  these  abolition  mass  meetings, 
held  at  Canfield.  Although  he  was  known  to  be  personally  opposed  to 
slavery,  Judge  Brownlee's  presence  was  a  surprise  to  the  abolitionists,  as 
he  was  a  staunch  Whig  in  politics  and  the  Whig  party  had  pursued  a 
course  that  was  something  between  advocacy  of  slavery  and  straddling 
the  question.  It  was  this  spineless  policy,  incidentally,  that  sent  the  Whig 
party  to  its  political  grave. 

The  Canfield  gathering  had  been  called  to  protest  against  the  passage 
of  the  Fugitive  Slave  law,  and  the  resolutions  committee  of  the  as- 
semblage was  wrestling  with  the  phraseology  of  the  motion  that  should 
go  before  the  meeting  condemning  this  proposed  law.  Judge  Brownlee 
drew  up  a  resolution  so  drastic  that  even  the  resolutions  committee 
feared  to  father  it.  He  then  introduced  it  personally.  The  resolution 
read: 

"Resolved:  That  come  life,  come  death,  come  fine  or  imprisonment, 
we  will  neither  aid  nor  abet  the  capture  of  a  fugitive  slave,  but  on  the 
contrary  will  harbor  and  feed,  clothe  and  assist,  and  give  him  a  practical 
God-speed  toward  liberty." 

The  resolution  was  adopted  unanimously  and  amid  enthusiasm.  It 
was  no  idle  boast.  The  Fugitive  Slave  law  was  passed ;  it  was  made  a 
serious  offense  to  assist  a  runaway  black  man;  but  the  people  of  the 
Western  Reserve  scorned  both  the  law  and  the  government  dominated 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        153 

by  the  slave  owners.    It  made  the  abolitionists  more  outspoken  in  their 
sentiments;  it  made  abolitionists  out  of  the  indifferent. 

These  are  the  men  and  women  who  first  settled  the  Western  Reserve, 
the  Mahoning  Valley,  and  Youngstown;  who  made  a  wilderness  into  a 
home  for  millions;  who  singlemindedly  went  ahead  in  spite  of  obstacles 
and  discouragements.  With  them  life  was  largely  toil,  yet  they  had 
their  joys  and  diversions  too.  They  had  the  virtues  of  frontiersmen  and 
many  of  their  vices,  too,  although  the  Western  Reserve  had  less  of  un- 
couthness  and  lawlessness  than  most  newly  settled  countries.  Their 
chief  fault,  perhaps,  was  narrowness  and  intolerance,  but  they  were 
strong  in  their  own  convictions  and  willing  to  suffer  for  them.  And  they 
were  the  trail  blazers  for  the  twentieth  century  residents  of  Youngstown 
and  Northeastern  Ohio  who  have  all  the  advantages  and  comforts  that 
they  lacked — and  have  those  advantages  and  comforts  because  these 
pioneers  were  willing  to  forego  them  for  the  sake  of  posterity. 


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CHAPTER  IX 

THE  WOMEN  PIONEERS 

Heroic  Wives  and  Mothers  to  Whom  Present  Civilization  Owes  a 
Great  Debt — Something  About  Their  Trials  and  Achieve- 
ments. 

The  reader  has  probably  obtained  in  preceding  pages  some  concep- 
tion of  the  part  played  by  women  who  c&me  to  the  Mahoning  Valley 
with  husbands  or  families  and  helped  to  conquer  the  wilderness.  It  is, 
however,  fitting  that  some  space  should  be  devoted  to  a  story  of  these 
women,  and  perhaps  an  understanding  of  their  trials  may  be  of  value 
to  us  who,  without  a  thought  of  them,  enjoy  comforts,  conveniences  and 
prosperity  created  largely  by  men  who  inherited  from  them  courage, 
energy  and  industry  in  superlative  degree.  Incidentally  this  story  may 
help  us  to  realize  that  the  world  is  growing  better  morally,  physically 
and  mentally,  in  spite  of  the  tendency  of  those  whose  memories  of  the 
earlier  days  are  influenced  by  the  spice  which  youth  gives  to  life  and 
who  are  sometimes  inclined  to  insist  that  the  old  times  were  the  best. 

Most  of  women  among  the  earliest  arrivals  in  the  Mahoning  Valley 
were  brides.  Many  of  them  came  from  homes  in  the  East  where,  if 
they  did  not  enjoy  the  comforts  and  refinements  of  the  present  age,  they 
at  least  had  those  of  a  substantial  and  progressive  civilization,  including 
social  pleasures,  companionship  congenial  to  them  and  no  hardships  ex- 
cept those  imposed  by  the  industry  which  characterized  women  of  all 
classes  in  the  early  days  of  the  republic.  A  surprising  number  of  these 
women  were  daughters  of  men  prominent  in  the  life  of  their  com- 
munities and  able  to  give  them  the  advantages  of  education.  Such  wom- 
en were  sought  out  by  energetic  and  hardy  men  who  had  left  the  eastern 
states  as  much  through  a  desire  for  adventure  and  a  vision  of  a  great 
new  country  in  which  they  could  attain  wealth  and  political  prominence 
as  for  any  other  reason.  Of  course  the  greater  number  were  women  who 
had  been  born  on  the  outposts  of  civilization,  but  this  did  not  make  their 
lot  an  enviable  one,  although  it  doubtless  helped  to  make  life  easier  for 
them  than  for  their  sisters  more  tenderly  reared  and  less  accustomed  to 
hardship. 

Then  as  now  woman  was  the  home  maker,  but  the  term  was  under- 
stood among  the  pioneers  in  a  much  more  literal  sense  than  that  in  which 
we  are  accustomed  to  use  it.  She  was  expected  to  provide  not  only  the 
atmosphere  of  the  home,  to  bear  and  rear  the  children  and  attend  to  the 
domestic  duties  generally  as  they  are  known  among  us;  but  it  was  cus- 
tomary and  usually  necessary  for  her  to  do  many  other  things  now  done 
by  men  or  by  the  complicated  machinery  of  modern  community  life.   The 

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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        155 

pioneer  woman  often  helped  her  husband  in  the  fields,  She  always 
planted  and  cultivated  the  garden,  milked  the  cows,  made  the  clothing 
and  prepared  the  household  food.  Not  infrequently  she  planted  the  flax  ' 
or  sheared  the  sheep,  prepared  the  raw  material  and  spun  it  into  yarn, 
wove  it  into  cloth,  coloring  and  finishing  this  to  provide  the  garments 
worn  by  herself  and  her  family.  All  these  things  were  done  with  appli- 
ances of  the  crudest  sort,  and  they  must  have  required  infinite  patience, 
almost  inexhaustible  energy  and  tireless  industry. 

Cooking  was  done  over  an  open  fireplace  provided  with  a  crane,  on 
which  pots  and  kettles  could  be  hung  so  that  they  would  swing  outward. 
In  addition  to  the  kettles,  the  utensils  consisted  of  a  few  cast  iron  pans 
or  skillets,  like  the  pots  unbelievably  heavy  and  inconvenient.  Bread 
was  baked  in  what  was  known  as  a  reflector,  if  the  family  was  unusu- 
ally well  to  do.  Otherwise  the  baking  facilities  were  confined  to  a 
"Dutch  Oven,"  which  was  a  heavy  cast  iron  pot  having  four  legs,  be- 
neath which  hot  coals  were  raked  from  the  fireplace,  these  being  removed 
and  replaced  as  often  as  necessary.  This  cooking  went  on  continually, 
and  while  it  was  in  progress  the  housewife  kept  herself  from  idleness  by 
making  butter  in  a  hand  churn,  manufacturing  soap,  washing  the  family 
clothing,  perhaps  at  a  nearby  stream,  weeding  the  garden,  feeding  the 
stock,  cutting  wood  for  the  fireplace,  and  a  few  other  duties  that  per- 
mitted frequent  trips  to  the  fire  to  see  how  her  boiling,  roasting  and  bak- 
ing was  coming  on. 

The  task  of  providing  clothing  was  probably  the  most  difficult  one 
confronting  these  women,  for  their  housekeeping  was  comparatively 
simple  and  from  this  they  obtained  occasional  brief  respite.  But  the 
spinning  went  on  forever.  Preparing  the  linen  thread  or  the  wool  yarn 
for  weaving  was  a  task  requiring  infinite  patience.  The  spinning  was 
at  first  done  by  walking  back  arid  forth  beforfe  a  large  wheel,  the  low 
spinning  wheel  being  a  later  invention.  Many  a  housewife  walked  miles 
and  miles  each  evening  spinning,  while  her  husband  and  children  slept. 
One  pioneer  took  the  trouble  to  count  the  steps  made  by  his  helpmeet  and 
has  left  a  record  for  the  benefit  of  future  generations.  He  figured  that 
the  distance  traveled  back  and  forth  before  the  spinning  wheel  in  a  single 
evening  was  more  than  eight  miles.  Another  of  these  pioneers  has 
stated  that  he  could  never  remember  a  day  on  which  his  mother  was  not 
the  first  up  in  the  morning  and  the  last  to  retire  at  night. 

The  fact  is  that  spinning  and  knitting  in  those  days  was  regarded  by 
women  generally  as  a  form  of  recreation.  They  carried  it  on  while  en- 
tertaining their  company,  traveling  to  and  from  church,  and  whenever, 
for  any  reason,  they  gathered  together,  as  at  a  funeral  or  a  wedding. 
The  swain  in  those  days  sat  idly  by  and  admired  the  lady  of  his  choice 
while  she  walked  back  and  forth  before  the  wheel  or  worked  her  nimble 
fingers  unceasingly  with  the  needles,  and  he  probably  saw  nothing  wrong 
in  the  fact  that  his  contribution  to  the  task  was  occasionally  holding  his 
hands  spread  so  that  she  could  wind  upon  them  yarn  to  form  a  skein. 

Labor  hard  and  incessant  was  not  the  only  trial  of  these  pioneer 
women.  Their  husbands  were  much  given  to  drinking  at  "raisings" 
and  similar  gatherings  and  this,  we  are  told,  was  the  cause  of  much  un- 


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156       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

happiness  for  wives.  These  men  were  rough,  hardy  customers,  with 
little  tenderness  in  their  natures  and  still  less  inclination  to  display  such 
feelings,  so  that  woman,  then  as  now  eager  for  evidence  of  affection, 
seldom  saw  much  sign  of  it  in  her  spouse.  She  worried,  also,  over  the 
chances  that  beset  her  children,  who  could  not  be  kept  in  sight  at  all 
times  and  were  often  temporarily  lost  in  the  woods. 

These  woods  surrounded  the  pioneer  homes,  shut  off  the  women 
from  companionship  of  neighbors  and  added  to  their  loneliness  and  help- 
lessness in  times  of  peculiar  trial,  such  as  sickness,  birth  and  death.  At 
such  times  they  helped  one  another  most  unselfishly,  a  woman  often 
leaving  her  own  brood  alone  to  mount  a  horse  behind  some  badly  worried 
neighbor  and  ride  to  the  assistance  of  his  wife.  This  loneliness  and  lack 
of  sympathetic  companionship  is  the  trial  most  bitterly  complained  of 
by  the  pioneer  women  who  have  recorded  their  experiences.  Next  to 
this  they  seem  to  have  felt  the  impossibility  of  adorning  themselves  most 
keenly.  Considering  that  treacherous  Indians,  scarcity  of  food,  lack  of 
medical  attendance  and  almost  universal  affliction  from  "fever  and  ague," 
were  part  of  their  lot,  it  might  not  seem  that  the  scarcity  of  ribbons  and 
silks  should  have  been  a  serious  matter.     Nevertheless  it  was. 

Women  then  as  now  delighted  in  those  things  that  make  them  at- 
tractive to  the  eye,  and  to  have  their  facilities  in  this  direction  confined 
to  what  they  could  make  with  their  own  hands  was  a  genuine  hardship. 
In  spite  of  their  multifarious  duties  they  generally  found  time  to  pay 
some  attention  to  their  personal  appearance  and  the  efforts  they  made 
in  the  direction  of  beautifying  themselves  were  often  almost  pathetic. 
Not  only  were  they  usually  limited  to  cloth  they  could  make  themselves, 
but  for  colors  they  had  to  depend  on  what  they  could  make  in  the  way 
of  dyes  from  barks  and  berries.  They  could  fashion  their  own  dresses 
and  bonnets,  but  they  could  not  make  shoes.  Not  all  of  these  women 
were  able  to  get  shoes  after  those  they  brought  with  them  had  worn  out, 
but  those  who  possessed  such  luxuries  guarded  them  with  great  care. 
They  frequently  walked  barefoot  to  meeting,  carrying  their  shoes  to  the 
church  door  in  order  to  save  these  precious  belongings.  All  women  in 
those  days  could  ride  and  those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  have 
horses  traveled  in  that  way,  frequently,  however,  without  a  saddle.  The 
business  of  making  a  living  was  so  urgent  that  the  horses  used  on  the 
new  farms  were  seldom  available  for  visiting  or  church-going,  even  if  the 
pioneer's  wife  had  not  been  even  more  urgently  occupied  than  were  the 
horses. 

Living  in  an  atmosphere  and  amid  conditions  of  this  kind,  the  pioneer 
women  were  very  different  from  their  more  fortunate  sisters  of  later 
date.  They  were  naturally  masterful,  at  least  in  some  ways;  but  their 
attitude  toward  their  men  folk  was  humble,  because  it  was  thought  at 
that  time  that  a  woman's  part  was  to  obey  and  the  ordinary  husband 
regarded  himself  as  deserving  of  much  attention  from  his  wife.  The 
men  gloried  in  maintaining  discipline  in  their  homes,  a  process  which 
was  not  always  confined  to  the  children,  although  these  felt  it  most 
severely.  The  harsh  and  often  unreasoning  exercise  of  paternal  author- 
ity must  have  been  a  source  of  trial  to  the  women  of  those  days. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       157 

In  spite  of  all  this,  the  lives  of  these  women  were  not  without  their 
compensations.  Most  of  the  needs  and  desires  of  modern  life  are  really 
fictitious,  and  they  were  probably  as  happy  without  elaborate  homes  and 
gowns  as  present  day  women  are  with  these  things.  They  were  chiefly 
occupied  with  serious  matters,  but  were  sustained  by  high  hopes  and 
strong  convictions.  They  gave  much  for  others  and  in  the  giving  found 
the  rarest  and  truest  form  of  pleasure.  They  all  seem  to  have  had  hopes 
and  ambitions  for  their  children  beyond  those  of  modern  days,  and  these 
were  realized,  for  among  the  children  of  these  pioneers  were  many  men 
and  women  who  accomplished  much  for  themselves  and  for  their  country. 

Certainly  the  trials  of  pioneering  were  not  confined  to  men  and  it 
seems  entirely  probable  that  women  had  to  bear  the  heaviest  of  its  bur- 
dens. To  these  women  is  due  the  largest  measure  of  admiration  and 
honor  of  which  we  are  capable,  together  with  the  gratitude  of  the  present 
generation  for  many  things  that,  without  their  sacrifices,  could  not  have 
been.  They  not  only  made  possible  the  settlement  of  the  wilderness, 
but  they  planted  in  it  the  seeds  of  morality,  religion  and  progress.  With- 
out their  influence  in  the  early  development  of  the  Mahoning  Valley 
the  finest  and  most  enduring  features  would  be  missing  from  its  modern 
life. 


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CHAPTER  X 

YOUNGSTOWN  FROM  1802  TO  1840 

The  County  Seat  War  of  1800  to  1810— Youngstown  and  Trumbull 
County  in  the  War  of  1812 — Beginning  of  the  Iron  Industry 
in  the  Mahoning  Valley — Inception  and  Construction  of  the 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  Canals. 

Probably  every  American  city  and  hamlet  has  aspired  at  one  time  or 
another  to  attain  the  rank  of  county  seat.  Only  one  municipality  in  a 
county  can  hold  this  distinction,  but  each  municipality  wants  to  be  that 
one.  Youngstown,  at  its  founding,  was  no  exception  to  this  rule;  yet 
it  was  more  than  seventy-five  years  after  this  ambition  first  sprouted  here 
before  it  was  actually  realized. 

The  plans  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  for  the  government  of  its 
western  lands  were  at  all  times  indefinite,  since  the  first  concern  of  the 
state  was  to  profit  on  the  sale  of  the  land.  When  the  Connecticut  Land 
Company  purchased  the  Western  Reserve,  the  State  of  Connecticut 
ceded  to  its  jurisdictional  rights  as  well  as  title  to  the  ground,  and  the 
land  company  proposed  to  set  up  a  state  of  "New  Connecticut."  It  is 
wholly  probable  that  old  Connecticut  was  agreeable  to  this  plan.  It  may 
have  been  even  instrumental  in  proposing  it,  as  there  was  close  harmony 
between  the  land  company  members  and  the  government  of  their  home 
state. 

The  instruction  to  the  directors  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company 
provided,  among  other  things,  for  the  survey  and  partition  into  small 
lots  of  the  township  that  was  to  mark  the  first  settlement  on  the  Re- 
serve, the  intent  being  that  this  town  should  be  the  capital  of  the  proposed 
state.  The  township  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga  River — later  the 
City  of  Cleveland — was,  as  we  have  seen,  selected  as  the  site  of  this 
initial  settlement  and  capital.  Thus  far  the  land  company,  its  directors 
and  its  agents  could  arbitrarily  guide  the  destinies  of  New  Connecticut. 
It  so  happened,  however,  that  their  power  ended  with  the  fiat  that  the 
town  laid  out  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga  River  should  be  platted  into 
lots,  and  equipped  with  a  sawmill  and  grist  mill  to  attract  prospective 
settlers.  Circumstances  that  the  land  company  and  its  directors  could 
not  control  placed  a  veto  on  the  remainder  of  the  program. 

Moses  Cleaveland's  town  became  the  first  settlement  in  name  only. 
The  immigrants  from  Connecticut  and  other  states  failed  to  heed  the 
schedule  mapped  out  for  them — that  the  northern  townships  of  the 
Reserve  should  be  settled  first.  The  lake  winds  were  hostile,  and  the 
marshy  ground  along  the  lake  shore  was  less  promising  than  the  high 

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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       159 

ground  farther  to  the  south.  Then,  too,  the  route  from  Connecticut  and 
Eastern  New  York  that  brought  the  settlers  to  the  mouths  of  Conneaut 
Creek  and  the  Cuyahoga  River  was  abandoned  for  the  southern  route  by 
way  of  Pittsburgh  and  Beaver  and  thence  up  along  the  Mahoning  River. 
The  valley  of  this  stream  became  the  gateway  to  the  Reserve,  and  here 
many  of  those  settlers  who  had  not  previously  purchased  land,  remained. 
It  was  Youngstown,  Warren,  Canfield  and  Poland,  therefore,  that  de- 
veloped into  healthy  villages  in  the  first  three  years  of  white  occupation, 
while  Cleveland,  Mentor  and  Ashtabula,  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie, 
lagged  behind. 

As  early  as  1798,  when  Youngstown  was  the  only  settlement  on  the 
southern  part  of  the  Reserve,  the  need  of  civil  government  became  ap- 
parent, and  this  need  was  emphasized  a  year  later  when  several  of  the 
nearby  townships  had  been  settled.  The  project  for  the  creation  of  a 
new  state  had  by  this  time  been  virtually  abandoned,  and  an  appeal  to 
Connecticut  to  erect  the  Reserve  into  a  county  of  old  Connecticut  was 
ignored;  leaving  no  alternative  except  an  admission  that  the  Northwest 
Territory  possessed  legal  jurisdiction  over  the  Connecticut  Land  Com- 
pany's holdings.  It  was  considered  inevitable  that  when  an  agreement 
was  reached  on  this  point  that  the  Reserve  should  be  created  into  a 
county  of  the  Northwest  Territory. 

Even  before  the  settlement  was  arrived  at  in  the  spring  of  1800  that 
separated  the  Western  Reserve  entirely  from  old  Connecticut,  the  rival 
villages  of  the  Reserve  had  catalogued  their  respective  claims  to  the 
privilege  of  being  the  seat  of  government  for  the  anticipated  new  county. 
There  was  considerably  more  than  civic  pride  in  this  ambition.  The 
county  seat  would  be  the  virtual  capital  of  a  commonwealth  larger  than 
several  of  the  individual  eastern  states,  and  business  and  growth  of 
population  would  center  about  the  seat  of  justice.  This  meant  increased 
land  values  and  was  certain  to  result  in  the  establishment  of  a  pre- 
eminence that  it  would  be  difficult  for  any  other  community  to  overcome. 
It  is  not  surprising  then  that  there  was  discussion  of  a  courthouse  in 
John  Young's  town  even  before  the  first  street  was  laid  out  therein,  or 
that  Warren,  Canfield  and  Poland  were  talking  county  seat  about  the 
time  the  first  pioneer  cabins  were  being  put  up. 

The  diversion  of  immigration  to  the  Mahoning  Valley  had  practically 
eliminated  Cleveland  and  other  lake  settlements  from  serious  considera- 
tion for  county  seat  honors.  It  was  recognized  that  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment would  be  fixed  in  one  of  the  southeastern  townships,  and  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  previous  year  or  two  grew  into  intense  rivalry  when  the 
news  reached  the  Reserve  in  the  spring  of  1800  that  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Northwest  Territory  had  been  acknowledged  and  that  the  way  was 
open  for  the  creation  of  a  new  county. 

The  contest  was  astonishingly  short.  As  news  traveled  slowly  in 
those  days  it  was  probably  in  June,  1800,  when  the  announcement  of  this 
agreement  reached  the  settlements.  The  governor  of  the  territory  was 
vested  with  authority  to  create  new  counties  and  designate  county  seats 
merely  by  his  own  official  decree,  and  rival  towns  prepared  to  press  their 
claims.    Youngstown  had  every  apparent  advantage.     It  was  the  oldest 


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160       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

and  the  largest  settlement,  the  commercial  center  of  the  southern  part 
of  the  Reserve,  the  place  where  new  settlers  adjusted  their  land  titles 
after  their  arrival  from  the  East,  and  the  first  port  of  call  for  immi- 
grants. Yet  before  Youngstown's  campaign  was  fairly  under  way 
Governor  St.  Clair  had  issued  his  proclamation  of  July  10,  1800,  creating 
the  Western  Reserve  into  the  County  of  Trumbull  and  fixing  the  county 
seat  at  Warren. 

There  was  wrath  in  Youngstown  at  this  announcement,  and  another 
score  was  marked  up  against  the  already  unpopular  St.  Clair.  Youngs- 
town condemned  and  denounced,  berated  the  governor  for  his  precipitate 
action  and  even  questioned  the  arbitrary  power  that  he  had  exercised. 
But  all  this  was  fruitless.  The  decree  stood  and  the  county  government 
was  organized  at  Warren  within  a  few  weeks,  Youngstown  being  given 
a  sop  in  a  number  of  appointments  to  county  offices. 

Actually,  the  respective  qualification  possessed  by  each  of  the  towns 
that  were  rival  for  the  county  seat  had  little  to  do  with  the  selection. 
Then — as  is  often  the  case  now — secret  maneuvering  and  wirepulling 
were  far  more  potent  factors  in  public  life  than  legitimate  business  and 
geographical  considerations.  Political  methods  were  much  the  same  a 
century  and  a  quarter  ago  as  they  are  now.  Even  the  famed  Ordinance 
of  1787 — magnificent  document  that  it  is — was  lobbied  through  Con- 
gress, and  in  its  original  form  lacked  the  provision  against  human  slav- 
ery. It  was  the  protest  of  the  Connecticut  men  who  made  up  the  Ohio 
Company,  and  their  threat  to  withdraw  from  their  contemplated  pur- 
chase of  Ohio  lands  from  the  Federal  Government  that  forced  the  adop- 
tion of  an  anti-slavery  clause. 

In  the  initial  contest  for  the  Trumbull  County  county  seat  Warren 
won  because  Warren  residents  had  the  car  of  the  Federal  Government 
and  of  the  territorial  governor.  They  were  canny  business  men,  these 
Warrenites.  They  had  anticipated  the  erection  of  a  new  county  and 
had  done  much  of  their  campaigning  beforehand.  Calvin  Pease  is  cred- 
ited with  having  exerted  much  of  the  influence  in  favor  of  Warren. 
Although  a  resident  of  Youngstown  in  1800,  Pease  was  a  heavy  land- 
owner at  Warren,  and  his  land  would  naturally  benefit  if  Warren  were 
projected  into  the  front  rank  of  Western  Reserve  towns.  In  addition 
to  this,  Pease  was  a  brother-in-law  to  Gideon  Granger,  who  possessed 
great  political  influence  and  was  later  postmaster-general.  Granger  him- 
self, in  fact,  was  credited  with  being  a  landowner  at  Warren,  and,  in 
addition,  several  of  the  original  members  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Com- 
pany were  investors  in  Warren  Township  lands  by  virtue  of  the  draft 
of  1798,  while  Youngstown  Township  was  owned  by  men  outside  the 
company  and,  in  general,  by  men  of  less  financial  and  political  influence. 
The  combination  was  too  much  for  Youngstown  to  beat. 

With  nothing  else  to  do,  Youngstown  accepted  the  disappointment 
and  Warren  held  secure,  if  grudgingly-admitted,  title  to  the  county 
seat  for  the  next  three  years.  In  1802,  however,  a  convention  sitting 
at  Chillicothe  adopted  a  constitution  for  a  new  state,  to  be  formed  out 
of  the  eastern  part  of  the  Northwestern  Territory,  and  to  be  known  as 
Ohio,  and  in  1803  Ohio  came  formally  into  existence  with  the  election 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       161 

of  a  governor  and  a  state  legislature.  This  changed  the  complexion  of 
the  situation  materially.  The  arbitrary  power  possessed  by  the  terri- 
torial governor  was  not  vested  in  the  chief  executive  of  the  new  state. 
The  legislature,  and  not  the  governor,  created  counties  and  fixed  county 
seats,  and  Youngstown  eagerly  revived  the  slumbering  warfare  by 
launching  a  movement  to  remove  the  county  capital  thence  from  Warren. 

At  this  time  no  actual  court  house  existed  at  Warren  but  construc- 
tion of  a  county  building  was  begun  in  1802  and  the  structure  was  nearing 
completion  when  it  burned  down,  in  1804.  Since  this  left  the  rival 
towns  on  equal  footing  insofar  as  county  buildings  were  concerned, 
Youngstown  opened  the  removal  war  wholeheartedly.  Warren  was 
served  with  notice  that  Youngstown  would  permit  no  new  county  build- 
ings to  be  erected  there. 

In  the  meantime  the  townships  adjoining  Youngstown  had  expe- 
rienced a  comparatively  rapid  growth  until  the  southeastern  part  of 
the  county  cast  a  great  part  of  the  county's  vote.  This  resulted  in  the 
election  of  county  commissioners  favorable  to  Youngstown.  The  legis- 
lative delegation  that  had  been  almost  monopolized  by  Warren  in  the 
first  two  years  of  statehood  was  lost  to  that  town  between  1804  and 
1806  by  the  election  of  George  Tod  to  the  State  Senate  and  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  two  House  members  between  Youngstown  and  Cleveland. 
One  result  of  this  later  situation  was  the  creation  in  1805  of  a  great 
part  of  the  c6unty  northwest  of  Warren  into  the  County  of  Geauga. 

The  benefit  of  this  sort  of  maneuvering  was  not  lost  on  the  people 
of  the  rival  towns.  Competition  became  keen  in  business,  sports,  socially 
and  even  in  fights,  but  the  political  aspect  was  paramount.  Party  politics 
was  laid  aside  in  this  day  when  party  feeling  ran  high ;  the  chief  quali- 
fication demanded  of  each  candidate  for  office — especially  of  the  candi- 
date for  a  legislative  seat — being  his  sympathies  for  or  against  county 
seat  removal,  or  county  division. 

The  Youngstown  proposal  was  for  the  erection  of  three  counties  out 
of  Trumbull  County,  Youngstown  to  be  the  county  seat  of  the  same 
county. 

The  objection  that  Youngstown  was  too  poorly  situated  geographic- 
ally to  entitle  it  to  consideration  as  a  county  seat  received  another  blow 
in  1807  when  Ashtabula  and  Portage  counties  were  formed  from  Trum- 
bull County.  This  was  partly  offset,  however,  a  year  later  when  Warren 
won  a  geographical  advantage  by  having  the  fiwe  lower  townships  of 
Ashtabula  County  annexed  to  Trumbull.  This  legislation,  enacted  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  Trumbull  County  was  represented  in  the  lower 
house  of  the  Legislature  by  two  Youngstown  partisans,  threw  Youngs- 
town still  farther  away  from  the  geographical  center  of  the  county. 

By  this  time,  however,  the  contest  had  grown  so  warm  that  a  finish 
fight  was  apparently  inevitable.  Representation  in  the  1809-10  session 
of  the  Legislature  was  considered  vital  to  the  chances  of  the  rival  towns 
and  the  election  of  1809  was  waged  solely  on  the  county  seat  issue. 
Warren  had  an  advantage,  in  that  Senator  Calvin  Cone's  two-year  term 
did  not  expire  until  December,  1810,  and  Senator  Cone,  being  a  Gus- 
tavas  man,  would  be  inclined  to  favor  Warren  if  he  took  sides  at  all 
Vol.  1— 11 


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162^      YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

in  the* :fight.  Members  of  the*  lower  hetiSe  were  elected  for  but  one 
yearrafid'  Youngstown  prepared  toVe-elect  the  two  Youngstown  parti- 
sans Vho  had  been  elected  in  1808,  while  Warren  was  determined  to 
elect  at  least  one  Warren  adherent.  Youngstown  people,  who  •had,  in 
the  me&ntime,  Vj5r^v6nted  th^  erection  6f  any  cotanty  buildings  at  Warr^if, 
won 'decisively  in  this  1809  election  by  re-electing  Robert  Hughes  and 
Richard  J.  Elliott  to  the  lower  house  of  the  Legislature,  also  electing  a 
county- commissioner  favorable  to  ^Youngstown.  .   -   -    -  i^ 

Disrimyed  at'  this  prospect/Warren  decided  ta  protest  the  election 
oPHiighes,  otP  behalf  of  Thomas  J.  Jones,  the  defeated  Warred  candi- 
date'. Without  the  ballots  of  aliens,  or  alien-borti  voters,  it  was  believed 
that  Jbhes  would  be  the  victor  and  Warren  moved  immediately  to  have 
this  vote  thrown  out,  a  proposal  that  was  unfair,  since  the  voters;  of 
a.Hefr^birtH-  were  English-speaking  men,  many  of  them  property  holders 
and  slibfetahfial  persons  arid  some  of  them  Revolutionary  war  veterans. 
Yeit  the  protest  wis  allowed  and  &  court  composed  of  Leonard  Case  of 
Warten  arid  Wflliani!Chidester  of  Carifield  was  appointed  to  take  testi- 
mony on  the  alien  vote,  the  testimony  to  be  presented  to  the  Legislature 
at  the  contest  proceedings.  Homer  Hine  was  named  to  appear  at  the 
court  as  the  legal  representative  of  Youngstown  while  John  S.  Edwards 
was  selected  to  represent  Warren. 

The  "court"  strictly  speaking,  was  not  a  court  at  all,  but  an  investi- 
gating committee  named  to  inquire  into  the  merits  of  Warren's  protest 
against  the  seating  of  Robert  Hughes.  It  was  a  traveling  committee,  the 
two  justices  and  the  attorneys  going  about  to  the  different  townships 
of  lower  Trumbull  County  instead  of  summoning  witnesses  to  appear 
at  Warren  or  at  any  other  central  point. 

The  first  sitting  of  the  justices  was  held  at  Hubbard.  Not  only  the 
witnesses  who  had  been  summoned,  but  hundreds  of  partisans  from  up 
and  down  the  Mahoning  Valley  were  on  hand,  and  there  was  intense 
rivalry  and  even  hatred  and  rancor.  *  Daniel  Sheehy  led  the  alien-born 
voters,  who  protested  vigorously  at  this  attempt  to  deprive  them  of 
their  franchise.  In  a  savage  stump  speech,  said  to  have  been  an  hour 
and  a  half  in  length,  Sheehy  questioned  the  legality  of  the  whole  pro- 
ceeding, counselled  the  witnesses  summoned  to  refuse  to  testify  and 
invited  direct  rebellion  against  the  court.  He  was  silenced  only  by 
force,  and  then  ridt  until  he  had  aroused  the  already  angered  partisans 
to  fever  heat.  "Many  of  those  summoned  refused  to  testify  until  about 
to  be  arrested  and  sent  to  jail,"  Justice  Case  said.  "Then  they  gave 
testimony.    About  one  hundred  depositions  \yere  taken." 

The  following  day  the  justices  sat  at  Youngstown  and  the  strife  of 
the  day  before  was  duplicated/  and  perhaps  surpassed.  Sheehy  was 
iffore  flamingly  eloquent  than  ever  and  his  followers  more  defiant. 
Threats  had  to  siipplaht  persuasion  as  a  means  of  getting  evidence,  and 
even  these  were  not  successful  until  Sheehy  had  been  arrested.  He 
suffered  no  penalty — except  that  of  enforced  abstinence  from  speech- 
m£kihg— as  it  was  generally  realized  that  the  entire  'investigation  was 
dieted  Against '/YoungstbWn,sf  claim  to  the  county  seat  rather  than 
ag&iri§t  'anybody's  ri£ht?  t'6'  vote.     And  even  the  suppression  of  Sheehy 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       163 

dia^fiot  still  the  storm/as  thfe  third  day's  sitting  at  Poland  was  equally 
boisterous.  About  400  depositions  in  all  were  taken  and  Warren  ad- 
herents Itelieved  they  had  established  Jones'  clsfim  to  the  contested  legis- 
lative seat.  ' 

But  withal,  Warren's  preparations*  and  the  subsequent  riot-nfciting. 
investigation  came  to  fraught  as  far  as  the  seat  in  the  assembly- was 
concerned.  When  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  Legis- 
lature met  at  Chillicothe  on  December  4,  1809,  Jones'  contest  was  duly 
filed  by  Representative  Matthias  Corwin,  but  the  evidence  *was  con- 
sidered insufficient  and  Hughes  was  seated,  a  report  of  the  committee 
on 'credentials  recommending  this  disposition  of  the  case  being  adopted 
by  a  vote  of  the  House  on  December  14th. 

Apparently  Youngstown  used  its  victory  to  little  advantage,  as  the* 
county  seat  was  not  removed- 'dttd  there  appears  to  have  been  little 
serious  effort  to  have  it  transferred  to  Youngstown.  Virtually  this 
heated  election  ertfted  the  contest  for  the  time  being.  *  In  1810  the  rivals 
compromised  by  electing  George  Tod  of  Youngstown  to  the  State  Sen- 
ate and  Aaron  Collar  of  Canfield  and  Thomas  J.  Jones— the  defeated 
Warren  candidate  of  1809 — to  the  lower  house  of  the  Legislature. 

Partly  this  cessation  of  hostilities  was  due  to  the  fact  that  Youngs- 
town sympathizers  had  become  weary  of  the  continued  strife.  Youngs- 
town, *  by  virtue  of  the  greater  vote  in  the  lower  townships  of  the 
county,  was  able  to  deprive  Warren  of  representation  in  the  Legis- 
lature, but  aside  from  this  Warren  outgeneraled  its  chief  rival  in  political* 
maheuvering.  When  Warrenites  could  elect  no  assemblymen  they  sent 
unofficial  "commissioners,"  or  lobbyists,  to  the  capital,  and  these  com- 
missioners guarded  Warren's  interests  assiduously.  Partly,  too,  the 
truce  was  foixed  by  the  fact  that  other  aspiring  towns  of  Trumbull 
County  became  imbued  with  the  belief  that  if  there  was  going  to  be  a 
peremiial  county  seat  fight  it  might  as  well  be  a  free-for-all.  Canfield, 
Poland,  Girard,  New  Lyme  and  other  aspirants  appeared  in  the  field, 
each  one  eager  to  be  the  capital  of  Trumbull  County,  or  of  a  brand  new 
county,  for  erecting  new  counties  was  an  annual  legislative  happening 
in  these  days. 

All  ambitions  alike  were  fruitless.  The  county  seat  remained  Wat-' 
ren,  and  Youngstown  temporarily  laid  aside  its  ambitions,  although  it 
nursed  them  until  they  were  finally  satisfied  sixty-five  years  later.  The 
five  Ashtabula  County  townships  that  had  been  juggled  around  and 
used  as  pawns  in  successively  promoting  and  blasting  Youngstown's 
hopes  were  finally  restored  permanently  to  Ashtabula  County,  where } 
they  belonged.  The  inhabitants  of  these  townships  were  disgusted  with 
the  quarrel  throughout  its  entire  course.  Judge  Solomon  Griswold  ex- 
pressed their  sentiments  when  he  remonstrated  that  "They  have  ho 
privileges  in  either  county  and  are  sued  in  both." 

Perhaps  the  chief  contributing  cause  to  the  armistice,  however,  was 
the  need  of  uniting  against  a  common  enemy.  It  is  characteristic  ofJ 
Americans  that  however  much  they  may  quarrel  among  themselves  they 
present  a'  stflid  front  in  the  face  of  foreign  interference — a  fact  thatJ 
was  testified  to  in  a  way  that  amazed  the  world  in  1917-18.    It  was  made 


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164       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

apparent  in  no  less  striking  manner  more  than  one  hundred  years  prior 
to  the  World  war. 

The  war  with  England  had  presumably  ended  with  the  defeat  of  the 
invaders  and  the  treaty  of  1783  that  acknowledged  American  independ- 
ence, but  peace  was  theoretical  rather  than  real.  England  kept  none 
of  the  promises  it  made  except  those  it  had  to  keep.  It  did  not  abandon 
all  its  ambitions  to  ownership  of  American  soil,  and  perhaps  abandoned 
none  of  them.  After  1783  the  American  colonists  were  subjected  to 
petty  attacks  and  annoyances  from  the  late  enemy,  and  were  made  the 
victims  of  more  deadly  persecutions  in  the  shape  of  British-inspired 
Indian  raids.  Throughout  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century 
it  was  generally  accepted  that  another  war  with  Britain  was  inevitable, 
and  American  resentment  increased  with  the  high-handed  action  taken 
by  England  in  boarding  American  merchant  ships  and  kidnapping  Ameri- 
can citizens  under  the  pretense  that  they  were  British  deserters,  the 
victims  being  impressed  into  service  in  the  British  navy.  As  early  as 
1803  Americans  had  held  indignation  meetings  and  demanded  war  with 
England  to  avenge  these  insults,  but  President  Jefferson  was  opposed  to 
war  and  tried  the  ineffectual  policy  of  non-intercourse  instead. 

In  1810,  however,  war  was  admittedly  no  longer  avoidable,  although 
President  Madison,  who  had  been  trained  in  the  Jefferson  school,  imi- 
tated the  weak  policies  of  his  preceptor  by  refusing  to  urge  a  declaration 
of  war.  Nominally  the  second  war  with  England  began  in  1812;  ac- 
tually it  began  in  181 1  with  a  sea  victory  of  Americans  over  the  British 
in  May,  and  the  stunning  victory  of  William  Henry  Harrison  over  the 
Indians  under  Tecumseh  at  Tippecanoe  on  November  7th  of  the  same 
year.  The  American  belief  that  the  Indian  uprising  was  instigated  by 
the  British  was  confirmed  after  this  battle  when  the  shattered  Indian 
forces  retreated  to  Canada  and  joined  the  British. 

The  War  of  1812,  as  a  whole,  reflects  no  great  credit  on  either  of 
the  American  political  parties  of  that  era.  The  party  of  Jefferson  was 
vacillating,  and,  in  spite  of  years  of  warning,  was  wholly  unprepared 
when  war  came.  Madison  was  a  statesman  and  a  man  of  great  popular- 
ity but  was  not  a  warmaker  of  the  type  of  the  rugged  and  virile  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison  or  Andrew  Jackson.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Federalists  of  New  England  were  hostile  to  the  war  fought  under 
Democratic  auspices,  probably  because  their  sea  trade  had  been  demoral- 
ized by  Jefferson's  policy  of  non-intercourse.  Their  resentment  is  easily 
understood  but  their  lack  of  patriotism  is  none  the  less  to  be  con- 
demned. 

With  Ohio  far  removed  from  the  seaboard  it  might  be  presumed 
that  it  would  be  free  from  the  war's  alarms,  but  the  truth  was  the  exact 
reverse.  Its  position  as  the  frontier  state  made  Ohio  peculiarly  suscep- 
tible to  attack,  since  the  Indians  were  allied  with  the  British,  the  ambi- 
tion of  the  latter  was  to  seize,  and  keep  the  West,  and  Detroit  was  the 
key  not  alone  to  the  Northwest  but  the  Great  Lakes  as  well.  Ohioans 
were  well  aware  that  war  with  England  meant  certain  warfare  within 
Ohio  or  the  Northwest  Territory  and  possibly  invasion  of  Ohio  by 
the  enemy. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       165 

The  need  of  armed  defense  was  recognized  in  the  Ohio  constitution 
of  1802,  that  document  providing  for  a  state  militia  organization  in 
which  the  major-generals  and  quartermaster-generals  were  to  be  ap- 
pointed, or  elected,  by  joint  ballot  of  both  houses  of  the  State  Legis- 
lature, while  officers  of  the  line  below  this  rank  were  to  be  elected  by 
under-officers  and  privates.  Provision  was  made  that  the  captains  and 
subalterns  be  elected  by  the  enlisted  men ;  majors  elected  by  the  captains 
and  subalterns;  colonels  elected  by  the  majors,  captains  and  subalterns; 
brigadier-generals  elected  by  the  commissioned  officers  of  their  respec- 
tive brigades.  Commanding  officers  were  to  appoint  their  own  staff 
officers. 


Map  of  Ohio  Counties  in  1802 


On  January  7,  1804,  at  the  second  legislative  session,  Ohio  was 
divided  into  four  divisions  with  a  major-general  in  command  of  each. 
For  the  Fourth  Division,  comprising  Trumbull,  Columbiana  and  Jef- 
ferson counties,  Elijah  Wadsworth  of  Canfield  was  named  major-gen- 
eral and  Brice  Viers  quartermaster-general. 

On  April  6,  1804,  General  Wadsworth  issued  his  first  divisional 
order.  This  provided  for  the  sub-division  of  the  Fourth  Division  into 
two  brigades  with  a  total  of  five  regiments.  The  First  Brigade  was  to 
include  all  the  militiamen  of  Trumbull  County,  this  brigade  to  have  two 
regiments.  The  Second  Regiment  of  the  brigade  included  the  territory 
now  included  in  the  Townships  of  Poland,  Boardman,  Canfield,  Ells- 
worth, Berlin,  Coitsville,  Youngstown,  Austintown,  Jackson  and  Milton 
in  Mahoning  County,  Hubbard,  Brookfield,  Vienna,  Liberty,  Howland, 
Weathersfield,    Warren,    Lordstown,     Braceville,     Newton,    Hartford, 


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166       YOUNGSTQWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Fowler,  Bazetta,  Champion  and  Fowler  in  Trumbull  County,  and  parts 
of  Summit  and  Portage  counties  as  they  are  constituted  tod^y.  In  the 
words  of  the  commanding  officer,  the  First  Regiment  was  to  include  all 
that  part  of  Trumbull  County  lying  north  of  the  line  of  township  five,; 
the  Second  Regiment  "All  that  part  of  the  County  of  v  Trumbull ,  lying 
south  of  the  First  Regiment." 

On  May  7,  1804,  regimental  elections  were  held,  the  following  junior 
officers  being  elected  for  the  various  companies  of  the  Second  Regiment : 

Captains — Homer  Hine,  Eli  Baldwin,  John  Struthers,  Barnabas  Har- 
ris, George  Tod,  Samuel  Ty lee,  James  Applegate,  George  Phelps,  Wil- 
liam Bushnell,  Henry  Rodgers,  Thomas  Wright,  Ezra  Wyatt,  John 
Oviatt. 

Lieutenants^— Aaron  Collar,  Josiah  Walker,  John  Russell,  James 
Lynn,  Moses  Latta,  Edward  Schofield,  Henry  Hickman,  James  Heaton, 
Daniel  Humison,  John  Diver,  William  Chard,  Gersham  Judson,  Aaron 
Norton. 

Ensigns* — Jacob  Parkhurst,  Nathaniel  Blakesley,  William  Henry, 
James  Struthers,  Henry  Hull,  John  Smith,  John  Elliott,  John  Ewalt, 
Ebenezer  Coombs  John  Campbell,  David .  Moore,  Thomas  Kennedy, 
James  Walker. 

The  Second  Regiment  was  further  divided  into  two  battalions,  and 
by  vote  of  the  above  officers  Captains  Applegate  and  Rjodgers  were 
elected  majors  of  these  battalions.  1  r 

About  1808  the  numbers  of  brigades  in  the  Fourth  Division  was  in- 
creased from  two  to  four,  the  Third  Brigade  including  Trumbull  and 
Ashtabula  counties.  Brig.-Gen.  Simon  Perkins  of  Warren  commanded 
this  brigade.  The  numbers  of  regiments  in  the  Third  Brigade  was  fixed 
at  three,  commanded  by  Cols.  James  Hillman  of  Youngstown,  John  S. 
Edwards  of  Warren  and  Richard  Hayes  of  Hartford!  Each  regiment 
numbered  500  men.  In  1809  Colonel  Hillman  resigned,  as  he  intended 
at  that  time  to  remove  from  Trumbull  County,  and  William  Rayen  was 
elected  regimental  commander  in  his  place.  — -  ^ 

Officially  these  regimental  commanders  were  lieutenant-colonels, 
since  the  militia  organization  at  that  time  did  not  provide  for  any 
colonelcies,  but  except  in  official  communications  they  were  known  as 
colonels  and  exercised  all  the  prerogatives  and  were  charged  with  all 
the  responsibilities  of  that  rank. 

Militia  training  and  mustering  days  were  eventful  occasions  in  pio- 
neer times  in  Ohio.  As  the  Revolutionary  war  was  scarcely  a  quarter 
of  a  century  in  the  past  and  the  likelihood  of  another  war  with  England 
was  always  present  the  martial  spirit  ran  high.  It  would  be  an  exaggera- 
tion to  say  that  the  state  militia  of  more  than  100  years  ago  was  a 
thoroughly  trained  and  efficient  body,  but  it  did  preserve  the  rudiments 
of  military  training,  and  skeleton,  organizations  were  maintained  at  all 
times. 

.    "Early  in   1810  I   attended  a  regimental   muster  in  Youngstown," 
•wrote  Jared  Potter  Kirtland  in  later  years.    "A  war  with  Great  Britain 


♦Corresponding  to  second  lieutenant  in  the  present  army  organization. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       167 

was  anticipated,  and  the  Indians  on  the  frontier  were  committing  depre- 
dations.    A  thorough  military  spirit  pervaded  the  country,  and  a  full 
.turnout  of  every  able-bodied  man  was  evident  on  the  occasion.    It  was 
_a  matter  of  surprise  to  see  an  apparent  wilderness  furnish  some  six  or 
seven   hundred   soldiers.     The.  regiment    formed   with   its   right   near 
Colonel  Raven's  residence,  and  marched  to  a  vacant  lot  between  Main 
Street  and  the  Mahoning  River,  near  the  mouth  of  Mill  Creek,  and  was 
there   reviewed.     Simon   Perkins   was  brigadier-general;  John   Stark 
.Edwards,  brigade  major  and  inspector*  William  Rayen,  colonel;  George 

Tod,  adjutant;  John  Shannon  and — -  McCbnnell,  majors.    No  one, 

at  that  period,  was  disposed  to  evade  his  duties,  and,  two  years  after- 
wards, the  efficiency  and  patriotism  of  that  body  of  men  were  thoroughly 
tried  and  favorably  tested." 

Events  of  1811  swept  away  any  existing  doubt  that  war  was  a  cer- 
tainty of  the  near  future.  The  Federalists  were  still  sullen  and  .the  older 
followers  of  Jefferson  and  Madison  were  still  dallying,  ,but  Harrison's 
victory  and  the  rage  of  the  Americans  when  their  suspicions  of  an 
alliance  between  the  Indians  and  the  British  were  confirmed  caused  the 
war  spirit  to  run  higher.  A  new  Congress  was  elected  in  which  younger 
members  of  the  Democratic-Republican  party  were  in  the  majority  and 
they  were  avowedly  for  war.  lt 

That  hostilities  were  foreseen  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  on  -Sep- 
tember 14,  181 1,  Genera}  Wad^worth,  through  Elisha  Whittlesey,  his 
.aide,  addressed  an  order /to  each  of  his  four  brigade  commanders,  read- 
ing-    .  .... 

•  -Tarn  directed  by -the  commandant  bf  the  Fourth  Division  of  the 
militia  of  this  state  to  call  your  attention  to  the  subject  of  making  re- 
turrtof  the  brigade  under  your  comrhari<I.:'  It  is  important  that  the- gov- 
ernment of  this  state  and  that  of  the  United-  States  should  kfiowat  a 
tihie  when  war  almost  appears  inevitable^  their  actual  strength.    There 
is  little* or  rio  doubt  Jtmt  that  'the  weighty  and  important  matters'  which 
the  President  has  to  lay  before  Congress,  by  reason  which:  ft; is 'called 
to 'meet  earlier  than  usual,  relate  to  our  differences  with  foreign  powers. 
r       "Should  Congress  deem  it  expedient  to  declare  war  against  ©ne/or 
-both-  6f  the  belligerents,  its  attention  must  necessarily  be  drawn  to  ascer- 
tain the  force  they  could  compel  to  take  the  field.     This  information 
canned  be  derived   from  any  other  quarter  than   returns  riiade   from 
■  the  several  states,  and  their  neglecting  to  make  returns  at  the  adjutant 
"general's  office  dries  tip  the   source   of   information   on  this   subject. 
*     *  -*     The  general  expects  from  your  attention  and  exertions,  that 
a  return  of  your  brigade  will  be  dtily  made  and  transmitted  to*7  him, 
agreeable  to  the  27th.  section  of  the  militia  law  of  the  state. 

'■With  esteem  and  regard  I  am  your  obedient  and  faithful  servant. 
>  -  "Elisha  Whittlesey,  Aide-de-Camp." 

i;  Jhe  Vone  or  both"  belligerents  referred  to  probably  means  England 
and  France  since  there  were  differences  with  both. 

In  February,  1812,  Congress  passed  an  act  increasing  tjie  strength 
of  the  ynited  States  army?. providing  among  other  things  for  a  regiment 


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168       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

of  volunteers  from  Ohio  and  Kentucky.  This  regiment,  of  which 
Samuel  H.  Wells  was  commissioned  colonel  and  John  Miller  lieutenant- 
colonel,  was  for  regular  army  service.  Each  Ohio  brigade  was  to  con- 
tribute one  company  to  this  regiment.  On  April  28,  181 2,  General  Per- 
kins sent  to  each  of  his  regimental  commanders,  Rayen,  Edwards  and 
Hayes,  notification  that  each  regiment  of  the  Third  Brigade  would  be 
expected  to  contribute  twenty-three  able  bodied  men  if  that  number 
could  be  raised  by  voluntary  enlistment,  or  thirteen  if  they  were  raised 
by  draft,  each  company  to  give  according  to  its  strength.  Two  regi- 
ments returned  volunteers  while  the  draft  was  resorted  to  in  a  third. 
The  final  personnel  of  this  company  contributed  by  the  Third  Brigade 
is  given  as  follows : 

Captain,  John  W.  Seeley. 

Ensign,  James  Kerr. 

First  Sergeant,  Samuel  Bills. 

Third  Sergeant,  Zadock  Dowell. 

First  Corporal,  John  Cherry. 

Privates,  Asa  Lane,  Peter  Lanterman,  Miller  Blackley,  William 
Strader,  Joseph  Netterfield,  William  Crawford,  James  Chalpin,  Robert 
Brewer,  Nathaniel  Stanley,  Alexander  Hayes,  David  Kiddle,  William 
Martin,  Conrad  Knafe,  James  Anderson,  John  Strain,  Matthew  Dob- 
bins, Ezra  Buell,  Solomon  Watrous,  Peter  Yatman,  Urial  Burnett,  Hugh 
Markee,  Amos  Rathburn,  David  Fitch,  Joseph  Walker,  Michael  Crum- 
rine,  Barnabas  Slavin,  Martin  Tidd,  Jr.,  Justin  Fobes,  William  Meeker, 
James  Mears,  Aaron  Scroggs,  Andrew  Markee,  Jr.,  Ethen  Newman, 
Daniel  Fowler. 

This  list  is  probably  an  incomplete  one  since  it  does  not  show  the  full 
strength  demanded  of  the  Third  Brigade,  and  there  are  also  doubtless 
inaccuracies  in  the  spelling  of  some  of  the  names  as  the  record  keepers 
of  those  days  were  careless  in  this  respect.  The  regiment  to  which  these 
men  were  assigned  was  known  as  the  Nineteenth  United  States  Infantry. 
George  Tod,  who  had  been  brigade  major  and  inspector  on  the  staff  of 
General  Perkins,  was  named  major  of  this  Nineteenth  Regiment  on 
July  6,  1812.  Subsequently  he  was  made  lieutenant-col onql  of  the 
Seventeenth  United  States  Infantry. 

War  was  formally  declared  on  June  18,  1812,  and  Ohio  militiamen 
awaited  orders  to  move.  The  war  department  plans,  however,  called 
for  an  initial  attack  by  the  regulars,  under  Gen.  William  Hull,  com- 
mandant at  Detroit,  who  was  instructed  to  cross  the  river  into  Canada, 
seize  Maiden  and  invade  and  hold  up  Upper  Canada.  Hull  followed 
these  instructions  late  in  July,  1812,  but  hearing  that  Major  General 
Brock  with  a  force  of  British  regulars  was  approaching  and  that  the 
Indians  were  also  preparing  to  make  a  descent  on  the  Americans,  he 
retreated  to  Detroit.  Brock  actually  arrived  at  Maiden  a  few  days  later, 
and,  crossing  the  river  with  a  force  of  less  than  1,500  men,  demanded 
the  surrender  of  Detroit.  Hull  ignominiously  complied  with  this  demand 
on  August  14,  1812. 

The  surrender  meant  something  more  than  the  giving  up  of  a  mere 
fort.     It  actually  turned  over  American  supplies,  placed  the  British  in 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       169 

possession  of  the  key  to  the  Northwest,  virtually  surrendered  all  Mich- 
igan to  the  British,  and  laid  the  frontier  wide  open  to  the  attack  of 
British  and  Indians  alike.  It  was  a  stunning  blow  to  the  entire  country ; 
while  throughout  Ohio  and  the  Northwest  the  news  of  the  surrender 
appalled  the  people.  The  protection  they  had  depended  upon  was  swept 
away  at  one  blow. 

Without  waiting  for  instruction  from  the  war  department,  General 
Wadsworth  hurriedly  ordered  the  mobilization  of  the  four  brigades  of 
his  division,  ordering  them  to  report  at  Geveland  preparatory  to  march- 
ing to  Northwest  Ohio  to  protect  the  frontier.  Rumors,  in  fact,  were  in 
circulation  within  a  few  days  after  Hull's  surrender  that  the  British 
were  approaching  by  way  of  Lake  Erie,  and  as  far  east  as  Ashtabula 
County  even  civilians  mobilized  to  repel  the  invaders.  The  probable  basis 
for  this  scare  was  the  return  to  Cleveland  of  boats  bound  from  Detroit 
and  carrying  paroled  men  whom  Hull  had  so  basely  surrendered. 

The  regiments  commanded  by  Colonels  Rayen  and  Edwards  were  on 
their  way  to  Cleveland  almost  immediately  after  the  receipt  of  the  news 
of  Hull's  surrender.  Practically  all  Trumbull  County  had  been  mobi- 
lized, and  at  Cleveland  it  was  actually  necessary  to  send  men  home. 

General  Wadsworth  began  immediately  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos. 
On  August  26,  1812,  he  wrote  that  many  troops  had  already  arrived  and 
that  others  were  coming  in  continually  from  all  quarters.  "I  expect  in  a 
few  days  to  have  sufficient  force  to  repel  any  force  that  the  enemy  can 
at  present  bring  against  us,"  he  said,  "but  I  am  destitute  of  everything 
needed  for  the  use  and  support  of  an  army.  The  troops  are  badly  armed 
and  clothed,  with  no  provisions  or  camp  equipage,  or  any  means  of  pro- 
curing any.  But  the  dangerous  situation  of  the  country  obliges  me  to 
face  every  difficulty." 

The  commanding  general  acted  accordingly.  Within  a  week  he  had 
dispatched  a  body  of  men  under  General  Perkins  to  Camp  Avery,  on 
the  Huron  River  in  what  is  now  Erie  County.  This  was  to  t>e  the 
headquarters  of  the  Ohio  troops  guarding  the  frontier.  Early  in  Sep- 
tember General  Perkins  reached  Camp  Avery  with  400  to  500  troops. 
The  regiment  commanded  by  Colonel  Rayen  of  Youngstown  reached 
there  about  September  19th. 

The  Ohio  militiamen  received  their  first  taste  of  war  within  a  few 
days.  Lack  of  preparation  on  the  part  of  the  Federal  Government  made 
it  necessary  that  the  troops  care  pretty  much  for  themselves  in  every 
way,  and  one  of  their  tasks  was  to  obtain  provisions.  A  quantity  of 
stores  had  been  collected  at  Sandusky,  just  north  of  Camp  Avery,  to  be 
forwarded  to  General  Hull  at  Detroit,  but  with  Hull's  capitulation  the 
stores  were  held,  and  with  the  arrival  of  the  Ohio  men  they  were  avail- 
able for  their  use.  It  was  in  the  attempt  to  bring  these  stores  to  camp, 
and  also  to  obtain  a  quantity  of  wheat  on  the  Ramsdale  plantation — 
located  on  the  peninsula  north  of  Sandusky — that  a  battle  took  place 
with  the  Indians. 

From  the  Huron  River  west  the  country  was  beset  with  hostile  red- 
skins so  that  the  position  of  the  militiamen  was  at  all  times  dangerous. 
The  news  that  the  Indians  were  so  close  was  brought  to  Camp  Avery 
on  September  28,  181 2.    Joshua  R.  Giddings,  then  a  youth  but  a  member 


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rl70       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  W&LLEX 

of  Captain  Burnham's  company  in  Perkins*  brigade,  wrote  to  later  years: 
/'The  news. found  oujr  bapd  in  a  Hibst  enfeebled  state.  The  biHoiis 
fever  had  reduced  the  number  of  effective  troops- until  we  were  able  to 
jnuster  but  two  guards,  consisting  of  two  relieves;  so. that  each  man 
in  health  was  compelled  to  stand  on  his  post  one-fourth  of  the  time. 
*  *  *  At  that  time  General  Perkins  was  absent  from  Jthe  camp. 
■  Colonel  Hayes  was  dangerously  ill  of  fever,  and  Major  Frazier  was 
absent  at  Sandusky,  I  think  Major  Shannon  of  Ybungstown  was  com- 
mander of  the  forces  at  Avery.  Capt.  Joshua  T.  Cotton  of  Austintowh 
was  our  senior  officer.  Lieutenant  Ramsay  and  Lieutenant  Bartholemew 
of  Vienna  accompanied  the  party."  ;' 

The  "party"  referred  to  were  the  volunteers  who  went  to  reinforce 
the  men  who  had  gone  for  the  provisions.  They  started  on  the  evening 
Of  September  28th  and  reached  the  peninsula  shortly  after  sunrise. 
The  engagement— actually  two  separate  engagements— was  fought  with 
the3  Indians  that  day,  September  29,  181 2,  at  Ramsdale's  plantation, 
resulting  in  the  killing  of  six  militiamen  and  the.  wounding  of  ten,  but 
achieving  a  victory  nevertheless.  In  his  report  to  General  Wadsworth 
of  the  outcome  .of  the  battle,  General  Perkins  wrote:  - 

."To  the  Commander  at  Cleveland: 

~  "I  arrived  at  camp  last  evening,  and  found  that  the  engagement  on 
the  Peninsula  was  less  unfortunate  than  was  at  first  apprehended.  Our 
loss  is  six  killed  and  ten  wounded.  The  wounded  are  mostly  very  slight, 
and  none  I  think,  is  mortal. 

"The  names  of  the  killed  are,  James  S.  Bills,  Simon  Blackman, 
Daniel  Mingus,  Abraham  Simons,  Ramsdale,  Mason.*  Wounded  are 
Samuel  Mann,  Moses  Eldridge,  Jacob  French,  Samuel  W.  Tanner,  John 
Carlton,  John  McMahon,  Elias  Sperry,  James  Jack,  a  Mr.  Lee*  ah 
inhabitant  of  this  neighborhood,  etc.  Mr.  Ramsdale  also  of  this  vicinity. 
Knowing  the  anxiety  of  the  inhabitants  at  the  eastward,  1  detain  the 
"messenger  no  longer  than 'to /write  the  above.  ^ 

_'        'lL"j  SiIMON    PERKlks. 

*'P.  S. — Our  men  fought  well  and  the  Indians  suffered  very  cpnsfder- 
ably.  '  :\  ...    ■ . 

"Camp  at  Avery,  Huron  County,  October  3,  iJJi?.^ 

Abraham  Simon,  inferred  tb  in  the  list  of  killed,  was  from  Board- 
man  Township.  He  was  scalpeH  before  his  body  was  recovered,  this 
act  of  savagery  being  charged  up  against  Omick,  the  Ashtabula  County 
Indian,  whose  son,  Devil  Poc-Con,  had  been  hanged  at  Cleveland  three 
months  previously  for  the  murder  of  tw6  white  men.  The  "John  Mc- 
Mahon" referred  to  was  probably  John  McMahon,  or  McMahan,  of 
Jackson  Township,  although  his  name  has  been  confused  in  tradition  with 
"Joseph  McMahon,  slayer  of  Captain  George,  the  Indian,  at  the  salt  spring 
in  Weathersfield  Township  in  July,  1800.  This  odd  tangle  has  been 
explained  in  a  previous  chapter.  McMahon,  or  McMahan,  was  dis- 
charged for  physical  disability  following  his  injury  and  died,  or  was 
killed  by  the  Indians,  While  making  his  way  home  tfrrough  the  forests.  , 

*  Lieutenant  Ramsdell  sttid  Alexander  Mason.  ••--   -^  ;  ♦•- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY   -171 

On  September  5,  1812,  the  Federal  Government  called  for  100,000 
men  for  regular  army  service,  and  on  November  28th  General  Wadsworth 
notified  the  war  department  that  he  had  sent  three  regiments  under 
General  Perkins  to  report  to  General  William  Henry  Harrison,  com- 
mander of  the  American  forces  in  the  Northwest.  Having  successfully 
completed  the  organization  of  the  Fourth  Division,  placed  it  on  a  war 
footing,  and  turned  it  over  to  General  Harrison,  General  Wadsworth 
returned  home  on  November  28,  1812,  and  retired  on  December  20.  He 
was  at  that  time  sixty-five  years  of  age  and  a  Revolutionary  war  veteran, 
but  the  services  he  rendered  were  invaluable  despite  his  age. 

On  February  24,  181 3,  the  year's  enlistment  of  the  Ohio  troops 
expired  and  the  1,500  men  under  General  Perkins  were  mustered  out. 
Their  term  of  service  had  been  short  but  their  work  was  successful.  It 
was  the  rapid  and  willing  movement  of  Ohioans  and  Kentuekians  to 
Northwestern  Ohio  in  the  summer  of  1812  that  effectually  checked  any 
attempt  of  the  British  to  invade  the  Western  Reserve  or  Central  Ohio, 
or  to  send  their  savage  allies  on  such  a  mission.  Within  a  few  months, 
,m  fact,  all  danger  of  an  enemy  invasion  into  Ohio  was  definitely  ended 
with  the  magnificent  victory  at  Put-in-Bay  on  September  10,  1813,  when 
Oliver  Hazard  Perry  drove  the  British,  from  Lake  Erie,  and  the  crush- 
ing defeat  that  William  Henry  Harrison,  administered  to  the  British  and 
the  Indians  on  fhe  banks  of  the  Thames  Riv^r,  in  Upper  Canada,  on 
October  5,  1813.  Harrison's  victory  on  the  Thames,  Andrew  Jackson's 
victory  at  New  Orleans,  and  the  splendid  £tfid  daring  wprk  of  American 
seamen  on  the  lakes  and  on  the  ocean  were  the  outstanding  features 
of  the  entire  war.  ^  ; 

It  is  regrettable  that  a  complete  roster  of  Youngstown  and  Trumbull 
County  soldiers  in  the  War  of  1812  is  not  available,  but  such  lists  cannot 
be  obtained  since  the  records  at  Columbus  were  destroyed  and  tjiose 
at  Washington  were  burned  when  the  British  sacked  the  national  capitol 
building  in  1814.  Many  soldiers  from  this  neighborhood  remained  in 
the  service,  however,  after  their  original  enlistment  expired  in  February, 
1813,  and  some  were  with,  Harrison  at  the  Battle  of  the  Thames.  Colo- 
nel Hillman  is  credited  with  being  head  wagonmaster  under  General 
Harrison,  and  Rev.  Joseph  Badger  was  postmaster,  chaplain  aiyi-  nurse 
at  Camp  Avery.  Col.  John  S.  Edwards  died. of  fever  in  February, 
181 3,  while  returning  from  the  Northwest.  He  had  been  elected  to 
Congress  but  a  few  months  previously,  being  the  first  resident  of  the 
Western  Reserve  to  attain  this  honor. 

The  sole  available  record  appears  to  be  a  return  of  the  draft  from 
the  First  Regiment,  Third  Brigade,  Fourth  Division,  made  by  Colonel 
Rayen  on  September  5,  181 2,  a$  follows: 

First  Company 

"commissioned  officers 

Captain  Joshua  T.  Cotton. 

Lieutenant  George  Monteith.  - 

Ensign  Jacob  Erwin. 


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172       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

NON-COMMISSIONED  OFFICERS 

Sergeant  John  Cotton. 
Sergeant  John  Myers. 
Sergeant  George  Wintermute. 
Sergeant  Abraham  Wintermute. 
Corporal  John  Carlton. 
Corporal  Boardwin   Robins.     v 
Corporal  John  Russell. 
Corporal  Jesse  Graham. 

PRIVATES 

Henry  Peter,  Daniel  Shatto,  James  Crooks,  Matthew  Guy,  John 
McCollum,  Henry  Bronstetter,  Robert  Kerr,  Henry  Crum,  Nicholas 
Vinnemons,  William  McCreary,  Joseph  Osborn,  Adam  Swazer,  Henry 
Thorn,  John  Parkhurst,  Samuel  White,  Seneca  Carver,  Jacob  Hull,  John 
White,  John  Musgrove,  George  Smith,  John  Hayes,  Thomas  McCreary, 
John  McLaughlin,  Michael  Storm,  John  Truesdale,  Francis  Harvey, 
Anthony  Whitterstay,  Thomas  Cummins,  Jacob  Parkhurst,  Isaac  Park- 
hurst, Samuel  Calhoun,  George  Gilbert,  Abraham  Simon,  Thomas  Craft, 
Archibald  Maurice,  James  Fitch,  Henry  Foose,  Abraham  Leach,  Daniel 
Stewart,  Joseph  Carter,  Isaac  Fisher,  Jacob  Powers,  Thomas  Irwin, 
William  Munn,  Nathan  Ague,  Philip  Kimmel,  Abraham  Hoover,  Ben- 
jamin Roll,  John  McMahon. 

Second  Company 

commissioned  officers 

Captain  Samuel  Dennison. 
Lieutenant  David  A.  Adams. 
Ensign  William  Swan. 

NON-COM  MISSIONED  OFFICERS 

Sergeant  Amos  Gray. 
Sergeant  William  Carlton. 
Corporal  James  Walton. 
Corporal  Robert  Stewart. 
Corporal  Matthew  I.  Scott. 
Corporal  David  Ramsay. 

PRIVATES 

John  Dunwoody,  Ephraim  Armitage,  Samuel  Ferguson,  Conrad  Mil- 
ler, Jacob  Feight,  Sr.,  Jacob  Oswalt,  James  Eckman,  Andrew  Boyd, 
John  Moore,  David  Kays,  John  Day,  Robert  Walker,  Thomas  Wilson, 
John  Tulley,  James  Lynn,  William  Crawford,  David  Wrilson,  David 
McConnell,  David  McClellan,  Isaac  Lyon,  Samuel  Mann,  John  Mc- 
Murry,  William  McMurry,  William  Bell,  John  Nelson,  Peter  Carlton, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       173 

Jacob  Feight,  Jr.,  David  Stewart,  Joseph  Baggs,  William  McKnight, 
Thomas  Fowler,  Sampson  Moore,  John  Poynes,  Jacob  Bradon,  Daniel 
Augustine,  John  Polly,  John  Yost. 

Third  Company 

commissioned  officers 

Captain  Warren  Bissell. 
Lieutenant  Alexander  Rayen. 
Ensign  Nicholas  McConnell. 

NON-COMMISSIONED  OFFICERS 

Sergeant  A.  Stilson. 
Sergeant  Asa  Baldwin. 
Sergeant  Parkus  Woodrough. 
Sergeant  Simon  Stall. 
Corporal  William  Hamilton. 
Corporal  Jacob  Dice. 
Corporal  Emanuel  Hull. 
Corporal  Isaac  Blackman. 

PRIVATES 

David  Noble,  Aaron  Dawson,  David  Conizer,  Henry  Rumbel,  John 
Riddle,  James  Moody,  Joseph  Mearchant,  John  Buchannan,  John  Dick- 
son, John  Moore,  Joseph  McGill,  Philip  McConnell,  Richard  McConnell, 
Robert  Goucher,  Thomas  Combs,  William  Buchannan,  William  Reed, 
William  Shields,  Alexander  Craze,  David  McCombs,  George  Mocker- 
man,  John  Dowler,  Josiah  Beardsley,  John  Murphy,  Josiah  Walker, 
John  Earl,  John  Ross,  John  Cowden,  John  Brothers,  Robert  McGill, 
Reynolds  Cowden,  Samuel  Love,  William  McGill,  Walter  Buchannan, 
William  Cowden,  John  Zedaker,  William  Frankle. 

Captain  Hine's  Company 

commissioned  officers 

Captain  Homer  Hine. 
Lieutenant  Edmund  P.  Tanner, 
Ensign  Thomas  McCain. 

NON-COMMISSIONED  OFFICERS 

Sergeant  Julius  Tanner. 
Sergeant  Silas  Johnson. 
Sergeant  Daniel  Fitch. 
Sergeant  John  Hutson. 
Corporal  Christopher  Rasor. 
Corporal  Joseph  Bruce. 
Corporal  John  McMullen. 


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174       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

PRIVATES 

Henry  McKinney,  John  Turner,  John  Young,  John  Chubb,  James 
McDonald,  Jacob  Shook,  Samuel  Green,  Conrad  Osborn,  Benjamin 
Manchester,  William  Thomas,  William  Leonard,  John  Hill.  William 
Steel,  Robert  McCreary,  Nicholas  Leonard,  Henry  Ripley,  James  Moore, 
George  Leonard,  Robert  Cain,  Henry  Boyd,  William  McKinney,  George 
Hester,  Henry  Hock,  James  Saseton,  James  Pollock,  John  McConnell, 
Arthur  Anderson,  Elijah  Stevenson,  Henry  Stump,  John  McColly, 
Francis  Henry,  John  McKee,  James  Jack,  Garrett  Packard. 

This,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  is  not  a  complete  roster  of  the  men  from 
the  Mahoning  Valley  who  served  in  the  1812-13  campaign  or  at  a  later 
date.  There  are,  however,  many  familiar  names  in  the  above  lists, 
while  other  names  are  scarcely  recognizable  because  of  manifest  mis- 
spelling. Of  the  six  men  killed  in  the  Peninsula  battle,  two,  Abraham 
Simon  and  Samuel  Mann,  are  recorded  in  the  above  companies,  also 
three  of  the  ten  wounded,  John  Carlton,  John  McMahon  and  James  Jack. 

The  loss  of  the  county  seat  and  the  demoralization  caused  by  the 
war,  that  summoned  so  many  of  the  able-bodied  men  from  home  and 
left  those  at  home  living  under  a  nervous  strain,  were  not  the  only 
adverse  circumstances  that  impeded  the  growth  of  Youngstown  in  the 
first  fifteen  or  twenty  years  of  its  existence.  There  were  other,  and 
varied,  obstacles.  Yet  in  spite  of  reverses  the  faith  of  the  early  settlers 
in  their  new  home  was  never  dispelled. 

As  early  as  1803  a  start  was  made  in  an  industry  that  was  destined 
to  become  the  very  backbone  of  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  Ma- 
honing Valley,  although  Mahoning  Valley  residents,  who  leaned  toward 
agriculture  did  not  realize  this.  On  August  31,  1803,  Daniel  and  James 
Eaton  (originally  Heaton)  contracted  for  rights  to  dig  coal  and  make 
charcoal  iron  on  the  banks  of  Yellow  Creek  in  Poland  Township,  and 
began  there  the  erection  of  a  diminutive  iron  furnace.  Construction 
was  begun  probably  in  the  same  year  the  contract  was  made  and  the 
blast  furnace  was  completed  in  1804.  The  iron  ore  found  along  Yellow 
Creek  was  used  for  raw  material  and  the  timber  in  the  surrounding 
forest  was  converted  into  charcoal.  For  the  blast,  according  to  an  early 
description,  "A  square  box  was  placed  upright  in  a  cistern  of  water 
communicating  with  a  drain;  the  upper  end  was  placed  in  communica- 
tion by  a  long  pipe  with  a  dam  of  water,  another  pipe  extending  from 
the  side  of  the  upright  box  into  the  blast  stack." 

This  pioneer  stack  was  bravely  named  the  "Hopewell/'  but  was 
hardly  faithful  to  its  name.  In  1806  it  met  with  competition  when  John 
Struthers  and  Robert  Montgomery  constructed  a  second  furnace  on 
Yellow  Creek,  a  short  distance  below  Eaton's  stack.  This  was  equipped 
with  a  blast  made  of  fans  driven  by  water  wheels  and  was  much  more 
satisfactory  than  the  Eaton  primitive  stack.  In  1807  Montgomery, 
James  Mackey,  David  Clendennen  and  Robert  Alexander  purchased  the 
Hopewell  furnace  and  all  ore  and  other  rights  from  Eaton,  who  held 
these  from  Turhand  Kirtland.  That  it  was  the  ore,  water  power  and 
timber  that  they  wanted  rather  than  the  pioneer  furnace  is  evident  from 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       175 

the  fadt  that  they  shut  down*.  th6  Hfcpewell  stack.  The  Montgomery 
furnace  was  operated  until  r8l2  when  the  furnace  h^nds  were  called 
to,  war,..  J t  was  never  put  in  blast  again.  -While"  the  Montgomery 
furnace  had  ampacity  of  but  two  and  one^half  to  three  tons  per  day 
and  ihe  Hopewett  furnace  probably  less,  to  the  Eatons,  Struthers,  Mont- 
gomery,. Mackey,1*  Alexander  and  Clendennen  may  be  properly  credited, 
nevertheless*  the  .beginning  of  the  great  iron  and  steel  industry  of  the 
Mahoning  Valley-. :.  :c 

.New  settlers  came  to  Trumbull  County  and  the  Western  ReservS 
with  a  fair  degree  of  rapidity  in  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  biit  Youngstown  of  course  held  only  a  percentage  of  these  as 
permanent-residents.  They  were  farmers  as  ax  whole,  these  pioneers, 
and  bettfecTon  their  scattered  acres,  Warren  getting  whatever  advantage 
accruecf}from  being  the  county  capital.  Among  those  who  are  recorded 
as  settling  in  Youngstown  between  1803  and  1810  are  Nicholas  Osborne 
and  children — including  married  sons  and  their  families — William  Wier 
and  family  and  the  McKinney  family  in  1804,  Benjamn  and  Rebeccah 
Holland  in  1806,  John  E.  Woodbridge  and  wife  in  1807,  James  and 
Hannah  Price  in.  1809.  Another  resident  of  Youngstown  from  1805 
to  1 816  was.  Jesse  R.  Grant,  then  a  mere  boy.  Left  motherless  in  the 
former  year,  his  father  placed  him  in*  the  care  of  Judge  George  Tod 
and  wife  with  whom  he  remained  until  able  to  strike  out  for  himself 
in  the  world.  Jesse  Grant  was  the  father  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  Civil 
war  commander-in-chief  and  president  of  the  United  States,  who  was 
born  in  Clermont  County,  Ohio,  in  1822. 

This,  of  course,  is  only  a  partial  list  of  the  new  settlers  of  that  era. 
In  1810  Youngstown  Township  had  attained  a  population  of  773.  War- 
ren led  the  list  of  Trumbull  County  townships  with  875  inhabitants, 
while  Poland  was  larger  than  Youngstown,  having  a  population  of 
837.  Cleveland  was  the  seventh  settlement  of  the  county  in  size  at  that 
time,  having  but  547  inhabitants.  At  the  presidential  election  of  1812, 
however,  Youngstown  cast  76  votes,  Warren  71  and  Poland  52. 

Jared  Potter  Kirtland  in  describing  Youngstown  in  1810  says  that 
it  was,  "A  sparsely  settled  village  of  one  street,  the  houses  mostly 
log  structures,  a  few  frame  buildings  excepted;  of  the  latter  character 
was  the  dwelling  house  and  store  of  Colonel  Rayen."  Dr.  Henry  Man- 
ning, who  came  to  Youngstown  in  181 1,  describes  "Colonel  Rayen's 
tavern"  in  that  year  as  "A  two-story,  white  house,  shingled  on  the  sides 
instead  of  weather-boarding.  There  was  a  log  house  attached  to  it  on 
the  north,  and  a  kitchen  at  the  back  built  of  round  logs.  Between  the. 
log  and  the  frame  part  was  a  wide  hall,  open  at  both  ends,  and  wooden 
benches  on  the  side  for  loungers/'  Not  a  iriansion,  perhaps,  as  we 
judge  homes  and  hotels  today,  yet  so  noticeably  superior  to  the  average. 
Youngstown  building  at  that  time  that  it  attracted  instant  attention 
And  in  a  day  when  diversions  for  men  were*  largely  confined  to  con- 
versation concerning  crops  and  politics  and  debates  dn  the  state  of  the 
nation  it  may  be  accepted  as  a  fact  that  the  "loungers"  "  benches  were 
pretty  well  filled  in  the  evenings  and  at  odd  hours  of  the  day. 
!%Wet  summer's  in  the  .years  181b,  181 1  and  1812  discouraged  many' 


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176       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

settlers  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  as  the  excessive  moisture  resulted  in 
poor  crops.  The  war  demoralized  industry  and  ended  the  pioneer  at- 
tempts at  manufacturing.  Money  was  scarce,  even  after  hostilities  had 
ceased  in  1815  and  "shinplasters"  or  common  barter  had  to  suffice. 
Actual  "hard"  money  was  unknown  to  many  of  the  villagers.  About 
1818,  however,  there  was  a  revival  of  immigration  from  Connecticut 
from  which  Youngstown  benefited  along  with  the  remainder  of  the 
Western  Reserve.  The  famed  cold  summer  of  1816  followed  by  scarcely 
more  favorable  growing  weather  in  New  England  in  the  two  succeeding 


Youngstown  in  1830 

Drawn  from  a  description  about  fifty  years  ago  and  printed  in  a  Youngs- 
town Newspaper  about  1880.  This  view  shows  West  Federal  Street  from 
Central  Square  to  Spring  Common.  The  pond  in  the  foreground  was 
located  on  the  north  side  of  the  Square.  The  large  building  nearby  was 
erected  by  James  McCay  in  1829  and  was  used  for  a  short  time  as  a  gen- 
eral store  and  later  as  a  tavern. 

years  directed  the  attention  westward  once  more  and  wagon  trains  from 
Connecticut  began  to  come  with  regularity.  In  1818  the  first  complete 
school  organization  in  the  village  was  effected  by  agreement  between 
Jabez  P.  Manning  and  subscribers — or  parents  of  pupils — Manning  be- 
ing the  teacher  at  the  school  on  the  "Diamond."  There  were  several 
other  schools  scattered  throughout  the  township  at  this  time,  but  Poland 
probably  had  better  school  facilities  than  Youngstown.  Eight  years 
later,  in  1826,  Youngstown  was  divided  into  seven  school  districts  and 
an  earnest  attempt  was  made  to  promote  education.  About  this  time, 
too,  in  1818  or  1819,  the  county  fair  first  began  to  be  held  at  Youngs- 
town, a  county  fair  association  being  regularly  organized.  As  farming 
was  the  mainstay  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  these  annual  gatherings  were 
affairs  of  note.     The  township,  in  fact,  had  prospered  in  the  two  or 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       177 

three  years  prior  to  1820,  for  the  census  of  that  year  gave  Youngstown 
Township  a  population  of  1,025. 

In  1826  another  attempt  was  made  to  revive  manufacturing  in  the 
Mahoning  Valley  when  a  blast  furnace  was  built  on  Mill  Creek  by 
Daniel  Eaton,  James  Eaton  and  other  members  of  the  Eaton  family. 
This  was  the  first  iron  manufacturing  plant  in  Youngstown  Township 
proper,  and,  like  its  predecessors  in  Poland  Township,  it  was  a  charcoal 
furnace.  Twenty  years  later  the  Mill  Creek  stack  was  rebuilt  to  use 
bituminous  coal,  but  about  the  same  time  another  stack,  also  equipped 
to  use  bituminous  coal  as  fuel  and  having  better  transportation  facilities, 
was  built  at  Brier  Hill,  and  the  Mill  Creek  furnace  went  out  of  exist- 
ence.   This  latter  was  located  within  what  is  now  Mill  Creek  Park. 

The  question  of  transportation,  had,  in  fact,  begun  to  become  a  very 
live  one  even  in  the  '20s,  Youngstown  people  and  other  residents  of  the 
Mahoning  Valley  beginning  to  realize  that  any  great  growth  was  de- 
pendent upon  manufacturing,  and  manufacturing  was  dependent  upon 
good  transportation  and  cheap  transportation.  Not  that  transportation 
had  been  neglected  before  this  time.  The  Connecticut  Land  Company 
provided  for  the  opening  of  the  roads  in  the  Western  Reserve  even 
before  its  settlement  was  begun,  and  in  the  first  year  of  the  existence 
of  Youngstown  a  road  was  laid  out  from  the  Mahoning  Valley  to  Lake 
Erie.  For  almost  twenty  years  wagon  roads  of  this  kind  were  per- 
fectly satisfactory  but  with  the  growth  of  the  State  better  facilities  for 
commercial  intercourse  became  necessary,  and  as  this  was  an  era  of 
canals  thoughts  were  naturally  directed,  toward  inland  waterways.  As 
early  as  1817  the  project  of  connecting  the  Ohio  River  with  Lake  Erie 
by  an  artificial  waterway  was  discussed  and  in  1820  a  state  board  of 
canal  commissioners  was  named.  It  was  1825,  however,  before  an  act 
was  passed  that  resulted  in  the  building  of  the  first  cross-state  canal, 
and  this  waterway  did  not  take  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  following  in- 
stead the  Cuyahoga  River-Tuscarawas  River  route  from  -Cleveland, 
through  Akron  and  thence  southward  to  the  Ohio  River. 

The  beneficial  results  of  this  waterway  were  plainly  apparent.  Cleve- 
land, that  had  lagged  behind  Youngstown  and  Warren  in  population 
for  thirty  years,  grew  rapidly  to  a  city  of  more  than  6,000  inhabitants 
while  Mahoning  Valley  towns  increased  but  little  in  size.  A  project 
for  a  lake-to-river  canal  by  way  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  that  had  been 
discussed  as  early  as  1822  was  immediately  revived. 

Attention  was  diverted  momentarily  from  this  proposed  improvement 
by  a  proposal  for  a  railroad  from  the  lake  to  the  river,  a  project  that 
was  advanced  as  early  as  1827.  A  charter  was  actually  secured  for  this 
line,  which  was  to  run  from  Ashtabula  County  to  Columbiana  County, 
and  the  capital  of  the  company  was  fixed  at  $1,000,000.  It  was  a  vainly 
ambitious  scheme,  however,  and  failed  even  before  it  was  fairly  under 
way.  This  was  an  Ashtabula  County  plan  and  interested  Mahoning 
Valley  residents  but  little. 

The  Mahoning  Valley  canal  project  had  its  ups  and  downs.  A  char- 
ter was  secured  in  Ohio  in  January,  1827,  and  in  Pennsylvania  in  April 
of  the  same  year,  but  political  uncertainty  thwarted  any  attempts  at 


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178       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

actual  work  each  time  the  movement  was  revived.  The  canal  company 
was  finally  organized  in  1835  but  the  panic  of  1836-37  prevented  what 
might  have  been  a  favorable  start  at  that  time;  the  same  business  de- 
pression also  causing  the  suspension  of  work  on  a  second  projected 
railroad  known  as  the  Ashtabula,  Warren  and  East  Liverpool  line.  This 
movement,  like  that  of  its  predecessor,  was  backed  by  Ashtabula  County 
capital. 

Finally  in  1838  business  conditions  had  improved  sufficiently  to  per- 
mit the  canal  project  to  become  a  reality.  Work  was  begun  that  year 
on  the  Pennsylvania  &  Ohio  canal  that  was  to  extend  from  the  Ohio 
River  by  way  of  Beaver  Creek  up  the  Mahoning  Valley  to  Warren  and 
thence  to  Akron  where  a  connection  was  to  be  made  with  the  Ohio  canal, 
giving  a  direct  waterway  from  Pittsburgh  to  Cleveland  by  way  of 
Youngstown. 

In  May,  1839,  the  canal  was  completed  from  its  southern  terminus 
to  Warren,  and  on  May  23d  a  general  holiday  was  declared  in  the  Ma- 
honing Valley  when  the  first  boat  reached  the  northern  terminus  of 
the  canal.    A  newspaper  account  of  the  celebration  says : 

"On  Thursday  last,  May  23d,  our  citizens  were  greeted  with  the 
arrival  of  the  boat  from  Beaver.  The  packet  Ontario,  Captain  Bronson 
in  charge,  came  into  town  in  gallant  style,  amid  the  roar  of  cannon  and 
the  shouts  and  hearty  cheers  of  our  citizens.  The  boat  was  crowded 
by  gentlemen  from  Pennsylvania  and  along  the  line,  and  accompanied 
by  four  excellent  bands  of  music.  On  arriving  at  the  foot  of  Main 
Street  they  were  greeted  by  the- Warren  band,  and  a  procession  formed 
which  marched  through  the  square  to  the  front  of  Townes*  hotel,  where 
a  neat  and  appropriate  address  was  made  to  the  passengers  by  John 
Crowell,  Esq.,  mayor  of  the  town,  giving  them  a  hearty  welcome  in  the 
name  of  the  town  authorities  and  citizens,  which  was  responded  to  by 
B.  B.  Chamberlain  of  Brighton.  The  rest  of  the  day  was  past  in 
hilarity,  and  on  Friday  the  boat  left  for  Beaver,  carrying  about  forty 
citizens  of  Youngstown,  who  were  delighted  with  the  excursion." 

The  Western  Reserve  Chronicle  of  May  28  reports  the  celebration 
fully  andj  freely.  The  "hilarity"  may  have  been  due  to  the  fact  that 
"wine  flowed  freely  and  spirited  music  was  rendered  by  the  band." 

In  the  afternoon  a  banquet  was  served  at  which  Gen.  J.  W;  Seely 
presided  as  toastmaster.    The  toasts  responded  to  were: 

"Pennsylvania  and  Ohio." 

"The  Pennsylvania  &  Ohio  canal." 

"The  Pennsylvania  &  Ohio  Canal  Company." 

"The  officers  of  the  canal  company." 

"The  engineers  corps  of  the  Pennsylvania  &  Ohio  Canal." 

"The  packet  Ontario." 

"The  owners  and  captain  of  the  packet." 

"The  Village  of  Warren." 

General  Crowell  offered  another  toast  to  the  memory  of  Gen.  Abner 
Lacock,  the  first  president  of  the  canal  company;  David  Tod  offered 
one  to  the  memory  of  Gen.  Roswell  Stone  and  as  a  final  breathtaker 
a  toast  was  proposed  to  "The  Triple  Union — The  Rivers  of  the  South 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       179 

with  the  Lakes  of  the  North ;  the  Cuyahoga  with  the  Big  Beaver ;  West- 
ern Pennsylvania  with  Eastern  Ohio;  by  the  cross-cut  canal,  through 
Warren,  the  center  of  the  Union.,, 

The  canal  was  completed  to  Akron  late  in  1839  and  there  was  another 
jollification  to  signalize  this  event. 

It  was  a  small  undertaking,  this  canal,  judged  by  twentieth  century 
standards,  and  yet  an  immense  one  for  that  day.  But  two  years  before 
the  first  steam  engine  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River  had  been  given  its 
experimental  run  up  near  Toledo,  almost  ten  years  were  to  pass  before 
a  steam  railroad  traversed  Ohio  from  northern  to  southern  boundary, 
and  it  was  not  until  fourteen  years  later  that  construction  of  the  first 
railroad  was  begun  in  the  Mahoning  Valley. 


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CHAPTER  XI 

YOUNGSTOWN  FROM  1840  TO  1865 

The  Growth  and  Decline  of  the  Pennsylvania  &  Ohio  Canal — 
The  Third  County  Seat  War  and  the  Creation  of  Mahoning 
County — The  Beginning  of  Youngstown  as  a  Manufacturing 
Center — The  First  Railroad — Youngstown  in  Civil  War  Days. 

t 
The  year  1840  might  be  said  to  be  the  beginning  of  a  turning  point 
in  Youngstown's  history.  Almost  a  half  century  had  now  elapsed  since 
the  founding  of  the  settlement  and  the  coming  of  the  white  man  to 
Youngstown  Township.  The  earlier  settlers  who  had  come  here  as 
youthful,  vigorous  and  ambitious  men  and  women  had  grown  to  old 
age  and  had  passed  away  or  were  living  in  quiet  retirement.  Others 
who  had  come  as  mere  children  were  approaching  the  age  of  inactivity. 
The  first  born  of  Youngstown  natives  were  nearing  middle  life. 

Youngstown,  in  short,  had  attained  a  ripe  age,  and  yet  it  was  but 
a  drowsy  village  of  less  than  one  thousand  inhabitants;  the  township 
numbered  less  than  two  thousand  residents  all  told.  Gradually  the 
adjoining  townships  that  had  been  included  at  first  in  the  civil  township 
of  Youngstown  for  governmental  purposes  were  organized  separately, 
and  the  civil  township  of  Youngstown  became  identical  with  the  sur- 
veyed township  that  John  Young  had  bought.  Yet  in  1840  the  Village 
of  Youngstown  was  merely  the  center  of  the  township,  and  not  a  sepa- 
rately incorporated  municipality.  We  may  be  assured  there  had  been 
sentiment  before  this  date  looking  toward  incorporation,  for  small  Ameri- 
can municipalities  always  take  a  pride  in  forming  themselves  into  regu- 
larly organized  villages  or  towns.  Yet  no  serious  movement  in  this 
direction  had  been  undertaken,  although  separate  school  districts  had 
been  organized  in  the  township  many  years  before. 

In  the  '40s,  however,  circumstances  awakened  Youngstown  to  a  re- 
alization of  its  possibilities.  Transportation  other  than  that  possible 
on  the  rude  wagon  roads  of  the  pioneers  had  at  least  become  a  reality. 
A  dozen  years  before,  as  has  been  remarked,  a  railroad  to  connect 
Youngstown  with  the  outer  world  had  been  discussed  but  necessarily 
this  was  a  vain  ambition,  for  railroad  transportation  was  itself  scarcely 
more  than  an  experiment  at  that  time.  The  opening  of  the  Pennsylvania 
&  Ohio  canal  in  1839-40  was  the  event  that  gave  a  medium  for  making 
Youngstown  something  more  than  an  inland  village  and  paved  the  way 
for  the  development  of  the  entire  Mahoning  Valley.  It  was  the  first 
step  toward  transforming  this  district  from  an  agricultural  into  a  manu- 
facturing region,  a  movement  that  has  been  going  on  without  cessation 
since  that  time. 

180 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       181 

As  early  as  1803,  as  we  have  seen,  attempts  had  been  made  to  man- 
ufacture iron  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  Successive  works  were  built 
along  Yellow  Creek  and  along  the  Mahoning  River  in  Weathersfield 
Township,  and  in  1826  the  first  blast  furnace  was  built  on  Mill  Creek. 
The  pig  iron  produced  by  these  stacks  was  used  for  foundry  and  domestic 
purposes  and  was  largely  for  home  consumption.  In  the  same  manner 
coal  had  been  mined  in  limited  quantities  for  a  number  of  years,  but 
coal  mining  was  not  looked  upon  as  a  commercial  proposition  until 
the  late  '30s. 

With  the  completion  of  the  canal,  however,  an  era  of  coal  mining 
set  in.  David  Tod,  then  a  young  man  scarcely  more  than  thirty-five 
years  of  age,  saw  the  possibilities  in  the  valley's  coal  supply  and  opened 
a  mine  on  his  farm  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  township.  This 
land  lay  on  a  hillside  sloping  toward  the  river  and  because  of  the  pro- 
fusion of  briers  that  it  supported  the  farm  had  been  named  "Brier  Hill." 
The  coal  from  this  mine  was  tested  for  its  qualifications  as  an  engine 
fuel  and,  being  found  satisfactory,  an  extensive  traffic  in  Brier  Hill  coal 
began,  early  shipments  being  made  to  Cleveland  by  way  of  the  canal. 

This  coal  soon  attained  such  an  envious  reputation  that  experiments 
were  begun  looking  toward  its  use  as  a  blast  furnace  fuel.  Previous 
to  this  iron  making  had  been  carried  on  largely  under  the  charcoal 
process,  an  expensive  and  not  altogether  satisfactory  method.  Coke 
had  been  substituted,  but  about  1842  Brier  Hill  block  coal  was  found  to 
be  an  excellent  fuel,  and  in  1844  Wilkes,  Wilkinson  &  Co.,  of  Pitts- 
burgh, built  a  blast  furnace  at  Lowellville  for  the  manufacture  of  pig 
iron  with  the  use  of  this  bituminous  coal.  This  site  was  selected  be- 
cause of  its  proximity  to  the  limestone  supply  of  the  lower  Mahoning 
Valley.  In  1846  or  thereabouts  the  "Eagle"  furnace  was  built  north- 
west of  the  Village  of  Youngstown  and  almost  on  the  line  of  the  cor- 
poration limits  established  shortly  afterward.  The  stack  was  erected 
on  land  purchased  from  Dr.  Henry  Manning  and  remained  in  existence 
until  the  early  '8os,  when  it  had  become  obsolete  and  was  abandoned. 
The  furnace  site  was  taken  over  by  Heller  Bros.  Co.,  as  a  location  for 
their  lumber  yard. 

Like  the  Lowellville  stack,  the  Eagle  furnace  used  raw  block  coal 
instead  of  coke.  This  successful  and  continued  use  of  coal  as  blast 
furnace  fuel  is  unique  in  the  history  of  the  iron  industry,  Brier  Hill 
coal  being  the  first  fuel  of  this  kind  ever  mined  that  answered  blast 
furnace  purposes  without  being  coked,  or  mixed  with  charcoal  or  coke. 

About  1847  James  Wood  &  Co.  built  a  second  furnace  in  the  Brier 
Hill  neighborhood,  the  coal  from  this  stack  coming  also  from  the  Brier 
Hill  mines.  Limestone  that  is  yet  found  in  plentiful  quantities  below 
Lowellville  was  transported  to  Brier  Hill  by  canal  boat  and  native 
"black  band"  ore  was  the  original  basis  for  the  high  grade  iron  pro- 
duced. It  was  not  until  shortly  before  the  Civil  war  that  Lake  Superior 
ores  came  into  use  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  The  Wood  stack  was  pur- 
chased in  1861  by  David  Tod  and  later  became  the  Tod  furnace  of  the 
Brier  Hill  Iron  &  Coal  Co.  It  was,  it  might  be  said,  the  nucleus  of  the 
present  great  plant  of  the  Brier  Hill  Steel  Co.,  a  modern  industrial  estab- 


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182       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

lishment  that  is  complete  from  ore  mines  to  machinery  for  loading  fin- 
ished iron  and  steel. 

Meanwhile  the  mining  of  coal  was  being  engaged  in  on  a  larger 
scale.  The  '50s  saw  the  opening  of  numerous  banks  and  the  period 
after  the  Civil  war  witnessed  even  greater  activity.  Iron  manufacturing, 
too,  expanded.  In  1841  James  Ward  erected  at  Niles  the  first  finishing 
mill  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  or,  indeed,  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  Its 
equipment  consisted  of  puddle  furnaces  and  finishing  mills,  and  its 
product,  of  course,  was  bar  iron.  Five  years  later  the  first  plant  of  a 
similar  nature  was  erected  at  Youngstown.  Originally  this  latter  works, 
built  to  manufacture  bar  iron  and  sheets  from  puddled  iron,  was  the 
property  of  the  Youngstown  Iron  Co.,  the  stockholders  of  this  concern 
at  the  time  of  its  incorporation  in  1846  being  Henry  Manning,  William 
Rice,  Henry  Heasley,  Hugh  B.  Wick,  Henry  Wick,  Caleb  B.  Wick, 
Paul  Wick,  James  Dangerfield,  Harvey  Fuller,  Robert  W.  Tayler,  Isaac 
Powers  and  James  McEwen.  In  1854  it  became  the  property  of  Joseph 
H.  Brown,  William  Bonnell,  Richard  Brown  and  Thomas  Brown,  New 
Castle  men,  who  reorganized  the  company  and  .gave  it  the  name  of 
Brown,  Bonnell  &  Co.  This  pioneer  industry  of  the  village  grew  rapidly, 
and  with  the  addition  of  the  Phoenix  and  Falcon  blast  furnaces,  became 
a  complete  rolling  mill  plant,  manufacturing  its  own  pig  iron  and  semi- 
finished iron  as  well  as  the  finished  product.  The  blast  furnaces  at 
this  plant  passed  out  of  existence  many  years  ago.  The  puddling  mills 
too,  were  eventually  abandoned,  but  under  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Co. 
ownership  the  Brown-Bonnell  works  has  expanded  into  one  of  the  large 
finishing  mill  plants  of  the  country.  The  present  Bessemer  plant  of  the 
same  company  is  built  partly  on  the  site  of  the  old  Phoenix  and  Falcon 
furnaces. 

This  transformation  of  Youngstown  from  a  farming  to  a  manu- 
facturing center  started  at  a  time  when  the  entire  country  was  beginning 
to  awaken  to  the  possibilities  of  manufacturing  and  then,  as  now,  politi- 
cal circumstances  had  much  to  do  with  the  success  of  industrial  ventures. 
Industrial  projects,  like  the  canal  and  railroad  ventures  of  the  Ma- 
honing Valley  suffered  from  the  depression  of  1837  that  followed  the 
gradual  reduction  in  the  protective  tariff.  The  tariff  act  of  1842  re- 
vived manufacturing  and  for  several  years  there  was  industrial  activity, 
but  the  tariff  walls  were  again  lowered,  the  ultimate  consequence  being 
the  panic  of  1857.  Youngstown's  young  industries  were  hit  hard  by  this 
unfavorable  circumstance,  but  they  weathered  the  storm  and  grew  in 
importance  with  the  demand  for  iron  that  came  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  war. 

The  part  that  the  Pennsylvania  &  Ohio  canal  played  in  laying  the 
foundation  for  industrial  Youngstown  is  one  that  should  never  be  for- 
gotten. Its  years  were  comparatively  few,  for  even  while  it  was  in  the 
process  of  construction  the  building  of  a  steam  railroad  was  discussed 
and  was  a  certainty  of  the  near  future.  Yet  for  fifteen  years  it  sufficed 
as  the  one  medium  of  freight  transportation  in  and  out  of  Youngstown 
and  for  an  equal  length  of  time  thereafter  it  was  a  humble  auxiliary  to 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       183 

the  railroads.    To  the  Mahoning  Valley  people  of  the  '40s  and  the  '50s 
it  was  a  source  of  pride  and  a  marvel  of  enterprise. 

From  Pennsylvania  the  canal  followed  the  north  bank  of  the  Ma- 
honing River  through  the  villages  of  Lowellville  and  Struthers,  on 
through  Youngstown  and  thence  to  Girard,  Niles,  Warren  and  above, 
then  digressing  from  the  river  valley  to  unite  at  Akron  with  the  Ohio 
&  Erie  canal  that  gave  it  an  outlet  to  Lake  Erie.  In  its  lower  reaches 
the  canal  paralleled  the  river  closely,  but  through  Youngstown  it 
followed  a  comparatively  straight  route,  sometimes  being  within  a 
short  distance  of  this  natural  waterway  and  again  a  considerable  distance 
removed,  owing  to  the  winding  course  followed  by  the  river.  The  fall  in 
the  canal  was  necessarily  slight  so  that  within  the  present  limits  of  the 


Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  Canal  Scene  at  Spring  Common  Bridge 

city  there  were  but  two  locks,  one  of  these  being  near  the  present  site 
of  the  Haselion  furnaces  and  the  xither  .about  where  the  Lower  Union 
plant  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Co.  is  located. 

The  motive  power,  of  course,  was  horses  and  mules,  and  the  progress 
of  the  boats  was  slow,  but  this  was  an  age  of  leisure.  Limestone  from 
the  lower  Mahoning  Valley  to  the  Youngstown  furnaces,  coal  to  Cleve- 
land, pig  iron  and  iron  ore  comprised  the  bulk  of  its  traffic,  although 
glass,  wheat,  merchandise  and  many  other  articles  of  commerce  were 
carried.  At  intervals  this  artificial  waterway  broadened  out  into  wide 
"basins"  where  the  canal  boats  were  turned  and  freight  loaded  and  un- 
loaded. These  basins  were  hives  of  industry,  or  at  least  they  appeared 
so  to  Youngstown  people  of  the  '40s  and  the  '50s.  One  such  basin  was 
located  at  the  lower  end  of  the  village  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  present 
Bessemer  plant  of  the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Co.  and  at  the  end  of  Basin 
Street,  which  thoroughfare  takes  its  name  from  this  circumstance.   Here 


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184       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

the  Jacobs'  warehouse  stood.  Another  basin  was  located  just  west  of 
Spring  Common,  the  warehouse  here  being  originally  conducted  by 
Thomas  H.  Wells,  although  it  changed  management  a  number  of  times. 
A  third  basin  was  located  almost  in  the  heart  of  the  village,  or  in  the 
"flats"  almost  beneath  the  present  Market  Street  viaduct,  the  site  now 
being  occupied  by  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad  tracks  and  the  offices  of 
the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Co.  The  warehouse  at  this  latter  basin,  which 
also  changed  ownership  several  times,  stood  until  a  comparatively  recent 
date.  With  the  abandonment  of  the  canal  it  became  a  woolen  factory 
and  at  a  still  later  date  was  converted  into  a  station  for  the  railroad 
that  is  now  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio.  This  huge,  barnlike  structure, 
notable  chiefly  for  its  ability  to  resist  fire  when  modern,  and  more  valu- 
able and  ornamental  buildings  succumbed  to  flames,  is  easily  remem- 
bered by  even  younger  residents  of  Youngstown. 

Although  built  primarily  for  freight  traffic  the  Pennsylvania  &  Ohio 
icanal  was  far  from  being  an  unimportant  medium  of  passenger  trans- 
portation for  residents  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  and  for  newcomers.  For 
human  freight  the  canal  boasted  sturdy  "packets"  of  liberal  capacity 
and  painted  a  pleasing  white.  In  appearance  they  far  outshone  the 
plain  freight  boats,  and  the  arrival  of  the  packet  was  awaited  as  eagerly 
as  the  approach  of  the  daily  passenger  train  is  watched  in  modern 
villages  of  today.  To  ride  within  or  on  it  was  a  dream  of  magnificence. 
The  mad  rush  for  gold  to  California  in  1849  and  tne  years  immediately 
succeeding,  and  the  wild  movement  of  1859,  whose  motto  was  "Pike's 
Peak  or  Bust,"  did  not  leave  Youngstown  untouched.  The  departure  of 
more  than  one  packet  saw  passengers  carried  away  westward  to  begin  the 
trek  into  the  almost  pathless  lands  beyond  the  Mississippi.  Yet  the 
Mahoning  Valley  itself  was  a  new  country  and  from  the  East  there 
still  came  ambitious  youths  who  were  able  to  discard  the  saddle,  the 
canoe  and  the  wagon  of  the  early  pioneers  and  make  the  trip  in  all  the 
glory  of  the  shining  packets.  More  than  one  resident  of  Youngstown 
today  can  recount  his  experiences  as  he  reached  the  metropolis  of  the 
Mahoning  Valley  by  this  route. 

The  coming  of  the  railroad  spelled  the  doom  of  the  Pennsylvania  & 
Ohio  canal.  With  the  arrival  of  the  steam  locomotive  it  became  only 
a  medium  for  slow  freight  and  early  degenerated  into  a  mere  assistant 
to  the  railroad.  Even  the  ownership  of  the  canal  company  eventually 
passed  to  the  railroad  companies.  Its  glories  gone,  it  remained  in  use 
but  steadily  dwindling  in  importance  until  eventually  it  became  only  a 
medium  for  transporting  limestone  to  the  Youngstown  furnaces.  The 
final  abandonment  was  witnessed  in  1872,  and  even  the  arid  channel 
and  the  rotting  hulks  of  the  old  canal  boats  gradually  disappeared  with 
the  construction  of  successive  railroads  over  the  canal  bed,  for  its 
route  had  been  wisely  chosen.  Today  the  ruins  alone  are  a  memory 
to  even  the  middle  aged. 

Naturally  this  industrial  progress  bred  still  further  ambitions  on 
the  part  of  the  Village  of  Youngstown.  The  canal  gave  it  undisputed 
supremacy  in  the  two  lower  tiers  of  townships  of  Trumbull  County. 
That  the  village  lay  directly  in  the  Mahoning  River  valley  while  Can- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       185 

field  and  Poland,  its  chief  rivals,  were  inland  villages,  had  not  been 
heretofore  a  great  advantage  in  itself  since  the  Mahoning  was  a  navi- 
gable stream  in  theory  only.  The  canal,  however,  gave  it  means  of 
transportation  to  the  outside  world,  a  facility  that  these  other  villages 
lacked.  It  felt  that  it  had  surpassed  them.  Likewise  the  canal  caused 
Youngstown  to  chafe  under  the  knowledge  that  it  was  after  all  more  or 
less  subservient  to  Warren  while  that  village  remained  the  capital  of 
Trumbull  County.  Sooner  or  later  this  meant  a  renewal  of  the  fight  to 
make  Youngstown  a  county  seat  town.  The  opportunity  came  in  a 
not  unusual  manner,  and  fate  ordained  that  it  should  be  almost  co- 
incident with  the  opening  of  the  canal  and  the  coal  mines  that  were  to 
furnish  the  basis  for  industrial  Youngstown. 

The  quarrel  for  county  seat  honors  that  had  begun  even  before  the 
proclamation  was  issued  creating  Trumbull  County  in  1800  had  died 
out  with  the  dawning  of  the  War  of  1812.  A  half  dozen  or  more  vil- 
lages had  urged  their  claims,  with  Warren  and  Youngstown  as  the 
chief  contenders.  Warren's  claim  had  been  confirmed  finally  with  the 
erection  of  county  buildings,  and  for  almost  a  third  of  a  century  the 
question  had  lain  dormant.  But  in  1840  the  courthouse  at  Warren  had 
become  an  object  of  disrepute.  It  was  a  frame  structure,  small,  built 
inexpensively,  and  had  outlived  both  its  usefulness  and  its  good  looks. 
It  was  creditable  in  appearance  neither  to  Warren  nor  to  Trumbull 
County  and  had  even  reached  a  stage  when  repairs  would  no  longer 
suffice.  A  new  county  building  was  needed  and  Warren  citizens  began 
a  movement  looking  toward  the  erection  of  a  modern  courthouse. 

The  proposal  was  all  that  was  needed  to  renew  the  county  seat  agi- 
tation in  all  its  fury  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  before.  Rival 
towns  met  Warren's  plans  for  a  new  courthouse  with  vigorous  pro- 
tests against  spending  any  more  public  funds  for  county  buildings  of 
any  kind  in  that  village. 

It  will  be  pardonable  here,  perhaps,  to  digress  long  enough  to  chron- 
icle another  event  that  is  of  importance  in  the  history  of  Youngstown 
by  remarking  that  the  activity  Youngstown  had  begun  to  display  at 
this  time  brought  into  existence  the  first  newspaper  that  the  village 
boasted.  Youngstown  was  not  a  pioneer  in  Trumbull  County  in  this 
respect,  since  Warren  had  witnessed  the  establishment  of  a  weekly 
journal  thirty  years  earlier.  It  is  surprising  that  Youngstown  had  been 
overlooked  so  long,  for  the  optimistic  journalist  of  that  day  needed 
but  slight  encouragement  to  launch  a  newspaper.  Now  the  growing 
importance  of  Youngstown  and  the  fact  that  it  might  become  the  capital 
of  a  new  county  added  whatever  incentive  was  needed,  and  the  Olive 
Branch  and  New  County  Advocate  was  formally  introduced  to  the 
public  on  Friday,  August  25,  1843,  w^h  J°^n  G.  McLain  as  publisher. 
It  was  to  be  a  weekly  organ,  issued  each  Friday. 

In  his  editorial  announcement  in  the  opening  issue  Mr.  McLain  says : 

"We  have  located  ourselves  in  the  beautiful  thriving  village  of 
Youngstown,  on  the  banks  of  the  Mahoning  on  the  Pennsylvania  & 
Ohio  canal.  We  come  amongst  you,  fellow  citizens,  with  our  establish- 
ment, to  make  a  home  for  ourselves  and  family,  and  we  hope  to  do  so 


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186       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

by  honest  industry  and  attention  to  business,  while  at  the  same  time  we 
feel  that  in  doing  so  we  can  be  useful  to  you,  not  only  individually  but 
collectively,  and  this  in  proportion  to  the  circulation  which  you  will  aid 
in  giving  to  the  Olive  Branch. 

"There  are  but  few  villages  in  Ohio  of  equal  population,  business 
and  enterprise  with  this  that  have  not  their  newspaper,  and  surely  the 
people  of  this  region  will  aid  in  sustaining  us. 

«*  *  *  Money!  did  we  say?  Well,  we  need  many  other  things 
as  much  as  money,  so  if  you  have  no  money  let  not  that  deter  you,  come 
ahead  and  patronize  the  Olive  Branch;  we  will  take  almost  anything 
you  have  for  it,  anything  that  we  can  eat,  drink,  wear  or  pay  debts 
with." 

In  his  declaration  of  policies  the  editor  announces  that  his  paper 
stands  for  "Old  Jeffersonian  Principles,"  and  that: 

"It  will  advocate  the  project  of  the  erection  of  a  new  county,  the 
county  seat  of  which  shall  be  located  in  this  village. 

"It  will  strive  to  procure  the  reduction  of  the  salaries  of  all  our  na- 
tional and  state  servants,  with  very  few  exceptions." 

This  last-mentioned  declaration  of  principles  is  a  rather  startling 
one,  and  was  more  popular  by  far  with  the  taxpayers  who  paid  those 
salaries  than  with  the  officeholders  who  drew  the  emoluments.  It  so 
happens,  however,  that  this  policy  did  not  originate  with  the  editor  of 
this  pioneer  Youngstown  newspaper,  nor  was  he  making  a  valiant  fight 
singlehanded  against  supposed  state  and  national  extravagance.  "Re- 
trenchment" was  an  active,  burning  issue  in  1843.  Paying  taxes  aroused 
ire  then  just  as  it  does  now,  just  as  it  had  for  generations  before  and 
just  as  it  always  will.  There  was  a  strong  sentiment  in  favor  of 
economy.  Nor  was  the  campaign  ineffectual.  At  the  next  session  of 
the  Ohio  Legislature  after  the  Youngstown  newspaper  joined  in  the 
fray  all  state  and  county  salaries  and  fees  were  slashed  by  legislative 
enactment.  The  governor's  salary  was  cut  to  $1,000  a  year,  while  the 
secretary  of  state  had  to  get  along  with  $500  per  annum,  with  "no  fees 
or  perquisites  allowed."  In  this  respect  at  least  the  editor  had  gauged 
public  sentiment  correctly. 

The  name  selected,  The  Olive  Branch  and  New  County  Advocate, 
was  a  high  sounding  one,  as  was  common  in  the  newspaper  world  of 
that  day,  yet  a  more  meaningless  title  could  not  have  been  chosen.  It 
was,  as  it  had  announced,  a  believer  in  Jeffersonian  Democracy,  and, 
far  from  extending  the  olive  branch  or  spreading  peace  and  good  will, 
it  saw  little  that  was  good  in  the  Whigs  and  was  emphatic  in  acquainting 
its  readers  with  that  fact.  It  was  avowedly  for  President  John  Tyler 
for  the  Democratic  nomination  in  1844,  and  had  little  more  respect  for 
Van  Buren,  Cass  and  other  Democratic  presidential  contenders  than  it 
had  for  the  benighted  Whigs.  It  was  not  at  all  favorable  to  David  Tod 
for  the  Democratic  gubernatorial  nomination  in  1844,  although  Tod  was 
a  Trumbull  County  man  and  the  leading  candidate,  and  it  was  unblush- 
ingly  and  savagely  critical  of  its  brother  organ,  the  Trumbull  Democrat, 
of  Warren. 

Founded  to  advance  Youngstown's  claim  to  county  seat  honors  it 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       187 

would  naturally  be  expected  to  lead  this  fight,  yet  it  appears  to  have 
forgotten  the  contest  almost  entirely  after  its  initial  announcement. 
While  this  struggle  was  at  its  height  the  Olive  Branch  devoted  itself 
to  national  politics  and  foreign  news — although  it  might  be  said  in 
extenuation  of  this  that  it  was  but  following  a  custom  common  to  news- 
papers of  that  day.  It  was  equally  oblivious  to  the  importance  of  local 
news  happenings,  few  of  these  being  found  in  its  columns  except  when  a 
prominent  citizen  died,  and  then  the  published  eulogy  and  obituary  was 
usually  the  contribution  of  a  literary-minded  friend  of  the  deceased 
and  not  a  product  of  the  editor's  pencil.  From  its  files  one  may  learn 
the  Washington  happenings  of  that  day  and  acquire  a  working  knowl- 
edge of  affairs  in  England,  France  and  Ireland,  but  the  reader  is  left 
in  doubt  regarding  occurrences  in  Youngstown  except  occasional  refer- 
ences to  the  growing  canal  traffic. 

The  Olive  Branch  assumed  a  neutral  course  in  politics  after  Polk 
had  been  nominated  for  President  and  Tod  for  governor  in  1844.  About 
this  time  too  it  appears  to  have  given  up  the  county  seat  fight,  or  the 
pretension  that  it  was  a  county  seat  advocate,  for  in  September,  1844, 
it  became  the  Olive  Branch  and  Literary  Messenger.  In  the  final 
existing  copy  of  the  Olive  Branch,  issued  on  March  7,  1845,  the  editor 
"takes  great  pleasure"  in  announcing  that  Texas  had  been  annexed  to 
the  United  States  and  assured  its  readers  that  "President  Polk  was,  we 
presume,  undoubtedly  inducted  into  office  on  Tuesday  last.  It  is  not 
known  here  who  have  been  appointed  his  cabinet  ministers." 

This  slow  transmission  of  news  was  unavoidable.  The  editor  could 
not  be  assured  that  Polk  had  been  inaugurated  as  required  on  March  4th 
until  the  Washington  newspapers  reached  him  by  the  slow  and  easy  go- 
ing mail  of  that  day.  However,  he  exercised  the  newspaperman's  pre- 
rogative of  picking  a  slate  of  cabinet  officers  whom  he  "presumes"  were 
appointed. 

All  in  all,  the  Olive  Branch  was  an  average  American  weekly  news- 
paper of  that  day.  It  did  little  to  help  gain  a  county  seat  for  Youngs- 
town but  was  a  paper  in  which  its  publisher  might  take  just  pride 
otherwise. 

This  little  journey  away  from  the  county  seat  subject  itself  will  be 
pardoned,  we  feel  sure,  because  of  the  part  this  newspaper  was  pre- 
sumed to  play  in  the  struggle.  To  return  to  that  subject,  it  is  rather 
surprising  to  note  that  the  healthy  growth  of  Warren  did  not  have  the 
effect  of  thwarting  any  attempt  to  remove  the  county  seat  from  Warren 
altogether.  Such  a  move  would  have  been  an  injustice  to  Warren  and 
yet  several  of  the  projects  for  county  division  that  arose  at  this  time  act- 
ually contemplated   eliminating  Warren  altogether   from  consideration. 

Warren  had  the  advantage  of  possession,  which  is  alleged  to  be  nine 
points  of  the  law,  but  with  this  advantage  was  forced  to  accept  the  dis- 
advantage of  being  put  on  the  defensive.  It  was  her  task  to  hold  what 
she  had  against  all  rivals,  while  those  rivals  were  actuated  by  a  common 
desire  to  obtain  what  Warren  had.  This  community  of  interest  was 
favorable  to  the  contenders. 

The  election  of  1843  was  fought  out  with  county  division  as  the 


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188       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

issue  and  resulted  in  a  victory  for  the  lower  tiers  of  townships  in  Trum- 
bull County.  Eben  Newton,  of  Canfield,  represented  Trumbull  County 
in  the  Senate  for  a  two-year  term  beginning  in  December,  1842,  and  at 
the  election  of  1843  Asahel  Medbury,  Democrat,  and  Dr.  Henry  Man- 
ning, Whig,  both  of  Youngstown,  were  elected  members  of  the  lower 
house  of  the  State  Legislature.  The  rival  political  parties  declared  a 
truce  and  supported  Youngstown  men  regardless  of  party. 

Legislative  action  on  division  was  confidently  expected  at  the  as- 
sembly session  that  winter.  Various  plans  were  proposed  for  the  erec- 
tion of  new  counties,  one  of  these  of  course  being  a  county  of  which 
Youngstown  should  be  the  capital.  Greene  and  Gustavus,  in  the  most 
northerly  tier  of  Trumbull  County  townships,  were  contenders  for  the 
honor  of  being  the  county  seat  of  still  another  new  county.  Canfield 
was  Youngstown's  most  serious  competitor  for  seat  of  justice  of  the 
county  to  be  created  from  the  lower  townships  of  the  county.  Newton 
Falls  had  still  another  proposal. 

At  a  meeting  of  Newton  Falls  residents  late  in  1843  resolutions  were 
adopted  providing  for  the  creation  of  three  counties. 

The  first  of  these  counties  was  to  be  formed  out  of  the  townships 
of  Hartsgrove,  Rome,  Cherry  Valley,  New  Lyme,  Andover,  Windsor, 
Orwell,  Colebrook,  Wayne  and  Williamsfield  in  Ashtabula  County,  and 
Mesopotamia,  Bloomfield,  Greene,  Gustavus,  Kinsman  and  Vernon  in 
Trumbull  County.  Gustavus  and  Greene  would  be  permitted  to  contest 
for  the  seat  of  justice  of  this  county. 

The  second  county  was  to  be  formed  out  of  Mecca,  Bazetta,  How- 
land,  Weathersfield,  Austintown,  Canfield,  Boardman,  Youngstown, 
Liberty,  Vienna,  Fowler,  Johnston,  Hartford,  Brookfield,  Hubbard, 
Coitsville  and  Poland,  with  the  county  seat  at  Youngstown. 

The  third  county — Trumbull  by  name — would  consist  of  Farming- 
ton,  Bristol,  Southington,  Champion,  Braceville,  Warren,  Newton, 
Lordstown,  Milton,  Jackson,  Berlin  and  Ellsworth  townships  in  Trum- 
bull County  and  the  townships  of  Windham,  Palmyra,  Nelson  and  Paris 
in  Portage  County,  the  county  seat,  of  course,  to  be  at  Newton  Falls. 
The  Portage  County  townships,  in  fact,  were  added  to  give  Newton 
Falls  a  central  position. 

On  behalf  of  Youngstown,  Judge  William  Rayen  and  R.  W.  Tayler 
were  eager  contestants,  along  with  the  two  members  of  the  assembly. 
The  Newton  Falls  proposal  was  adroitly  put  up  to  them  by  its  propon- 
ents and  they  were  urged  to  postpone  action  until  there  could  be  a 
better  union  of  forces,  instead  of  bringing  Youngstown's  proposal  to 
a  vote  in  the  legislative  session  that  was  about  to  open.  This  proposal 
would  leave  Warren  entirely  out  in  the  cold,  but  Youngstown  people 
welcomed  this  prospect  rather  than  hesitating  at  it.  They  had  not  yet 
forgiven  Warren  for  its  smooth  work  in  1800.  Youngstown  had  gone 
too  far,  however,  to  consider  any  delay.  In  the  words  of  R.  W.  Tayler, 
writing  to  Representative  Asahel  Medbury  on  December  14,  1843,  "The 
proposition,  if  carried  out,  would  suit  us  quite  as  well,  but  it  is  now  too 
late  to  relax  our  efforts  on  account  of  it." 

With  the  opening  of  the  Legislature  in  December,  1843,  Youngstown 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       189 

therefore  presented  its  plan  for  dividing  Trumbull  County  by  creating 
a  new  county  out  of  the  southern  townships  of  Trumbull,  the  seat  of 
government,  of  course,  to  be  located  at  Youngstown.  Warren,  under  its 
arrangement,  apparently  was  to  retain  the  county  seat  of  Trumbull 
County.  This  arrangement,  it  would  seem,  should  have  been  agreeable 
enough  to  Warren,  but  Warren  was  still  opposed  to  any  division,  or  at 
least  to  any  that  would  remove  it  too  far  from  the  center  of  Trumbull 
County.  Being  without  representation  in  the  Legislature,  it  used  the 
expedient  it  had  employed  thirty-five  years  before  of  sending  lobbyists 
to  head  off  partition.  With  Canfield  thus  eliminated,  and  Newton  Falls, 
Gustavus  and  Greene  not  taken  care  of,  Youngstown  had  much  opposi- 
tion and  not  much  help,  and  the  struggle  in  the  Legislature  of  1843-44 
that  had  promised  so  much  for  Youngstown  was  lost. 

In  the  Legislature  of  1844-45,  Warren  and  the  northern  townships 
of  Trumbull  County  controlled  the  representation  in  both  houses  of 
the  State  Legislature  and  county  division  again  went  by  the  board. 

In  the  Legislature  of  1845-46,  Youngstown  was  similarly  without 
representation,  and  Canfield  came  forward  with  a  new  proposal.  Much 
of  the  previous  agitation  for  county  division  appears  to  have  been 
limited  to  Trumbull  County  and  territory  north  and  west  of  it.  The 
southern  line  of  Trumbull  County  was  the  southern  line  of  the  Western 
Reserve  as  well,  and  the  old  Western  Reserve  spirit  still  persisted  so 
strongly,  in  spite  of  almost  a  half  century  of  growth  and  immigration, 
that  the  invasion  of  any  other  new  territory  in  carving  out  proposed 
counties  was  apparently  as  unthinkable  as  the  annexation  of  Pennsyl- 
vania townships  would  have  been.  Suggestions  for  seizing  portions  of 
Ashtabula  and  Portage  counties  were  offered  freely  because  these  were 
Western  Reserve  counties,  but  other  territory  was  inviolate. 

It  was  canny  Canfield  residents  who  shattered  tradition  by  proposing 
to  go  outside  the  old  Connecticut  Western  Reserve.  From  that  village 
came  the  proposal,  late  in  1845,  f°r  the  creation  of  a  new  county  out  of 
the  ten  lower  townships  of  Trumbull  County  and  the  five  upper,  or 
northerly,  townships  of  Columbiana  County.  It  was  a  logical  proposal. 
It  left  Warren  sufficiently  close  to. the  center  of  the  remaining  townships 
of  Trumbull  County  that  its  claim  to  the  right  of  retaining  the  county 
seat  of  that  county  could  not  be  questioned.  It  would  have  been  a  good 
proposal  even  had  Youngstown  suggested  it,  but  was  especially  strong 
from  the  Canfield  viewpoint  since  it  left  Canfield  in  the  exact  geographi- 
cal center  of  the  new  county;  this  being  always  a  strong  argument  in 
adjusting  county  seat  claims. 

Warren  had  by  this  time  come  to  recognize  county  division  as  inevi- 
table and  finding  that  this  Canfield  plan  would  work  to  its  advantage 
gave  it  strong  support,  with  the  result  that  the  Legislature  created  the 
County  of  Mahoning  on  February  16,  1846,  its  limits  being  those  set 
forth  above  and  Canfield  was  named  as  the  county  seat.  Youngstown 
for  a  third  time  had  lost  its  fight,  and  another  thirty  years  was  to  elapse 
before  its  ambition  was  finally  attained. 

Defeat  was  not  accepted  by  Youngstown  with  particularly  good 
grace.    The  fight  was  still  on,  and  Youngstown  was  reinforced  by  Greene 


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190       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

and  Gustavus  people  who  were  petitioning  for  the  creation  of  a  new 
county  to  be  known  as  Clay,  while  a  movement  was  on  foot  for  a 
county  to  be  called  Gilead.  Just  what  Youngstown's  designs  were  at 
this  time  is  not  clear,  but  Asahel  Medbury  and  Dr.  Manning  were  in 
Columbus  during  the  winter  of  1847-48  working  in  Youngstown's  be- 
half. In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Medbury  from  Judge  William  Rayen,  dated 
January  7,  1848,  he  refers  to  both  these  county  proposals,  speaks  of 
petitions  being  sent  from  Mahoning  County,  and  expresses  the  holy 
indignatiqn  of  Youngstown  people  at  their  defeat  two  years  before 
by  saying: 

"I  suppose  you  will  have  much  said  this  winter  on  the  subject  of 
vested  rights  by  the  Warren  and  Canfield  people.  The  Warren  people 
need  no  more  sympathy  than  the  Canfield  people,  for  when  they  got  the 


Youngstown.    (Drawn  by  Henry  Hotoe  in  1846.) 
Youngstown  in  1846 

seat  of  justice  made  at  Warren  they  got  it  by  every  kind  of  villainy, 
fraud  and  deception  that  probably  could  be  practiced  and  contrary  to 
the  then  known  will  of  the  very  large  majority  of  the  citizens  of  what 
was  then  Trumbull  County,  and  have  retained  it  still,  against  the  will 
of  the  people." 

This  scathing  arraignment  refers  of  course  to  the  original  designa- 
tion of  Warren  as  the  Trumbull  County  seat  in  1800.  There  can  be 
no  question  of  the  judge's  righteous  wrath. 

Canfield  had  lost  no  time,  however,  in  confirming  her  claim  to  being 
the  seat  of  government  of  Mahoning  County.  Election  of  county  officers 
was  held  almost  immediately.  The  first  county  officials,  who  began 
their  terms  on  March  1,  1846,  were,  sheriff,  James  Powers;  auditor, 
Andrew  Fitch;  commissioners,  Robert  Turnbull,  Isaiah  Bowman  and 
James  Justice;  treasurer,  John  H.  Donald;  recorder,  Saxon  Sykes; 
prosecuting  attorney,  William  Ferguson.  James  Wallace  of  Spring- 
field, James  Brownlee,  of  Poland,  and  Lemuel  Brigham,  of  Ellsworth, 
were  elected  by  the  Legislature  as  acting  associate  justices  and  on  March 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       191 

16,  1846,  they  convened  in  the  office  of  Elisha  Whittlesey,  at  Canfield, 
the  oath  being  administered  by  Judge  Eben  Newton,  the  presiding  judge 
of  the  district.  On  May  nth,  the  court  formally  organized  and  opened 
its  first  session  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Canfield. 

In  the  act  making  Canfield  the  county  seat  that  village  was  obligated 
to  donate  a  lot  and  $5,000  toward  suitable  county  buildings.  Canfield 
carried  out  by  private  subscriptions  all  the  terms  imposed  on  it,  and 
more.  Judge  Newton  donated  a  lot  to  be  used  as  a  courthouse  site,  and 
$10,000  was  subscribed  for  buildings,  the  work  being  done  so  expedi- 
tiously that  the  original  county  buildings  were  completed  by  the  summer 
of  1848. 

In  the  thinly  populated  Mahoning  County  of  1846  there  were  fewer 
calls  to  duty  on  the  part  of  officials  than  there  are  today,  but  the  work 
was  sometimes  onerous,  nevertheless.  Forty  years  after  he  held  the 
office  of  the  first  sheriff  of  Mahoning  County,  James  Powers  told  of  ex- 
periences that  befell  an  early  day  officer  of  the  law,  saying: 

"There  was  no  jail  when  I  went  into  office,  and  whenever  1  had  a 
prisoner  the  only  way  I  could  keep  him  safely  was  to  drive  a  staple  in 
the  floor  of  my  house  in  Canfield  and  chain  him  down.  When  court 
did  not  meet  for  some  time  the  prisoners  were  placed  in  the  Warren 
jail,  and  when  ready  for  trial  were  brought  back  to  my  house  and 
chained  down  until  either  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  or  released.  In 
those  days  there  were  no  railroads,  and  I  had  to  drive  all  the  prisoners 
sentenced  to  the  penitentiary,  and  insane  persons  too,  in  carriages  to 
Columbus,  stopping  at  taverns  along  the  road  at  night.  It  took  three 
days  to  drive  through,  and  it  was  not  a  pleasant  business.  I  had  a  horse 
thief,  named  Eaton,  once  that  everybody  said  would  escape  before  reach- 
ing Columbus,  as  he  was  a  dangerous  character.  I  took  a  guard  named 
Whittlesey  along,  and  at  night  chained  the  two  together  and  then  to  the 
bed  and  landed  my  man  in  the  penitentiary  all  right.  In  those  days  the 
sheriff's  office  did  not  pay  very  much,  in  fact  when  I  went  out  I  was 
poorer  than  when  I  was  elected." 

Except  for  this  setback — the  loss  of  the  coveted  county  seat — the 
'40s  were  years  of  progress  in  Youngstown.  The  Mexican  war  in 
1846-47  had  no  ill  effect.  The  militia  training  days  of  early  Ohio  were 
still  an  institution  and,  with  war  with  our  southern  neighbor  in  prospect, 
military  activities  were  redoubled.  Youngstown  and  Mahoning  County 
gave  their  full  complement  to  the  Ohio  forces  raised,  although  this  was 
necessarily  a  small  number,  since  fewer  American  troops  were  engaged 
in  this-  war  than  in  any  other  in  which  the  United  States  has  ever  taken 
part.  Ohio's  contribution  was  but  5,536  in  all,  yet  it  had  a  greater  num- 
ber ready  to  respond  if  needed,  and  with  this  apparently  small  number 
Ohio  led  all  northern  states  in  the  number  of  men  it  sent  to  battle  Mexico. 

Flushed  with  its  success  over  gaining  the  county  seat,  Canfield 
became  an  incorporated  village.  Perhaps  because  Youngstown  realized 
that  it  lacked  dignity  in  remaining  a  mere  unincorporated  settlement,  but 
more  likely  because  of  its  comparatively  rapid  growth,  Youngstown  also 
aspired  to  municipal  honors  and  applied  in  1848  for  a  village  charter. 
The  petition  was  granted  in  December,  1848,  but  it  was  a  year  and  a 


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192       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

half  later  that  the  village  was  formally  organized,  the  town  limits  being 
extended  by  the  county  commissioners  before  this  was  done.  At  this 
time,  1850,  Youngstown  Township  had  a  population  of  2,802.  The 
village  was  not  enumerated  separately  that  year,  but  it  is  probable  that 
the  population  was  fully  1,500,  or  an  increase  of  fully  100  per  cent  in 
the  decade  since  1840,  which  fact  indicates  the  progress  that  Youngs- 
town had  made  industrially. 

The  first  village  election  was  held  on  June  15,  1850,  at  the  Union 
House,  kept  by  W.  H.  Ross.  The  village  officers  elected  were :  Mayor, 
John  Heiner;  recorder,  Robert  W.  Tayler;  trustees,  John  Loughridge, 
Abraham  D.  Jacobs,  Francis  Barclay,  Stephen  F.  Burnett  and  Manuel 
Hamilton.  The  village  government  formally  organized  on  the  evening 
of  that  day  at  the  office  of  Ridgeley  J.  Powers.  The  trustees  elected 
Benjamin  H.  Lake,  village  marshal ;  James  Richart,  treasurer,  and  James 
McEwen,  street  commissioner. 

"In  December,  1850,  the  Legislature  recognized  the  extension  of  the 
village  limits  and  a  new  form  of  government  was  instituted.  At  the 
election  on  April  7,  1851,  R.  W.  Tayler  was  elected  mayor;  John  F. 
Hollingsworth,  police  justice;  Joseph  Montgomery,  assessor;  Hugh 
Moore,  marshal;  and  a  board  of  five  aldermen  was  elected,  James  M. 
Loughridge  being  named  for  the  First  Ward,  Daniel  Sheehy  for  the 
Second  Ward,  Moses  C.  Johnson  for  the  Third  Ward,  E.  W.  Hollings- 
worth for  the  Fourth  Ward  and  R.  G.  Garlick  for  the  Fifth  Ward.  The 
aldermen  elected  Samuel  C.  Griffith  borough  superintendent ;  D.  I.  Bald- 
win, treasurer;  E.  S.  Hubbard,  counsellor  and  attorney;  F.  E.  Hutchins, 
clerk. 

At  this  time  the  legal  title  of  the  municipality  was  "borough"  but 
shortly  afterwards  "village"  was  substituted.  The  high-sounding  title  of 
"alderman"  gave  way  to  "trustee,"  although  in  every  way  except  officially 
the  board  of  trustees  was  known  as  the  "village  council." 

Even  before  this  time  the  growing  importance  of  the  coal  and  iron 
traffic  had  had  its  natural  consequence  in  the  revival  of  the  plan  for 
uniting  Youngstown  and  other  Mahoning  Valley  villages  to  the  outer 
world  by  steam  railroad.  The  canal  was  doing  its  work  well,  but  when 
it  was  yet  in  its  infancy  the  inadequacy  of  this  means  of  transportation 
became  apparent.  The  pioneer  railroad  on  the  valley  had  its  inspiration 
largely  at  Warren,  and  on  February  22,  1848,  the  books  were  opened  for 
stock  subscriptions.  It  was  five  years  later  before  the  promoters  felt 
there  was  sufficient  funds  pledged  to  warrant  the  beginning  of  construc- 
tion work  and  this  was  but  one  of  the  many  delays  encountered.  A  tight 
money  market,  failure  of  eastern  capital  that  had  been  counted  upon, 
greater  expenditures  than  were  anticipated,  and  similar  handicaps,  caused 
postponements  but  never  the  abandonment  of  the  project.  By  1855  the 
road  had  been  built  as  far  as  Girard,  and  for  some  time  Youngstown  pas- 
sengers had  to  go  to  this  village  to  embark  by  rail.  By  1856,  however, 
the  line  was  completed  to  Youngstown,  terminating  originally  just  west 
of  Holmes  Road,  now  Holmes  Street,  in  an  open  field.  Later  the  pas- 
senger depot  for  this  line — the  Cleveland  &  Mahoning  Railroad — was 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       193 

built  on  the  east  side  of  Holmes  Street  where  the  Erie  freight  station 
now  stands. 

The  Cleveland  &  Mahoning  line  gradually  acquired  ownership  of  the 
Pennsylvania  &  Ohio  Canal  and  the  two  transportation  lines  were  oper- 
ated in  conjunction.  It  was  some  years  after  this  road  had  been  com- 
pleted to  Youngstown  before  there  was  rail  communication  with  Pitts- 
burg and  the  canal  continued  to  be  useful.  But  the  coal,  the  limestone 
and  the  merchandise  westbound  were  hauled  by  the  rail  line,  and  graduT 
ally  the  freight  to  the  east  was  carried  the  same  way.  The  Cleveland  & 
Mahoning  carried  its  line  to  Hubbard  by  the  construction  of  a  branch 
road,  double-tracked  the  line  to  Cleveland  and,  in  1863,  was  leased  to 
the  Atlantic  &  Great  Western  Company.  Eventually  it  came  under  the 
control  of  the  Erie  railroad  by  lease. 

A  more  extended  story  of  the  construction,  progress  and  develop- 
ment of  this  and  other  railroads  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  will  be  found 
in  a  chapter  on  transportation.  It  was  the  era  of  railroad  build- 
ing, however,  that  brought  to  the  fore  a  man  who  did  more  than  any 
other  one  person  in  Youngstown  to  further  the  progress,  growth  and 
importance  of  this  city  in  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  We 
refer  to  the  late  Chauncey  H.  Andrews,  merchant,  innkeeper,  coal  oper- 
ator, iron  manufacturer,  the  leader  in  railroad  construction  in  the  valley 
and  public  spirited  citizen  from  the  day  of  his  arrival  here  until  his 
death  in  1893,  whose  activities  are  further  detailed  in  a  biographical 
sketch  appearing  in  the  second  volume  of  this  work. 

The  decade  between  1840  and  1850  may  be  said  to  have  been  one  of 
the  most  important  in  the  history  of  Youngstown.  This  assertion  may 
appear  to  be  overdrawn  in  view  of  the  fact  that  at  the  end  of  this  period 
Youngstown  had,  as  we  have  explained,  a  population  of  not  mere  thaji 
1,500.  Yet  when  one  recalls  that  the  growth  in  these  ten  years  was  equal 
to  the  growth  in  the  entire  life  of  the  village  prior  to  1840,  and  that  in 
this  decade  it  first  branched  out  into  manufacturing,  established  trans- 
portation facilities  with  the  outer  world  and  became  the  undisputed 
metropolis  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  this  is  not  too  much  to  say.  It  *was 
the  day  when  Youngstown  had  to  decide  whether  it  would  spring  ahead 
or  remain  stagnant,  and  Youngstown  chose  to  advance.  :  ' 

The  next  decade — 1850  to  i860 — was  one  of  equally  rapid' growth. 
The  railroads,  as  we  have  shown,  came  to  supplant  the  canal,  the  coal 
industry  flourished  more  and  more  in  Youngstown  and*  in  adjoining 
villages,  new  blast  furnaces  were  built  by  the  Brier  HiH  Iron  &  Coal 
Company  in  1859  and  i860,  the  Phoenix  furnace  was  built  by  Crawford 
&  Howard  in  1854,  the  Falcon  furnace  by  Charles  Howard  in  1856,  the 
Himrod  furnace  No.  1  in  1859  and  the  Himrod  furnace  No.  2  in  i860. 
It  was  in  the  next  decade  or  two  that  additional  rolling  mills  came,  but 
these  blast  furnaces  gave  Youngstown  a  decided  industrial  standing  even 
before  the  Civil  war.  In  i860  Youngstown  Village  had  attained  a  popu- 
lation of  2,759  while  the  township  as  a  whole  had  5,377  inhabitants, 
almost  three  times  its  population  of  1840.  In  1857  the  first  banking 
house  in  the  village  was  established  by  Wick  Bros.  &  Co. 

This  was  the  position  of  Youngstown  when  the  struggle  that  has 


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194       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

gone  down  in  history  as  the  American  Civil  war  burst  forth.  Like  the 
entire  Western  Reserve,  Youngstown  was  destined  to  have  a  great  part 
in  this  fearful  conflict.  Here  in  Northeastern  Ohio  the  anti-slavery 
movement  might  be  said  to  have  had  its  birth,  and  nowhere  was  the 
doctrine  of  state  rights  more  bitterly  opposed.  To  the  south  of  Mahon- 
ing County  there  was  secession  sentiment,  even  in  Ohio,  but  here  on  the 
Western  Reserve  the  New  England  and  Pennsylvania  blood,  with  its 
accompanying  strains  from  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  imbibed  little 
of  the  secession  heresy.  In  the  two  decades  between  1840  and  i860  a 
heavy  foreign  immigration  had  modified  the  old  American  strain  in 
the  villages  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  but  these  immigrants  were  largely 
from  England,  Ireland,  Wales,  Scotland  and  Germany — men  and  women 


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«-< 

This  Structure,  at  West  Federal  Street  and  Spring  Common,  was 
Built  in  the  Early  Thirties  and  was  for  Many  Years  the  Leading 
Hotel  in  Youngstown. 
The  photograph  was  taken  while  the  building  was  being  razed,  about  1910. 

who  had  come  here  to  escape  oppressive  conditions  in  their  native  lands 
and  who  were  by  instinct  ardent  advocates  of  free  labor  and  opponents 
of  human  slavery. 

It  so  happened  that  it  was  a  Youngstown  man — in  reality  a  Mahon- 
ing Valley  man,  since  his  interests  were  such  that  the  whole  valley  might 
claim  him  for  a  citizen — who  was  the  leading  figure  in  Ohio's  participa- 
tion in  the  war.    This  was  David  Tod,  "war  governor"  of  Ohio. 

Serving  as  state  senator  from  Trumbull  County  from  1838  to  1840, 
David  Tod  was  a  leading  figure  in  the  Democratic  party  while  still  a 
young  man,  and  in  1844  was  his  party's  nominee  for  governor.  It  was 
a  "Whig  year"  in  Ohio,  and  yet  Tod  lost  the  governorship  by  but  1,271 
votes  in  October,  while  the  state  was  carried  by  Clay,  the  Whig  candidate 
for  President,  a  month  later  by  6,000.  In  1846,  when  the  Whig  sentiment 
was  even  stronger,  he  lost  by  but  2,380.  Fifteen  years  later,  in  1861,  the 
loyalists  in  Ohio  were  looking  for  a  man  who  would  fight  secession  with- 
out compromise — for  events  in  the  summer  of  1861  were  not  favorable 
to  the  North  and  compromise  talk  was  rife.    The  man,  rather  his  politi- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       195 

cal  faith,  was  considered  and  David  Tod,  a  "War  Democrat,"  was  made 
the  "Union"  party's  nominee.  Loyalists  of  both  old  parties  gave  him  sup- 
port and  he  won  the  governorship  by  a  majority  of  56,000. 

The  confidence  placed  in  Governor  Tod  was  never  regretted.  He 
threw  himself  heartily  into  the  Union  cause.  The  first  company  re- 
cruited in  Youngstown  for  service  was  raised  largely  at  his  expense, 
and  in  the  troublous  days  of  1862  to  1864  he  led  in  recruiting,  in  fighting 
disloyalty  even  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  and  in  pressing  the  Union  cause. 
The  darkest  times  of  the  Civil  war  merely  spurred  him  on,  instead  of 
causing  him  to  become  discouraged.  A  biographical  sketch  and  portrait 
of  David  Tod  will  be  found  in  Volume  II. 

From  the  farms,  the  factories  and  the  stores  the  youth  of  Youngs- 
town and  the  Mahoning  Valley  sprang  to  the  Union  colors.  The  more 
adventurous,  or  those  most  easily  loosed,  answered  the  call  at  the  very 
outbreak  of  the  war.  As  the  dread  conflict  dragged  on  and  it  became 
apparent  that  the  two  sections  of  the  country  were  engaged  in  a  strug- 
gle that  would  last  for  years  instead  of  being  but  a  summer  holiday,  more 
and  more  of  the  youths  and  mature  men  of  Mahoning  County  and  the 
entire  Western  Reserve  donned  the  blue  uniform.  At  home  the  women 
were  not  given  the  opportunities  that  fell  to  their  daughters  and  grand- 
daughters more  than  fifty  years  later  when  America  engaged  in  the 
world  conflict,  but  they  made  opportunities  nevertheless.  They  carried 
on  the  work  that  the  men  had  laid  down  and,  as  is  always  the  case  in 
time  of  war,  suffered  the  mental  pangs  of  those  who  have  given  loved 
ones  to  the  call  of  battle. 

Mahoning  County  youths  served  in  numerous  regiments,  but  it  is 
denying  no  honor  to  any  others  to  say  that  the  infantry  units  that  became 
most  closely  identified  with  this  county  in  the  Civil  war  were  the  Seventh, 
Nineteenth,  Twenty-Third,  Twenty-Sixth,  One  Hundred  and  Fifth  and 
One  Hundred  and  Twenty-Fifth  Ohio  Volunteer  regiments. 

Many  soldiers  from  Ohio  saw  their  service  in  the  Western  Army 
rather  than  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  but  the  Seventh,  the  "Bloody 
Seventh,"  was  not  one  of  these,  its  service  being  on  the  battlefields  of 
West  Virginia,  Virginia,  Maryland  and  at  Gettysburg.  It  was  in  April, 
1861,  but  a  few  days  after  President  Lincoln  answered  the  attack  on  Fort 
Sumter  by  calling  for  75,000  men,  that  youths  from  Northeastern  Ohio 
rendezvoused  at  Cleveland  and  were  organized  at  Camp  Taylor  into  the 
Seventh  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  Company  I  was  from  Youngstown 
and  a  detachment  of  light  artillery  was  from  Mahoning  and  Trumbull 
counties.  At  Camp  Dennison  the  regiment  organized  by  electing  E.  B. 
Tyler  of  Ravenna,  colonel;  William  R.  Creighton,  lieutenant-colonel; 
John  S.  Casement,  major.  This  was  a  regiment  of  village  youth,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  regiments  of  farmer  boys,  that  helped  make  Ohio 
famous  in  the  war.    It  was  mustered  out  of  service  on  July  8.  1864. 

Scarcely  behind  the  Seventh  in  time  of  enlistment  and  not  behind  it 
in  valor  came  the  Nineteenth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  a  regiment  of 
which  Companies  B,  C  and  G  were  made  up  largely  of  Mahoning  and 
Trumbull  county  youths.  The  Nineteenth,  originally  under  Samuel 
Beatty  as  colonel,  Elliott  W.  Hollingsworth  as  lieutenant-colonel,  and 


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196       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Lewis  P.  Buckley  as  major,  is  famed  for  its  length  of  service.  A  three 
years  regiment,  it  remained  in  the  fight  until  November,  1865,  or  for 
4>4  years,  serving  in  the  Western  army  under  Generals  Sherman  and 
Thomas. 

In  the  Twentieth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  Company  H  was  re- 
cruited in  the  Mahoning  Valley  in  May,  1861,  originally  for  three 
months'  service.  Later  it  enlisted  for  the  full  three  years  and  actually 
served  until  June  18,  1865.  Originally  the  Twentieth  was  under  com- 
mand of  Charles  Whittlesey,  as  colonel,  and  Manning  F.  Force,  as  lieu- 
tenaiit-colonel. 

In  the  Twenty-Third  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  Mahoning  County 
men  served  in  several  companies,  notably  Company  E.  This  regiment 
was  famous  for  the  men  in  its  membership  who  later  became  great 
American  figures.  Its  first  colonel  was  William  S.  Rosecrans,  after- 
wards a  major  general  and  prominent  in  Democratic  party  circles,  and 
its  third  colonel 'Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  later  to  become  a  major  general 
also  and  finally  governor  of  Ohio  and  President  of  the  United  States. 
In  it  also  were  found  Stanley  Matthews,  later  United  States  senator 
from  Ohio  and  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and 
William  McKinley,  who  enlisted  from  Poland,  was  promoted  by  grades 
from  sergeant  to  major  and  for  twenty-five  years  served  in  public  life 
as  member  of  Congress,  governor  of  Ohio  and  President  of  the  United 
States.  Like  Matthews  and  Hayes,  William  McKinley  was  a  Republican^ 
The  Twenty-Third  Regiment  served  in  the  East  and  was  mustered  out 
on  July  26,  1865. 

In  the  Twenty-Sixth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  Company  G  was 
organized  in  Mahoning  County.  Mustered  in  at  Camp  Chase  in  July, 
1861,  it  enlisted  almost  to  a  man  at  the  expiration  of  its  three  years  of 
service  in  1864.  It  left  its  toll  of  dead  on  the  bloody  battlefields  of 
Stone  River  and  Chickamauga  and  was  mustered  out.  on  October  21, 
1865. 

In  the  Twenty-Seventh  Ohio,  Mahoning  County  was  represented  and 
four  Youngstown  soldiers  made  the  supreme  sacrifice,  two  of  these  at 
Vicksburg  and  two  on  the  battlefields  of  Virginia. 

*  The  Thirty-Fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  likewise  was  repre- 
sented in  Mahoning  County,  also  the  Thirty- Sixth  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry. 

In  the  Thirty-Seventh  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  Company  I  was 
partially  recruited  at  Youngstown,  the  'men  in  this  regiment  being  largely 
of  German  birth  and  descent. 

Mahoning  County  names  are  found  also  in  the  Fifty-First  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry  and  the  Fifty- Second  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry. 

The  Eighty-Fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  organized  in  re- 
sponse to  President  Lincoln's  call  for  volunteers  to  head  off  threatened 
raids  from  the  South.  Company  B  of  this  regiment  was  recruited  at 
Youngstown  and  Company  C  from  various  parts  of  Mahoning  and 
Trumbull  counties.  It  was  a  three  months'  regiment  and  was  mustered 
out  at  the  expiration  of  the  time  for  which  it  had  enlisted. 

The  Eighty-Sixth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  originally  a  three 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       197 

months'  organization  also,  but  subsequently  a  new  regiment  was  formed 
for  an  additional  six  months  of  service.  The  Eighty-Sixth  participated 
in  the  movement  against  Gen.  John  Morgan,  the  Confederate  raider,  and 
later  saw  service  in  Kentucky  before  being  mustered  out  in  January, 

1864.  Company  A  of  this  regiment  came  from  Mahoning  County,  while 
other  companies  were  partially  recruited  here. 

Mahoning  County  was  represented  in  the  Eighty-Seventh  Ohio  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  a  three  months'  organization. 

The  Eighty-Eighth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  organized  in  June, 
1863,  although  it  had  existed  in  part  in  the  First  Battalion,  Governor's 
Guards,  Independent  Volunteer  Infantry,  recruited  in  June,  1862,  and 
used  for  guard  duty.  Company  D  of  this  regiment  was  from  Mahoning 
County.  It  was  mustered  out  in  July,  1863,  after  the  Morgan  raid 
through  Ohio  had  failed. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Fifth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  dis- 
tinctly a  Northeastern  Ohio  regiment  and  one  that  saw  service  in  the 
bitter  fight  for  the  control  of  Tennessee  in  1863  and  1864.  Mustered 
in  in  August,  1862,  it  remained  in  the  service  until  August,  1865,  its 
original  commanders  being  Albert  S.  Hall,  as  colonel ;  William  R.  Tolles, 
as  lieutenant-colonel,  and  George  T.  Perkins,  as  major.  Companies  A 
and  H  of  this  regiment  were  from  Mahoning  County. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-Fifth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was 
organized  in  the  fall  of  1862  under  Col.  Emerson  Opdyke  and  served 
in  the  Western  Army,  earning  the  name  of  "Opdyke's  Tigers"  for  its 
ferocity  in  battle.  Among  its  staff  and  line  officers  and  in  the  ranks  in 
Companies  A,  B  and  C  were  Mahoning  County  men.  It  was  mustered 
out  in  1865  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fifth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was 
recruited  largely  from  the  Ohio  National  Guard  and  included  the  Forty- 
Fourth  Battalion,  a  Mahoning  County  organization  of  four  companies. 
Three  of  these  subsequently  became  Companies  B,  D  and  G  of  the  One 
Hundred  and  Fifty-Fifth  while  the  fourth  was  distributed  among  other 
companies  of  the  regiment.  The  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-Fifth  was 
mustered  in  on  May  8,  1864,  for  three  months'  service. 

Mahoning  County  was  represented  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Eighty- 
Fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  organized  at  Camp  Chase  in  February, 

1865,  the  One  Hundred  and  Eighty-Eighth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry, 
the  One  Hundred  and  Ninety-Sixth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  mustered 
in  on  March  25,  1865,  in  Companies  A  and  K  of  the  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty-Seventh  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  mustered  in  at  Camp 
Chase  on  March  28,  1865,  and  One  Hundred  and  Fifteenth  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry. 

The  Second  Ohio  Cavalry  was  recruited  by  B.  F.  Wade,  of  Jefferson, 
and  John  Hutcfoins,  of  Warren,  and  mustered  into  the  service  on  October 
10,  1861,  under  Col.  Charles  Doubleday.  Its  record  was  a  notable 
one  before  it  was  mustered  out  on  September  11,  1865,  after  four  years 
of  service,  first  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  later  in  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee and  finally  in  Virginia.  Mahoning  County  was  represented  in  this 
regiment,  also  in  the  Sixth  Ohio  Cavalry,  mustered  in  at  the  same  time 


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198       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

as  the  Second.  The  Sixth  Ohio  participated  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight- 
ing in  Virginia  and  was  mustered  out  in  August,  1865. 

There  were  Mahoning  County  men  in  the  Tenth  Ohio  Cavairy,  and 
in  the  Twelfth  Ohio  Cavalry,  a  unit  that  was  recruited  in  October,  1863, 
and  mustered  out  in  November,  1865,  after  seeing  service  in  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee. 

In  artillery  Mahoning  County  men  were  enrolled  in  the  Fifteenth 
Ohio  Independent  Battery,  organized  in  the  fall  of  1861  by  Capt.  J.  B. 
Burrows  and  First  Lieutenant  Edward  Spear,  of  the  old  Fourteenth 
Battery;  in  the  Twenty-Second  Ohio  Independent  Battery,  and  in  the 
Twenty-Fifth  Ohio  Independent  Battery,  originally  a  part  of  the  Second 
Ohio  Cavalry. 

Youngstown  was  not  brought  into  actual  physical  contact  with  the 
bloodshed  of  the  Civil  war.  The  border  counties  of  the  state  were  har- 
assed by  the  enemy  lurking  in  West  Virginia  and  Kentucky,  but  Ma- 
honing County  was  far  removed  from  the  battlefields.  The  anxiety,  the 
cares  and  the  sorrows  of  war  were  felt  here,  but  the  sound  of  battle 
was  absent.  The  single  instance  when  Youngstown  felt  the  dread  of 
an  armed  invasion  was  when  Gen.  John  H.  Morgan,  the  Confederate 
raider,  made  his  daring  dash  across  Ohio  in  the  sumrner  of  1863. 

Actually  Morgan's  forces  were  never  a  great  menace  to  Ohio  or 
its  people,  but  the  fear  of  his  wrath  was  exaggerated.  His  name  was 
dreaded  beyond  reason,  for  Morgan  was  not  of  the  type  of  the  murder- 
ous Quantrell.  His  invasion  was  nothing  more  than  a  reckless  diversion, 
but  when  his  rapid  movement  after  he  crossed  the  Indiana  line  into  Ohio 
on  July  13,  1863,  was  unchecked,  panic  seized  the  entire  state.  His 
original  route  lay  far  south  of  Mahoning  County,  but  after  he  had  failed 
in  his  attempt  to  cross  the  Ohio  River  and  had  turned  northerly  it  is  not 
surprising  that  sudden  fear  was  aroused  in  Youngstown,  for  this  village 
stood  directly  in  his  path.  The  people  gathered  to  discuss  the  threatened 
attack  and  to  prepare  against  it,  for  even  at  this  time  the  strength  of 
Morgan's  scattered  forces  was  wildly  exaggerated.  The  tension  was 
relieved  only  when  the  capture  of  Morgan  and  the  remnant  of  his  com- 
mand near  Salineville,  Columbiana  County,  on  July  26,  1863,  by  a  force 
under  Major  Ray,  and  after  a  fight  in  which  thirty  of  Morgan's  men 
were  killed  and  fifty  wounded. 

The  toll  of  dead  in  Youngstown  village  and  township  in  the  Civil 
war  was  not  small,  considering  the  sparse  population.  A  list  of  names, 
believed  to  be  complete,  appears  on  the  soldiers'  monument  and  shows 
the  following  who  made  the  supreme  sacrifice: 

"Surgeon-in-Chief  Thomas  J.  Shannon,  Lieutenant  Joseph  H.  Ross, 
Lieutenant  David  Donovan,  Captain  William  H.  Ross,  Lieutenant  David 
McClelland,  Lieutenant  Samuel  Piatt,  Lieutenant  James  C.  Morrow, 
Lieutenant  Frederick  Dennis,  Lieutenant  Henry  M.  Baldwin,  Sergeant 
Andrew  J.  Kelley,  Sergeant  Robert  McClelland,  Sergeant  John  Mc- 
Fadden,  Sergeant  John  A.  Wood,  Sergeant  Joseph  Fullerton,  Sergeant 
James  Cochran,  Sergeant  John  Jennings,  Sergeant  Eli  Fitch,  Sergeant 
John  Dunlap,  Sergeant  Lafayette  McCoy,  Sergeant  William  H.  Craig, 
Sergeant   N.   W.    King,   Sergeant   Richard   Elliott,    Sergeant   John   W. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       199 

Brothers,  Corporal  Daniel  Cooper,  Corporal  Nicholas  Krichbaum,  Cor- 
poral Hiram  Fifield,  Corporal  James  E.  Johnston,  Joseph  A.  Truesdale, 
William  Wakefield,  James  Bisp,  Michael  Campbell,  George  Fox,  James 
P.  Ray,  William  Waldorf,  James  L.  Stevenson,  Lemuel  J.  Cecil,  Abram 
D.  Crooks,  Charles  L.  Cowden,  Joseph  B.  Deeds,  John  D.  Dicks,  Jacob 
Muller,  James  C.  Shoaff,  John  Shannon,  Thomas  D.  Williams,  David 
Williams,  John  Thomas,  Isaac  Davis,  Charles  Jacobs,  Patrick  Murphy, 
Samuel  Vogan,  Peter  Allison,  Isaac  Rider,  John  Tagg,  John  Carney, 
Joseph  Reese,  Robert  McAuley,  Daniel  Mitchell,  James  Evans,  William 
Crum,  James  McEvey,  John  Llewellyn,  David  Williams,  Luman  Parme- 
lee,  Con  Dacy,  William  Brown,  Samuel  Birch,  John  Smith,  Francis  P. 
Jones,  George  Ague,  Elias  A.  Crooks,  James  W.  Bell,  David  Williams, 
Luther  Leslie,  David  H.  Edwards,  Thomas  Moore,  John  Lamb,  Ignatius 
Reuter,  Henry  Loerer,  Andrew  Buchannan,  Benjamin  Kyle,  Manly 
Partridge,  William  Borts,  Robert  Barrett,  William  Schieble,  Milton  D. 
Fellows,  Hezlep  Powers,  John  Boyle,  James  Williams,  Henry  Niblock, 
Michael  McGinty,  Albert  Miller,  Lawrence  Kelly,  Isaac  Morris,  Reuben 
B.  Reep,  John  Stewart,  William  B.  Price,  John  Thomas,  John  W. 
Powers,  John  C.  Strealy,  John  Heiner,  John  Barber,  Thomas  Jones, 
Myron  I.  Arms,  James  C.  Miller,  Lawrence  Baker,  Manuel  Leppard, 
Joel  B.  McCollum,  Thomas  Jacobs,  Benjamin  C.  Cunningham,  Alex- 
ander K.  McClelland.,, 

Industrially  the  Civil  war  had  the  same  effect  on  the  Village  of 
Youngstown  that  the  World  war  had  more  than  a  half  century  later. 
The  unexpected  seeming  abandonment  of  sanity  paralyzed  industry,  and 
dark  days  were  added  to  dark  days.  Necessarily  this  feeling  of  panic 
was  but  temporary  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war  demanded  iron  as  the 
great  war  demanded  steel.  The  industries  here  revived  and  more  were 
built  to  supply  the  demand.  Like  all  other  wars,  the  Civil  war  was  a 
war  of  supplies  even  as  much  as  a  war  of  men.  The  men  who  wore 
the  Confederate  colors  were  not  less  valiant  than  the  Union  men  nor 
less  devoted  to  their  cause ;  but  their  fight  was  hopeless  without  outside 
aid,  for  the  North  had  the  industries.  And  Youngstown's  little  indus- 
tries were  not  unimportant  by  any  means.  The  close  of  the  war  in 
1865  found  them  enlarged  and  active. 


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CHAPTER  XII 
YOUNGSTOWN  FROM  1865  TO  1890 

Business  Activity  After  the  Civil  War — The  Abandonment  of 
the  Village  Form  of  Government  and  the  Incorporation  of  the 
City — The  Successful  Fight  for  the  County  Seat — City  Ex- 
tension and  Improvements. 

The  return  of  peace  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1865  saw  the  be- 
ginning of  a  new  era  in  the  United  States.  In  the  change  that  came 
about  Youngstown  was  distinctly  affected. 

Prior  to  i860  the  movement  westward  had  not  been  rapid.  It  had 
taken  a  century  and  a  half  or  more  for  Americans  in  the  seaboard 
states  to  see  the  possibilities  of  the  region  beyond  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains or  to  respond  to  the  call  of  a  new  country.  In  the  six  decades  of 
the  nineteenth  century  prior  to  the  Civil  war  the  land  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River  had  been  fairly  well  settled  and  the  prairie  states  west  of 
that  river  were  beginning  to  fill  up  with  settlers.  But  the  close  of  the 
war  brought  the  great  movement  to  the  West. 

This  was  a  logical  consequence  of  the  war.  Thousands  of  young 
men  returned  to  their  homes  on  the  farms  and  in  the  villages  and  towns 
of  the  East  after  an  absence  of  months  or  years.  They  had  been  weaned 
away  from  home  ties.  They  were  restless  and  averse  to  settling  down 
in  the  old  routine.  Life  somewhere  else  might  be  more  monotonous 
even  than  at  home  but  at  least  it  offered  a  change  and  war  and  absence 
from  home  had  bred  in  them  a  spirit  of  adventure.  It  was  this  spirit 
that  brought  about  the  settlement  of  the  great  territory  between  the 
Kansas  frontier  and  California. 

This  meant  unprecedented  expansion  that  partook  of  the  nature  of 
a  "boom."  New  villages  and  towns  were  being  built,  the  construction 
of  the  first  railroad  across  the  continent  was  begun  and  more  railroad 
projects  were  born  on  every  hand.  Some  of  these  had  a  sound  basis 
and  some  were  pure  products  of  imagination.  But  enough  of  the  ex- 
pansion was  real  to  create  an  era  of  prosperity. 

Youngstown  profited  by  reason  of  the  nature  of  its  industries.  Iron 
had  gone  to  an  unparalleled  price  during  the  Civil  war  and  its  price  re- 
mained up  after  the  close  of  hostilities.  There  was  not  only  all  this 
new  building  to  be  done  but  the  country  found  it  necessary  to  catch  up 
on  old  building.  For  four  years  there  had  been  destruction  instead  of 
construction.  Wages  were  high  and  there  was  a  heavy  demand  for  all 
manufactured  products  and  products  of  the  soil. 

At  this  time — the  close  of  the  Civil  war — Youngstown  had  a  popula- 

200 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       201 

lion  of  about  4,000.  It  had  grown  but  1,300  in  the  five  years  since 
i860,  but  this  in  itself  was  a  good  record,  since  war  days  were  not  days 
of  municipal  growth.  Its  industries  had  prevented  loss  during  the  time 
of  strife,  and  the  westward  movement  that  came  on  with  the  close  of 
that  period  did  not  affect  it  greatly  because  western-bound  emigrants  were 
largely  farmer  youth  going  to  a  new  country  to  take  up  government 
lands  and  become,  proprietors  of  their  own  acres. 

Youngstown  felt  the  spirit  of  the  times,  however,  and  with  the  re- 
moval of  the  dark  war  cloud  began  to  bestir  itself — to  get  out  of  the 
rut.  Public  spirited  citizens  believed  the  time  had  come  when  the 
municipality  should  discard  the  ways  that  had  sufficed  when  Youngs- 
town was  but  a  collection  of  houses  along  a  single  street.  The  village 
council  of  1866  was  in  agreement  with  this  belief  and  outlined  a  pro- 
gram of  improvements  that  it  believed  to  be  in  keeping  with  the  dignity 
of  a  modern  town. 

Federal  Street  was  at  this  time  hardly  better  than  a  country  road. 
It  was  made  up  of  humps  and  low  spots;  there  was  no  pretense  of 
pavement  on  either  roadway  or  sidewalk.  Other  streets  were  in  a  similar 
condition,  or  worse.  The  village  council  believed  not  only  that  these 
conditions  should  be  remedied  but  also  that  there  was  no  reason  for 
doing  things  by  halves  and  in  arranging  to  make  Youngstown  a  more 
presentable  municipality  authorized  the  expenditure  of  $80,000  in  im- 
provements, including  the  grading  of  Federal  Street  and  the  construc- 
tion of  flagstone  sidewalks  along  that  thoroughfare.  Other  streets  that 
were  much  traveled  were  also  provided  for  in  the  program  of  civic 
betterment. 

This  council  consisted  of  C.  H.  Andrews,  Richard  Brown,  William 
Wirt,  Homer  Hamilton  and  George  Baldwin.  "Their  only  object  was  to 
transform  Youngstown  from  a  mudhole  to  a  decent  place  in  which  to 
live,"  one  oldtime  citizen  who  was  a  boy  in  those  days  assures  us ;  but  the 
venturesome  councilmen  found  that  in  carrying  out  their  laudable  ambi- 
tion they  were  going  to  meet  the  fate  that  often  befalls  farsighted  persons. 
In  that  day  $80,000  was  an  immense  amount  of  money,  and  an  immediate 
outcry  went  up  against  this  reckless  extravagance. 

Council  was  not  dissuaded  by  mere  protests  of  irate  taxpayers — and 
probably  of  non-taxpayers  as  well — and  it  waved  objections  aside.  The 
scandalized  advocates  of  economy  were  not  so  easily  dismissed,  either, 
and  attempted  to  do  in  a  body  what  they  had  failed  to  do  as  individuals. 
A  huge  mass  meeting  of  protest  was  arranged,  and  speakers — including 
even  men  of  prominence — inveighed  against  this  wanton  waste.  They 
and  their  forefathers  had  gotten  along  comfortably,  they  held,  without 
stone  sidewalks  and  level  streets  and  such  vanities  and  the  generation 
then  at  its  zenith  could  do  the  same,  and  should  do  the  same  instead 
of  squandering  money  in  such  unseemly  fashion. 

They  were  hardheaded  men,  however,  these  councilmen  of  1866,  and 
oratory  and  mass  meetings  were  as  unavailing  as  personal  arraignments. 
The  program  of  improvement  was  carried  out.  But  their  opponents 
had  not  played  their  last  card  yet,  as  the  city  fathers  discovered  when 
their  terms  of  office  were  nearing  a  close.     The  tax  savers  made  the 


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202       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

best  of  what  they  could  not  prevent,  but  determined  to  teach  a  lesson 
to  future  councilmen  by  bringing  about  the  repudiation  of  the  spend- 
thrifts. Sentiment  was  well  divided  by  this  time  as  to  whether  the 
municipal  legislators  had  really  been  extravagant  or  were  merely  pro- 
gressive, so  that  the  campaign  of  reprisal  had  a  sound  basis.  There 
was  a  third  element,  however,  that  had  not  been  counted  upon.  Many 
of  the  workmen  in  Youngstown  at  that  time  were  unskilled  men  and 
the  program  of  improvement  had  given  them  plenty  of  work  and  steady 
work.  There  was  no  ingratitude  among  them,  and  at  the  village  election 
in  April,  1867,  they  voted  solidly  for  the  re-election  of  Andrews,  Brown, 
Wirt  and  Hamilton,  and  the  four  councilmen  were  named  for  another 
term  by  a  two  to  one  vote.  Baldwin  had  not  been  a  candidate  for  re- 
election. 

In  June,  1867,  a  village  census  was  taken  and  Youngstown  was 
found  to  have  5,000  inhabitants,  or  enough  to  entitle  it  to  the  grade  of 
a  city  of  the  second  class.  On  petition  of  council  Youngstown  was 
advanced  to  this  grade.  On  March  2,  1868,  council  passed  an  ordinance 
extending  the  municipal  limits  and  ordering  an  election  on  the  pro- 
posed extension  in  connection  with  the  first  city  election. 

It  is  curious  to  note  that  this  council,  one  more  than  ordinarily  pro- 
gressive, was  not  altogether  immune  from  mistakes  of  judgment.  Among 
the  ordinances  it  passed  was  one  limiting  the  speed  of  railroad  trains 
within  the  city  to  six  miles  an  hour,  a  measure  that  was  repealed  in  1870. 

At  the  first  city  election,  held  on  April  6,  1868,  George  McKee  was 
elected  mayor;  Thomas  W.  Sanderson,  city  solicitor;  Owen  Evans, 
marshal ;  C.  H.  Andrews,  Homer  Hamilton,  Richard  Rrown,  Joseph  G. 
Butler,  Jr.  and  William  Barclay,  councilmen,  and  Robert  McCurdy, 
treasurer. 

The  first  city  administration  followed  well  in  the  footsteps  of  its 
predecessor  by  outlining  a  program  of  improvements  for  the  municipal- 
ity, and  the  two  years  between  1868  and  1870  were  years  of  progress. 
Council  also  acted  to  give  Youngstown  better  police  protection  than  was 
afforded  by  a  village  marshal  alone,  and  on  August  4,  1868,  authorized 
the  mayor  to  appoint  "one  night  policeman  in  each  ward,"  with  the 
proviso,  however,  that  "each  councilman  select  for  his  ward  a  suitable 
man  to  be  appointed."  Provision  was  also  made  for  volunteer  police- 
men, not  more  than  fifty  in  number,  to  be  appointed  when  needed  and 
to  serve  without  pay,  showing  that  the  possession  of  a  badge  of  authority 
was  in  itself  somewhat  of  a  distinction  at  that  day.  In  spite  of  this 
ordinance  a  night  police  force  does  not  appear  to  have  come  into  being 
until  a  year  or  two  later. 

This  prerogative  of  naming  the  policeman  for  his  ward  was  one  that 
the  councilman  of  that  time  jealously  guarded,  as  legislators  generally  do 
guard  their  patronage.  A'  few  years  later  when  a  mayor  overlooked 
this  ward  distribution  of  policemen — each  new  administration  appointed 
an  entirely  new  police  force  then — and  named  men  without  regard  to 
geographical  location  the  nominations  were  summarily  rejected  by  coun- 
cil when  presented  for  confirmation  and  the  mayor  was  curtly  instructed 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       203 

"to  regard  the  provision  for  the  distribution  of  policemen  among  wards." 
The  chastened  mayor  did  so  without  protest. 

Another  respect  in  which  the  last  village  council  of  Youngstown  had 
shown  its  progressiveness  was  by  providing  for  the  establishment  of  a 
fire  department  in  Youngstown.  For  almost  three-quarters  of  a  century 
the  village  had  gotten  along  by  trusting  to  luck  in  event  of  fire.  Volun- 
teers responded  for  the  occasion  and  formed  bucket  brigades  when  there 
was  a  fire,  the  nearest  pumps  being  the  water  supply  unless  the  river  or 
the  canal  happened  to  be  available.     On  March  2,  1868,  council  author- 


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■  j 

West  Federal  Street  Scene  in  1869,  on  the  Occasion  of  an  Ex- 
hibition by  Blondin,  the  Most  Celebrated  Tight-rope  Walker  Ever 
Known. 

Close  inspection  will  show  the  performer  crossing  the  street  on  a  rope 
stretched  from  Excelsior  Hall  to  the  building  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street. 

ized  the  expenditure  of  $10,000  for  a  fire  engine,  a  procedure  that  was 
not  followed,  since  the  city  council  elected  a  month  later  increased  the 
appropriation  to  $20,000  and  provided  for  a  volunteer  fire  department. 
With  the  appropriation  the  old  "Governor  Tod"  engine  was  bought, 
accompanying  equipment  also  being  purchased  and  a  department  of 
sixty  volunteers  created. 

In  1870  Youngstown  had  attained  a  population  of  8,075,  the  number 
of  inhabitants  almost  tripling  in  the  preceding  ten  years.  One  of  the 
distinct  improvements  made  about  this  time  was  the  establishment  of  a 
city  water  works,  a  project  that  had  been  discussed  for  several  years 
but  that  had  been  considered  by  some  a  rather  ambitious  undertaking 


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204       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

for  Youngstown.  The  earliest  legislation  along  this  line  was  in  the  open- 
ing months  of  1870  when  a  survey  was  made  by  the  city  engineer,  on 
instructions  from  council,  outlining  the  possibilities  of  a  waterworks. 
It  was  a  year  later,  or  in  May,  1871,  that  a  favorable  report  was  made 
and  the  Holly  system  recommended.  On  May  23,  1871,  an  ordinance 
was  passed  authorizing*  the  construction  of  a  waterworks  and  providing 
for  the  creation  of  a  board  of  waterworks  trustees  to  build  and  manage 
this  municipal  utility.  At  the  election  on  June  17,  1871,  Freeman  O. 
Arms  was  elected  for  the  full  three-year  term,  David  Theobald  for  two 
years  and  William  B.  Pollock  for  one  year. 

The  board  sold  $110,000  worth  of  municipal  bonds  to.  cover  the  cost 
of  the  improvement  and  the  initial  installation  of  pipe,  and  creditably 
supervised  the  work  of  putting  up  this  first  waterworks.  The  honor  of 
being  elected  the  long-term  member  of  the  first  waterworks  board  was 
one  that  came  justly  to  Freeman  O.  Arms,  as  he  had  been  one  of  the 
pioneer- promoters  of  this  improvement  and  had  worked  unceasingly  to 
bring  it  about. 

Youngstown  people  of  today  probably  do  not  know  that  prohibition 
— which  has  become  a  reality  only  in  the  last  year — is  not  of  recent 
birth  here.  Yet  just  fifty  years  ago  Youngstown  first  took  up  this 
movement  for  abolishing  intoxicating  liquor,  and  in  fact  actually  voted 
to  abolish  it. 

The  period  immediately  after  the  Civil  war  was  one  of  prosperity 
and  plenteous  work  and  in  Youngstown  and  vicinity  this  brought  on  an 
era  of  hard  drinking.  The  reaction  naturally  came  in  the  "temperance 
crusades"  that  swept  through  Ohio  at  that  time  and  included  Youngs- 
town in  their  field.  The  "crusaders"  were  moral  suasionists  who  re- 
versed the  order  of  later  years  by  appealing  to  the  seller  of  drink  rather 
than  to  the  drunkard,  and  with  considerable  success  in  some  instances. 
In  Youngstown  one  set  of  temperance  apostles  adopted  the  liberal  plan 
of  reimbursing  any  saloonkeeper  who  agreed  to  quit  the  business,  mend 
his  ways  of  living  and  adopt  a  more  respectable  form  of  making  a 
livelihood.  He  stood  to  gain  salvation  and  suffer  no  financial  loss,  for 
his  stock  was  appraised,  bought  out  and  dumped  into  the  gutters.  Faith 
in  this  most  philanthropic  method  of  making  converts  to  the  cause  was 
shattered  when  one  ingenious  saloonkeeper  who  had  reduced  his  stock 
to  one  barrel  of  whisky  filled  several  other  barrels  with  water,  sold  the 
entire  stock  to  the  reformers  as  high  quality  whisky  and  fell  from  grace 
again  with  cash  in  hand.  The  ceremony  attending  the  disposal  of  this 
liquor  was  not  a  success.  The  temperance  folks  with  their  lack  of 
acquaintance  with  high  powered  liquors  might  have  been  deceived  but 
thirsty  bystanders  were  not.  Being  trained  to  smell  ^whisky  at  an  aston- 
ishingly long  range  they  quickly  detected,  and  advertised,  the  fraud. 

The  temperance  move  was  on,  however,  and  the  modern  system  of 
legislative  prohibition  was  substituted  for  moral  suasion.  Drinking  and 
brawling  had  become  so  common  that  the  leniency  with  which  strong 
drink  had  always  been  accepted  disappeared,  and  on  May  17,  1870,  an 
ordinance  was  passed  prohibiting  "ale,  beer  and  porter  houses  or  shops, 
and  places  of  notorious  or  habitual  resort  for  the  purpose  of  tippling 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       205 

and  intemperance/'  in  Youngstown,  a  distinctly  prohibition  measure. 
The  ordinance  was  furnished  with  "teeth"  as  well,  for  violation  of  its 
provisions  was  punishable  by  "imprisonment  and  hard  labor  in  the 
streets,"  a  drastic  penalty.  To  make  certain  that  public  sentiment  backed 
the  measure  a  referendum  was  ordered  and  on  June  7,  1870,  the  electors 
of  Youngstown  voted  748  to  431  to  uphold  the  ordinance. 

Apparently  this  pioneer  prohibition  law  was  unsatisfactory  in  some 
of  its  details,  for  a  week  after  the  referendum  election  it  was  repealed 
by  council,  and  at  the  same  time  another  ordinance  with  similar  pro- 
visions although  different  wording,  was  enacted.  This  ordinance,  passed 
June  14,  1870,  was  also  shortlived.  On  August  9,  1870,  it  was  repealed, 
but  at  the  same  meeting  council  passed  still  a  third  ordinance  of  similar 
import. 

A  sincere  effort  was  made  to  enforce  this  measure,  but  a  combination 
of  circumstances  rendered  the  attempts  futile.  Among  the  first  violators 
of  the  ordinance  arrested  was  a  saloonkeeper  who  had  borne  a  reputa- 
tion far  above  that  of  many  in  the  business  and-  there  was  much  senti- 
ment averse  to  convicting  him.  This  case  was  fought  hard,  Solicitor 
Arrel  appearing  for  the  city,  and  even  the  habeas  corpus  writ  was  re- 
sorted to  to  gain  freedom  for  the  accused  man,  a  move  that  made  it 
necessary  to  transport  him  to  Canfield,  then  the  county  seat.  Two 
trials  resulted  in  disagreements  on  the  part  of  the  juries  and  the  prosecu- 
tion was  abandoned. 

The  time  was  scarcely  ripe  for  prohibition.  Saloons,  taverns,  inns 
and  drinking  places  were  common  then  in  city  and  country  alike  and 
inhibition  of  the  sale  of  liquor  was  a  revolutionary  step.  Repeated 
acquittals  and  drawn  juries  caused  the  prohibition  ordinance  to  break 
down  and  go  into  oblivion.  Drinking  shops  went  their  way  unchal- 
lenged; in  fact  but  a  few  months  later,  in  May,  1871,  council  was  forced 
to- call  the  policemen's  attention  harshly  to  the  fact  that  the  saloons 
should  be  closed  on  Sundays*  a  notice  that  was  calmly  ignored,  as  saloon- 
less  Sundays  were  an  institution  that  scarcely  antedated  prohibition  in 
Youngstown. 

If  Youngstown  was  content  to  slip  back  into  the  free  and  almost 
unlimited  sale  of  drink,  however,  it  progressed  rapidly  in  other  ways, 
in  the  several  years  following  the  Civil  war.  The  expansion  in  the 
iron  industry  that  began  during  that  conflict  increased  rather  than  dimin- 
ished after  its  close.  New  rolling  mills  and  blast  furnaces  were  built 
and  diversified  industries  located  here.  The  population  increased  rapidly 
and  new  streets  and  new  residence  plats  were  opened  almost  weekly. 
Railroad  transportation  became  more  than  adequate  for  the  little  city's 
needs  and  a  street  car  line  within  the  city — with  horses  as  the  motive 
power  of  course — was  projected  and  finally  built  in  1874-75. 

Eight  years  after  the  war,  however,  prosperity  received  a  check 
that  is  remembered  by  many  and  familiar  to  others  through  tradition, 
history  and  the  stories  of  parents  and  grandparents.  This  reverse,  the 
panic  of  1873,  was  felt  with  unusual  keenness  in  Youngstown,  since  it 
was  an  ironmaking  city,  and  ironmaking  centers  and  their  successors, 
the  steel  centers,  are  always  most  bitterly  stricken  in  times  of  depression. 


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206       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

In  a  sense  this  panic  was  perhaps  the  worst  the  country  has  ever  wit- 
nessed. There  were  fewer  persons  to  be  affected  and  the  great  industrial 
centers  of  today  were  then  unknown,  but  the  prostration  was  complete 
and  came  with  almost  lightning-like  rapidity.  Not  alone  were  the  in- 
dustries shut  down  until  the  machinery  acquired  a  coat  of  rust,  but 
money,  credit  and  even  confidence  almost  disappeared.  "Scrip"  was 
often  the  only  pay  of  those  fortunate  enough  to  get  work;  cash  was 
almost  an  unknown  quantity.  The  rural  regions  felt  the  depression 
almost  as  keenly  as  the  cities  and  towns,  for  prices  fell  rapidly  until 
labor  brought  almost  no  returns.  Ghostlike  smokestacks,  idle  men, 
relief  societies  that  doled  out  bare  necessities  of  life,  want  and  hunger, 
displaced  the  prosperity  of  but  a  year  before. 

The  panic  dragged  wearily  along  for  approximately  six  years.  The 
first  two  years  were  ones  of  exceptional  suffering,  the  next  two  showed 
progressive  improvement  and  in  the  final  two  years  the  depression  was 
felt  even  less  keenly;  but  it  was  1879  before  the  mills  began  to  hum 
again  with  oldtime  industrial  activity.  Those  days  are  scarcely  a  mem- 
ory now,  but  were  tragic  then. 

With  all  its  misfortune,  however,  this  period  brought  one  decided 
consolation  to  Youngstown.  It  witnessed  the  achievement  of  an  ambi- 
tion that  had  been  fostered  by  the  community  as  a  rough  frontier  settle- 
ment, agricultural  village  and  industrial  center  for  almost  seventy-five 
years — the  right  to  house  the  courthouse  and  other  buildings  that  be- 
long to  a  county  seat  town. 

For  almost  twenty-five  years,  since  1848,  the  county-seat  question 
had  lain  dormant,  but  in  1872  it  again  flared  up  with  the  vigor  that 
had  characterized  the  previous  county  seat  wars  in  Mahoning  and  Trum- 
bull counties,  and  that  has  probably  characterized  county  seat  struggles 
everywhere.  In  this  instance  the  desire  to  be  the  county  seat  was  an 
irrepressible  ambition  on  the  part  of  Youngstown.  It  had  grown  from 
a  village  to  a  city  of  10,000  population,  overshadowing  all  the  remainder 
of  the  county  in  population,  while  Canfield  had  remained  a  peaceful 
and  beautiful  country  village  with  no  asset  other  than  that  of  a  thriving 
farm  trading  center,  except  that  it  was  the  seat  of  justice  of  the  county. 
It  was  generally  realized  that  the  great  growth  of  the  county  in  the 
future  would  be  along  the  Mahoning  River  valley  and  that  Youngstown 
would  be  the  center  of  this  growth.  Inland  villages  like  Canfield  and 
Poland  could  not  hope  to  compete  with  it. 

So  much  for  mere  population.  In  addition  Youngstown  was  paying 
a  great  share  of  the  county  taxes  and  this  percentage  was  increasing 
annually.  A  large  part  of  the  litigation  arose  there;  it  was  there  th^t 
most  transfers  of  property  were  being  made  and  most  county  business 
originated,  not  alone  in  the  courts  but  in  all  county  offices.  A  far  greater 
number  of  people  could  be  served,  not  only  within  Youngstown  but 
outside  of  it  as  well,  by  removing  the  county  seat  to  Youngstown.  And 
the  inconvenience  of  journeying  to  Canfield  was  daily  becoming  more 
intolerable.  There  was  no  railroad  communication  between  Youngs- 
town and  the  geographical  center  except  by  a  branch  road  that  gave 
limited  service  and  made  the  circuit  by  a  most  roundabout  route.  Wagon 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       207 

roads  were  more  often  employed,  and  at  this  day  improved  roads  were 
unknown,  while  motor  vehicles,  of  course,  were  still  undreamed  of.  So 
many  considerations  influenced  Youngstown,  in  fact,  that  the  mere  pride 
of  possessing  the  county  buildings  had  little  to  do  with  this  last  move- 
ment. Youngstown's  business  standing  was  so  definitely  fixed  that  it 
could  not  be  advanced  greatly  merely  by  removing  the  county  seat  here. 

The  project  was  discussed  thoroughly  in  1872,  and  early  in  1873  a 
public  meeting  was  called  to  discuss  means  for  bringing  about  removal. 
At  this  gathering,  held  in  Arms'  hall,  John  Stambaugh  presided  as 
chairman  while  George  Rudge,  Sr.,  acted  as  secretary.  Among  those 
who  advanced  Youngstown's  claim  at  the  meeting  and  outlined  plans 
for  winning  the  county  seat  were  A.  W.  Jones,  Gen.  Thomas  W.  San- 
derson, William  Powers,  Matthew  Logan,  David  M.  Wilson,  Stam- 
baugh, Rudge  and  others.  There  was  no  division  of  opinion  relative 
to  the  worthiness,  and  even  necessity,  of  the  movement.  Questions  of 
procedure  only  were  discussed. 

The  first  requisite  in  bringing  Youngstown's  claim  before  the  State 
Legislature  was  the  election  of  a  representative  committed  to  removal. 
The  meeting  met  this  question  by  the  adoption  of  a  resolution  proposing 
the  election  of  a  favorable  representative  regardless  of  political  affilia- 
tions. A  committee  was  also  named  to  outline  a  plan  of  campaign  for 
the  removal.  At  a  subsequent  meeting  this  committee  made  a  report 
setting  forth  the  justice  of  the  claims  of  Youngstown  and  surrounding 
territory,  urged  the  abandonment  of  party  lines  and  the  selection,  of  a 
removal  representative  to  the  Legislature  and  recommended  that  Youngs- 
town city  and  township  enter  into  an  agreement  to  erect  county  buildings 
to  a  value  of  at  least  twice  as  great  as  the  value  of  the  Canfield  buildings 
and  also  to  donate  a  site  for  such  buildings. 

On  Saturday,  June  30,  1873,  a  nominating  mass  convention  was  held 
in  Excelsior  Hall  and  a  ticket  selected  that  was  made  up  of  men  pledged 
to  the  removal  of  the  county  seat.  The  candidates  named  were :  Sheldon 
Newton  of  Boardman,  representative  in  the  Legislature;  James  K. 
Bailey  of  Coitsville,  auditor;  Isaac  A.  Justice  of  Youngstown,  prosecut- 
ing attorney;  Jonathan  Schillinger  of  Springfield,  commissioner;  J. 
Schnurrenberger,  of  Green,  infirmary  director;  Henry  M.  Boardman  of 
Boardman,  surveyor;  Dr.  Ewing  of  Milton,  coroner.  The  ticket  was 
made  up  partly  of  Republicans  and  partly  of  Democrats.  It  was  repre- 
sentative, too,  of  the  entire  county  and  not  merely  of  that  part  of  it 
surrounding  Youngstown.  In  addition  to  nominating  a  county  ticket 
the  convention  adopted  resolutions  declaring  in  favor  of  removal  under 
the  state  constitutional  provision  permitting  county  seat  removal  by  a 
vote  of  a  majority  of  the  voters  and  setting  forth  Youngstown's  claims 
by  asserting  that  "The  Township  of  Youngstown  contains  over  one- 
third  of  the  inhabitants,  and  pays  nearly  one-half  the  taxes  of  Mahoning 
County." 

Canfield,  however,  was  not  for  a  minute  disposed  to  give  up  without 
a  fight.  If  Youngstown  could  submerge  party  lines  Canfield  and  its 
friends  could  do  the  same.  On  August  19,  1873,  an  anti-removal  nom- 
inating convention  was  held  at  Canfield,  presided  over  by  Giles  Van 


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208       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Hyning,  when  the  anti-removalists  nominated  a  full  county  ticket,  made 
up  also  of  Democrats  and  Republicans,  and  adopted  fiery  resolutions, 
reading  in  part  as  follows: 

"Resolved,  That  we  deprecate  the  issue  forced  upon  us  by  the  con- 
vention held  at  Youngstown;  that  said  convention  is  directly  and  wholly 
responsible  for  rupturing  long  established  and  valued  political  associa- 
tions, for  the  probability  of  engineering  local  and  neighborhood  strife 
and  division,  the  consequence  of  which  will  be  to  injure  one  portion  of 
our  citizens  in  the  uncertain  expectation  of  bettering  them. 

"Resolved,  That  this  convention,  representing  every  township  in 
the  county,  deny  the  truthfulness  of  the  resolutions  of  the  Youngstown 
convention  of  June  30th,  they  being  a  gross  exaggeration  and  mis- 
representation of  the  facts,  but  on  the  contrary  we  claim  the  seat  of 
government,  being  now  centrally  located,  of  convenient  access  irom  all 
portions  of  the  county,  and  having  good  and  ample  buildings  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  public,  the  removal  of  it  to  one  corner  of  the 
county  largely  for  the  benefit  of  a  few  capitalists,  and  to  satisfy  uneasy 
political  agitation  would  be  an  act  of  gross  injustice  to  the  greater  por* 
tion  of  the  county." 

The  wording  of  the  resolution  is  perhaps  ambiguous  in  spots,  but 
the  earnestness  of  the  Canfield  assemblage  cannot  be  doubted  for  a 
moment. 

In  selecting  an  anti-removal  ticket  the  convention  nominated  C.  F. 
Kirtland  of  Poland  for  representative;  James  M.  Dixon  of  Jackson, 
auditor;  Jared  Huxley  of  Canfield,  prosecuting  attorney;  James  Wil- 
liams of  Ellsworth,  commissioner;  Isaac  G.  Rush  of  Coitsville,  infirmary 
director;  Dr.  E.  G.  Rose  of  Austintown,  coroner;  Daniel  Reichart  of 
Milton,  surveyor. 

The  county  election,  held  in  connection  with  the  state  election  of 
October,  1873,  resulted  in  the  election  of  the  "removal"  ticket,  an  almost 
foregone  conclusion.  Victory  did  not  come,  however,  until  after  a  cam- 
paign that  is  remembered  by  old  residents  because  of  its  heat.  With 
the  odds  against  her,  Canfield  fought  to  the  last  minute. 

At  the  succeeding  session  of  the  State  Legislature  Representative 
Newton  offered  the  bill  for  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  of  Mahoning 
County  from  "the  town  of  Canfield  to  the  city  of  Youngstown."  The 
struggle  was  carried  to  the  Legislature,  Representative  Newton  being 
reinforced  in  his  fight  by  C.  H.  Andrews,  Mathew  Logan  and  Asa  W. 
Jones,  who  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  winter  of  1&73-74  in  Columbus, 
while  Canfield  was  represented  by  David  Anderson,  Judge  Eben  New- 
ton, W.  S.  Anderson  and  others.  The  removal  bill  passed  by  a  bare  con- 
stitutional vote  and  only  after  Speaker  Converse  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives had  cast  the  deciding  vote  in  its  favor.  This  measure,  enacted 
on  April  9,  1874,  provided: 

"Section  1.  That  from  and  after  taking  effect  of  this  section  of  the 
act,  as  hereinafter  provided,  the  seat  of  justice  in  the  county  of  Mahon- 
ing shall  be  removed  from  the  town  of  Canfield  to  the  city  of  Youngs- 
town in  said  county. 

"Section  2.     That  the  foregoing  section  of  this  act  shall  take  effect 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       209 

and  be  in  force  when,  and  so  soon  as,  the  same  shall  be  adopted  by  a 
majority  of  all  the  electors  in  said  Mahoning  County  voting  at  the  next 
general  election  after  the  passage  thereof,  and  when  suitable  buildings 
shall  have  been  erected  as  hereinafter  provided." 

Provision  was  made  for  the  method  of  taking  the  referendum  vote 
mentioned  in  the  above  section,  and  with  respect  to  the  obligation  in- 
cumbent on  Youngstown  before.it  could  become  a  full  fledged  county 
seat,  provided  that: 

«*  *  *  nothing  in  the  act  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  authorize 
the  removal  of  the  seat  of  justice  to  said  city  of  Youngstown  until  the 
citizens  of  the  city  and  township  of  Youngstown  shall  have  donated  a 
lot  or  lots  of  land  in  the  city  of  Youngstown  and  of  sufficient  size  and 
suitably  located  to  accommodate  the  court-house,  jail,  and  necessary 
offices  for  said  county,  and  shall  have  erected  thereon  and  completed 
thereon  suitable  buildings  for  court-house,  jail,  and  all  other  offices  and 
rooms  necessary  for  the  transaction  of  all  public  business  for  said  coun- 
ty, at  a  cost  of  said  buildings  of  not  less  than  $100,000,  and  to  the  satis- 
faction and  acceptance  of  the  commissioners  of  saicj  county,  and  all  such 
buildings  shall  b£  completed  within  two  years  from  the  date  of  the  elec- 
tion at  which  said  act  shg.ll  be  ratified;  and  saic^* commissioners  shall  not, 
nor  shall  any  other  authority  01  said  county,  levy  any  tax  on  the  taxable 
property  of  said  county  for  said  lands  or  buildings;  provided  that  the 
citizens  of  Youngstown  may  within  two  years  build  r$aid  buildings  and 
tender  the  same  to  the  said  commissioners."  ^^         vr 

The  provision  against  assessing  any  tax  for  the  proposed  improve- 
ments meant  that  it  was  left  to  Youngstown  to  secure  a  site  for  county 
buildings  and  erect  such  buildings  by  popular  subscription  alone. 
Youngstown  readily  accepted  the  challenge  by  calling  a  mass  convention, 
at  which  a  committee  was  n^mejd  to  solicit  funds  for  the  county  build- 
ings arid  arrange  for  the  erection  of  the  buildings,  and  another  cbpiniit-- 
tee  was  named  to  manage  the  campaign  by  which  a  popular  vote  would 
be  taken  on  removal.  The  soliciting  committee  went  to  work  with  a 
will  and  at  a  meeting  held  on  August  10,  1874,  reported  that  the  required 
$100,000  had  been  subscribed  for  public  buildings,  but  that  the  commit- 
tee desired  to  increase  the  amount  to  $200,000. 

Five  months  previously  city  council  had  authorized  the  mayor  to 
convey  to  the  building  committee  the  two  lots  at  Wick  Avenue  and  Wood 
Street  that  had  been  used  until  a  few  years  previously  for  a  township 
cemetery  and  were  still  city  property.  The  lots,  said  to  have  an  actual 
value  of  $40,000,  were  transferred  for  a  consideration  of  $10. 

The  vote  taken  at  the  election  in  October,  1874,  was  heavily  in  favor 
of  removal.  Youngstown  acted  on  this  ratification  of  its  step  by  letting 
contracts  for  the  construction  of  a  courthouse. 

Canfield,  however,  was  not  yet  ready  to  submit.  The  Legislature 
had  granted  the  prayer  for  removal  and  the  voters  had  supported  the 
act  of  the  Legislature  but,  in  the  minds  of  Canfield  adherents  at  least, 
there  was  a  question  of  the  legality  of  the  whole  procedure.  The  act 
of  1846  creating  the  County  of  Mahoning  had  provided  that  the  county 
seat  should  be  located  "permanently"  at  Canfield.    On  the  plea  that  this 


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210        YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

meant  that  Canfield  should  be  "forever"  the  seat  of  justice  for  Mahon- 
ing County,  a  petition  was  filed  by  Eben  Newton  and  others  in  the  Dis- 
trict Court  enjoining  the  county  commissioners  against  permitting  the 
removal  of  the  county  seat.  It  was  contended  that  this  provision  in  the 
original  act  made  the  act  of  April  9,  1874,  unconstitutional  and  that  this 
measure  and  the  subsequent  referendum  vote  were  alike  of  no  avail. 

In  the  bill  of  particulars  there  were  other  arguments  set  forth  against 
removal,  of  course.  In  fact  the  fight  had  grown  so  warm  that  argu- 
ments ranged  all  the  way  from  the  ponderous  division  of  legal  opinion 
over  the  meaning  of  the  word  "permanent"  to  the  alleged  contention  of 


Central  Square  in  1870 

one  Canfield  individual  that  "the  ccurt  house  couldn't  be  moved  to 
Youngstown  because  they  couldn't  get  it  through  the  covered  bridge  at 
Lanterman's  Falls,"  a  most  obvious  conclusion.  All  in  all,  however,  the 
last  defense  possible  for  Canfield  was  that  it  had  been  awarded  the 
county  seat  for  all  time  and  could  not  be  deprived  of  this  honor. 

Youngstown,  of  course,  met  this  argument  by  replving  that  the  act 
of  1846  could  not  be  construed  in  the  way  Canfield  held  since  the  Legis- 
lature would  have  exceeded  its  powers  grossly  in  attempting  to  legislate 
in  this  manner.  Such  an  attempt  would  be  unconstitutional  in  itself, 
it  was  asserted,  since  it  would  have  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Legis- 
lature the  power  of  governing  the  state. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       211 

The  suit  was  heard  in  the  old  courthouse  at  Canfield,  with  Gen. 
Thomas  W.  Sanderson,  George  F.  Arrel,  Asa  W.  Jones  and  Judge  B.  F. 
Hoffman  representing  Youngstown  and  Judge  G.  M.  Tuttle  and  Judge 
F.  G.  Servis  appearing  on  behalf  of  Canfield. 

Judge  Conant  decided  in  favor  of  Youngstown  and  the  suit  was  ap- 
pealed to  the  District  Court,  which  upheld  Judge  Conant.  From  the 
District  Court  the  case  was  carried  on  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio, 
where  it  was  decided  in  1876,  three  years  after  Youngstown  had  begun 
its  fight.  The  courts  ruled  that  the  power  to  establish  and  remove  coun- 
ty seats  rests  with  the  Legislature  and  cannot  be  parted  with  by  any 
contract  between  the  Legislature  and  any  community.  Furthermore  the 
act  of  1846  was  not  a  specific  contract  and  it  would  be  an  error  to  at- 
tempt to  read  a  contract  into  it.  With  respect  to  the  phrase  "perma- 
nently established"  the  court  held  that  this  meant  that  Canfield  should  not 
be  considered  the  permanent  possessor  of  the  county  seat  until  it  had 
complied  with  all  the  provision  of  the  act  of  1846  with  relation  to  the 
donation  of  lands  and  buildings ;  that  previous  to  the  fulfillment  of  such 
obligations  Canfield  was  the  county  seat  only  provisionally.  The  plea 
that  the  word  "permanently"  meant  "forever"  was  rejected  and  its  use 
in  the  act  of  1846  was  interpreted  to  mean  that  the  county  seat  had  been 
established  merely  "as  other  county  seats  are  established." 

Canfield  carried  the  ,suit  still  farther,  however,  by  appealing  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  for  redress.  The  case  was  not 
argued  until  1879,  when  Gen.  James  A.  Garfield  appeared  on  behalf  of 
Canfield  and  Gen.  Thomas  W.  Sanderson  for  Youngstown.  General 
Garfield  based  his  argument  on  the  plea  that  the  section  of  the, act  of 
1846  relating  to  the  donation  of  land  and  buildings  constituted,  when 
complied  with,  a  specific  contract  and  that  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States  makes  inviolate  any  contract  between  a  sovereign  state  and  its 
citizens.  General  Sanderson  contended  that  the  word  "permanently,"  as 
used  in  the  statutes,  did  not  mean  "forever,"  holding  that  "the  phrase 
permanently  established  is  a  formula  in  long  and  frequent  use  in  Ohio 
with  respect  to  county  seats  established  otherwise  than  temporarily.,, 
The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  upheld  the  state  courts  and 
the  struggle  came  definitely  to  an  end. 

The  original  decisions  of  the  lower  courts  had,  in  fact  satisfied  the 
people  of  Youngstown  and  the  removal  was  brought  about  even  before 
the  decision  of  the  State  Supreme  Court  was  rendered.  The  actual  re- 
moval was  a  memorable  ceremony.  General  Sanderson  and  Asa  W. 
Jones  were  named  a  committee  in  charge  of  the  transfer  of  the  records 
and,  with  carriage  and  team,  they  led  the  procession  of  forty  wagons 
that  wound  its  way  to  Canfield  one  summer  morning  in  1876.  The 
county  commissioners  awaited  them  at  the  old  courthouse,  accepted  the 
deed  to  the  new  county  property  in  Youngstown,  and  before  noon  the 
teams  were  back  in  Youngstown  with  the  county  records  intact. 

Tradition  has  woven  a  fanciful  story  about  this  removal  scene, 
alleging  that  the  transfer  of  the  records  was  made  in  the  dead  of  night 
when  watchful  Canfield  residents  were  taken  off  their  guard.  This  is  a 
pure  myth.    The  transaction  took  place  in  broad  daylight,  it  was  known 


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212       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

in  advance  by  everyone  in  Youngstown  and  Canfield  that  the  removal 
was  about  to  take  place,  and  Canfield  people  merely  stood  aloof  on  the 
fateful  day. 

One  of  the  earliest  trials  held  in  the  old  Youngstown  courthouse — a 
trial  that  was  transferred  from  Canfield — was  that  of  Charles  Sterling 
for  murder.  The  trial  itself  was  a  leading  topic  of  discussion,  and  even 
controversy  regarding  the  accused  man's  guilt  or  innocence,  at  that  time 
and  for  many  years  thereafter,  but  is  notable,  today  only  because  Sterling 
was  the  only  person  who  ever  suffered  the  death  penalty  in  Mahoning 
County.  Sterling  was  hanged  in  the  jail  yard  here  in  1877.  Soon  after- 
wards it  was  decreed  that  all  executions  should  take  place  at  Columbus. 

All  leading  citizens  of  Youngstown,  and  many  who  were  not  of  great 
prominence,  assisted  in  the  long  fight  for  county  seat  removal,  but  prob- 
ably the  major  share  of  the  credit  should  go  to  C.  H.  Andrews,  Youngs- 
town's  foremost  resident  at  that  time.  Andrews  not  only  gave  counsel 
and  devoted  time  to  the  struggle  but  personally  assumed  the  responsi- 
bility for  heavy  financial  obligations  entailed  in  the  construction  of  the 
county  buildings.  There  was  an  aftermath  of  this  county  seat  fight  in 
the  political  controversy  as  to  whether  the  non-partisan  plan  of  nominat- 
ing county  candidates  should  be  continued  or  abandoned  after  the  county 
seat  fight  had  been  won.  Andrews  favored  the  use  of  the  bi-partisan 
arrangement  in  1875  arjd  was  opposed  by  Walter  L.  Campbell,  after- 
wards mayor,  and  then  editor  of  the  Register  and  Tribune,  the  Repub- 
lican organ,  who  believed  the  non-partisan  arrangement  had  served  its 
purpose  and  should  be  dispensed  with. 

Meanwhile  Youngstown  struggled  through  the  dull  period  from 
1873  to  l&79-  Improvements  went  on,  including  the  adoption  of  a  plan 
for  a  general  sewer  system  for  the  city,  Youngstown  up  to  this  time  hav- 
ing been  backward  in  this  respect,  as  indeed  most  American  cities  were. 
In  1879  a  distinct  improvement  for  the  better  was  noted  in  business  and 
by  the  summer  of  1880  the  city  was  enjoying  prosperity  of  the  kind  that 
had  been  apparent  for  a  few  years  after  the  war.  Iron  prices  doubled 
arid  tripled,  the  demand  was  heavy,  work  was  plentiful  and  the  distribu- 
tion of  charity  happily  came  to  an  end. 

In  1880  the  decennial  census  showed  that  the  city  had  attained  a 
population  of  15,435,  a  gain  of  7,360  or  more  than  90  per  cent  for  the 
ten-year  period  since  1870.  This  was  an  especially  gratifying  growth  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  much  of  this  period  had  been  a  time  of  depression. 
To  care  for  this  increased  growth  the  city  was  divided  into  seven  wards, 
five  having  sufficed  for  the  previous  ten  years. 

It  may  appear  strange  to  realize  that  up  to  this  time  Youngstown  had 
gotten  along  without  many  of  the  improvements  that  today  are  con- 
sidered just  the  barest  of  necessities,  yet  such  was  the  case.  Fifteen 
years  before  progressive  councilmen  had  aroused  the  ire  of  old  residents 
by  proposing  a  program  of  betterment  that  included  grading  Federal 
Street  and  some  of  the  other  downtown  streets,  cutting  away  the  humps 
that  disfigured  the  main  thoroughfare  and  laying  sidewalks  that  would 
make  it  unnecessary  to  tramp  through  the  mud  and  dust  when  engaged 
in  a  day's  shopping.     Having  embarked  on  this  forward-looking  move- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        213 

ment  Youngstown  made  good  progress,  but  there  was  as  yet  not  a  paved 
street  in  the  city.  Federal  Street  was  a  wide  and  fairly  level  highway 
but  wholly  destitute  of  any  surfacing  except  that  provided  by  Mother 
Nature.  It  was  a  sea  of  mud  much  of  the  time,  dust  blown  at  other 
times  and  pleasant  only  between  times.  Drivers  of  vehicles  were  not 
averse  to  traversing  the  sidewalks  at  times,  a  clearly  illegal  proceeding 
but  often  almost  a  necessary  one  and  one  that  was  as  often  as  not  viewed 
with  leniency. 

In  1882  council  set  about  to  remedy  this  defect  by  providing  for 
the  paving  of  Federal  Street  and  Market  Street,  the  latter  improvement 
to  include  only  a  short  section  of  the  street  to  the  south  of  Central 
Square  and  an  even  shorter  section  of  North  Market  Street — for  at  that 
time  Market  Street  extended  to  Wood  Street,  the  change  of  name  of 
these  two  blocks  to  Wick  Avenue  being  of  comparatively  recent  date. 

For  East  Federal  Street  and  Market  Street  sheet  asphalt  was  selected 
while  provision  was  made  for  paving  West  Federal  Street  with  Quincy 
granite.  The  latter  was  selected  for  its  lasting  qualities,  as  traffic  was 
heaviest  in  West  Federal  Street  and  the  use  of  sheet  asphalt  as  a  street 
paving  was  accepted  with  doubtful  misgivings.  Granite,  or  cobblestones, 
had  been  in  use  for  some  time  in  the  construction  of  street  crossings  to 
keep  pedestrians  out  of  the  worst  of  the  mud  in  down  town  streets  and 
its  value  was  known  and  thoroughly  appreciated.  In  fact  so  accustomed 
had  Youngstowners  become  to  cobblestone  crosswalks  that  many  were 
unable  at  first  to  conceive  of  a  street  crossing  without  them  and  there 
was  much  discussion  as  to  how  the  cobblestones  would  fit  in  with  the 
asphalt  in  the  streets  that  were  to  be  paved  with  that  material.  The 
suggestion  that  crossing  the  street  on  the  asphalt  itself  would  be  a  per- 
fectly safe  procedure  was  received  skeptically  and  was  flouted  by  many 
until  they  had  tried  the  experiment. 

As  to  the  lasting  qualities  of  a  granite  roadway  Federal  Street  itself 
was  a  living  witness.  It  was  not  until  1908,  more  than  twenty-five  years 
after  this  sort  of  pavement  was  laid,  that  it  was  finally  replaced  in  West 
Federal  Street  by  asphalt.  The  memory  of  this  thoroughfare  when  it 
resembled  a  corduroy  road  is  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  even  youthful 
residents  of  Youngstown,  but  happily  the  change  was  made  before  the 
motor  vehicle  came  into  common  use. 

Another  improvement  made  in  the  summer  of  1882  was  the  construc- 
tion of  the  main  sewer  draining  the  territory  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river  west  of  Crab  Creek.  Lateral  sewers  had  been  built  previously  but 
ended  at  the  river  bank  with  the  result  that  there  was  little  or  no  drain- 
age in  seasons  of  low  water.  The  mills  along  the  river  bank  were 
affected  by  this  condition  just  as  mill  operations  have  been  affected  in 
recent  years  by  the  repeated  use  of  the  river  water,  a  condition  that  has 
been  remedied  to  a  great  extent  by  the  construction  of  the  Milton  storage 
reservoir  that  prevents  the  excessively  low  stage  of  water  that  prevailed 
for  almost  ten  years  prior  to  1917.  The  main  sewer  emptying  into  the 
river  at  the  mouth  of  Crab  Creek  drained  all  these  lateral  sewers  and 
did  away  with  the  obnoxious  condition  that  had  prevailed  for  several 
years. 


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214       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  construction  of  this  sewer  might  not  be  worth  recalling  were 
it  not  for  one  curious  fact.  Previous  to  this  time  (1882),  malaria  had 
been  the  most  common  of  all  diseases  in  Youngstown,  and  diseases  of 
different  kinds  were  all  too  plentiful  at  that  time  In  keeping  with  the 
spirit  of  that  age  this  affliction  was  accepted  as  a  most  obnoxious  evil 
but  a  necessary  one.  Youngstown  had  been  buiit  in  a  river  valley  and 
malaria  was  to  be  expected.  Other  communities  had  malaria  and  ac- 
cepted it  with  little  regard  to  cause  and  no  suspicion  of  the  tiny  mosquito 
that  is  blamed  now,  not  for  malaria  alone  but  for  many  other  ills.  In 
every  Youngstown  home  quinine  was  part  of  the  household  stock,  as 
common  as  tea  or  coffee  and  used  almost  as  frequently.  Sometimes 
whisky  accompanied  it  in  the  fight  to  ward  off  the  "chills  and  fever," 
"fever  and  ague,"  or  malaria  under  any  other  name,  and  sometimes  it 
was  taken  without  camouflage,  but  everyone  took  quinine.  With  the 
construction  of  the  main  drainage  sewer,  however,  malaria  disappeared 
entirely  and  almost  instantly.  For  many  years  it  has  been  almost  an 
unknown  disease  in  Youngstown. 

The  improvements  made  during  the  year  1882  were  hastened  to  com- 
pletion, perhaps,  by  strike  of  ironworkers  in  the  summer  of  that  year. 
This  strike,  mention  of  which  is  made  in  the  industrial  chapter  of  this 
history,  was  one  of  the  most  prolonged  in  the  history  of  the  city.  It 
was  the  aftermath  of  the  reign  of  prosperity  that  began  in  1879  and  con- 
tinued for  two  years  or  more,  after  which  it  began  to  show  signs  of 
recession,  although  there  was  no  lessening  of  activity  to  the  "panic" 
stage.  Coming  at  this  time,  the  demand  for  higher  wages  was  unpro- 
pitious,  and  the  result  was  a  shutdown  of  the  mills  that  lasted  from 
June  1st  until  late  in  October.  Many  of  the  strikers  remained  idle  dur- 
ing this  time;  but  numbers  of  them  secured  work  with  the  contractors 
engaged  in  the  street  paving  and  sewer  construction  jobs. 

The  heavy  percentage  of  gain  in  Youngstown's  population  in  the 
decade  between  1870  and  1880  was  notable,  not  alone  because  it  was 
made  during  a  period  of  depression,  but  because  the  entire  gain  was 
made  within  the  city  limits  as  they  stood  in  the  former  year.  Before 
the  city  form  of  government  was  adopted  in  the  spring  of  1868  there 
had  been  a  liberal  extension,  but  for  more  than  ten  years  thereafter 
Youngstown's  boundaries  remained  unaltered.  There  was  intermittent 
discussion  of  extension  and  various  proposals  suggested,  but  none  of 
these  reached  the  stage  of  legislative  action. 

In  1880,  however,  even  before  the  decennial  census  figures  had  been 
prepared,  more  serious  proposals  were  made  for  a  Greater  Youngstown. 
At  this  time  the  city  contained  perhaps  two-thirds  of  the  residents  of 
Youngstown  Township,  but  many  of  those  not  within  the  corporation 
limits  were  really  urban  dwellers  rather  than  agriculturalists.  Brier 
Hill,  originally  only  the  Governor  Tod  homestead,  had  become  a  village 
of  healthy  proportions,  or  rather  a  village  had  sprung  up  about  the  old 
farm  and  to  the  east  of  it  on  which  the  name  of  the  war  governor's 
homestead  was  bestowed  by  common  consent.  The  early  industries 
there,  among  the  very  earliest  of  any  considerable  size  in  the  valley,  had 
been  augmented  until  they  employed  many  hundreds  of  men.    Churches 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       215 

had  been  built,  schools  established  and  Brier  Hill  was  made  a  postoffice. 
No  attempt  had  been  made  to  incorporate  it  or  form  a  village  govern- 
ment, probably  from  the  fact  that  its  ultimate  inclusion  in  Youngstown 
was  considered  inevitable,  but  in  every  other  respect  it  was  an  urban 
community.  Between  it  and"  Youngstown  there  was  scarcely  anything 
more  than  an  invisible  dividing  line. 

The  same  might  be  said  of  the  suburb  of  Haselton.  This  part  of  the 
township  had  been  settled  as  early  as  the  central  part  where  John  Young 
laid  out  his  embryo  village,  Daniel  Sheehy,  James  Davidson,  Robert 
Montgomery  and  Roger  Sheehy  being  early  landowners  there,  while 
Abram  Powers  was  the  pioneer  landowner  just  across  the  river  in  the 
Lansingville  neighborhood.  The  construction  of  the  canal  attracted  busi- 
ness to  this  settlement  and  the  population  grew  with  the  addition  of  iron 
works.     It  was  perhaps  somewhat  more  remote  from  Youngstown  than 


Wick  Avenue  in  the  '7os 

Brier  Hill  was  during  the  '6os  and  '70s,  but,  like  the  latter  place,  was  a 
good  sized  village  with  its  own  schools,  churches  and  postoffice.  Across 
the  river  Lansingville  had  been  built  up,  East  Youngstown  (not  the 
present  municipality  but  a  small  settlement  farther  up  the  river)  was  a 
neighbor,  and  in  the  northern  part  of  the  township  was  the  thriving 
settlement  of  Crab  Creek,  at  the  forks  where  the  Hubbard  road  branched 
off  from  the  present  Logan  Avenue.  Crab  Creek  had  been  the  busi- 
ness center  for  a  thriving  coal  mining  district  and  was  still  a  place  of 
consequence  and  in  fairly  close  communication  with  Youngstown  by 
reason  of  its  location  on  the  main  highway  leading  to  Eastern  Trumbull 
County. 

The  extension  movement  took  active  form  in-  January,  1880,  when, 
after  Youngstown's  limits  had  remained  stationary  for  twelve  years,  a 
petition  was  filed  with  city  council  prajing  for  expansion.  The  petition 
was  signed  by  469  Youngstown  residents,  all  of  them  substantial  citizens, 


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216       YOUNGSTQWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

the  number  being  greater  than  was  necessary,  although  fewer  than  could 
have  been  secured  had  any  serious  opposition  been  anticipated. 

The  petitioners  proposed  that  the  city  limits  be  extended  to  take 
in  the  greater  part  of  the  township  in  the  Crab  Creek  neighborhood, 
Brier  Hill,  Haselton,  East  Youngstown,  Lansingville  and  considerable 
other  outlying  territory  that  had  been  built  up,  residents  of  which  were 
Youngstown  people  in  every  way  except  officially.  The  petition  was  re- 
ceived by  council  and  on  February  18,  1880,  the  city  engineer  submitted 
a  report  providing  for  extension  but  omitting  much  of  the  territory  that 
had  been  included  by  the  citizen  petitioners.  The  movement  had  met 
with  not  a  little  oppositiort  from  residents  of  the  suburbs,  and  in  the 
engineer's  report  Haselton,  East  Youngstown,  Crab  Creek  and  some  of 
the  unnamed  but  designated  plats  adjoining  the  city  were  ignored.  It 
provided  largely  for  a  Brier  Hill  annexation. 

Council  accepted  this  report  in  spite  of  the  alterations  made  and 
passed  the  necessary  annexation  legislation.  The  ordinance  was  then 
submitted  to  the  county  commissioners  of  Mahoning  County,  as  re- 
quired by  law,  but  opposition  had  not  yet  ceased  and  protests  from  Brier 
Hill  and  from  others  affected  were  fruitful,  for  the  commissioners  handed 
dowh  a  decision  on  November  18,  1880,  denying  the  prayer  for  annexa- 
it^on.^ The. ordinance  was  dismissed  rather  curtly,  in  fact,  Without  any 
official  explanation  and  with  the  injunction  that  the  petitioners  be  te- 
quireft  to 'pay  the  costs  of  the,  case. 

*-  .The  lirg'ent  need  bf  city  limits^  extension,  was.  so  apparent  that  the 
action  pf  the  coitittiissionefs  caused  not  qnlV  much  surprise  but  severe 
criticisms  as  well.  This  was  lost  on  the  county  officials,  however,  as  they 
fcnade  no  attempt  to  rescind  their  action. 

For  almost  another  decade  Youngstown  remained  the  chi'ef  munici- 
pality within  the  township,  but  only  one  of  several'  municipalities  after 
all.  In  township  affairs  it  divided  responsibilty  wth  Brier  Hill  and 
Haselton,  and  there  was  no  unity  of  action  among  urban  residents.  Cer- 
tain governmental  changes  and  civic  improvements  were  delayed  because 
of  this  situation,  a  condition  that  was  unfortunate  for  the  suburbs  as 
well  as  for  the  city. 

The  annexation  movement  naturally  did  not  die  with  the  adverse 
action  of  1880.  Various  extension  proposals  were  discussed  almost 
perennially  and  extension  petitions  were  drafted  from  time  to  time  in  an 
effort  to  reach  an  adjustment,  each  year  seeing  a  revival  of  the  agitation. 
The  discussion  was  not  all  one-sided,  of  course,  for  there  was  a  healthy 
opposition  sentiment  among  the  peoples  who  were  to  be  absorbed  and 
extension  meetings  were  met  with  rival  meetings  of  protest.  As  is  al- 
ways the  case  when  outlying  territory  is  confronted  with  the  prospect 
of  being  swallowed  up  by  a  larger  municipality,  there  was  objection  to 
losing  municipal  identity  and  fear  of  increased  tax  rates  and  other  sup- 
posed disadvantages. 

Toward  the  latter  part  of  the  '8os,  however,  the  realization  finally 
came  that  this  progressive  step  could  not  be  delayed  any  longer.  The 
suburban  residents  were  occupying  the  anomalous  position  of  being 
Youngstown  residents  and  yet  not  residing  in  Youngstown.     A  petition 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       217 

circulated  early  in  1889  received  much  support  from  outside  the  city  as 
well  as  from  within,  and  on  April  8,  1889,  after  the  situation  had  been 
thoroughly  surveyed,  council  passed  an  ordinance  extending  the  mu- 
nicipal limits  to  include  Brier  Hill,  Haselton  and  the  territory  east  to  the 
Coitsville  Township  line,  Lansingville,  Crab  Creek  to  a  point  just  north 
of  the  Hubbard  Road  and  considerable  unnamed  territory.  This  action 
was  ratified  by  the  county  commissioners  on  November  24,  1889,  and, 
except  for  certain  measures  necessary  to  make  the  annexation  effective, 
the  enlarged  city  became  a  realitv. 

It  had  been  che  first  extension  of  the  city  limits  in  twenty-one  years 
and,  with  the  exception  of  small  additions  made  from  time  to  time  to 
include  outlying  improved  property,  it  was  to  be  the  last  extension  for 
another  twenty-five  years.  In  fact  Youngstown  diminished  in  area 
three  years  later  when  certain  land  within  the  city  limits  was  restored  to 
the  township  as  an  inducement  to  the  Ohio  Steel  Company  to  build  its 
proposed  plant  thereon.  The  motive,  of  course,  was  to  give  the  com- 
pany the  benefit  of  the  lower  tax  rates  of  the  township,  and  the  agree- 
ment was  made  for  a  ten-year  period.  The  bargain  was  lived  up  to 
religiously. 

This  decade  was  one  that  also  saw  a  number  of  other  civic  improve- 
ments. In  common  with  other  communities  Youngstown  received  the 
benefit  of  the  introduction  of  electricity,  a  commodity  that  it  had  gotten 
along  without  before,  although  unaware  of  course  of  the  deprivation. 
Electric  lights  replaced  the  old  gas  lamps  on  the  street  corners  and  the 
familiar  "lamp  posts"  passed  into  history.  The  horse  car  line,  travers- 
ing only  the  main  street,  or  Federal  Street,  from  a  point  a  short  distance 
below  Basin  Street  to  the  car  barns  at  Jefferson  Street  in  Brier  Hill, 
gave  way  to  that  novelty  of  novelties,  an  electric  car  line.  The  horse 
car  line  had  answered  all  purposes  in  its  leisurely  way,  for  the  craze 
tor  speed  that  we  know  today  was  absent  then,  although  Americans  of 
the  '8os  fondly  believed  they,  too,  were  living  a  nerve-racking  life. 
Youngstown  people  of  that  day  were  not  afraid  of  a  long  walk  to  "town" 
on  board  sidewalks  or  through  mud  or  dust.  Having  been  brought  up 
without  luxuries,  exercise-discouraging  inventions  and  the  soft  ease  of 
succeeding  generations,  they  missed  none  of  these  things.  But  the  dimin- 
utive car  drawn  by  a  jogging  horse,  which  was  helped  on  the  grades 
by  an  extra  horse  or  mule,  went  the  way  of  the  stage  and  the  canal, 
although  it  is  still  of  such  recent  date  that  even  younger  residents  of 
Youngstown  recall  it  more  or  less  vividly. 

The  annexation  of  1889  was  reflected  in  the  census  returns  of  1890 
when  Youngstown's  population  was  officially  given  as  33,220.  This 
increase  of  17,785  over  the  1880  population,  or  approximately  115  per 
cent,  was  not  due  entirely  of  course  to  the  residents  added  by  extension, 
as  the  old  area  of  the  city  had  been  more  closely  built  up.  It  placed 
Youngstown  among  the  leading  Ohio  cities,  however,  giving  it  a  rank 
beyond  that  of  several  municipalities  that  had  once  exceeded  it  in  popula- 
tion and  that  had  threatened  to  leave  it  far  behind  as  the  years  went  on. 


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CHAPTER  XIII 
YOUNGSTOWN  FROM  1890  TO  1910 

Change  in  the  Form  of  City  Government — Beginning  of  the  Steel 
Industry  and  the  Panic  of  1893 — Mill  Creek  Park  Founding — 
Presidential  Campaign  of  1896  and  Ending  of  the  Panic — 
Spanish-American  War  Days — Depression  of  1907 — Closer  of 
First  Decade  of  Century.  ]  t , 

Youngstown  had  now  rounded  out  almost  a  century  of  its  existence 
as  a  habitation  for  white  men.  One  hundred  years  before,  it  was  a 
wilderness  through  which  ran  the  old  Indian  trail  from  Pittsburg  and 
Beavertown  to  Lake  Erie,  a  trail  that  was  followed  by  the  red  men,  by 
venturesome  hunters  and  trappers  from  Pennsylvania  and  by  an  occa- 
sional and  restless  explorer.  The  Mahoning  River  was  merely  a  high- 
way for  the  canoes  of  the  Indians  and  of  traders  like  James  Hillman. 
There  were  no  permanent  white  inhabitants.  Occasional  "squatters" 
perhaps  came  and  went;  even  the  saltmakers  from  across  the  line  in 
Pennsylvania  had  become  fewer.  But  from  the  advent  of  the  New 
Englanders  and  Pennsylvanians  in  1797  the  growth  had  been  gradual; 
slight  perhaps  in  the  first  fifty  years  of  the  existence  of  the  village,  but 
more  rapid  in  the  remaining  years  up  to  1890,  although  even  at  the  latter 
date,  just  thirty  years  ago,  the  population  was  100,000  less  than  it  is 
today. 

The  natural  increase  within  the  city  limits  and  the  added  population 
that  came  with  the  annexation  of  outlying  territory  made  the  existing 
form  of  municipal  government  not  only  unsatisfactory  but  wholly  un- 
fitted for  Youngstown  by  1890.  The  administrative  machinery  that 
had  sufficed  for  a  city  of  5,000  people  was  inadequate  for  a  municipality 
of  almost  35,000.  The  mayor  was  police  judge  as  well  as  executive  and 
was  burdened  with  many  responsibilities  that  should  have  been  delegated 
to  subordinates  or  boards.  Council  was  an  unpaid  body  charged  with 
duties  that  did  not  properly  belong  to  the  legislative  branch  of  a  gov- 
ernment. The  police  force  was  still  that  of  a  village  in  its  form  of 
organization  and  hardly  more  than  that  of  a  village  in  size.  At  its  head 
was  the  city  marshal,  elected  for  a  two-year  term  by  direct  vote  of  the 
people.  The  remainder  of  the  force  was  made  up  of  patrolmen  and 
roundsmen  appointed  by  the  mayor.  This  system  of  permitting  a  de- 
partment that  was  partly  elective  and  partly  appointive  was  not  good  in 
itself,  and  the  bad  features  were  heightened  by  the  fact  that  it  was 
almost  purely  a  political  organization.  Each  succeeding  mayor  named  an 
entirely  new  force,  and  while  it  must  be  said  in  all   fairness  that  the 

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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       219 

different  men  who  held  the  office  of  mayor,  regardless  of  their  own 
political  affiliations,  divided  the  appointments  among  various  parties,  the 
tendency  was  toward  disruption.  A  place  on  the  police  force  was  con- 
sidered even  more  desirable  then  than  now,  influence  had  much  to  do 
with  selection,  and  a  good  man  might  be  ousted  at  the  end  of  two  years 
regardless  of  his  worth. 

The  same  antiquated  condition  existed  in  the  fire  department.  The 
volunteer  system  still  prevailed,  although  as  early  as  1884  several  paid 
firemen  had  been  added  to  the  department  and  shortly  afterwards  addi- 
tional provision  was  made  •  for  paid  men  by  guaranteeing  "minute  men" 
a  wage  of  50  cents  an  hour  while  on  duty.  The  chief  of  the  department 
was  nominated  annually  by  the  firemen,  subject  to  confirmation  by  city 
council,  a  most  unscientific  arrangement,  but  one  that  had  been  handed 
down  from  the  days  of  thirty  years  before.  In  1888  and  1889  two  addi- 
tional fire  stations  had  been  built,  making  the  equipment  fairly  adequate 
for  the  city,  but  leaving  the  fire  fighting  system  still  faulty. 

Progressive  citizens  realized  full  well  the  need  for  a  more  modern 
form  of  municipal  government  and  public  meetings  and  conferences  were 
held  and  numerous  suggestions  made  improving  the  situation.  The  dis- 
cussion finally  resulted  in  the  drafting  of  a  measure  providing  a  special 
form  of  government  for  Youngstown,  opposition  from  other  cities  being 
allayed  by  making  this  measure  apply  only  to  cities  whose  population  was 
not  less  than  33,000  or  more  than  34,000.  This  bill  was  passed  by  the 
State  Legislature,  at  a  special  session,  in  February,  1891,  provision  being 
made  that  it  go  into  effect  following  the  city  election  in  April  of  that 
year.  The  chief  provision  of  this  act  was  a  section  providing  for  the 
appointment  of  a  board  of  city  commissioners,  four  in  number,  who 
should  be  the  administrative  officers  for  the  city.  Those  selected  were 
J.  W.  Dickey,  J.  H.  Nutt,  C.  M.  Reilly  and  A.  J.  McCartney. 

This  change  was  distinctly  for  the  better  since  it  provided  for  the 
proper  discharge  of  many  duties  that  had  grown  too  burdensome  for  the 
mayor  and  the  council.  Council  had  previously,  on  March  10,  1891, 
abolished  the  elective  office  of  city  marshal  and  created  the  position  of 
chief  of  police,  to  be  appointed  by  the  city  commissioners.  On  their 
organization  the  board  of  commissioners  reorganized  the  entire  police 
department,  naming  John  F.  Cantwell  as  chief  and  selecting  an  adequate 
force  of  patrolmen,  who  were  to  remain  in  office  during  good  behavior 
instead  of  being  ousted  every  two  years.  A  like  change  was  made  in 
the  fire  department.  The  old  volunteer  department,  that  had  sufficed 
for  more  than  fifteen  years  and  that  had  acted  as  a  supplement  to  the 
paid  members  of  the  department  for  another  half  dozen  years,  went  out 
of  existence.  The  system  that  permitted  the  firemen  to  choose  their  own 
chiefs  was  abolished  and,  acting  under  the  authority  given  them  by  the 
new  statute,  the  city  commissioners  announced  the  creation  of  an  en- 
tirely new  paid  department,  with  William  H.  Moore  as  chief  and  William 
L.  Knox  as  assistant  chief.  Fifteen  firemen  were  named,  the  number 
being  adequate  for  the  three  fire  stations  then  in  existence,  although  the 
force  was  increased  rapidly  within  the  next  six  years  with  the  erection 


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220       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

of  three  additional  stations.    Like  the  policemen,  the  firemen  were  placed 
under  civil  service. 

The  change  of  government  withal  was  for  the  better,  although  there 
were  some  incongruities  in  the  system  devised.  It  gave  satisfaction  and 
did  away  with  many  of  the  obstructions  in  the  pathway  of  progress. 

These  opening  years  of  the  '90s  were  years  of  prosperity,  or  ''good 
times,"  but  scarcely  years  of  a  "boom"  nature.  There  was  considerable 
labor  unrest — a  condition  that  is  not  a  monopoly  of  today,  as  we  might 
be  led  to  believe — and  business  was  being  conducted  on  an  unsafe  founda- 
tion, even  though  it  was  solid  enough  outwardly.  Today  when  all  the 
country — and  to  some  extent  all  the  world — is  rent  with  discussion  and 
filled  with  wrath  over  constantly  ascending  prices  of  the  necessities  of 
life,  not  to  speak  of  the  luxuries,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  similar 
unrest  could  be  brought  about  by  steadily  decreasing  prices,  yet  this  was 
the  situation  thirty  years  ago.  This  reduction  had  been  going  on  stead- 
ily since  the  panic  days  of  1873,  and  while  its  influence  was  felt  most 
keenly  among  agriculturists,  the  effect  was  not  the  less  disastrous, 
since  a  greater  proportion  of  the  American  people  was  engaged  in  agri- 
culture then  than  now,  and  it  is  a  mistake  to  assume  that  part  of  the 
people  of  the  country  can  be  prosperous  while  others  are  fighting  a  losing 
game. 

This  unrest  was  responsible  for  numerous  strikes  among  iron  workers, 
most  of  these  disturbances  naturally  affecting  Youngstown.  Unlike 
most  commodities,  the  price  of  iron  fluctuated  greatly,  a  condition  con- 
ducive to  labor  troubles,  since  labor's  wage  is  affected  by  the  selling 
price  of  the  commodity  produced.  In  1892  this  culminated  in  the  most 
serious  strike  that  had  afflicted  the  city  for  ten  years.  It  is  still  of  such 
recent  occurrence  that  it  is  recalled  by  many,  resulting  as  it  did  in  a  sum- 
mer's idleness. 

In  Youngstown  the  strike  was  accompanied  by  no  serious  disturb- 
ances, but  other  iron  making  centers  were  less  fortunate.  The  Pittsburg 
district  was  the  scene  of  especial  strife,  the  antagonism  between  employ- 
ees and  employers  reaching  its  culmination  at  Homestead,  where  bloody 
rioting  occurred  following  the  attempt  to  import  strikebreakers.  Be- 
cause of  this  historic  outbreak — approaching  as  it  did  almost  the  stage  of 
civil  war— the  entire  strike  of  the  iron  workers  in  1892  has  gone  down 
in  history  as  the  "Homestead  strike,"  although  this  was  actually  but  one 
place  where  the  deadlock  was  in  effect.  Taking  it  in  its  entirety  the 
strike  was  fatal  for  the  iron  workers,  since  it  stripped  their  union  of 
much  of  its  strength,  a  blow  from  which  it  has  never  recovered. 

Oddly  enough,  this  year  that  saw  the  clouds  gathering  over  Youngs- 
town and  forecasting  darkness  that  was  to  remain  for  several  years  be- 
cause of  the  poverty  of  the  iron  business  on  which  Youngstown  depended 
almost  solely  for  support,  saw  also  the  first  movement  toward  the  in- 
troduction of  the  steel  business  here.  That  this  is  such  a  recent  industry 
here  may  cause  surprise,  on  the  part  of  some,  considering  the  magnitude 
of  that  industry  today,  yet  it  was  in  1892  that  the  Ohio  Steel  Company 
was  organized  by  Youngstown  men  to  build  a  modest-sized  plant  for  the 
manufacture  of  semi-finished  steel  alone.     A  location  in  the  northwest- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       221 

em  part  of  the  city  was  selected  and,  as  mentioned  in  the  chapter  pre- 
ceding this,  this  territory  was  detached  from  the  city  and  returned  to 
the  township  as  an  inducement  toward  the  building  of  the  proposed 
plant.  Assessed  as  non-city  property,  the  natural  consequence  would  be 
lower  taxes,  and  this  was  no  small  attraction  at  that  time,  when  steel- 
making  was  more  or  less  of  a  precarious  enterprise  in  itself  and  the 
difficulties  attending  it  were  enhanced  by  the  unsatisfactory  business 
situation  throughout  the  country. 

It  was  a  year  later,  however,  before  the  full  effect  of  this  unsound 
business  structure  was  felt  in  Youngstown.  The  winter  of  1892-93  had 
been  a  fairly  active  one  and  spring  showed  even  greater  activity;  but 
appearances  were  most  deceptive.  There  was  a  disagreement  between 
iron  manufacturers  and  their  employes  over  the  wage  scale  that  expired 
on  June  30,  1893,  and  the  mills  closed  down  on  that  date  to  remain 
closed  until  a  settlement  had  been  reached.  This  was  an  annual,  or 
almost  an  annual,  occurrence  in  Youngstown,  however,  so  that,  it  pre- 
sented nothing  alarming  in  itself,  but  before  the  summer  was  over  a 
national  crisis  had  supplanted  the  mere  quarrel  over  an  adjustment  of 
the  ironworkers'  wage  scale.  Business  became  almost  stagnant  every- 
where,  failures  followed  failures;  the  whole  commercial  structure  of 
the  country  appeared  to  collapse. 

This  depression,  the  "panic  of  '93,"  is  something  that  scarcely  needs 
recalling  today,  but  future  generations  will  find  it  hard  to  understand 
the  suffering  it  entailed.  Its  effect,  of  course,  was  nationwide,  but  its 
consequences  were  felt  with  especial  acuteness  in  iron  and  steel  making 
centers,  the  localities  that  are  most  prosperous  of  all  when  prosperity 
abounds  and  the  most  cruelly  afflicted  of  all  when  business  activity  van- 
ishes. 

For  almost  two  years  Youngstown  not  only  stood  still  but  went  back- 
ward. Many  who  were  more  restless  than  the  average  under  idleness 
sought  work  in  other  places  where  the  effects  of  the  panic  were  less 
keenly  felt.  This  also  was  true  of  those  whose  home  ties  were  such 
that  they  were  able  to  make  a  change  of  residence.  Probably  the  popula- 
tion decreased  during  this  period,  even  when  the  natural  increase  from 
the  birth  rate  is  considered.  Few  of  those  who  depended  upon  a  daily 
wage  for  subsistence  had  sufficient  funds  to  stand  even  a  short  siege  of 
idleness,  and  the  most  thrifty,  and  even  those  of  comfortable  means, 
felt  the  pinch  of  poverty.  Many  families  had  to  exist  for  a  year  or  more 
with  scarcely  a  dollar's  income.  The  streets  were  at  all  times  filled  with 
idle  men.  "Soup  houses,"  free  lodging  houses,  and  other  agencies  for 
distributing  charity  sprang  up.  Begging  was  common,  although  it  is 
probably  true  that  a  great  many  who  resorted  to  this  were  impostors 
who  had  the  means  to  subsist,  but  whose  penuriousness  was  stronger 
than  their  personal  pride.  Merchants  carried  many  through  the  "'hard 
times,"  at  immense  sacrifice  in  many  instances.  The  privations  of  those 
who  shrank  from  charity  or  even  friendly  assistance  or  the  publicity 
that  comes  of  acknowledging  poverty  will  never  be  known.  Thousands 
of  Youngstown  residents  of  today  can  recall  the  want  and  the  pinching 
economy  never  admitted  then  outside  the  household.     Work  and  money 


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222       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

were  commodities  that  almost  ceased  to  exist,  and  lack  of  money  meant 
not  only  scarcity  of  food  but  threadbare  clothing  and  perhaps  eviction 
into  the  streets,  from  whence,  it  must  be  said,  there  was  generally  a 
refuge  offered  in  the  home  of  a  kindly  neighbor.  The  one  compensation 
was  that  the  prices  of  all  the  necessities  of  life  reached  rock  bottom 
at  this  time,  and  on  a  dollar  a  family  might  exist  for  several  days. 

This  is-  not  an  overstatement  of  the  case  at  all.  It  should  not  be 
understood  that  this  actual  poverty  included  everyone,  for  of  course 
there  were  many  whose  means  were  comfortable  enough  to  place  them 
beyond  want,  although  it  is  true  that  virtually  no  one  made  more  than 
a  bare  living  during  the  earlier  years  of  the  panic.  Contributions  to 
charity  funds  were  liberal  and  helped  relieve  much  of  the  distress. 

Industrially  the  chief  salvation  of  the  city  at  this  time  was  probably 
the  new  steel  plant.  Steel  was  beginning  to  supplant  iron  because  it 
answered  many  of  the  purposes  for  which  iron  had  been  used  and  could 
be  made  more  cheaply.  At  a  time  when  a  bare  margin  of  profit  was  all 
that  was  asked — and  mills  even  ran  at  times  at  a  loss  just  to  afford  work 
— steel  mills  profited  by  this  situation.  The  local  steel  plant  was  placed 
in  operation  just  about  the  time  that  the  panic  reached  its  most  acute 
stage  and  gave  work  to  hundreds  of  men,  for  much  of  the  work  required 
no  skill  that  an  iron  maker  did  not  possess.  Experienced  steel  men  for 
the  more  responsible  positions  had  to  be  brought  in  of  course,  but  these 
constituted  a  minority  of  the  workmen  employed.  The  Ohio  Steel  Com- 
pany's works  was  a  small  plant  at  its  inception,  as  we  measure  steel 
works  today,  but  one  of  healthy,  size  for  Youngstown  of  that  day. 

It  might  truly  be  said  too  that  this  disaster  was  responsible  for  one  of 
the  greatest  blessings  that  had  ever  befallen  Youngstown — the  founding 
of  Mill  Creek  Park.  In  a  sense  the  park  had  been  in  existence  before 
this,  but  it  was  a  park  in  name  only.  It  dates  back  to  1891,  when  Yolney 
Rogers,  the  father  of  this  great  breathing  spot,  secured  legislation  per- 
mitting the  Township  of  Youngstown  to  issue  bonds  for  acquiring  the 
gorge  of  Mill  Creek,  a  beauty  spot  some  distance  from  the  city  limits. 
This  was  as  far  as  Youngstown  people  interested  themselves  at  that  time 
— in  fact  it  might  be  said  that  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Rogers  few 
showed  any  interest  at  all.  The  gorge  remained  a  tangled  mass  of 
woodland. 

The  necessity  of  providing  all  the  work  possible  for  idle  men  be- 
came so  great,  however,  that  attention  was  naturally  directed  toward 
giving  employment  on  public  improvements.  A  program  of  this  kind 
was  not  easy  to  outline  with  the  city  showing  no  growth  and  the  plan 
of  improving  Mill  Creek  Park  was  seized  upon.  It  was  the  one  great 
undertaking  possible  at  that  time. 

Like  its  people,  the  city  had  little  money.  Paying  current  expenses 
was  task  enough  in  itself,  but  there  was  sufficient  confidence  in  the 
future  of  Youngstown  to  make  farsighted  residents  realize  that  it  would 
recover  from  its  paralysis  and  that  banking  on  the  future  was  not  an 
uncertain  game.  Long  term  improvement  bonds  were  therefore  issued 
and  the  proceeds  devoted  to  making  an  actual  park  out  of  Mill  Creek 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       223 

Valley.  These  were  township  bonds,  of  course,  as  the  park  lay  outside 
the  city  and  was  the  property  of  the  entire  township. 

The  work  consisted  of  cutting  roads  and  trails,  removing  under- 
brush, making  picnic  spots  and  converting  a  wilderness  into  a  modern 
outing  place,  while  preserving  as  much  as  possible  of  its  virgin  beauty. 
The  money  was  doled  out  meagerly.  At  one  time  three  days  of  work  a 
week  at  a  dollar  a  day  was  the  allotment  for  a  man  of  family.  To  the 
work  begun  in  that  dark  winter  of  1893-94  Youngstown  owes  a  park 
that  is  today  noted  throughout  the  country.  It  was  merely  the  beginning, 
of  course,  for  Mill  Creek  Park  has  been  undergoing  improvement  ever 
since,  but  its  winding  roads,  its  "rambles,"  its  bridges  and  even  Lake 
Cohasset  and  Pioneer  pavilion  are  relics  of  panic  days. 

Youngstown  has  gone  through  depressions  since  the  ''panic  of  '93," 
but  none  of  like  severity.  To  the  stagnant  business  conditions  was  added 
strikes  among  those  who  had  opportunity  to  work,  working  conditions 
being  more  responsible  for  this  than  wage  rates,  although  the  latter  were 
at  lowest  ebb.  The*  railroad  strike  that  reached  its  culmination  in  Chi- 
cago came  in  the  summer  of  1894,  and  Youngstown  witnessed  two  street 
railway  strikes  in  the  same  year.  The  first  of  these,  in  the  early  spring, 
was  attended  with  considerable  rioting  and  destruction  of  street  railway 
property,  as  public  sentiment  was  largely  with  the  strikers.  In  the  second 
strike  that  came  during  the  summer  there  was  less  favorable  sentiment 
and  the  walkout  was  attended  with  none  of  the  features  that  marked  the 
first  one. 

While  the  period  of  depression  that  began  in  1893  actually  lasted  for 
six  years,  the  first  two  years  were  the  ones  of  most  marked  severity. 
In  1895  there  came  some  change  for  the  better.  The  iron  works  fur- 
nished at  least  intermittent  work  and  the  steel  plant  steadily  increased 
the  number  of  its  employes.  Smaller  shops  began  working  with  part 
crews,  and  there  was  an  improvement  in  railroad  working  conditions  and 
in  blast  furnace  operations.  Unsettled  political  conditions  probably  had 
much  to  do  with  perpetuating  the  unfavorable  business  situation,  for  a 
presidential  campaign  was  approaching,  and  "presidential  years"  were 
always  years  of  business  inactivity  at  that  time.  It  is  only  in  the  last 
decade  in  fact  that  business  has  refused  to  mark  time  while  a  presiden- 
tial contest  was  being  waged* 

The  campaign  of  1896  was  one  that  deserves  mention  in  any  history, 
national,  state  or  local,  for  it  probably  stands  without  a  parallel.  Poli- 
tics had  been  taken  seriously  in  America  up  to  this  time — far  more  so 
than  it  is  today — and  there  had  never  been  any  absence  of  party  feeling. 
The  ordinary  voter  prided  himself  on  his  party  regularity  and  scorned 
alike  the  opposition  party  and  its  individual  members.  The  "bolter," 
then  the  "mugwump,"  earned  general  condemnation  without  distinction 
as  to  whether  his  motives  were  of  the  very  highest  or  the  very  lowest. 
The  independent  voter  who  decided  the  elections  was  a  decidedly  quiet 
individual,  not  alone  through  choice  but  through  necessity. 

Periodically  the  partisans  worked  themselves  into  the  frenzy  that 
was  perhaps  better  expressed  in  the  famed  torchlight  parades  of  the  '80s 
— during  the   Garfield-Hancock,   Cleveland-Blaine   and   Harrison-Cleve- 


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224       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

land  campaigns — than  by  any  other  means.  Politics  has  never  fur- 
nished anything  more  picturesque  than  these  night  processions  of  cheer- 
ing partisans,  and  perhaps  never  anything  more  conductive  of  grease  and 
grime  than  the  smoking  open  torches.  Occasionally  parades  caused 
bitter  clashes,  and  in  the  Hayes-Tilden  and  Cleveland-Blaine  campaigns 
there  were  disputed  counts  that  kept  the  election  in  doubt  for  months  in 
the   former  instance  and  days  in  the  latter.     These  contests  might  be 


Group  of  Buildings  Familiar  in  Youngstown  a  Generation  Ago 

That  on  the  upper  left  is  "Brier  Hill,"  the  old  Governor  Tod  Home- 
stead. On  the  lower  left  is  Baldwin's  City  Flouring  Mill,  still  in  opera- 
tion. On  the  right  is  the  old  Mahoning  County  Courthouse  at  Wood 
Street  and  Wick  Avenue. 


likened  to  the  one  that  developed  after  election  day  in  the  Wilson-Hughes 
campaign  of  1916,  except  that  the  struggle  in  1876  was  more  prolonged 
and  more  bitter. 

For  rancor,  bitterness,  partisanship,  enthusiasm,  in  fact  for  every 
element  that  can  be  introduced  into  a  political  contest,  none  of  these 
equaled  the  McKinley-Bryan  campaign  of  1896.  Even  the  election  of 
i860,  that  had  made  the  Civil  war  inevitable,  was  less  savage.  It  is 
doubtful  if  ever  there  was  the  same  degree  of  sincerity  and  the  same 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       225 

unchangeable  conviction  on  two  sides  to  a  presidential  battle  that  victory 
for  the  other  side  meant  disaster  to  the  country.  On  the  part  of  the 
Republicans  the  return  of  prosperity  was  promised  with  the  election  of 
McKinley  and  the  revival  of  the  protective  tariff  policy,  while  the  good 
faith  of  the  United  States  and  its  standing  before  the  world  hinged  on 
the  acceptance  of  the  gold  standard.  The  Democrats  offered  "free  and 
unlimited  coinage  of  silver  at  a  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one"  as  the  panacea 
for  all  industrial  ills. 

The  campaign  was  bitterly  fought  in  Youngstown  because  of  its  iron 
industries  and  also  because  the  Republican  standard-bearer,  William  Mc- 
Kinley, was  a  product  of  the  Mahoning  Valley.  Born  at  Niles,  educated 
there  and  at  Poland,  representative  of  the  Mahoning  County  district 
in  Congress  for  many  years  and  closely  identified  with  so  many  men 
in  Youngstown,  it  was  but  natural  that  a  personal,  as  well  as  a  partisan, 
interest  was  felt  in  him  here.  Yet  it  is  typical  of  the  fierce  hatred  of  the 
campaign  of  that  year  that  nowhere  did  he  meet  more  violent  opposition 
than  in  Youngstown,  a  situation  all  the  more  unusual  from  the  fact  that 
William  McKinley  was  a  man  of  remarkable  magnetism  and  kindliness* 
of  nature  that  made  warm  friends  for  him  even  among  political  oppo- 
nents and  had  brought  him  support  in  his  campaigns  for  Congress  and 
for  the  governorship  of  Ohio. 

Mr.  McKinley  did  not  visit  Youngstown  during  the  campaign,  not 
did  he  make  a  tour  of  any  other  cities.  Presidential  candidates  did  not 
"stump"  the  country  at  that  time,  this  practice  being  introduced  by  Mr. 
McKinley's  opponent  only  in  that  year.  Instead  pilgrimages  were  made 
to  the  McKinley  home  at  Canton  where  the  republican  candidate  daily 
addressed  immense  throngs.  The  memorable  excursion  from  Youngs- 
town, in  October,  1896,  when  3,000  enthusiasts  went  to  Canton  to  greet 
the  coming  President,  broke  all  records  for  the  famed  pilgrimages  made 
to  the  McKinley  home  that  year. 

Mr.  Bryan,  on  the  other  hand,  made  a  memorable  visit  here,  a  few 
weeks  before  election  day.  His  sudden  rise  to  fame,  his  personal  mag- 
netism, his  famed  powers  of  oratory  and  the  intenseness  of  feeling  con- 
tributed toward  making  this  a  historic  day  in  the  annals  of  Mahoning 
County  Democracy.  The  assemblage  that  greeted  him  was  the  greatest 
in  the  history  of  Youngstown  up  to  that  time  and  his  ride  up  Federal 
Street  from  the  Lake  Shore  station  in  an  open  carriage  was  a  >  veritable 
triumph.  His  speech  was  delivered  from  a  temporary  platform  that 
adjoined  the  now-vanished  Howells  block  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
Federal  Street  and  the  Central  Square.  But  thirty-six  years  of  age,  and 
looking  even  more  boyish,  his  appearance  on  that  occasion  leaves  an  im- 
pression indelibly  imprinted  on  the  memory  of  everyone  present. 

The  election  came  and  went  as  elections  do,  culminating  in  the  elec- 
tion of  Mr.  McKinley.  This  result  was  forecasted  by  the  changing  tide 
of  sentiment  in  the  closing  days  of  the  campaign,  yet  bitterness  and 
enthusiasm  perhaps  increased  rather  than  decreased,  and  remained  until 
the  count  was  made  on  election  night.  Yet  it  is  an  indication  of  the  deep 
common  sense  of  the  American  people,  who  are  ever  ready  to  accept 
die  decision  of  the  majority,  that  this  most  remarkable,  and  even  violent, 


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226       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

campaign  found  the  country  standing  in  united  ranks  twenty-four  hours, 
after  the  verdict  had  been  rendered. 

The  business  recovery  following  the  election  was  perhaps  not  as  rapid 
as  many  had  been  led  to  believe  it  would  be,  yet  1897  found  still  a  further 
improvement.  There  was  a  general  feeling  of  confidence  in  the  future 
that  was  more  marked  than  it  had  been  for  more  than  a  half  dozen  years 
and  the  acute  depression  of  actual  "panic"  days  disappeared.  That  the 
actual  improvement  was  not  greater  caused  a  degree  of  unrest  and  dis- 
satisfaction, but  this  was  expressed  in  sentiment  and  not  by  any  outward 
manifestations. 

This  was  the  year,  too,  when  Youngstown  rounded  out  a  century  of 
its  existence,  but  the  occasion  passed  almost  without  notice.  Conditions 
perhaps  were  not  such  that  gala  celebrations  were  in  order,  or  it  may  be 
that  Youngstown  was  forgetful  of  its  founders.  Many  of  those  who  had 
served  to  make  the  pioneer  reunions  of  the  '70s  and  *8os  such  joyous 
gatherings  had  been  laid  to  rest  and  their  successors  had  allowed  these 
gatherings  to  lapse. 

The  following  year  was  one  that  will  always  rank  with  1861  and 
1917  in  American  history  and  in  the  history  of  Youngstown.  It  was  a 
year  that  saw  the  dawn  of  war  and,  in  thi5  instance,  happily  saw  its  end. 

The  Cuban  question  had  been  a  vexatious  one  for  many  years  and 
became  especially  acute  from  1895  onwards,  for  in  that  year  the 
Cuban  patriots  launched  a  revolution  of  even  greater  proportions  than 
any  they  had  undertaken  before.  Spain  had  failed  wholly  in  subduing 
the  insurrection,  and,  falling  short  in  warfare,  had  substituted  cruelty. 
It  had  grossly  mismanaged  affairs  in  Cuba  as  it  had  in  all  its  remaining 
possessions  on  the  western  hemisphere,  blundering  so  much  in  fact  that 
it  had  lost  all  its  mainland  holdings.  Two  years  and  more  of  fighting 
the  Cuban  insurgents  had  been  fruitless  when  the  old  world  nation 
adopted  the  scheme  even  more  disastrous  to  its  ambitions. 

Spanish  rule  had  been  obnoxious  here  at  all  times  and  the  policy 
of  "concentration"  brought  even  more  violent  protest.  It  is  possible  that 
by  the  winter  of  1897-98  even  Spain  saw  the  hopelessness  of  trying  to 
maintain  its  rule  over  Cuba  and  was  willing  to  abandon  the  task  if  a  way 
could  be  found  by  which  it  could  do  so  gracefully.  The  saner  statesmen 
of  that  country  were  not  blind  to  the  growing  resentment  in  the  United 
States  and  the  unyieldingness  of  the  Cubans. 

The  freedom  of  Cuba  might  have  been  attained  by  peaceful  means  if 
it  had  not  been  for  that  stunning  disaster  of  February  15,  1898 — the 
destruction  of  the  American  battleship  Maine  in  the  harbor  of  Havana. 
In  the  minds  of  the  American  people  the  Spanish  government  was  per- 
sonally charged  with  this  outrage.  That  it  was  responsible  has  never 
been  proven,  and  today  may  be  seriously  doubted,  but  if  not  the  direct 
instigator  of  the  crime  it  was  indirectly  responsible  because  of  its  own 
stupidity  and  arrogance. 

From  this  moment  the  country  demanded  war  with  Spain.  It  is 
doubtful  if  ever  there  was  such  unanimity  of  sentiment  on  the  eve  ot 
any  armed  conflict  in  which  the  United  States  has  en<raged,  or  during  the 
progress  of  that  conflict.    There  were  Tories  in  the  Revolution,  anti-war 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY'     227 

factions  in  the  War  of  1812,  a  decided  opposition  party  in  the  Mexican 
war,  "Copperheads"  in  the  Civil  war,  and  pacifists  and  disloyalists  in 
the  World  war,  but  little  opposition  to  the  war  with  Spairi.  It  was  con- 
fined, in  fact,  to  those  who  were  not  the  less  determined  to.  uphold  Amer- 
ican honor  but  believed  this  could  be  accomplished  by  peaceful  means,  as 
it  is  possible  that  it  could  have  been.  They  were  lost,  however,  in  the 
clamor  of  an  outraged  people.  Spain  was  given  no  time  to  retreat,  if 
indeed  she  could  have  done  so  with  even  a  vestige  of  pride  left. 

Nor  was  the  war  spirit  engendered  by  the  fact  that  an  easy  American 
victory  was  foreseen.  No  one  had  any  serious  doubt  of  the  outcome, 
but  few  expected  the  one-sided  contest  that  actually  developed.  Wheth- 
er Spain  was  strong  or  weak  was  of  less  consequence  in  the  American 
mind  than  that  Spain  had  been  temporized  with  long  enough  and  that  the 
Maine  had  to  be  avenged.  "Remember  the  Maine!"  was  perhaps  not  a 
high-minded  battle  cry,  but  no  one  can  deny  that  it  was  an  effective  one. 

The  declaration  of  war  on  April  21,  1898,  found  Youngstown  ready. 
For  years  a  company  of  the  Ohio  National  Guard  had  been  maintained 
here.  Originally  it  had  been  known  as  the  "Iron  Guards,"  but  in  the 
late  '80s  or  the  early  '90s  it  became  the  "Logan  Rifles."  At  the  outbreak 
of  the  Spanish-American  war,  and  for  some  years  previously,  it  had 
been  officially  Company  H,  Fifth  Regiment,  Ohio  National  Guard,  but 
by  this  formal  title  it  was  scarcely  recognized  while  the  designation 
"Logan  Rifles"  was  familiar  to  everyone. 

Company  H  was  not  recruited  to  war  strength  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  but  there  was  no  difficulty  in  filling  the  vacancies  in  the  ranks. 
Muster  and  drill  were  begun  immediately  on  the  declaration  of  war,  even 
before  this  pronouncement  in  fact,  and  not  a  moment  too  soon  as  the 
order  to  entrain  for  camp  came  on  the  evening  of  April  25th,  just  four 
days  after  hostilities  had  been  ordered.  The  following  day,  April  26, 
1898,  was  a  memorable  day  in  Youngstown.  It  had  had  no  counterpart 
since  the  early  '60s;  it  was  destined  to  have  none  for  almost  twenty 
years  after  1898.  Practically  the  entire  city  turned  out  to  see  the  men  in 
blue  depart,  business  suspended  and  the  streets  within  several  blocks  of 
the  Erie  station  were  thronged.  So  short  had  been  the  time  that  some 
who  had  enlisted  in  the  few  days  following  the  declaration  of  "war 
marched  away  ununiformed.  The  actual  number  to  depart  that  day  was 
eighty-two,  numbering  the  following  officers,  non-commissioned  officers 
and  enlisted  men: 


Capt.  James  A.  Freed 

Corp.  F.  V.  Case 

J.  O.  Brownlee 

Lieut.  H.  W.  Ulrich 

Corp.  Charles   Sharpe 

W.  J.  Crawford 

Sergt.  Fred  C.  Porter 

Musician  C.  E.  Frost 

S.  S.  Conroy 

Sergt.  W.  F.  Keyser 

Privates — 

J.  G.  Dixon 

Sergt.  F.  W.  Metz 

J.  G.  Allensworth 

C.  H.  Dafzell 

Sergt.  R.  F.  Truman 

J.  W.  Bufka 

Aaron  Davis 

Sergt.  J.   J.   Cornell 

Bion  Bliss 

George   Merritt 

Sergt.  G.  W.  Spigler 

Joseph  Barber 

F.  W.  Pfund 

Corp.  H.  G.  Woolfe 

Adolph  Burkhart 

W.  E.  Phillips 

Corp.  A.  G.  Resch 

Jas.  C.  Birmingham 

Frank   Park 

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228       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 


Emery   Semple 
Perry   Simpson 
W.  E.  Simpson 
Henry   StelJer 
A.  W.  Sprague 
R.  W.  Stambaugh 
I.  I.  Small   ' 
J.  E.  Shaffer 
Stowe   Milton 
A.  W.  Smith 
William   Smoker 
Fred  Simmons 
G.  O    Thompson 

A.  W.  Thullen 
F.  G.  Wiseman 
J.   C.   Wiseman 

B.  L.    Wiseman 


F.  A.  Wilson 
Dolph  Welch 
M.  B.  Brown 
Wade   Christy 
A.  Uhlinger 
Peter  Cummings 
R.  T.  Edwards 
S.  E.  Eyster 
C.  C.  Freeh 
S.  Thestgarden 
P.  J.  Frey 
T.  Greenwood 
N.  R.  Hamilton 
Hale   Hamilton 
Paul  Hamilton 
Thomas  Howells 


J.  R.  Howells 
Elmer  Haverstick 
Harry  Jenkins 
Andrew   Jackson 
William  Kendall 
H.  Kieling 
H.  Kingsbacher 
J.  M.  Mansell 
J.  O.  Mahan 
Wade   Matthews 
J.  W.  Robbins 
D.  W.  McFarland 
John   McCartney 
J.  R.  McCluskey 
J.  W.  Perry 
j.  M,  McClure 


At  Cleveland,  where  Company  H  was  mustered  in,  it  was  joined  by 
George  Merritt,  Fred  Hill  and  Millard  Stemple,  privates. 

With  the  remainder  of  the  Fifth  Regiment,  Company  H  entrained 
at  Cleveland  for  Camp  Bushnell,  Columbus,  and  on  May  21st  left  Camp 
Bushnell  for  Tampa,  Florida,  the  embarkation  point  for  Cuba.  At 
Tampa  the  Fifth  was  assigned  to  the  Seventh  Army  Corps  under  com- 
mand of  Maj.-Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee,  a  former  Confederate  leader,  but 
now  wearing  the  blue  uniform.  Here  Company  H  was  recruited  to  full 
war  strength  of  109  officers  and  men,  Lieut.  Harry  W.  Ulrich  being 
named  first  lieutenant  and  Sergt.  Fred  C.  Porter,  second  lieutenant. 

Shortly  after  going  into  camp  at  Tampa  the  Fifth  Regiment  was 
transferred  to  the  Fifth  Army  Corps  under  Maj.-Gen.  William  T.  Shat- 
ter and  was  ordered  to  embark  .for  Cuba.  Because  of  damage  to  the 
transport  to  which  it  was  assigned  the  Fifth  did  not  sail  for  Cuba  with 
the  remainder  of  the  corps,  but  was  transferred  once  more,  this  time 
to  the  Fourth  Army  Corps  under  command  of  Maj.-Gen.  J.  J.  Coppinger. 
The  regiment  then  was  ordered  from  Tampa  to  Camp  Femandina, 
Florida,  reaching  there  July  23d. 

Sanitary  conditions  had  been  poor  at  Tampa,  and  it  was  presumed 
that  they  would  be  better  at  Camp  Fernandina.  There  was  perhaps 
some  improvement,  but  the  new  camp  was  wretched  enough'  at  the  best. 
The  soldiers  were  cursed  with  poor  sanitation,  poor  food  and  almost 
everything  else  that  goes  to  make  life  miserable.  On  top  of  other  in- 
tolerable conditions  they  were  subjected  to  the  blazing  Florida  heat  to 
which  they  were  unaccustomed.  These  hardships  were  not  peculiar  to 
the  Ohio  men  of  course.  While  the  work  of  the  American  armed  forces 
on  land  and  sea  alike  in  the  Spanish- American  war  was  so  remarkable 
that  it  startled  the  world,  it  is  doubtful  if  there  were  ever  more  miser- 
able arrangements  made  for  the  care  of  the  men.  "Murder"  was  the 
way  the  volunteers  characterized  their  treatment,  and  no  one  disagreed 
with  them. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       229 

Because  of  the  poor  sanitation  an  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever  broke 
out  at  Camp  Fernandina  and  ravaged  the  camp.  Two  Youngstown  men 
of  Company  H,  Sergt.  Henry  G.  Woolfe  and  Private  Clifton  H.  Dalzell, 
succumbed  to  the  disease  and  were  brought  home  for  burial.  The  fu- 
neral of  the  latter  was  the  first  war-time  military  funeral  held  in 
Youngstown  for  more  than  thirty  years. 

On  September  8,  1898,  Company  H  was  ordered  to  Cleveland  in 
preparation  for  mustering  out,  as  the  war  was  virtually  over.  Final 
discharges  were  granted  on  November  5th  and  the  boys  returned  to 
Youngstown  the  same  evening,  although  while  in  camp  at  Cleveland  two 
more  of  them,  Sergt.  George  W.  Spigler  and  Private  Daniel  G.  Kennedy, 
died  from  typhoid  fever  contracted  at  Camp  Fernandina. 

Youngstown  and  Mahoning  County's  activity  in  the  Spanish-Amer- 
ican war  was  not  limited  of  course  to  the  men  enumerated  above.  The 
call  for  volunteers  brought  out  hundreds  of  more  young  men.     Some  of 


Park  Hotel  on  Northeast  Corner  of  Central  Square  About  1895 

these  were  assigned  to  fill  the  vacancies  in  Company  H  so  that  the  com- 
plete roster  of  the  company  contains  other  names  than  those  given. 
Scores  of  others  were  formally  enlisted  and  training  was  begun  for  the 
additional  companies  that  were  to  be  raised  in  the  city,  while  recruiting 
for  other  companies  went  on  in  almost  every  township  of  the  county. 
Still  more  men  signed  up  to  go  as  soon  as  the  call  for  additional  troops 
came,  while  many  enlisted  in  the  regular  army  and  in  the  navy.  Aside 
from  the  "Logan  Rifles,"  (Company  H)  however,  none  of  these  was 
called  as  the  war  lasted  but  a  few  brief  months. 

The  war,  short  as  it  was,  was  followed  by  the  business  revival  that 
invariably  comes  in  the  wake  of  hostilities.  The  winter  of  1898-99  wit- 
nessed more  industrial  activity  in  Youngstown  than  had  been  seen  for 
six  years,  and  in  the  spring  of  1899  tne  "boom"  came  on  in  earnest. 
Where  there  had  been  no  work  for  five  years  before,  little  work  two 
years  before  and  nominal  activity  in  the  winter,  there  came  in  the  spring 
an  unprecedented  demand  for  labor.    Iron  and  steel  doubled  and  tripled 


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230       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

in  prices  between  the  early  months  of  year  and  fall  and  orders  could  not 
be  filled.  Production  capacity  was  wholly  inadequate.  Wages  advanced 
rapidly;  time  was  too  valuable  to  waste  in  even  the  annual  wage  scale 
controversy.  This  condition  lasted  for  approximately  a  year,  or  on 
through  the  winter  of  1899-1900  and  the  spring  of  the  latter  year. 

It  was  at  this  most  opportune  time,  too,  that  the  era  of  combinations 
in  the  iron  and  steel  business  began.  Prior  to  this  time  all  of  the  rolling 
mills  in  Youngstown  and  the  Mahoning  Valley  were  independent  con- 
cerns, and  even  the  blast  furnaces  had  been  largely  independent,  or  mer- 
chant, stacks.  Beginning  late  in  1898,  however,  consolidations  became 
the  rule  until  most  of  the  plants  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  except  the 
blast  furnaces  were  taken  over  by  merger.  It  was  then  that  the  "trust" 
problem  arose  and  these  combinations  began  to  be  the  subject  of 
dispute  on  the  part  of  those  who  believed  they  were  instruments  that 
would  benefit  the  country  by  lessening  production  costs,  eliminating 
waste  and  duplication  of  effort,  stabilizing  the  market  and  doing  away 
with  demoralizing  competition  and  those  who  saw  in  them  nothing  but 
evil.  Whatever  opinion  one  may  hold,  the  benefit  Youngstown  derived 
from  the  iron  and  steel  mergers  of  that  day  cannot  be  denied.  It  was 
selected  for  one  of  the  spots  where  the  manufacture  of  these  most  neces- 
sary commodities  should  be  concentrated.  Originally  the  "trust"  mills 
were  scattered  throughout  the  entire  country,  since  it  was  necessary  to 
buy  UP  &°°d,  bad  and  indifferent  mills,  but  gradually  the  isolated  and 
costly  plants  were  abandoned  or  transferred  to  the  principal  steel  mak- 
ing districts,  and  the  manufacture  of  iron  and  steel  was  centered  in  the 
Mahoning  Valley  and  in  the  Pittsburgh,  Chicago  and  Birmingham  dis- 
tricts. 

Modern  Youngstown,  in  feet,  might  be  said  to  have  had  its  beginning 
about  the  year  1900.  Previous  to  this  its  growth  had  been  healthy,  and 
comparatively  rapid,  too,  as  the  figures  of  the  succeeding  decennial  cen- 
suses will  show,  but  in  the  last  twenty  years  it  has  advanced  more  than 
rapidly.  The  baneful  effects  of  the  "panic  of  '93"  are  evident  in  these 
figures  for  1900,  as  the  enumeration  that  year  gave  Youngstown  a 
population  of  44,885,  a  gain  of  but  11,665  f°r  the  ten  years  since  1890. 
Considering  the  great  number  of  newcomers  into  Youngstown  during 
the  prosperous  year  1899,  it  is  probable  that  the  increase  before  that 
time  was  hardly  more  than  the  mere  excess  of  births  over  deaths. 

An  event  of  1899  that  had  much  to  do  with  the  spread  of  the  city 
was  the  opening  of  the  Market  Street  viaduct,  a  structure  on  which 
work  was  begun  a  year  before.  Previous  to  this  Market  Street  bridge 
merely  spanned  the  river.  The  railroad  tracks  on  the  north  side  of  the 
stream  were  grade  crossings,  while  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river  the 
bridge  landed  at  the  foot  of  a  deep  bluff  that  marked  the  termination 
of  that  part  of  Market  Street.  The  approach  to  the  street  above  was 
by  a  circuitous  route  for  vehicles,  while  a  pedestrian  might  follow  the 
same  route  or  reach  the  top  of  the  bluff  by  foot  path.  The  railroad 
tracks  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  did  not  exist  then,  of  course. 

The  opening  of  the  high  level  bridge  and  the  construction  of  a  car  line 
from  down  town  to  Mill  Creek  Park  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lanter- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       231 

man's  Falls — or  to  a  pleasure  park  built  in  1899  a  short  distance  from 
the  falls— opened  the  south  side  to  homeseekers.  Street  car  service 
there  before  that  time  had  been  indifferent.  In  fact  at  one  time  the 
present  Park  &  Falls  line  boasted  but  a  single  car,  or  enough  service  to 
keep  the  franchise  from  lapsing,  and  would  have  paid  dividends  on  no 
more.  But  from  1899  on  the  growth  was  phenomenal.  Instead  of  being 
the  home  of  the  few  and  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  city  it  began  to 
rival  the  district  north  of  the  river  in  importance  and  Market  Street 
was  gradually  transformed  from  a  country  road  to  a  busy  business 
thoroughfare. 

The  year  1900  saw  much  of  the  dullness  usual  to  a  presidential  year. 
Business  slackened  up  in  the  spring  and  there  was  little  activity  during 
the  entire  summer  and  early  fall,  the  mills  being  shut  down  much  of 
the  time  because  of  a  wage  scale  disagreement,  although  this  difficulty 
could  perhaps  have  been  ironed  out  had  there  been  any  demand  for 
iron  or  steel  products.  This  was  merely  a  quiet  season  rather  than  a 
depression,  however,  and  did  not  affect  all  plants  in  the  same  proportion. 

By  the  winter  of  1900-01  business  was  back  to  its  accustomed 
stride.  The  inactivity  of  the  year  before  was  gone,  but  the  "boom" 
aspect  of  two  years  before  was  absent  too,  for  steel  production  had 
caught  up  to  consumption,  not  so  much  by  the  construction  of  new  mills 
as  by  increased  capacity  in  the  old  ones.  Youngstown  had  benefited 
greatly,  however,  in  the  additions  that  had  been  made.  This  condition 
lasted  on  through  1902  and  until  the  latter  part  of  1903. 

In  1903  Youngstown  underwent  a  change  in  city  government,  the 
system  that  had  been  in  effect  for  a  dozen  years  being  discarded.  This 
was  not  voluntary  on  the  part  of  the  city  but  was  forced  by  a  supreme 
court  decision  that  ruled  out  all  special  forms  of  municipal  government 
in  Ohio  as  illegal  under  the  State  Constitution.  A  uniform  system  be- 
came imperative  and  a  new  municipal  code  was  enacted  by  the  State 
Legislature  at  a  special  session  called  la^e  in  1902,  the  change  being 
ordered  effective  in  1903. 

By  virtue  of  this  code  the  terms  of  all  elective  city  officials,  including 
those  elected  in  the  spring  of  1902  for  two-year  terms,  were  terminated 
and  biennal  municipal  elections  were  provided  for,  to  be  held  in  April 
in  odd-numbered  years.  The  board  of  appointive  city  commissioners 
was  abolished  and  an  elective  board  of  public  service  and  an  appointive 
board  of  public  safety  was  created  for  municipalities  of  city  grade. 
The  number  of  councilmen  to  a  ward  was  reduced  from  two  to  one  and 
the  number  of  wards  cut  down.  Later  the  unwieldy  board  of  education 
was  reduced  similarly  in  size.  This  form  of  government,  although  with 
important  modifications,  is  still  in  effect  in  Youngstown  even  though 
special  forms  of  government  are  now  permissible  in  Ohio  by  virtue 
of  amendments  to  the  State  Constitution  adopted  in  191 2.  A  number 
of  cities  have  taken  advantage  of  this  provision  but  Youngstown  has  not. 

In  1903,  also,  Youngstown  held  a  belated  celebration  in  honor  of  its 
years.  It  had  allowed  the  centennial  of  the  municipality  to  pass  almost 
unnoticed  but  made  up  for  this  by  a  centennial  celebration,  taking  the 
nature,  of  a  carnival  and  industrial  parade,  on  July  3rd  and  4th  of  this 


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232       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

year.  The  event  seized  upon  for  this  municipal  jollification  was  the  one 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  admission  of  Ohio  to  the  rank  of  state- 
hood, perhaps  a  far  fetched  pretext  for  a  celebration,  but  one  that  did 
not  interfere  with  the  success  of  the  affair  at  all. 

The  following  year  was  one  less  favorable  to  business  in  Youngs- 
town.  In  fact  1904  was  a  year  of  low  ebb  in  production,  wages  and 
trade  in  general.  The  slump  was  perhaps  not  unexpected  with  the  quad- 
rennial election  approaching,  but  began  earlier  than  usual,  in  the  fall  of 
1903,  to  be  exact,  and  the  winter  of  1903-04  was  a  quiet  one. 

To  the  natural  inactivity  was  added  a  serious  labor  disturbance,  the 
strike  at  the  local  Carnegie  mills  that  began  on  July  1,  1904,  and  lasted 
until  well  into  the  fall.  It  was  characterized  by  perhaps  more  bitterness 
and  rancor  than  any  previous  event  of  this  kind  in  Youngstown,  or  per- 
haps any  since.  The  dispute  was  one  over  union  recognition,  the  fin- 
ishing mills  of  the  Carnegie  company  being  unionized  prior  to  that  time, 
and  ended  with  the  dissolution  of  the  unions  in  the  local  plants  of  the 
company  affected.  There  was  more  than  the  usual  amount  of  disorder 
connected  with  this  affair,  this  culminating  in  a  double  killing  in  Octo- 
ber. The  strike  virtually  terminated  shortly  afterward,  but  it  was  many 
years  before  its  echoes  ceased,  in  fact  it  cannot  be  said  that  they  have 
entirely  ceased  even  now,  fifteen  years  or  more  after  the  struggle  was 
fought  to  such  a  bitter  end. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  one  of  the  modern  improvements  that 
proved  to  be  a  most  vital  one  in  Youngstown  was  made,  the  installation 
of  a  filtration  plant.  A  city  waterworks  had  been  in  existence  for  many 
years,  a  third  of  a  century  in  fact,  but  the  domestic  water  supply  came 
from  the  river  without  undergoing  any  cleansing  process  whatever. 
This  had  been  well  enough  when  Youngstown  was  a  small  municipality, 
since  the  river  was  little  contaminated  by  industrial  plants  and  the  chief 
source  of  contamination,  the  main  sewer  of  the  city,  emptied  into  the 
stream  far  below  the  waterworks  intake.  With  increased  growth,  how- 
ever, this  use  of  the  water  in  its  raw  state  became  not  only  obnoxious 
but  positively  dangerous.  In  the  '90s  Youngstown  was  subjected  to 
much  typhoid  fever,  the  disease  being  in  evidence  at  practically  all  limes 
and  reaching  the  proportions  of  an  epidemic  at  intervals,  notably  in 
1899.  The  need  of  a  filtration  plant  was  too  apparent  to  be  ignored. 
This  scourge  was  attributed  to  the  unhealthy  water  supply,  and,  as  later 
results  showed,  probably  rightly  so.  In  addition  to  contamination  that 
came  from  other  sources  offensive  matter  was  carried  here  by  floods 
that  came  almost  annually.  One  of  the  most  notable  of  these  was  early 
in  1904  when  a  winter  thaw  caused  the  river  to  rise  with  remarkable 
rapidity  until  the  high  water  stage  that  had  stood  for  perhaps  twenty- 
five  years  was  passed  by  a  full  six  feet.  This  was  the  most  pronounced 
case  of  high  water  in  the  history  of  the  river  locally  until  the  great  flood 
of  191 3,  which  shattered  all  records  and  will  likely  stand  without  a  rival. 

The  filtration  plant  was  built  in  1904  and  opened  in  1905,  having  an 
initial  capacity  for  effectually  treating  10,000,000  gallons  of  water 
per  day.  The  benefits  of  the  improvement  were  readily  seen.  As 
malaria  had  disappeared  when  the  cause  was  removed  almost  twenty- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       233 

five  years  before,  typhoid  disappeared  after  the  installation  of  the 
filtration  plant.  In  this  instance  relief  is  not  complete  of  course,  for 
the  absolute  elimination  of  this  disease  is  not  within  the  possibilities  of 
today,  but  much  of  the  typhoid  here  is  contracted  elsewhere,  especially 
during  the  vacation  season,  and  the  epidemics  of  twenty  years  or  more 
ago  are  unknown.  Even  with  additional  improvements  made  since  the 
filtration  plant  was  built  Mahoning  River  water  is  far  from  palatable 
and  not  usually  partaken  of  as  a  beverage  when  any  other  water  supply 
is  possible,  but  it  is  not  as  unhealthy  as  its  taste  and  odor  might  indicate. 

Labor  troubles  disappeared  and  business  revived  following  the  elec- 
tion of  1904  and  the  next  three  years  were  prosperous  ones  here.  The 
expansion  was  so  favorable,  in  fact,  that  the  question  of  a  domestic 
water  supply  that  had  been  agitated  and  settled  as  shown  above  was 
converted  into  a  question  of  an  industrial  water  supply.  The  Mahoning 
River  was  becoming  inadequate  to  meet  demands  for  mill  purposes.  For 
perhaps  two-thirds  of  the  year  the  flow  sufficed,  but  during  the  heated 
months  the  river  dwindled  in  proportions  until  it  was  a  mere  ribbon. 
The  water  was  used  many  times  over,  but  even  the  adoption  of  this 
subterfuge  was  unsatisfactory,  while  future  growth  was  imperiled  unless 
some  way  could  be  devised  for  maintaining  the  flow  of  the  stream  during 
the  summer  months  when  the  supply  was  least  and  the  demands  greatest. 

The  most  feasible  suggestion  was  for  the  creation  of  a  storage  basin 
far  up  the  Mahoning  River,  where  a  great  supply  of  water  could  be 
impounded  in  the  season  of  plenty  and  released  gradually  during  June, 
July  and  August,  when  needed.  The  usual  method  of  piping  or  carry- 
ing the  water  by  aqueduct  was  discarded,  the  theory  being  generally  ac- 
cepted that  the  best  results  could  be  obtained  by  permitting  the  water 
to  follow  the  natural  course  of  the  stream. 

This  project  was  first  seriously  advanced  about  1906,  but  ten  years 
were  destined  to  pass  before  the  storage  reservoir  became  a  reality.  A 
survey  was  made  of  the  Mahoning  River  valley  under  private  auspices 
on  behalf  of  the  city  and  a  site  eventually  was  selected  in  Berlin  Town- 
ship, overlapping  into  Portage  County,  where  approximately  10,000,- 
000,000  gallons  of  water  could  be  impounded.  This  location,  on  an 
upper  reach  of  the  river,  offered  a  natural  site  for  a  lake,  as  the  river 
there  flows  through  a  gorge  of  considerable  width  in  one  of  the  beauty 
spots  of  Mahoning  County.  Options  were  taken  on  a  great  deal  of 
the  property  by  the  city  and  on  behalf  of  the  city,  but  before  all  the 
necessary  land  could  be  obtained  private  interests  intervened  and  gained 
control  of  sufficient  of  the  necessary  land  to  block  the  improvement 
unless  their  holdings  were  purchased  at  a  greatly  advanced  price. 

The  city  chose  to  fight  this  movement,  and  also  a  furth?r  movement 
backed  by  obstructionists  that  would  have  prevented  the  building  of  any 
storage  reservoir.  The  latter  attempt  was  fruitless,  as  the  right  to  make 
this  improvement  was  too  apparent  to  be  taken  away.  The  struggle  to 
gain  control  of  all  the  needed  land  in  the  Berlin  basin  was  more  pro- 
longed, however.  Under  the  existing  law  of  the  State,  appropriation 
was  impossible,  but  after  a  long  fight  a  law  was  finally  passed  in  1909 
permitting   appropriation   proceedings   on   the   part   of   municipality   in 


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234       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

instances  of  this  kind  and  the  chief  obstacle  to  the  proposed  improvement 
was  removed. 

Even  while  this  legal  and  legislative  battle  was  on  the  plans  of  the 
municipality  had  been  changed.  The  possibility  that  complete  control 
of  the  Berlin  basin  might  not  be  obtained  caused  additional  surveys  to 
be  made  in  the  river  valley,  and  a  second  reservoir  location  was  found 
in  Milton  Township,  a  short  distance  downstream,  and  north  of  the 
Berlin  site.  Another  long  series  of  negotiations  was  necessary  before 
the  needed  land  was  secured  in  Milton  Township  and  preparations  made 
for  reservoir  construction.  It  was  actually  the  spring  of  1917  before 
the  work  was  completed  and  the  storage  basin  filled. 

The  worth  of  the  improvement  was  established  almost  immediately. 
Even  today  Youngstown's  industrial  water  supply  is  inadequate  in  sum- 
mer because  plant  additions  here  have  been  far  greater  in  the  past  decade 
than  was  anticipated.  The  water  is  objectionable  during  the  hot  weather, 
but  without  the  Milton  reservoir  these  industrial  extensions  would  not 
have  been  possible,  and  even  with  them  conditions  are  less  aggravating 
than  they  were  ten  years  ago.  The  abundance  of  water  in  the  upper 
river  has  had  the  effect  too  of  promoting  the  founding  of  industrial 
plants  not  only  beyond  Youngstown  but  even  beyond  Warren  to  Newton 
Falls.  This  situation  is  certain  to  work  a  hardship  for  Youngstown  if 
such  construction  is  continued  unless  additional  provision  is  made  for 
these  up-river  plants. 

Another  improvement  decided  upon  about  the  same  time  the  storage 
reservoir  was  projected  was  the  construction  of  a  new  courthouse  for 
Mahoning  County.  The  old  building  had  served  its  purpose  well.  It 
had  been  one  of  the  boasts  of  the  city,  the  township  and  the  county,  a 
show  place  for  visitors  and  a  place  photographed  with  much  pride  when 
views  of  Youngstown  were  asked  for.  But  it  had  seen  thirty  years  of 
life,  in  the  course  of  which  Mahoning  County  had  increased  in  popula- 
tion from  less  than  20,000  to  more  than  100,000,  while  Youngstown 
had  grown  from  12,000  to  almost  70,000.  The  old  structure  at  Wick 
Avenue  and  Wood  Street  was  yet  dignified  in  appearance  and  not  a 
building  to  be  ashamed  of  by  any  means,  but  it  was  inadequate  for 
county  needs  and  not  in  keeping  with  a  county  as  rich  as  Mahoning. 

The  campaign  for  a  new  county  building — or  county  buildings — was 
comparatively  brief.  The  need  was  not  disputed,  there  was  surprisingly 
little  opposition,  and  at  the  election  in  November,  1906,  the  proposal  for 
the  erection  of  county  buildings  to  the  value  of  $1,000,000  carried  easily. 

Considerable  time  was  consumed  in  deciding  upon  the  site  for  these 
buildings  and  it  was  a  year  before  the  location  in  Market  Street  between 
Front  and  Boardman  streets  was  selected.  Another  three  years  elapsed 
before  the  structures  were  completed  and  thrown  open  for  occupancy 
and  the  work  was  not  finished  until  after  a  regrettable  scandal  had 
been  unearthed  involving  charges  of  soliciting  bribes  and  graft,  which 
were  unfortunately  sustained  by  evidence.  The  bribery  exposure  of 
1909,  extending  to  certain  good  roads  members  as  well  as  to  members 
of  the  county  building  commission,  constitutes  one  of  the  unsavory 
chapters  in  Mahoning  County  history. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       235 

These  improvements,  and  many  others  were  urged,  and  made  neces- 
sary, because  Youngstown  was  enjoying  the  most  rapid  growth  it  had 
ever  experienced  up  to  this  time  and  business  conditions  were  daily 
growing  better.  The  year  1904  had  been  an  inactive  one,  1905  was  com- 
fortably prosperous,  1906  was  more  than  prosperous,  while  1907  came 
in  with  a  "boom" — and  ended  with  a  startling  business  collapse. 

Viewing  this  period  with  the  hindsight  that  comes  to  everyone,  while 
foresight  comes  to  but  a  few,  this  disastrous  ending  of  a  period  of  pros- 
perity is  not  surprising.  Prices  had  gone  up  rapidly,  wages  were  ad- 
vancing, buying  was  the  rule  and  it  was  not  always  conducted  with  good 
judgment  and,  worst  of  all,  speculation  was  rife.  In  the  industries,  and 
even  more  in  the  operation  of  transportation  companies,  stock  juggling 
was  often  the  first  consideration  while  giving  service  was  secondary.  An 
unnatural  and  unhealthy  condition  existed  although  only  a  few  recog- 
nized this. 

In  the  light  of  the  feverish  conditions  that  have  existed,  not  alone  in 
the  United  States  but  throughout  the  world,  in  the  last  five  years,  or 
since  1915,  the  "boom"  days  of  the  early  part  of  1907  appear  like  days 
of  comparative  quiet,  but  judged  by  the  days  that  had  preceded  them 
they  were  days  of .  unparalleled  activity.  Wealth  and  pleasure  were 
pursued  more  diligently  than  they  ever  had  been  before  and  the  short- 
sighted gambled  heavily  on  the  future.  The  breakdown  came  in  late 
October  and  early  November,  and  came  with  appalling  suddenness. 
Where  the  steel  mills  had  apparently  been  unable  to  fill  orders  but  a 
few  months  before,  they  were  shut  down  and  left  silent  and  almost 
tenantless. 

The  "word  "panic"  was  taboo  at  that  time.  The  inactivity  was  re- 
ferred to  as  a  "depression"  alone,  but  today,  a  dozen  years  later,  there 
is  no  disposition  to  gloss  over  the  hardships  of  that  period.  In  the 
Mahoning  Valley  the  depression  lasted  approximately  a  year  and  a  half, 
or  until  the  spring  of  1909,  but  the  severe  panic  conditions  lasted  through 
only  the  first  six  months  of  this  period.  From  November,  1907,  until 
'May,  1908,  thousands  of  idle  men  walked  the  streets,  few  of  those  em- 
ployed in  the  steel  mills  worked  steadily,  and  thousands  more  of  work- 
men who  had  been  industrious,  regularly  employed  men  prior  to  that 
time  earned  scarcely  a  dollar  during  the  entire  winter  and  early  spring. 

The  latter  seven  or  eight  months  of  1908  were  dull  but  the  strain  at 
least  had  been  removed  and  a  return  to  prosperity  was  in  sight.  It 
might  be  said,  too,  that  in  spite  of  the  panicky  conditions  existing  in  the 
Mahoning  Valley,  this  district  fared  far  better  than  other  steel-making 
sections  of  the  country.  Not  only  was  the  collapse  even  more  complete 
in  the  Pittsburgh,  Birmingham  and  Chicago  regions  during  the  winter  of 
1907-08,  but  the  recovery  in  these  districts  was  slower  and  at  the  close 
of  1908  they  were  probably  not  in  better  condition  than  Youngstown  was 
in  the  spring  of  that  year.  By  1909  there  was  a  complete  return  to 
normal  conditions  at  least,  although  the  feverish  business  activity  that 
characterized  the  early  part  of  1907  did  not  reappear  for  several  years 
more. 

If  the  "panic  of  1907"  produced  less  actual  hardship  than  its  pred- 


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236       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ecessors,  the  depressions  that  began  in  1873  and  i893>  ft  was  not  alone 
because  it  was  shorter  in  duration  but  because  the  character  of  the  city 
had  changed.  Youngstown  had  grown  great  enough  and  modern  enough 
that  considerable  business  remained  even  with  the  steel  mills  inactive, 
and  a  sight  of  a  few  thousand  idle  men  on  the  streets  was  not  as  appall- 
ing as  it  had  been  fifteen  years  before.  They  represented  a  smaller  per- 
centage of  the  population;  the  psychological  effect  was  less  marked. 

That  the  city  had  the  desire  and  possessed  the  spirit  to  stage  a  gala 
celebration  almost  in  the  midst  of  this  depression  is  evidence  that  the 
municipality  as  a  whole  was  not  downcast,  and  really  looked  for  better 
days  within  a  short  time.  This  civic  get-together  event,  held  in  June, 
1908,  celebrated  the  anniversary  of  nothing  in  particular.     It  was  pro- 


Scene  in  West  Federal  Street  During  "Old  Home  Week," 

in  June,  1908 

moted  by  a  few  optimists  who  believed  that  the  world  had  a  good  many 
years  of  existence  ahead  of  it,  that  more  prosperous  times  were  not  far 
in  the  distance,  that  the  best  way  to  shake  off  depression  was  to  be  gay. 
and  that  it  was  a  good  time  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  Youngstown 
was  still  very  much  of  a  city  and  not  a  municipality  of  the  kind  thaf 
would  give  up  merely  because  it  had  been  visited  by  adversity.  The 
celebration  was  designated  "Home  Coming  Week/'  or  "Old  Home 
Week,"  to  use  a  term  more  often  employed,  and  it  was  an  occasion  into 
which  everyone  entered  heartily.  Shows,  carnivals,  parades,  banquets 
and  reunions  of  all  sorts  were  held,  the  cornerstone  of  the  new  court- 
house was  laid  and  Youngstown  thoroughly  enjoyed  itself  for  one  solid 
week.     It  would  be  a  good  experience  to  repeat. 

With  the  return  of  better  times  following  the  election  of   iqo8  and 
liquidation  that  undid  some  of  the  evil  wrought  by  the  speculation  of 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       237 

two  years  before,  Youngstown  closed  the  first  decade  of  the  twentieth 
century  with  mild  prosperity  at  least.  Except  for  the  panic  it  had  not 
been  a  very  eventful  period.  The  character  of  the  city  had  changed 
between  1900  and  1910,  it  had  progressed  from  the  stage  of  an  average, 
medium-sized  municipality  to  that  of  a  large  and  modern  one,  and  in 
a  business  sense  had  advanced  even  out  of  proportion  to  its  population. 
Much  of  the  old  home-like  atmosphere  had  disappeared.  Previous  to 
1900  a  great  percentage  of  the  residents  of  Youngstown  were  of  old 
families,  or  comparatively  old  families,  who  had  much  in  common. 
Domestic  immigration  had  been  from  nearby  places  or  from  districts 
much  the  same  as  Youngstown  in  character.  Foreign  immigration  had 
been,  as  a  rule,  from  the^  British  Isles  and  northern  Europe,  most  of  the 
newcomers  being  English-speaking  and  entire  bodies  of  them  coming 
from  the  same  district  in  the  Old  World.  Immigration  from  Southern 
and  Central  Europe  had  begun  as  early  as  the  '8os,  but  was  compara- 
tively slight  prior  to  1900,  and  constituted  but  a  small  percentage  of  the 
population.  Between  1900  and  1910,  however,  newcomers  from  this 
part  of  the  Old  World  far  outnumbered  those  of  English  speech.  The 
native  Americans  who  located  here  during  that  period  came  from  widely 
scattered  places  and  were  free  from  traditions  and  prejudices  alike.  All 
this  immigration  was  necessary,  of  course,  if  the  city  was  to  grow  and 
progress  and  there  was  gain  to  offset  every  loss  in  the  changing  character 
of  the  city.  The  rapidity  of  this  growth  was  shown  in  the  census  re- 
turns of  1910  that  gave  Youngstown  a  population  of  79,066  within  the 
corporate  limits — a  gain  of  34,181  or  76  per  cent  in  ten  years. 


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CHAPTER  XIV 

YOUNGSTOWN  FROM  1910  TO  1920 

The  Business  Depression  of  1913-15 — The  Record-Breaking  Flood 
of  1913 — Revival  of  Business  Following  the  Outbreak  of  the 
World  War — Grade  Crossings  Elimination  Progress — Youngs- 
town  of  Today. 

We  are  accustomed  to  associate  history  with  past  and  bygone  days, 
bo  that  a  record  of  the  events  of  the  last  ten  years  may  appear  a  recital 
of  current  events  rather  than  historical  happenings.  Yet  we  are  writing 
what  we  hope  future  generations  will  read.  Whether  we  tell  the  story 
of  Youngstown  from  1910  to  1920  poorly  or  well,  the  fact  still  remains 
that  this  has  been  in  many  respects  the  most  remarkable  decade  in  the 
history  of  the  world  and  Youngstown  cannot  have  gone  through  that 
ten-year  period  without  helping  to  make  history  for  itself  as  well  as 
for  the  nation. 

The  opening  years  of  this  second  decade  of  the  twentieth  century 
were  peaceful  enough  and  not  especially  eventful.  There  was  neither 
unusual  prosperity  or  especial  adversity  in  this  great  steel  making  dis- 
trict. In  this  respect  they  were  probably  "normal"  years,  as  we  under- 
stood that  term  prior  to  1914-15.  The  growth  of  the  population  to 
approximately  80,000  in  1910,  and  the  changing  character  of  the  city 
and  its  people,  spoken  of  in  the  preceding  chapter,  inspired  public  im- 
provements and  the  demand  for  still  more  public  improvements.  Even 
the  presidential  election  of  191 2  caused  scarcely  a  ripple.  The  usual 
momentary  industrial  depression  was  absent  and  the  contest  for  the 
presidency  that  roused  the  country  to  fever  heat  when  aspirants  were 
struggling  for  the  honor  of  being  the  nominees  of  the  two  major  political 
parties  subsided  after  the  party  conventions  had  been  held.  The  schism 
in  the  Republican  party  made  Democratic  victory  assured  and  the  presi- 
dential campaign  was  one  of  the  most  listless  in  the  history  of  the 
country,  even  the  fiery  Colonel  Roosevelt  failing  to  dispel  the  apathy 
except  among  his  own  ardent  supporters. 

The  year  1913,  however,  was  one  that  could  scarcely  be  called  indiffer- 
ent or  lacking  in  prominent  events.  If  there  were  nothing  else  to  recall 
it,  it  will  be  ever  memorable,  in  personal  recollection  and  in  story,  for 
its  famed  "Ohio  flood." 

This,  of  course,  was  not  a  local  event  by  any  means.  In  fact  Youngs- 
town felt  this  catastrophe  only  incidentally  when  compared  with  some 
other  Ohio  cities,  even  though  property  loss  and  loss   in   wages  and 

238 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       239 

earnings  here  ran  well  into  millions  of  dollars.  The  loss  of  life  here 
happily  was  small,  wherein  Youngstown  differed  from  some  other  Ohio 
localities  that  felt  the  effect  .of  the  water  demon  with  cruel  severity. 

Death-dealing  and  property-destroying  floods  are  usually  traceable 
to  four  causes — the  bursting  of  a  dam  that  impounds  a  great  body  of 
water,  a  so-called  cloudburst,  a  winter  thaw  or  a  spring  freshet  caused 
by  warm  rains  and  melting  ice  and  snow.  Except  in  great  river  valleys 
the  two  latter  do  not  usually  bring  wholesale  destruction.  Youngstown 
has  had  many  experiences  with  such  floods;  they  were  almost  an  an- 
nual spring  occurrence  in  fact,  and  in  several  instances,  notably  in  1878 
and  in  1904,  the  water  had  reached  unusual  heights  and  had  done  great 
damage.  The  flood  of  ipjg-r-which  was  peculiarly  an  Ohio  disaster 
because  it  swept  bvef-  the  entire  State  from  northern,  to  southern  and 
from  eastern  to  western  boundary,  while  other  states  were  immune 
except  for  territory  immediately  adjoining  Ohio — was  unprecedented 
because  there  was  no  "cloudburst,"  while  broken  dams  were  an  effect 
rather  than  a  cause.  It  was  attributable  solely  to  an  almost  unceasing 
rain  of  four  days  and  four  nights,  something  akin  to  the  Biblical  deluge. 

The  downpour  began  on  Easter  Sunday,  March  23,  191 3,  and  for 
forty-eight  hours  was  especially  heavy.  It  was  scarcely  what  would  be 
termed  violent  at  any  time,  even  in  these  first  two  days,  but  was  almost 
awe-inspiring  in  its  fearful  monotony.  For  another  two  days  the  rain 
fell  in  diminished  quantities,  but  the  downpour  continued  nevertheless. 
By  Wednesday  the  flood  had  reached  its  crest,  this  and  the  preceding 
day  being  the  ones  of  most  marked  suffering. 

Because  the  rainfall  was  deadly  in  its  unceasing  nature  rather  than 
in  its  severity,  it  was  Monday  evening  before  the  situation  became  ac- 
tually alarming.  On  Sunday,  Omaha  had  been  visited  by  a  fearful 
cyclone  and  the  attention  of  Ohioans  was  directed  toward  this  rather 
than  toward  their  own  homes  on  Monday;  but  by  nightfall  of  that  day 
the  booming  waters  became  a  fearful  reminder  of  the  danger  right  at 
hand.  Tuesday  the  flood  had  reached  an  unprecedented  stage  but  it 
remained  for  another  thirty-six  hours  to  see  the  real  damage  done. 

Because  Youngstown  is  located  largely  in  hills,  usually  such  a  terror 
to  residents  of  level  lands,  the  homes  of  Youngstown  people  generally 
escaped  direct  contact  with  the  flood.  Dwellers  in  the  river  valley  were 
driven  out,  even  many  who  had  seen  numerous  floods  in  the  past  and 
had  escaped  them  being  caught  in  this  one.  It  was  the  industries  that 
suffered  worst.  All  of  these  located  in  the  river  valley  were  put  hope- 
lessly out  of  operation,  the  water  standing  many  feet  deep  in  the  mill 
buildings  and  covering  the  machinery,  the  furnaces  and  the  roll  trains. 
The  railroads  ceased  to  operate.  The  street  railway  system  was  com- 
pletely demoralized  and  any  attempt  to  operate  cars  was  useless.  The 
upper  parts  of  the  city  water  works  and  filter  plant  buildings  were 
mere  islands  in  a  great  sea,  and  it  was  the  irony  of  fate  that  in  the  face 
of  an  avalanche  of  water  never  equaled  before  and  that  probably  never 
will  be  duplicated  here,  Youngstown  was  without  a  drop  of  city  water. 
Only  the  wells  and  a  few  reserve  supplies  were  left.  With  lighting 
plants  shut  down,  householders  had  to  resort  to  ancient  oil  lamps  and 


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240       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

even  more  ancient  candles.  The  Division  Street  bridge  and  the  old 
West  Side  bridge  went  down  in  the  wreckage,  and  at  the  new  and  com- 
paratively high  Spring  Common  bridge  the  flood  was  within  a  few  feet 


Scenes  in  Youngstown  During  the  Big  Flood  of  March,  1913 

The  upper  picture  shows  East  Federal  Street  from  a  point  below  Watt 
Street  to  the  East  End  Bridge.  Lower  view  shows  Mahoning  Avenue 
from  the  B.  &  O.  Railroad  tracks. 

of  the  floor  level,  while  all  bridges  were  jammed  hopelessly  with  debris 
until  their  safety  was  in  doubt,  and  it  was  even  feared  that  some  of 
them  might  have  to  be  blown  away  with  dynamite  to  relieve  the  pressure. 
Rowboats  plied  their  way  blissfully  up  and  down  the  lower  end  of  East 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       241 

Federal  Street  from  the  junction  of  Himrod  Avenue  to  a  point  well 
cibove  Basin  Street.  The  B.  &  O.  and  the  old  Pennsylvania  passenger 
stations  were  submerged  and  the  territory  about  the  junction  of  Oak 
Hill  and  Mahoning  avenues,  which  has  always  been  a  favorite  target 
for  floods,  witnessed  an  inundation  that  made  previous  ones  appear 
trivial.  Residents  of  the  east  side  and  east  end  who  reached  their 
homes  by  way  of  Himrod  and  Wilson  avenues  were  forced  to  detour 
to  the  Erie  tracks  in  the  rear  of  Federal  Street,  the  roadbed  here  stand- 
ing a  few  inches  above  water,  while  west  side  traffic  was  possible  by 
way  of  Market  Street  bridge  only.  The  saloons  were  closed  and  na- 
tional guardsmen  patrolled  the  street  and  the  river  banks. 

Wednesday  night  was  one  of  ceaseless  vigil  and  constant  alarms. 
Before  morning,  however,  a  change  became  apparent  in  the  temperature, 
and  the  drizzle  Thursday  was  cold  and  penetrating.  The  waters  had 
begun  to  fall  before  morning  and  by  daylight  it  was  known  that  the 
danger  was  past. 

Youngstown,  and  the  Mahoning  Valley,  happily  suffered  no  per- 
manent ill  effects  from  this  most  remarkable  flood.  In  some  other  sec- 
tions of  the  State  many  months  elapsed  before  the  damage  was  re- 
paired, but  here  normal  'conditions  were  restored  within  a  comparatively 
few  days. 

Another  event  of  this  year  was  the  attempt  to  change  the  existing 
form  of  government  in  Youngstown.  Agitation  in  favor  of  this  move- 
ment began  soon  after  the  State  Constitutional  Convention  of  191 2  had 
amended  the  basic  law  of  the  State  to  permit  home  rule  for  municipali- 
ties. A  charter  commission  election  was  held  on  February  4,  1913,  when 
a  commission  consisting  of  A.  E.  Adams.  W.  T.  Gibson,  J.  P.  Wilson. 
David  G.  Jenkins,  W.  I.  Davies,  D.  F.  Anderson,  Carroll  Thornton, 
Dr.  N.  H.  Chaney,  J.  R.  \.oolley,  F.  L.  Oesch,  D.  R.  Kennedy,  Rev. 
J.  P.  Barry,  H.  W.  Raisse,  H.  B.  Chase  and  E.  H.  Moore  was  named 
to  draft  a  new  charter  for  the  city.  Protracted  .sessions  of  this  body 
were  held,  the  work  finally  being  completed  early  in  June.  On  July  22d 
the  charter  was  submitted  to  the  electors  for  approval,  but  was  voted 
down,  and  since  that  time  no  serious  attempt  has  been  made  in  Youngs- 
town to  adopt  a  new  form  of  government. 

In  1913,  also,  the  first  important  extension  of  the  city  limits  in  almost 
twenty-five  years  took  place.  In  April  a  councilmanic  resolution  provided 
that  the  city  should  be  extended  to  take  in  the  entire  Township  of 
Youngstown  and  on  November  17,  191 3,  this  extension  was  granted 
by  the  county  commissioners.  All  township  offices  ceased  to  exist  and 
the  old  Township  of  Youngstown  went  out  of  existence. 

Early  in  this  year  there  were  indications  that  the  comparative  pros- 
perity of  the  preceding  four  years  was  threatened  insofar  as  the  Ma- 
honing Valley  was  concerned,  and  to  some  extent  as  far  as  the  entire 
country  was  concerned.  This  fear  became  a  reality  in  the  fall  of  that 
ye&r,  when  a  depression  came  and  the  steel  business  suffered  its  most 
decided  slump  in  six  years.  Part-time  work  was  the  rule,  and  even 
part-time  work  at   their  regular  occupations   was   denied  many.     The 


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242       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

expedient  of  giving  employment  by  making  public  improvements  was 
resorted  to  throughout  the  winter  of  this  year. 

The  depression  continued  throughout  the  spring  and  early  summer 
of  1914,  and  early  in  August  came  the  World  war,  a  calamity  that  was 
to  bathe  the  world  in  blood  for  more  than  four  years.  All  America 
received  the  news  of  this  disaster  with  amazement  and  even  bewilder- 
ment, for  Americans,  did  not  have  even  the  warning  given  European 
peoples  who  had  been  fearful  for  many  years  that  such  a  happening 
might  take  place  at  some  time. 

In  view  of  the  later  "war-time"  prosperity  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
appreciate  the  baneful  influence  that  the  war  had  on  industrial  America 
in  its  earlier  months.  The  United  States  was  not  a  belligerent,  and  few 
believed  in  1914  that  it  ever  would  be.  The  one  outstanding  fact,  next 
to  the  horror  of  the  affair,  was  the  fact  that  war  suddenly  closed  the 
markets  of  the  world  to  American  products  and  shut  off  from  America 
many  products  it  had  gotten  from  the  Old  World, 

As  a  result  the  unfavorable  business  conditions  of  late  1913  and  early 
1914  became  more  pronounced  toward  the  end  of  the  latter  year.  Work 
became  even  scarcer  than  it  had  been  six  month§  or  a  year  before,  and 
the  public  improvements  program  on  the  part  of  the  city  was  extended. 
There  was  a  wild,  almost  pitiable,  demand  for  jobs  as  day  laborers  in 
the  parks  and  streets  and  on  the  roads.  The  winter  of  1914-15  was  not 
exceeded  as  a  winter  of  privations  except  by  the  winters  of  1907-08, 
1893-94  and  1874-75. 

The  year  191 4  was  one  also  of  many  minor  events,  included  in  this 
number  being  the  adoption  of  eastern  standard  time  by  Youngstown 
on  May  1st,  and  the  rise  of  the  motor  passenger  vehicle,  or  " jitney  bus," 
a  craze  that  reached  its  height  in  the  following  years  and  declined  al- 
most as  fast  as  it  had  risen. 

That  war  meant  a  quickening  of  the  wheels  of  industry  instead  of 
stilling  them  altogether  became  apparent  early  in  191 5.  The  Entente 
countries  had  found  themselves  almost  unprepared  for  hostilities.  Their 
men  sprang  to  the  defense  of  their  homelands,  but  men  cannot  make 
war  with  bare  hands,  and  the  nations  opposing  the  German  alliance 
found  themselves  lacking  in  the  essentials  with  which  to  make  war  and 
care  for  their  armies.  They  turned  to  the  United  States  as  a  source  of 
supply,  with  the  result  that  by  the  end  of  1915  American  industries  of 
all  kinds  faced  a  demand  for  their  products  never  before  equaled. 

Food,  chemicals  and  steel  were  the  great  needs  of  war-making  nations 
in  the  world  conflict.  Without  steel  there  could  be  no  defense  against 
the  invader,  and  orders  running  into  billions  therefore  poured  into  the 
United  States  from  France,  Great  Britain,  Italy,  Russia  and  the  smaller 
belligerents.  The  seas  were  comparatively  open  to  the  ships  of  the 
Entente  countries.  They  were  virtually  closed  to  the  Central  countries, 
but  these  countries,  especially  Germany,  were  self-contained  in  tlje 
early  period  of  the  war. 

As  a  result  of  this  demand  from  abroad  a  prosperity  never  before 
known  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  depression  that  had  lasted  from  late 
in   1913  to  early  in  191 5,  a  period  of  approximately  eighteen  months. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       243 

The  steel  mills  were  crowded  to  capacity  with  orders  at  unprecedented 
prices,  and  wages  advanced  to  an  undreamed  of  figure,  although  not 
until  after  a  strike  that  lasted  but  a  few  days  and  made  up  in  intensity 
what  it  lacked  in  length,  terminating  as  it  did  in  the  East  Youngstown 
riot,  an  unfortunate  occurrence  that  has  been  too  often  credited  to 
Youngstown. 

This  episode  forms  one  of  the  most  remarkable  incidents  in  the 
industrial  history  of  this  country.  It  attracted  wide  attention  and  was 
the  source  of  much  sensational  misinformation  in  the  public  press  of 
other  localities,  which  generally  attributed  the  disturbance  to  dissatis- 
faction with  conditions  in  the  mills  and  located  it  at  Youngstown,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  it  "was  merely  a  drunken  orgy  among  workmen  of 
foreign  birth  and  occurred  at  East  Youngstown.  The  trouble  began 
with  a  strike  by  laborers  in  the  steel  mills  which  at  first  was  not  felt 
to  be  a  serious  matter.  The  steel  companies  were  even  then  figuring 
on  a  wage  advance  announced  later.  January  7th  was  celebrated  at 
East  Youngstown  as  Christmas,  and  was  a  holiday,  provoking,  as 
usual,  much  bibulousness  among  the  immigrants  from  Southern  Europe. 
On  the  evening  of  that  day  a  clash  occurred  between  strikers  and  mill 
guards  in  which  there  was  some  shooting  by  both,  and  the  mob  which 
assembled  left  the  mill  gates  and  proceeded  to  loot  and  bum  the  business 
section  of  the  town,  paying  attention  first  to  saloons,  of  which  there  were 
altogether  too  many  in  operation.  The  rioting  continued  until  mid- 
night, when  it  suddenly  subsided,  following  a  rumor  that  a  regiment  of 
the  Ohio  National  Guard  was  on  its  way.  The  soldiers  arrived  at  dawn 
of  the  following  morning,  but  found  the  village  in  ruins  and  no  other 
evidence  of  the  previous  night's  disorder.  Within  a  day  or  two  the  strike 
was  over,  the  men  going  peacefully  back  to  work;  but  it  was  a  long 
time  before  the  village  recovered  from  its  scars,  and  the  litigation,  re- 
sulting is  still  heard  in  the  courts. 

The  prosperity  beginning  early  in  191 5  lasted  throughout  19 16  and 
business  increased  in  volume.  America's  right  to  trade  with  the  world 
was  preserved  in  spite  of  attempts  of  the  shallow-minded  and  the  anti- 
Americans  to  declare  an  embargo  on  the  shipments  to  belligerents. 
Ostensibly  this  move  was  directed  against  all  countries,  although  no  one 
was  seriously  deceived  by  this  plea,  since  the  Central  countries  could  not 
transport  materials  bought  here  to  their  ports. 

The  presidential  election  of  191 6  had  no  effect  whatever  on  business 
conditions.  It  was  an  election  at  the  best  in  which  party  lines  were 
not  strictly  drawn,  and  in  which  both  political  parties  dodged  the  war 
issue,  except  that  the  Democrats  craftily  took  all  the  advantage  possible 
of  the  fact  that  the  United  States  had  thus  far  been  kept  out  of  the 
hostilities. 

This  year,  too,  witnessed  the  completion  of  the  Milton  reservoir, 
ending  a  ten  years'  fight  for  an  increased  industrial  water  supply  for 
Youngstown.  By  the  spring  of  1917  the  great  gorge  in  the  river  had 
been  filled  to  its  10,000,000,000  gallons  capacity.  Youngstown's  water 
supply  is  insufficient  even  today,  but  Milton  reservoir  has  long  since 
justified  itself. 


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244       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  year  1917  will  ever  be  a  memorable  one,  although  it  is  now 
such  a  short  distance  in  the  past  that  to  recall  it  does  not  appear  so 
much  like  writing  history  as  to  referring  to  something  that  happened 
but  yesterday.  Even  at  the  close  of  1916  there  was  no  general  fear  that 
the  United  States  would  have  to  become  one  of  the  belligerent  nations; 
in  fact  the  final  month  of  that  year  saw  a  movement  on  foot  that  indi- 
cated peace  between  the  nations  then  at  war.  Negotiations  looking  to- 
ward this  were  conducted  through  President  Wilson.  As  they  pro- 
gressed, however,  their  hopelessness  became  more  apparent.  Germany 
was  ready  to  make  terms  on  a  compromise  basis,  expressing  a  willing- 
ness to  surrender  some  of  the  ambitions  that  had  inspired  her  when  she 
brought  on  the  war  in  1914,  but  demanding  a  peace  favorable  to  Ger- 
many and  a  peace  founded  on  loot  nevertheless.  The  Entente  countries 
were  not  ready  for  this  kind  of  a  peace.  In  rejecting  it  they  were  right, 
although  the  manner  of  rejection  was  unfortunate.  The  mistake  was 
made  of  overestimating  the  German  weakness  that  inspired  the  peace 
move;  the  result  being  that  the  Allied  refusal  of  German  terms  was 
tinged  with  a  superciliousness  that  probably  assisted  the  German  war- 
makers  materially  in  convincing  the  German  people  that  they  were  fight- 
ing a  war  of  defense  against  an  enemy  that  was  pledged  to  exterminate 
them. 

The  German  message  of  January  31,  1917,  notifying  the  American 
government  that  unrestricted  submarine  warfare  would  become  opera- 
tive on  February  1  made  war  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  inevitable. 
In  effect  it  was  a  declaration  of  war  in  itself,  since  it  provided  for 
treating  neutral  and  friendly  shipping  alike  and  was  virtually  a  notifica- 
tion to  the  United  States  to  keep  off  the  high  seas.  The  provision  that 
certain  American  ships  might  cross  the  ocean  at  certain  intervals,  fol- 
lowing a  certain  lane  of  travel  and  under  German  supervision  merely 
added  insult  to  the  declaration  of  hostility.  No  nation  with  an  atom  of 
self-respect  could  accept  such  a  provision  unless  absolutely  powerless. 
Probably  Germany  did  not  expect  this  arrangement  to  be  accepted.  Ger- 
man statesmen  and  militarists,  in  fact,  had  weighed  carefully  the  question 
of  whether  the  United  States  as  a  neutral  could  balance  the  scales  in  favor 
of  the  Allied  nations  and  had  decided  negatively.  History  does  not 
record  a  ^rnore  egregious  blunder  than  the  Teutons  thus  made  in  under- 
estimating American  strength,  American  energy,  American  adaptibility 
and  American  fighting  capacity. 

The  expose  of  the  attempted  German  alliance  with  Mexico,  the  tor- 
pedoing of  American  ships  throughout  February  and  March,  1917,  and 
other  repeated  acts  of  aggression  led  to  the  Congressional  action  of  April 
6,  1917,  declaring  that  a  state  of  war  existed  with  Germany.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1917,  a  similar  declaration  was  adopted  with  respect  to  Austria- 
Hungary,  although  this  action  was  only  nominal,  as  the  war  against  the 
entire  Central  alliance  was  in  effect  long  before. 

In  Youngstown,  as  in  every  other  community,  the  war  compelled  a 
complete  realignment  of  industrial  and  social  conditions.  Volunteering 
began  here  at  once,  in  fact  before  a  state  of  war  was  declared,  and  ad- 
ditional National  Guard  companies  were  added  to  the  two  already  in 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       245 

Youngstown.  Many  of  the  men  in  these  two  companies,  together  with 
men  from  a  local  field  hospital,  and  other  local  outfits,  had  returned  but 
v.  few  weeks  before  from  the  Mexican  border  where  they  had  been 
called  in  the  spring  of  1916  when  war  with  Mexico  was  threatened.  This 
had  been  the  second  incident  of  this  kind,  in  fact,  since  the  two  guard 
companies  had  been  recruited  to  war  strength  in  preparation  for  border 
service  when  the  occupation  of  Vera  Cruz,  Mexico,  took  place  in  April, 
1914.  On  this  former  occasion,  however,  the  anticipated  call  to  arms 
had  not  come. 

The  conscription,  or  draft,  law,  passed  but  a  few  weeks  after  the 
official  opening  of  the  war,  systematized  the  recruiting  of  men  for  mili- 
tary service.  Registration,  the  institution  of  physical  examination,  the 
actual  drafting  of  eligibles,  and  in  fact  all  war  activities  relating  to  the 
Mahoning  Valley,  are  treated  in  another  chapter  of  this  work  so  that 
there  is  no  need  to  go  extensively  into  them  here.  Suffice  to  say,  how- 
ever, that  the  movement  of  troops  from  Youngstown,  and  from  all  Ma- 
honing and  Trumbull  counties  began  in  August,  1917,  and  continued 
without  abatement  until  the  day  of  the  signing  of  the  armistice  fifteen 
months  later. 

The  calling  of  such  an  immense  number  of  the  youngest  and  most 
physically  fit  men  worked  a  natural  hardship  industrially.  America, 
like  other  nations,  needed  steel  with  which  to  fight  and  making  steel  was 
a  work  that  was  carried  on  only  under  the  greatest  of  difficulties  in  the 
face  of  a  progressively  decreasing  labor  supply.  Yet  in  spite  of  this  all 
records  for  production  were  shattered,  for  the  national  spirit  had  been 
aroused  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  selfish  minority,  country  was 
placed  first  and  self  last.  It  was  a  time  when  most  pleasures  were  fore- 
gone and  social  events  that  had  become  institutions  were  abandoned. 
In  the  winter  of  1917-18  "speeding  up"  production  and  "tightening  up 
the  belt"  in  every  other  manner  became  the  sole  aim.  It  was  an  espe- 
cially unpropitious  season  for  war,  for  this  winter  will  go  down  in  his- 
tory as  probably  the  most  severe  in  the  history  of  the  greater  part  of 
the  United  States.  From  the  first  day  of  December,  1917,  until  wel} 
along  in  February,  1918,  the  country  suffered  from  an  unbelievably 
cold  wave.  Zero  weather  and  far  worse  prevailed  day  in  and  day  out 
Those  who  remained  at  home  suffered  from  frigid  temperatures  they 
had  not  known  before  and  the  men  in  the  camps  naturally  underwent 
even  greater  hardships.  Industry  and  transportation  were  sadly  handi- 
capped by  this  most  unfriendly  weather,  and  to  the  cold  wave  was  added 
a  fuel  shortage  that  permitted  only  part-time  operation  of  even  the 
essential  steel  industries  during  the  period  of  greatest  need.  Complete 
suspension  was  made  compulsory  in  some  kinds  of  business,  and  other 
businesses  were  limited  in  output,  in  sales,  or  in  days  or  hours  of  opera- 
tion. Even  with  the  relieving  of  the  coal  shortage  toward  the  close  of 
the  winter  the  problem  of  keeping  the  wheels  of  industry  going  increased 
rather  than  diminished  as  the  labor  supply  steadily  grew  smaller.  This 
was  solved  partially  by  the  "work  or  fight"  order  that  was  a  terror  to 
idlers  of  all  kinds  and  to  those  who  lived  by  devious  means.  It  per- 
mitted only  the  alternatives  of  working  or  going  to  war,  or,  if  one  were 


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246       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

beyond  reasonable  military  age  and  yet  ablebodied,  the  privilege  of  go- 
ing to  jail  was  permitted.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  was  not  a  great 
deal  of  vigilance  required  in  enforcing  this  statute,  or  order,  for  the 
warning  was  generally  sufficient. 

Food  restrictions  became  necessary  in  the  fall  of  1917  and  through- 
out the  winter  there  was  a  general  education  of  the  country  in  the  need 
of  food  conservation  and  in  the  way  of  conserving.  Later,  compulsion 
was  resorted  to  and  Americans  were  told  what  they  might  eat  and  what 
they  might  not  eat,  when  they  might  eat  and  when  they  might  not  eat. 
Even  the  "white"  bread  to  which  they  had  become  accustomed  disap- 
peared and  the  use  of  meats  and  many  other  food  products  were  re- 
stricted. 

It  was  a  rather  startling  experience  for  people  who  live  in  the  richest 
•and  most  productive  as  well  as  the  most  wasteful  country  in  the  world. 
Heretofore  there  had  been  no  limitation  whatever  on  what  one  might  eat, 
drink  or  wear  except  the  limitation  placed  by  the  state  of  one's  pocket- 
book,  and  this  was  not  serious  when  a  little  money  would  buy  a  com- 
paratively great  deal.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  American  people  that 
they  adapted  themselves  so  readily  to  circumstances.  There  was  grum- 
bling and  evasion,  of  course,  but  as  a  whole  whatever  course  was  pre- 
scribed as  a  necessary  one  to  help  win  the  war  was  cheerfully  followed. 
No  one  looks  back  with  any  feeling  of  regret  that  the  "meatless"  and 
"wheatless"  and  "gasolineless"  days  are  gone,  but  they  were  accepted 
good  naturedly  at  the  time,  even  by  the  housewives  who  bore  th$  brunt 
of  the  burden  in  trying  to  make  substitutes  take  the  place  of  food 
products  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed. 

The  year  1918  was,  in  fact,  solely  a  "war  year."  There  was  no 
other  consideration  that  received  much  attention,  until  almost  mid- 
November  at  least.  Future  generations  will  perhaps  be  unable  to  under- 
stand the  wholehearted  interest,  and  even  fear,  that  gripped  the  Amer- 
ican people  in  that  year  when  the  war  was  actually  drawing  to  a  close, 
but  it  must  be  remembered  that  throughout  the  greater  part  of  k>i8  the 
end  of  the  war  was  something  that  appeared  far  off.  Coincident  with 
the  terrific  German  drives  of  the  spring  the  winning  of  the  war  seemed 
a  matter  of  two,  three,  or  even  five  years  in  the  future.  Early  in  the 
fall  at  least  a  year  of  hostilities  was  anticipated  and  when  the  second 
great  registration  of  eligible  men  took  place  on  September  12,  1918,  it 
was  taken  for  granted  that  these  enrolled  would  be  called  into  service. 
Scarcely  a  week  before  the  armistice  was  signed,  the  end  of  hostilities 
was  hardly  expected  before  the  spring  of  1919. 

Only  the  signing  of  the  armistice  on  November  11,  1918,  relieved  the 
tension,  and  the  pent-up  feelings  of  more  than  a  year  and  a  half  were 
loosened  on  that  occasion.  For  one  day  at  least  there  was  unrestrained 
joy — except  on  the  part  of  those  whose  sons  or  brothers  would  never 
come  back,  and  the  many  more  who  feared  for  the  fate  of  the  soldier 
members  of  their  families,  for  the  casualty  lists  were  to  come  in  for 
many  days  yet. 

The  close  of  the  war  came  at  what  was  probably  the  most  harrowing 
time  in  American  history.     Not  alone  had  the  country  been  living  in  a 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHQNING  VALLEY       247 

state  of  dreaded  expectancy  for  many  months  and  not  alone  Was  the 
roll  of  dead  and  wounded  still  being  published  daily,  but  America  was  in 
the  grip  of  the  most  fearful  epidemic  it  had  ever  witnessed.  The  dread 
influenza  that  had  ravaged  the  belligerent  countries  in  the  spring  and 
summer  of  1918  reached  American  shores  in  September,  or  perhaps 
earlier,  and  for  several  months,  notably  in  October  and  November,  rolled 
up  a  casualty  list  of  its  own  that  completely  dwarfed  the  losses  sustained 
in  the  war.     Pleasures  were  abandoned,  even  the  most  ordinary  social 


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amenities  were  almost  foregone.  Schools,  social  gathering  places, 
theaters,  even  churches — for  the  first  time  in  our  history — were  closed 
or  converted  into  hospitals,  and  burials  became  a  dread  routine  with 
witnesses  to  the  ceremonies  limited  in  each  instance  to  the  immediate 
family. 

In  meeting  the  influenza  epidemic  Youngstown  gave  an  almost  un- 
paralleled example  of  its  ability  to  meet  an  emergency.  With  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  disease  here  a  campaign  to  combat  it  was  undertaken 
by  the  local  Red  Cross  chapter,  aided  by  the  two  hospitals,  health  de- 
partment, medical  society,  nurses,  schools,  industrial  organizations  and 


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248       YOUNGSTOWN  AND. THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

other  agencies,  and  C.  H.  Booth,  head  of  the  Red  Cross  chapter,  named 
Dr.  A.  M.  Clark  as  chairman  of  the  combined  organization.  To  care  for 
victims  in  the  two  hospitals  alone  was  impossible  as  the  wards  set 
aside  for  influenza  cases  were  overcrowded  within  a  few  days.  The  hope- 
lessness of  attempting  to  care  for  all  patients  in  their  homes  also  be- 
came apparent,  and  to  meet  the  situation  Doctor  Clark  appointed  Rev.  M. 
F.  Griffin,  Dr.  H.  E.  Welch  and  Fred  S.  Bunn  a  committee  to  arrange 
emergency  hospital  accommodations.  The  Baldwin  Memorial  Kinder- 
garten building,  now  the  home  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  was  opened 
with  a  capacity  of  twenty-five  beds,  and  in  October  South  High  School 
building  was  converted  into  a  hospital  with  a  capacity  of  250  beds.  A 
week  later  the  kindergarten  building  was  made  an  influenza-maternity 
hospital  and  a  hospital  was  opened  in  the  Jefferson  School  building,  with 
a  capacity  of  150  beds.  The  South  High  hospital  was  discontinued  late 
in  November  and  the  Jefferson  hospital  two  weeks  later,  the  kinder- 
garten building  being  converted  at  that  time  into  a  general  influenza 
hospital  with  a  capacity  of  forty  beds.  It  remained  in  use  until  March, 
1919. 

Fighting  this  dread  disease  was  a  Herculean  work  in  which  not  only 
doctors,  nurses  and  hospital  authorities,  but  clergymen,  teachers,  house- 
wives and  boys  and  girls  helped.  The  work  of  the  committee  of  three  in 
equipping  practically  complete  hospitals  in  a  few  days  was  especially 
remarkable.  More  than  1,000  cases  were  treated  in  these  hospitals. 
The  campaign  cost  more  than  $100,000,  of  which  the  city  contributed 
$75,000  by  bond  issue  and  the  Red  Cross  contributed  $25,000.  In  addi- 
tion the  Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company,  the  Carnegie  Steel  Com- 
pany, the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  the  Brier  Hill  Steel  Com- 
pany, and  other  large  industrial  companies  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  ex- 
pended many  thousands  of  dollars  in  providing  hospitals  and  medical 
attendance  for  their  employes.  ,., 

Business  uncertainty  added  to  the  gloom  and  depression-tat  this  time, 
for  as  America  had  had  to  reverse  itself  when  it  started  to  make  war, 
it  had  to  execute  another  about-face  in  returning  to  the  ways  of  peace. 
The  war  had  been  a  great  consumer  of  all  products  for  almost  four 
years;  its  sudden  cessation  therefore  threatened  a  paralysis  of  business. 
It  had  been  confidently  expected  that  the  end  would  be  forecasted* many 
months  in  advance,  and  now  the  end  had  come  almost  without  warning. 
The  result  was  a  slackening  up  of  industry  that  was  naturally  felt  keenly 
in  the  steel  industry.  The  closing  months  of  1918  were  months  of  reced- 
ing operations  as  well  as  uncertainty,  and  19 19  was  ushered  in  cheer- 
lessly except  for  the  knowledge  that  the  suspense  of  the  two  previous 
years  with  relation  to  the  war  was  over. 

This  business  depression  was  marked  throughout  the  first  three 
months  of  1919  and  there  was  general  pessimism  with  regard  to  the 
business  outlook  for  the  entire  year.  Happily  this,  fear  was  unwar- 
ranted, for  the  foundation  of  business  was  solid  and  by  spring  the  tide 
had  turned  for  the  better.  The  country  had  struggled  back  to  a  peace, 
or  near-peace,  basis  and  demands  for  materials  for  construction  was 
taking  the  place  of  demands  for  materials  designed  for  destructive  pur- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       249 

poses  alone.  The  "reconstruction"  that  the  country  was  talking  of — 
although  it  was  a  readjustment  and  not  reconstruction  that  was  needed, 
since  nothing  in  America  had  been  destroyed — did  not  come  in  the 
.orderly  manner  hoped  for,  but  in  a  haphazard  and  not  wholly  satis- 
factory manner  instead.  From  buying  nothing  in  the  winter  of  1918-19 
there  was  a  movement  for  buying  everything  in  the  following  summer, 
a  circumstance  that  helped  business,  but  did  not  bring  about  an  alto- 
gether healthy  situation. 

Four  years  of  war  had  given  the  whole  world  a  bad  case  of  "nerves," 
and  dissatisfaction  and  unrest  was  general.  Strikes  that  began  in 
Youngstown  early  in  the  year  continued  to  the  end  of  the  twelve-month, 
most  of  these  being  of  short  duration.  The  one  prolonged  walkout,  in 
fact,  was  that  of  the  steelworkers,  which  began  on  September  22,  1919, 
and  actually  ended  only  two  months  later,  while  officially  it  was  not 
ended  until  January  8,  1920.  This  strike,  of  course,  affected  all  iron 
and  steelmaking  centers,  but  with  varied  intensity  in  the  different  dis- 
tricts and  with  especial  intensity  in  Youngstown.  Even  Warren  and 
Niles,  but  a  few  miles  up  the  Mahoning  Valley,  felt  it  with  less  keenness, 
for  the  shutdown  there  was  but  partly  successful. 

Here  in  Youngstown  and  East  Youngstown  nothing  could  be  more 
complete.  On  the  day  that  the  strike  order  went  into  effect  practically 
every  piece  of  machinery  in  the  steel  mills  was  stilled.  An  attempt  to 
carry  on  even  the  slightest  operations  was  unsuccessful. 

In  many  respects  this  was  the  most  remarkable  strike  in  the  history 
of  the  iron  and  steel  industry.  Only  a  small  percentage  of  the  30,000 
employes  of  the  mills  in  Youngstown,  East  Youngstown,  Strutriers  and 
Lowellville  had  been  working  under  any  union  wage  agreement  with 
the  steel  companies.  Except  for  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation, 
no  direct  demands  were  even  made  on  the  steel  manufacturers  by  the 
strikers  or  the  men  in  charge  of  the  strike  movement.  The  workmen 
were  ordered  out  without  even  asking  concessions,  and  the  only  knowl- 
edge the  employers  had  of  the  threatened  strike  came  through  private 
channels  or  public  print. 

What  percentage  of  the  steel  workers  actually  allied  themselves  with 
the  unionization  movement  prior  to  September  22d  may  never  be  known, 
although  there  was  no  lack  of  estimates.  The  organizers  had  proceeded 
in  their  work  very  directly  and  with  clear  vision,  however,  by  assuring 
themselves  of  the  almost  solid  strength  of  the  day  laborers,  nearly  all 
men  of  foreign  birth,  without  whom  steel  mill  operations  are,  of  course, 
impossible.  It  is  the  percentage  of  skilled  and  semi-skilled  workmen, 
both  English-speaking  and  non-English-speaking,  who  were  unionized 
that  has  always  been  difficult  to  determine. 

The  best  information  obtainable  seems  to  indicate  that  not  over  30 
per  cent  of  the  steel  workers  had  actually  joined  the  union,  but  as  they 
were  practically  all  radically  inclined  foreigners  and  freely  threatened 
others,  the  result  was  an  almost  complete  absence  of  laborers  in  the 
mills  on  the  day  set  for  the  strike.  This,  with  more  or  less  sympathy 
for  the  movement  on  the  part  of  American-born  workers  who  did  not 
strike,  but  simply  remained  away  from  work,  made  the  movement  to 


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250       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

close  the  mills  successful.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  more  than  30,000  men 
were  idle  for  a  period  of  two  months,  there  was  comparatively  little 
disorder — a  fact  probably  due  to  the  absence  of  saloons  and  the  presence 
of  several  hundred  returned  soldiers  who  served  as  policemen  in  addition 
to  the  regular  police  force  maintained  by  the  sheriff  and  the  city  officials. 
The  strike  involved  a  loss  of  many  millions  of  dollars  to  the  workers, 
the  companies  and  the  community,  but  was  without  other  tangible  result, 
as  the  mills  were  reopened  without  changes  in  conditions  or  wages  as 
they  existed  at  its  beginning. 

It  is  probable  that  in  the  steel  strike  of  1919  there  was  less  public 
sympathy  with  the  strikers  than  in  any  similar  disturbance  in  the  his- 
tory of  Youngstown.  Heretofore  they  had  always  been  accorded  the 
sympathy  usually  granted  the  weaker  side.  In  this  particular  instance 
the  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  public  was  attributable  less  to  the  feeling 
that  the  steel  workers  were  already  highly  paid — although  this  was  a 
factor — than  to  the  resentment  felt  toward  the  type  of  leadership  that 
the  strike  developed.  The  feeling  that  it  was  not  so  much  a  strike  as 
part  of  a  movement  toward  breaking  down  constitutional  American 
government  was  strong  even  at  the  inception  of  the#  strike  and  grew 
stronger  as  the  walkout  continued  and  excited  greater  discussion. 
Radicalism  was  at  its  height,  conservative  labor  unionism  was  little  in 
evidence,  and  even  the  strikers  held  conflicting  opinions  as  to  what  the 
strike  was  about. 

Renewal  of  operations  in  the  mills  came  within  a  month,  but  this 
was  only  a  small  percentage  of  capacity  operations.  There  were  gradual 
increases  for  another  month,  and  by  this  time  the  way  would  have  been 
opened  for  the  complete  return  to  steel  mill  activity  had  it  not  been  for 
a  general  strike  of  coal  miners.  This  had  no  direct  effect  in  Youngs- 
town, or  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  since  coal  mining  here  is  now  a  very 
minor  industry,  but  it  had  a  very  pronounced  indirect  effect,  for  with- 
out coal  industrial  operations  of  any  kind  are  almost  impossible,  'and 
are  wholly  impossible  in  the  steel  business.  The  coal  strike  began  on 
November  1,  1919,  and  while  officially  terminated  in  compliance  with 
a  court  order  on  November  nth,  actually  lasted  another  month.  Courts 
might  order  a  strike  order  abrogated,  but  could  not  make  the  miners 
dig  coal  if  they  were  not  of  a  mind  to. 

This  fuel  shortage  effectually  prevented  any  extension  of  steel  mill 
operations  and  even  caused  a  slackening  up  of  the  partial  operations 
then  under  way.  In  fact  the  country  faced  a  revival  of  the  "coalless" 
days  of  the  winter  of  1917-18.  The  deadlock  between  the  operators  and 
miners  was  finally  broken  on  December  10,  1919,  when  the  latter  ac- 
cepted a  proposal  made  by  President  Wilson  that  they  return  to  work 
with  a  14  per  cent  increase  in  pay  and  assurance  of  a  still  further 
advance  in  case  this  was  found  justified  by  an  investigating  committee 
he  proposed  to  appoint. 

While  this  agreement  removed  the  greatest  menace  to  prosperity,  it 
was  many  weeks  before  the  steel  mills  fully  recovered  from  the  fuel 
shortage  and  returned  to  old  working  conditions.     They,  and  the  city, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       251 

triumphed  over  this,  however,  and  over  radicalism  and  many  other 
obstructions  and  made  the  year  1920  a  prosperous  one. 

Notwithstanding  six  years  of  turmoil,  the  second  decade  of  the 
twentieth  century  had  been  one  of  marked  changes  in  Youngstown. 
It  had  been  a  time  of  immense  additions  to  the  steel  works,  the  back- 
bone of  business  in  the  city  and  in  the  entire  Mahoning  Valley.  Ex- 
tensions exceeded  extensions  until  virtually  all  the  available  manufac- 
turing land  in  the  city  was  taken  up.  The  industrial  payroll  had  grown 
from  $20,000,000  to  approximately  $100,000,000  in  ten  years,  much  of 
this  increase  being  due,  of  course,  to  wage  advances,  but  a  great  per- 
centage of  it  to  added  capacity  as  well.  This  growth  was  so  marked,  in 
fact,  that  Youngstown  was  detached  from  the  Pittsburg  steel  district  in 
1916,  and  a  separate  Youngstown  district  was  created. 

Civic  improvements  had  been  greatly  hampered  by  the  war.  The 
most  notable  one  made  during  this  decade  was  the  completion  of  the 
Milton  reservoir,  the  one  most  discussed  was  grade  crossings  elimination. 
Yet  better  city  lighting  in  the  form  of  the  "White  Way"  along  Federal 
Street  had  come  and  an  effort  at  least  had  been  made  toward  providing 
for  relief  from  the  traffic  congestion  brought  about  by  increased  business 
and  by  the  growth  of  motor  vehicle  traffic  between  1910  and  1920.  The 
street  railway  situation  became  a  most  vexatious  one  after  the  business 
revival  of  191 5  set  in.  Operating  costs  mounted  in  every  line  of  busi- 
ness and  with  almost  everybody  but  the  transportation  companies  this 
problem  was  met  by  increased  prices  for  the  commodity  furnished. 
Electric  traction  lines  were  especially  hard  hit,  not  alone  because  the 
materials  they  used  were  the  materials  also  needed  in  fighting  a  war, 
and  therefore  worth  vastly  more  than  they  had  been  before,-  but  because 
the  unit  of  fare  was  fixed  by  franchise  and  could  not  be  arbitrarily  in- 
creased. Increased  patronage  was  the  only  mean*  of  increasing  profits 
and  its  effect  was  probably  negligible. 

Youngstown  faced  the  same  problem  in  this  respect  that  other  com- 
munities had  to  meet,  and  the  result  of  prolonged  discussion  and  nego- 
tiations was  the  adoption  in  December,  1918,  of  the  "Service-at-Cost" 
plan  of  operation  by  which  the  traction  lines  are  operated  by  the  street 
railway  company  but  under  the  supervision  of  a  municipal  street  railway 
commissioner.  The  fare  is  based  on  a  sliding  scale  that  guarantees  the 
investors  in  the  company  a  fixed  return  on  their  investment,  the  rate  of 
fare  being  increased  or  decreased  to  assure  only  this  revenue.  This 
system  of  operation  went  into  effect  on  January  16,  1919,  W.  A.  Sause 
being  named  the  first  street  railway  commissioner.  Under  this  plan 
street  car  fares  reached  nine  cents  by  June,  1920. 

The  grade  crossings  elimination  question  is  the  most  vexatious  prob- 
lem that  Youngstown  has  ever  had  to  contend  with,  and  at  times  it  has 
seemed  the  most  hopeless  one.  Far  back  in  the  '90s  the  demand  for  a 
new  Erie  passenger  station,  or  a  union  station,  was  a  burning  subject 
and  even  then  grade  crossings  elimination  was  naturally  an  incidental 
issue.  It  is  perhaps  twenty  years  since  the  demand  came  for  outright 
elimination  of  the  downtown  grade  crossings  on  the  Erie  railroad  and 
for  fully  fifteen  years  this  subject  has  been  discussed  almost  without 


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252       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

cessation.  Campaigns  have  been  waged  over  it  and  city  and  railroad 
representatives  alike  who  have  surveyed  the  situation  with  a  view  to 
making  the  improvement  have  served  out  their  terms,  but  the  grade 
crossings  are  still  with  us. 

About  1906  the  project  was  taken  up  with  added  zest  and  some  time 
later  a  proposal  was  offered  for  moving  the  Erie  tracks  "into  the  hill," 
or,  in  other  words,  moving  the  right  of  way  northward  toward  Wood 
Street  instead  of  raising  or  depressing  the  tracks  at  the  present  right  of 
way.  It  was  at  first  intended  that  the  land  necessary  for  this  improve- 
ment should  be  acquired  by  private  purchase  and  turned  over  to  the 
railroad  company  at  the  purchase  price. 

This  project  was  subsequently  abandoned  because  private  interests 
could  not  acquire  the  land  at  what  they  believed  was  a  reasonable  figure 
and  the  grade  crossings  elimination  question  returned  to  its  old  status, 
of  elevation  versus  depression. 

The  latter  plan,  that  of  eliminating  the  Erie  tracks  had  virtually  been 
agreed  upon,  however,  and  the  improvement  was  scheduled  along  this 
line.  In  anticipation  of  early  work  the  city  voted  a  popular  bond  issue 
of  $800,000  in  November,  1913,  to  pay  for  its  third  of  the  estimated 
cost  of  the  improvement. 

Once  again  there  was  delay,  but  in  March,  1916,  the  city  secured  an 
approval  by  the  common  pleas  court  of  the  depression  plan  of  elimina- 
tion. The  "into-the-hill,"  plan,  however,  had  been  revived  in  191 5,  and 
the  final  entry  by  the  court  was  delayed  awaiting  a  possible  agreement 
between  the  city  and  the  railroad  on  this  proposal.  The  plan,  in  brief, 
provided  for  moving  the  Erie  tracks  northward  to  a  line  seventy  feet 
south  of  Wood  Street,  and  paralleling  that  street,  of  course.  Its  adop- 
tion would  permit  of  the  bridging  of  the  railroad  tracks  and  remove  the 
necessity  of  depressing  them.  On  this  occasion  it  was  provided  that  the 
railroad  company  should  secure  the  necessary  land  itself  instead  of 
having  this  done  first  through  the  medium  of  private  purchase. 

While  this  project  was  still  being  discussed  the  Erie  Railroad  Com- 
pany offered  still  a  third  plan  for  crossings  elimination.  This  proposal, 
made  public  on  November  16,  1916,  provided  for  the  removal  of  the 
railroad  tracks  to  the  south  line  of  Wood  Street,  the  hill  to  be  cut  away, 
of  course,  through  the  city,  and  a  retaining  wall  to  be  built  at  Wood 
Street.  The  railroad  company  proposed  to  buy  all  the  necessary  land, 
there  being  no  loss  entailed  by  the  extra  charge  that  it  was  imposing  on 
itself  since  the  land  on  which  the  tracks  now  stand  could  be  sold,  if  de- 
sired, at  a  high  figure.  Better  grades  would  be  possible  with  the  adoption 
of  this  plan,  and  the  proposal  also  included  the  construction  of  a  $1,000,- 
000  passenger  station  and  railroad  office  building  to  cover  the  block 
bounded  by  Wood,  Phelps  and  Hazel  streets  and  extending  to  Commerce 
Street,  or  approximately  that  far.  The  estimated  cost  of  this  entire  im- 
provement was  $5,000,000. 

There  were  many  other  advantages,  of  course,  most  of  them  so  ap- 
parent that  they  need  scarcely  be  enumerated.  The  acceptance  of  the 
plan  by  the  city  would  double  the  estimated  expense  to  the  municipality, 
but  the  plan  was  more  pretentious  than  Youngstown  had  hoped  for,  and 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       253 

there  was  no  objection  to  the  added  cost.  This  plan  was  approved  by 
the  Common  Pleas  Court  in  June,  19 17. 

Before  any  active  steps  could  be  taken  toward  carrying  out  this 
improvement  the  war  had  broken  on  the  country  and  semi-public  im- 
provements were  generally  abandoned,  first  by  action  of  the  railroads 
themselves  and  later  by  governmental  decree.  Everything  remained  in 
abeyance  for  two  years,  or  until  business  conditions  began  to  show  an 
improvement  in  191 9  and  the  demand  for  action  was  renewed.  The 
railroad  company  procrastinated,  pleading  financial  inability  to  carry  out 
its  project.  The  situation  had  been  complicated  by  the  fact  that  the 
court  order  of  1916  had  been  vacated  by  agreement  between  the  city  and 
the  railroads  and  there  was  no  authority  to  compel  the  Erie  to  go  ahead. 
In  October,  1919,  however,  another  court  order  was  issued  instructing 
the  railroad  to  proceed  immediately  with  grade  crossings  elimination 
through  the  medium  of  the  "Wood  Street  Plan." 

This  is  the  present  status  of  grade  crossings  elimination  insofar 
as  "down  town"  crossings  are  concerned. 

The  one  project  carried  out  along  this  line  was  the  rebuilding  of  a 
part  of  the  so-called  East  End  bridge  that  virtually  eliminates  the  grade 
crossings  at  the  foot  of  Himrod  Avenue.  The  elimination  improvement 
that  the  city  is  demanding  contemplates  the  abolition  of  the  Oak  Street 
and  Division  Street  crossings  as  well  and  the  construction  of  a  bridge 
from  Belmont  Avenue  to  Federal  Street. 

Anothef  public  improvement  under  consideration  for  the  benefit  of 
Youngstown,  and  of  the  entire  Mahoning  Valley,  is  a  barge  canal 
through  the  city.  A  return  to  a  transportation  system  abandoned  here 
almost  fifty  years  ago  may  appear  strange,  but  the  waterway  is  urged 
now  to  supplement  the  overburdened  railroads  of  the  valley  and  to  haul 
slow  and  bulky  freight.  Chiefly,  of  course,  it  is  proposed  as  a  means 
of  hauling  ore  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Mahoning  Valley  and  on  to 
the  Pittsburgh  district,  and  coal  from  the .  Pittsburgh  district  to  the  Ma- 
honing Valley.  Support  for  this  improvement  comes  from  practical 
business  men  who  have  studied  the  situation  and  pronounced  the  plan 
beneficial. 

The  proposed  canal  would  follow  the  Beaver-Mahoning  route  of  the 
old  canal  to  Niles,  but  from  this  point  would  proceed  almost  due  north, 
instead  of  westerly,  by  way  of  Mosquito  Creek,  reaching  Lake  Erie  at  the 
mouth  of  Indian  Creek,  or  Red  Brook,  in  Ashtabula  County.  The  water- 
way, it  is  believed,  would  help  not  only  the  manufacturing  district  that 
it  would  traverse  but  the  agricultural  district  as  well. 

No  record  of  Youngstown  in  the  second  decade  of  the  twentieth 
century  would  be  complete  without  reference  to  perhaps  the  most  re- 
markable change  that  has  come  over  it  in  that  period — the  substitution 
of  prohibition  of  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  for  the  open  saloon. 

It  was  the  "culmination  of  a  movement  that  began  almost  ioq  years 
ago,  when  the  first  faint  rumblings  in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors  were  heard  in  Northeastern  Ohio.  It  was  a  movement 
that  made  virtually  no  -headway  at  that  time,  for  intoxicating  liquor  was 
then  not  only  a  commodity  in  common  use  but  was  even  used  as  cur- 


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254       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

rency.  In  the  early  days  of  the  Western  Reserve  the  small  distillery,  or 
"still,"  was  all  too  common.  Whisky  was  drunk  freely ;  and  while  there 
were  many  pioneers  who  abstained  entirely  from  the  use  of  intoxicants, 
this  was  more  often  a  matter  of  personal  choice  than  because  of  a  pro- 
nounced sentiment  against  whisky.  Prohibition  proposals  were  therefore 
dismissed  as  idle  talk.  When  Youngstown  adopted  city  prohibition  by 
councilmanic  ordinance,  later  approved  by  popular  vote,  in  1870,  it  leaped 
all  the  way  at  once,  going  from  the  almost  unrestrained  sale  of  intoxi- 
cating drink  to  complete  inhibition  of  such  sales.  The  reform  proposed 
was  well-meaning,  but  the  change  was  too  violent  and  the  attempt  failed. 

Twenty  years  earlier  Ohio  had  placed  itself  in  a  rather  anomalous 
position  by  voting  down  a  proposal  to  license  liquor-selling,  but  by  adopt- 
ing no  proposal  forbidding  it.  The  ultimate  result  was  the  passage  of  a 
law  placing  a  tax  on  the  privilege  of  selling  intoxicating  drink.  In  the 
'90s  the  movement  against  liquor  became  more  serious.  The  prohibition 
party  as  a  political  organization  had  been  in  existence  for  twenty  years 
or  more,  and  while  it  gained  no  added  voting  strength  it  recruited  many 
adherents  to  the  anti-liquor  cause.  Gradually  statutes  providing  for 
precinct,  ward,  city  and  district  local  option  were  passed,  so  that  much 
of  Ohio  became  prohibition  territory  in  the  early  years  of  the  twentieth 
century. 

The  Rose  County  Option  Law,  passed  early  in  1908,  was  a  pronounced 
step  toward  prohibition.  Many  counties  voted  "dry,"  including  our 
neighboring  counties  of  Trumbull,  Portage  and  Columbiana,  and  in 
December,  1908,  plans  were  launched  for  a  test  of  Mahoning  County 
sentiment.  It  was  six  months  later,  or  on  June  9,  1909,  when  the  vote 
was  taken  and  an  anti-prohibition- majority  of  1,954  votes  was  registered. 
Youngstown  gave  a  "wet"  majority  of  2,677  while  the  county  outside  the 
•city  voted  for -prohibition  by  723  votes. 

In  191 2  the  state  constitutional  convention  adopted  an  amendment 
providing  for  the  licensing  of  the  sale  of  liquor  in  Ohid,  and  at  the  elec- 
tion in  November  of  that  year  this  amendment  was  ratified  by  the  voters. 
A  state  license  law  was  enacted  early  in  191 3  and  licensing  machinery 
in  each  county  created,  the  law  becoming  effective  in  November,  1Q13. 

Instead  of  "settling"  the  liquor  question  the  license  act  appeared  to 
aggravate  it.  There  was  statewide  opposition  to  the  operation  of  the 
law,  so  much  in  fact  that  renewed  efforts  were  made  by  the  prohibition- 
ists to  profit  by  the  county  option  law.  Another  election  was  called  in 
Mahoning  County,  and  on  March  2,  IQ14,  the  county  voted  "wet"  by  a 
majority  of  but  316  votes.  Means  had  also  been  provided  by  this  time 
for  a  statewide  referendum  on  the  prohibition  question  and  a  vote  of  all 
Ohio  was  taken  on  November  3,  1914,  resulting  in  an  overwhelming  vic- 
tory for  the  anti-prohibitionists,  although  Mahoning  County  gave  a  pro- 
hibition majority  of  315  votes.  In  191 5  there  was  a  slight  reversal  of 
sentiment  here  when  a  second  state  election  was  held,  and  the  county 
voted  "wet"  by  approximately  300. 

At  the  1914  election  Ohio  voters  repealed  the  Rose  county  option  law. 
It  was  a  victory  for  the  anti-prohibitionists,  but  a  costly  one  in  the  end  as 
the  return  of  the  saloon  to  many  of  the  rural  counties  brought  on  rcsent- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       255 

ment.  When  a  third  statewide  election  was  held  on  November  6,  1917, 
Mahoning  County  gave  a  prohibition  majority  of  approximately  3,000  and 
this  was  increased  on  November  5,  1918,  when  Ohio  definitely  abolished 
the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors. 

On  May  27,  1919,  the  saloons  of  Ohio  closed  their  doors  and  Youngs- 
town  entered  the  ranks  of  prohibition  cities.  Nationwide  prohibition 
came  but  a  few  weeks  later.  Here  at  least,  the  abolition  of  intoxicating 
drink  had  been  foreseen  for  several  years,  so  that  the  change  came  with 
less  violence  than  might  have  been  expected. 

The  1910-20  period  was  one  of  so  many  pronounced  changes  in 
Youngstown  that  no  one  could  affect  't  greatly.     War  had  a  serious 


Wick  Avenue  in  1920 

effect  on  the  promotion  of  both  public  and  private  improvements,  but  in 
spite  of  this  adverse  circumstance  much  headway  was  made.  In  no  re* 
spect  was  this  more  pronounced  than  in  the  construction  of  new  build- 
ings, of  which  the  decade  boasts  a  notable  array. 

The  new  county  buildings,  courthouse  and  county  jail,  were  com 
pleted  in  1910  and  the  Reuben  McMillan  Public  Library  Building  in  the 
same  year.  The  six-story  city  hall,  or  municipal  building,  was  erected 
in  1914-15  and  this  decade  also  witnessed  the  erection  of  two  modern 
hotels,  the  Ohio,  opened  in  1913,  and  the  Tod  House,  opened  in  1916. 
The  latter  stands  on  the  site  of  the  venerable  Tod  House  that  was 
Youngstown's  pride  for  so  many  years.  It  dated  back  to  1869  and  ended 
an  honored  existence  forty-six  years  later,  the  abandonment  of  the  old 


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256       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

structure  being  fittingly  celebrated  with  a  farewell  banquet  on  the  eve- 
ning of  June  30,  191 5. 

Both  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  buildings  have  been  put  up 
in  the  last  ten  years,  the  latter  being  completed  and  opened  in  November, 
191 5.  The  splendid  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital  was  thrown  open  in  Janu- 
ary of  the  same  year  and  a  notable  addition  has  been  constructed  to  the 
Youngstown  Hospital. 

Fully  a  dozen  new  churches  have  gone  up  in  this  time,  and  a  score  of 
public  and  parochial  schools,  while  one  of  the  largest  public  schools 
is  now  in  the  course  of  construction.  The  First  National,  Commercial 
National,  Mahoning  Bank  and  Wick  buildings  were  completed  about  the 
beginning  of  this  period,  a  great  new  home  of  the  Central  Savings  & 
Loan  Company  is  projected,  while  an  addition  is  proposed  for  the  First 
National  Bank,  these  two  buildings  to  face  each  other  at  West  Federal 
Street  and  Central  Square. 

The  Butler  Art  Institute,  in  Wick  Avenue,  the  newest  of  public 
buildings  in  Youngstown,  places  this  city  in  the  ranks  of  the  largest 
municipalities  in  the  country  in  the  cultivation  of  love  of  the  beautful. 

The  Masonic  Temple  was  brought  to  completion  about  the  time  this 
era  began.  The  Odd  Fellows  Temple  and  the  Knights  of  Columbus 
Building  antedate  it,  the  former  being  completed  in  1902  and  the  latter 
in  1908.  The  Elks  Club  Building  was  erected  even  earlier.  Since  1910 
the  Moose  Lodge  Building  has  been  put  up,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  have 
purchased  the  Baldwin  Memorial  Kindergarten  Building  and  remodeled 
it  for  lodge  purposes  and  the  Eagles  have  purchased  a  site  at  Rayen 
Avenue  and  Holmes  Street  where  they  will  erect  a  home. 

The  G.  M.  McKelvey  Company  has  put  an  entirely  new  building  on 
the  site  of  the  original  McKelvey  store  and  this  year  the  Home  Savings 
&  Loan  Building,  probably  the  most  beautiful  business  structure  in 
Youngstown,  was  completed.  The  home  of  the  Federal  Savings  &  Loan 
Company  has  been  recently  occupied  and  the  Salow  Building  in  West 
Federal  Street  has  added  much  to  the  architecture  of  that  neighborhood. 
The  Stambaugh  Building  was  increased  from  eight  to  twelve  stories  in 
height  in  191 3,  and  the  Strouss  &  Hirshberg  Company  Building,  occupy- 
ing the  entire  Federal  Street  frontage  between  the  Wick  and  the  First 
National  Bank  buildings  and  extending  through  to  Phelps  and  Commerce 
streets,  will  be  a  reality  within  two  or  three  years.  The  Century  Build- 
ing was  also  completed  about  1910  and  the  Liberty  Theater  Building 
in  1917. 

Two  buildings  of  perhaps  the  near  future  that  will  reflect  the  great- 
est credit  on  Youngstown  are  the  Stambaugh  Auditorium,  to  be  built  at  a 
cost  of  $1,000,000  through  the  generosity  of  the  late  Henry  H.  Stam- 
baugh, and  a  $1,000,000  Postoffice  Building,  a  movement  for  which 
is  now  under  way.  The  present  Federal  Building  is  wholly  inadequate. 
It  was  built  in  1898  at  a  cost  of  $75,000  and  enlarged  in  1910  at  an  ex- 
penditure of  $100,000. 

The  Lake  Erie  &  Eastern  Railroad,  built  through  the  city  in  1914-15, 
has  been  a  notable  addition,  while  the  most  beneficial  improvement  made 
within  the  city  in  the  last  ten  years  is  the  widening  of  West  Federal 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       257 

Street.  The  first  step  in  this  direction  was  taken  in  1907,  when  the 
street  was  widened  from  the  old  "Euwer  corner"  to  Chestnut  Street,  on 
the  north  side  of  the  street.  The  widening  of  1919-20  was  on  a  far 
greater  scale,  taking  in  all  the  frontage  from  the  Deibel  Building  to 
Holmes  Street  on  the  south  side  of  the  street,  and  from  Chestnut  to 
Holmes  streets  on  the  north  side.  The  beginning  of  this  former  narrow 
section  of  West  Federal  Street  marked  the  limits  of  the  original  town 
laid  out  by  John  Young  in  1798.  A  similar  widening  of  East  Federal 
Street  to  the  East  End  bridge,  with  an  elevation  of  the  grade  of  the 
lower  end  of  the  street,  is  now  contemplated. 

Today,  in  1920,  Youngstown  stands  on  the  threshhold  of  the  third 
decade  of  the  twentieth  century,  after  an  existence  as  a  settled  com- 
munity of  123  years.  Located  but  five  miles  from  the  Pennsylvania 
state  line,  by  air  route,  it  is  the  center  of  the  Youngstown  steel  district 
that  embraces  the  Shenango  as  well  as  the  Mahoning  Valley.  Its  popu- 
lation in  1920  was  132,358,  a  gain  of  53,292,  or  67.4  per  cent  since  1910. 

In  area  Youngstown  embraces  25.18  square  miles, .  including  the 
Pleasant  Grove  section  of  Boardman  Township  that  became  part  of  the 
city  in  191 7.  Within  a  radius  of  scarcely  more  than  a  mile  outside  the 
city  limits  there  is  an  additional  population  of  50,000,  and,  further  re- 
moved, but  included  in  the  business  district  of  which  Youngstown  is  the 
center,  is  another  100,000  population. 

Youngstown  is  a  city  built  upon  hills.  The  business  and  manufac- 
turing districts  are  located  in  the  river  valley  and  in  the  valleys  of  tribu- 
tary streams,  and  from  these  lower  levels  the  hills  ascend  by  gradual 
slope  to  an  elevation  of  approximately  250  feet.  The  residence  districts 
of  the  city,  located  on  these  hills,  stand  1,050  to  1,100  feet  above  sea 
level,  or  more  than  500  feet  above  the  level  of  Lake  Erie.  The  city  has 
320  miles  of  paved  streets  within  the  corporate  limits,  ,158  miles  x>f  which 
are  paved,  brick  and  asphalt  making,  up  most  of  the  pavement,  although 
there  is  a  small  amount  of  macadam,  concrete,  stone  and  bitulithic. 
There  are  180  miles  of  sewers,  mostly  on  the  combined  system.  It  has 
59  miles  of  street  railway  tracks,  with  140  miles  of  suburban  traction 
lines  running  into  the  city.  A  modern  police  department  operating  on 
the  eight-hour,  or  three-shift,  system  and  a  fire  department,  motorized 
since  191 3  in  which  the  two-platoon  system  is  in  effect,  safeguard  the  city. 

The  public  parks  of  the  city  embrace  almost  700  acres.  This  is  a 
creditable  showing  in  the  aggregate,  but  almost  70  per  cent  of  this  acre- 
age is  in  Mill  Creek  Park.  The  remaining  parks  are  splendid  breathing 
spots  and  outing  places  for  young  and  old  alike.  The  one  objection  is 
that  they  are  too  few.  Through  shortsightedness  and  indifference  many 
beauty  spots  within  the  city  that  are  naturally  fitted  for  park  purposes 
have  been  lost  to  us  and  have  become  mere  dumping  grounds  for  refuse. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Youngstown  will  waken  from  its  inexcusable 
lethargy  in  this  respect. 

We  have  dealt  in  another  department  of  this  work  with  the  schools 
and  churches,  it  will  suffice  to  say  here  that  Youngstown  has  no  places 
of  worship  and  60  educational  institutions.  In  spite  of  the  extensions 
of  recent  years,  however,  the  school  capacity  of  the  city  is  inadequate 


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258       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

for  the  needs,  and  only  an  extensive  and  scientific  building  program 
will  make  the  capacity  equal  demands.  The  Reuben  McMillan  Public 
Library  is  one  of  the  most  creditable  institutions  of  the  city,  and  heavily 
patronized  by  the  people  of  Youngstown,  although  the  municipality  has 
not  been  extremely  liberal  in  its  financial  support  by  any  means. 

In  social  service  Youngstown  does  extremely  well.  In  fact  there  is 
no  demand  on  their  generosity  too  great  to  be  met  by  Youngstown  people 
when  the  appeal  is  made  directly.    It  is  only  the  institutions  that  depend 


*****               ——^ 

Belmont  Park  Cemetery,  Youngstown 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  elaborately  planned  "cities  of  the  dead" 
in  the  country.  The  mausoleum  shown  contains  more  than  500  burial 
crypts,  and  a  large  fund  has  been  arranged  for  the  perpetual  care  of  the 
grounds. 

upon  tax  levies  for  support  that  find  themselves  short  of  futids.  The 
social  service  work  is  centered  in  the  Community  Corporation,  an  organ- 
ization that  raises  the  funds  for  twenty-eight  affiliated  societies.  Charity 
is  dispensed  through  the  medium  of  several  well-conducted  organizations, 
and  the  welfare  of  children  promoted  by  more  than  half  a  dozen  separate 
societies. 

For  the  care  of  the  sick  and  the  injured  there  are  the  Youngstown 
Hospital  with  250  beds,  the  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital  with  200,  the  Visit- 
ing Nurse  Association,  Anti-Tuberculosis  League,  Community  Social 
Hygienic  Ginic  and  Crittenton  Home.    The  children,  the  aged,  the  blind 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       259 

and  even  the  lower  animals  are  looked  after  by  properly  accredited 
organizations. 

Capital  invested  in  manufacturing  here  is  approximately  $355,000,- 
000.  Steel  manufacturing,  of  course,  is  the  backbone  of  industry,  the 
products  embracing  almost  every  steel  commodity  and  all  the  by-pro- 
ducts as  well.  Diversified  industries  include  steel  fabricating  plants, 
whose  output  ranges  all  the  way  from  blast  furnace  steel  construction 
to  steel  furniture  for  the  office  and  home,  motor  truck  manufacturing 
and  the  manufacture  of  cement,  foundry  products,  electric  bulbs,  gas 
mantles,  leather,  rubber,  powder  and  the  slaughtering  of  meat  animals. 

Youngstown  has  nine  banks  and  three  building,  or  savings,  and  loan 
companies.  Total  deposits  are  approximately  $75,000,000.  The  valua- 
tion of  property  in  the  city  is  probably  $400,000,000.  Railroad  trans- 
portation is  furnished  by  six  railroads,  the  Erie,  Baltimore  &  Ohio, 
Pennsylvania,  New  York  Central,  Pittsburg  &  Lake  Erie  and  the  Lake 
Erie  &  Eastern,  although  the  two  last  mentioned  are  New  York  Central 
subsidiaries.  The  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  has  a  creditable,  although 
not  a  palatial,  passenger  station.  Aside  from  this,  Youngstown  pas- 
senger stations  do  not  add  either  to  the  architecture  of  the  city  or  the 
comfort*  of  travelers. 

The  Mahoning  River  traverses  the  city,  entering  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  municipality  and  flowing  generally  in  a  southeasterly  direc- 
tion, although,  just  north  of  Mahoning  Avenue  it  follows  an  almost 
southerly  course  for  some  distance  and  a  northeasterly  course  for  a  still 
shorter  distance.  The  stream  is  spanned  by  seven  bridges  within  the 
city.  The  longest  of  these  is  the  Center  Street  bridge,  2,046  feet  in 
length,  built  by  the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company  and  given  to  the 
city  in  return  for  the  abandonment  of  two  streets.  The  Market  Street 
viaduct  is  1,600  feet  long,  including  the  steel  approaches.  The  present 
Division  Street  bridge  is  but  200  feet  long,  but  the  structure  that  is  to 
replace  it  will  be  3,400  feet  in  length,  including  approaches,  and 
will  cross  forty-four  railroad  tracks  as  well  as  spanning  the  river  at  a 
height  of  seventy-five  feet  above  low  water.  The  proposed  Oak  Street 
viaduct  will  be  almost  as  long. 

Of  the  business  future  of  Youngstown  there  can  be  no  doubt.  The 
world  has  not  yet  begun  to  use  the  amount  of  iron  and  steel  products  that 
it  can  and  will  absorb,  and  Youngstown  is  so  strongly  intrenched  as  the 
center  of  one  of  the  half  dozen  or  less  great  steel  making  districts  of  the 
world  that  she  will  inevitably  keep  pace  with  the  growth  of  that  busi- 
ness. Her  business  foundation  is  unusually  sound.  Undercapitaliza- 
tion, rather  than  overcapitalization,  has  been  the  rule  here.  In  spite  of 
the  gigantic  strides  made  in  the  last  twenty  years,  and  especially  in  the 
last  ten  years,  there  has  never  been  any  suggestion  of  a  ''boom"  move- 
ment. Expansion  has  had  a  solid  basis;  it  has  been  carried  out  con- 
servatively although  with  amazing  rapidity.  This  is  the  character 
Youngstown  has  created  for  itself  and  it  is  the  character  that  will  carry 
it  to  still  greater  lengths  of  expansion  in  the  future. 


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CHAPTER  XV 

CIVIL  GOVERNMENT  IN  YOUNGSTOWN 

Days  of  the  "Town"  Meeting — Incorporation  of  the  Village  and 
First  Village  Election — Youngstown  as  a  City — History  of 
the  Police  and  Fire  Departments. 

For  three  years  after  its  founding  Youngstown  existed  without  any 
legalized  government  at  all.  There  was  neither  village  nor  township 
organization  within  or  about  the  little  settlement ;  there  was  neither  state 
nor  territorial  government  over  it.  The  few  families  here  were  a  law 
unto  themselves,  and  apparently  a  satisfactory  law,  as  life  moved  serenely 
enough  except  for  the  hardships  incidental  to  pioneer  existence. 

With  the  recognition  of  Northwest  Territory  jurisdiction  over  the 
Western  Reserve  in  the  spring  of  1800,  the  creation  of  Trumbull  County 
in  the  summer  of  the  same  year,  and  the  appointment  of  a  county  court 
and  of  county  officers,  civil  government  in  Youngstown  came  into  being. 
We  may  pride  ourselves  today  on  Youngstown's  size — ranking  as  it 
does  with  the  large  cities — but  it  so  happens  that  the  civil  town  of 
Youngstown  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  ago  was  territorially,  almost 
a  dozen  times  as  large  as  the  city  of  Youngstown  today. 

The  county  court  of  Trumbull  County  which  assembled  at  Warren 
on  August  25,  1800,  divided  all  Trumbull  County  east  of  the  Cuyahoga 
River  into  eight  civil  townships.  The  civil  township  of  Youngstown 
embraced  the  townships  now  known  as  Poland,  Boardman,  Canfield, 
Ellsworth,  Austintown,  Youngstown,  Coitsville  and  Jackson,  in  Ma- 
honing County,  and  Hubbard  and  Liberty  in  Trumbull  County.  Both 
the  civil  township  of  Youngstown  and  the  surveyed  township  of 
Youngstown  were  well  represented  in  the  first  county  court  of  quarter 
sessions,  and  George  Tod  was  named  prosecutor  of  Trumbull  County; 
but  the  only  strictly  township  officer  in  the  first  two  years  after  -the 
organization  of  the  civil  township  was  Constable  James  Hillman,  whose 
jurisdiction  included  the  above  ten  townships. 

In  February,  1802,  the  court  of  quarter  session  ordered  that  the 
civil  townships  effect  township  organizations,  and  in  keeping  with  this 
order  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  dwelling  house  and  tavern  conducted 
by  William  Rayen,  on  April  5,  1802.  John  Young  presided  as  chair- 
man of  the  gathering,  at  which  the  following  township  officers  were 
elected  : 

Trustees — James  Doud,  John  Struthers,  Camden  Cleaveland,  Samuel 
Tylee  and  Calvin  Pease. 

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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       261 

Overseers  of  the  Poor — Archibald  Johnson,  James  Matthews  and 
John  Rush. 

Fence  Viewers — Thomas  Kirkpatrick  and  Samuel  Minough. 

Appraisers — James  Hillman  and  Homer  Hine. 

Supervisors  of  Highways — William  Chapman,  Michael  Simons, 
James  Wilson,  Benjamin  Ross,  William  Dunlap,  Amos  Loveland,  John 
Dennison,  William  Perrin  and  Thomas  Packard. 

Constables — Calvin  Pease  and  Phineas  Reed. 

Town  Clerk  and  Lister  of  Taxable  Property — George  Tod. 

These  township  officers  actually  represented,  of  course,  all  the  ten 
townships  listed  above,  but  they  comprised  the  first  civil  government 
of  Youngstown. 

This  township  form  of  government  sufficed  in  Youngstown  for 
many  years.  From  time  to  time  the  individual  townships  that  made 
up  the  original  civil  township  of  Youngstown  were  detached  and  organ- 
ized governments  of  their  own  until  the  civil  township  of  Youngstown 
became  identical  with  the  original  township  purchased  by  John  Young. 
Elections  for  trustees,  clerk  and  other  township  officers  were  held 
annually  each  spring,  all  elections  up  to  1813  taking  place  at  the  public 
house  kept  by  Judge  Rayen.  From  18 13  to  1850  elections  were  held 
at  different  public  houses,  but  the  erection  of  the  township  hall  in  the 
iatter  year  gave  the  township  a  home  of  its  own  and  here  the  ballot- 
ing was  held  for  another  twenty  years. 

During  the  '40s  the  village  of  Youngstown  experienced  considerable 
growth,  due  to  the  construction  of  the  canal,  the  opening  of  the  coal 
mines  and  the  beginning  of  the  iron  industry.  With  the  increase  in 
population  the  need  of  a  village  government  became  apparent,  and  the 
desire  to  become  a  full-fledged  municipality  may  have  been  hastened  by 
the  loss  of  the  county  seat  when  Mahoning  County  was  organized  in 
1846.  Canfield  won  this  honor  over  Youngstown,  and  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  there  was  a  feeling  that  Youngstown's  claim  would  have 
been  taken  more  seriously  had  it  boasted  the  dignity  of  being  an  incor- 
porated municipality. 

To  remedy  this  backward  situation,  citizens  of  the  village  applied 
to  the  legislature,  in  1848,  for  a  village  charter,  and  the  prayer  was 
granted  in  December,  1848.  It  was  a  rather  diminutive  township  center 
that  thus  came  into  existence,  being  identical  in  fact  with  the  village 
surveyed  and  platted  by  John  Young  in  1798.  The  corporate  limits 
extended — if  we  reckon  in  twentieth  century  terms — from  Wood  Street 
to  Front  Street  and  from  a  short  distance  west  of  Hazel  Street  to  a 
short  distance  east  of  Walnut  Street. 

Before  the  village  proceeded  to  organize,  however,  it  was  considered 
advisable  to  extend  these  boundaries,  as  the  territory  just  outside  the 
original  boundaries  was  fairly  well  built  up  by  this  time.  The  petition 
of  voters  for  extension  was  granted  by  the  county  commissioners  early 
in  June,  1850,  and  the  village  limits  were  extended  to  the  Mahoning 
River  on  the  south,  to  Crab  Creek  on  the  east  and  to  perhaps  greater 
distances  north  and  west.  Following  this  action,  notice  was  posted 
calling  the  first  village  election,  the  date  set  being  Saturday,  June  15, 


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262       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

1850,  and  the  call  being  issued  by  W.  Edson,  James  Fowler,  James  Cal- 
vin, George  Murray,  J.  R.  Holcomb,  T.  Garlick,  John  Heiner,  Cyrus 
Brenneman,  B.  F.  Heiner,  Alexander  McKinnie,  R.  W.  Tayler,  G.  G. 
Murray,  George  W.  Seaton,  William  S.  Parmelee  and  Benjamin  H. 
Lake. 

The  election  was  held  at  the  Union  House,  conducted  by  W.  H. 
Ross,  on  the  date  selected  and  John  Heiner  was  elected  mayor;  Robert 
W.  Tayler,  recorder;  John  Loughridge,  Abraham  D.  Jacobs,  Francis 
Barclay,  Stephen  F.  Burnett  and  Manuel  Hamilton,  trustees,  or  coun- 
cilmen.  The  first  meeting  of  the  village  government — or  "borough" 
government  as  it  was  then  known — was  held  the  same  evening  at  the 
office  of  Ridgeley  J.  Powers,  when  the  newly  elected  officers  took  the 
oath  and  formally  organized  the  municipality. 

In  December,  1850,  the  Ohio  legislature  recognized  the  extension 
of  the  Youngstown  city  limits  and  a  new  form  of  government  was 
instituted.  At  the  election  on  April  7,  185 1,  R.  W.  Tayler  was  elected 
mayor;  John  F.  Hollingsworth,  police  judge;  Joseph  Montgomery, 
assessor;  Hugh  Moore,  marshal.  A  board  of  five  aldermen  was  named, 
James  M.  Loughridge  being  elected  for  the  First  Ward ;  Daniel  Sheehy, 
Second  Ward;  Moses  C.  Johnson,  Third  Ward;  E.  W.  Hollingsworth, 
Fourth  Ward;  R.  G.  Garlick,  Fifth  Ward.  At  its  first  meeting  the 
board  of  aldermen  elected  Samuel  C.  Griffith  borough  superintendent; 
D.  I.  Baldwin,  treasurer;  E.  S.  Hubbard,  counsellor  and  attorney;  E.  E. 
Hutchins,  clerk. 

The  designation  "borough"  shortly  afterwards  gave  way  to  village 
and  the  aldermen  became  trustees,  although  in  common  parlance  they 
were  "councilmen."  With  annual  elections,  held  in  April,  Youngstown 
progressed  under  the  village  form  of  government  for  more  than  fifteen 
years.  The  state  legislature  had  in  the  meantime  enacted  legislation 
classifying  cities  and  villages  in  Ohio,  providing  in  the  act  that  villages 
should  be  promoted  to  the  rank  of  cities  of  the  second  class  when  they 
had  attained  a  population  of  5,000.  In  June,  1867,  a  census  gave 
Youngstown  the  required  population  to  entitle  it  to  this  grade,  and  on 
proper  certification  to  the  secretary  of  state,  a  charter  was  granted 
making  Youngstown  a  city  of  the  second  class. 

This  necessitated  a  reorganization  of  the  municipal  government, 
and  at  the  election  held  on  April  6,  1868,  Youngstown  discarded  its 
village  officers  and  named  a  city  government.  The  first  officers  for  the 
city  were:  George  McKee,  mayor;  Owen  Evans,  marshal;  Thomas 
W.  Sanderson,  solicitor;  Robert  McCurdy,  treasurer;  Joseph  G.  Butler, 
Chauncey  H.  Andrews,  Homer  Hamilton,  Richard  Brown  and  William 
Barclay,  councilmen.  In  this  year,  too,  the  city  limits  were  extended 
once  more,  taking  in  considerable  territory  in  all  directions.  This  ex- 
tension had  been  approved  by  the  voters  at  the  spring  election  and  was 
authorized  by  council  on  August  17,  1868,  and  approved  by  the  county 
commissioners  on  September  12,  following.  The  boundaries  then  fixed 
were  destined  to  stand  for  twenty-one  years,  despite  several  attempts 
to  extend  them. 

In  the  '70s  the  mayor  evidently  enjoyed  the  right  to  name  a  man 


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YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       263 

to  serve  in  his  place  while  absent,  for  we  find  that  council  confirmed 
the  appointment  of  John  M.  Edwards  as  mayor  for  the  two  weeks  be- 
ginning July  i,  1875,  the  appointment  being  made  by  Mayor  Osborn. 

The  census  of  1870  gave  Youngstown  a  population  of  8,075  within 
the  city,  and  on  September  13  of  this  year  council  divided  the  city  into 
five  wards.  Ten  years  later  the  population  of  the  municipality  had 
increased  to  15,435,  when  an  additional  two  wards  were  created. 

This  increase  of  almost  one  hundred  per  cent  in  population  within 
the  corporate  limits  did  not  represent  all  the  actual  growth  of  Youngs- 
town in  the  decade  between  1870  and  1880.  To  the  northwest  and 
southeast,  following  the  river  valley,  the  growth  had  been  rapid  and 
the  suburbs  of  Brier  Hill,  Haselton,  Lansingville  and  Crab  Creek  had 
become  sizable  municipalities  in  themselves.  Believing  that  this  out- 
lying territory  should  be  included  within  greater  Youngstown  a  peti- 
tion was  circulated  in  January,  1880,  asking  annexation  of  these  adjoin- 
ing plats.  Council  passed  the  neces^ry  legislation  extending  the  city 
limits,  and  the  annexation  ordinance  was  presented  to  the  county  com- 
missioners for  approval;  but  on  November  18,  1880,  they  rejected  it 
with  scant  courtesy. 

Sentiment,  of  course,  in  these  suburbs  was  not  by  any  means 
unanimous  for  annexation.  There  was  a  healthy  opposition  when  the 
initial  attempt  was  made,  in  1880,  and  this  opposition  persisted  almost 
another  decade;  although  repeated  attempts  were  made  to  win  sanction 
for  city  extension.  The  struggle  was  finally  successful  in  1889,  council 
passing  an  extension  ordinance  on  April  4  of  that  year  which  was 
approved  by  the  county  commissioners  on  November  24.  By  this  legis- 
lation Brier  Hill,  Haselton  and  other  populous  suburbs  became  officially 
a  part  of  Youngstown. 

In  1890  Youngstown's  population  had  mounted  to  33,220.  It  had 
become  one  of  the  large  and  thriving  cities  of  the  state,  and  in  the 
preceding  twenty  years  had  progressed  rapidly  and  taken  on  city  airs. 
The  iron  works  had  expanded  noticeably  in  the  '70s,  railroad  trans- 
portation became  comparatively  efficient  and  the  act  of  the  legislature 
of  1874  removing  the  county  seat  from  Canfield  to  Youngstown  gave 
impetus  to  the  city.  The  '8os  were  likewise  years  of  progress.  A  water- 
works plant  and  sewerage  systems  were  installed  and  street  pavements 
laid,  the  horse  cars  had  come  and  had  been  supplanted  by  the  electric 
cars  and  the  city  limits  extension  act  of  1889  had  made  the  city  miles 
in  length. 

Having  outgrown  its  village  clothes,  Youngstown  became  ambitious 
to  shed  its  city  village  government  also,  and  the  way  was  opened  by  a  spe- 
cial act  of  the  Legislature,  passed  in  February,  1891,  that  permitted  a  ver- 
itable revolution  in  the  city  government.  Heretofore  the  mayor  had 
been  virtually  the  sole  administrative  officer  of  the  city,  but  under 
authority  of  the  legislative  measure  referred  to  above  a  board  of  four 
county  commissioners  was  named  to  accept  part  of  this  burden,  the 
appointees  being  Captain  C.  M.  Reilly,  James  W.  Dickey,  James  H. 
Nutt  and  A.  J.  McCartney.  These  appointments  were  made  on 
April  15,  1891. 


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264       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

On  May  16,  1891,  the  city  commissioners  swept  out  of  existence 
the  village  police  and  fire  departments  of  the  city.  Prior  to  that  date 
the  police  department  of  Youngstown  had  been  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  an  elective  town  marshal,  while  the  "roundsmen"  and  "night  watch- 
men'' were  appointed  by  the  mayor,  with  the  result  that  the  police  force 
underwent  changes  with  each  change  in  the  political  complexion  of 
the  city  administration.  The  fire  department,  which  had  been  orig- 
inally entirely  volunteer,  still  remained  largely  so;  although  for  some 
years  the  chief  of  that  organization  had  been  a  paid  man,  while  for 
several  years  prior  to  1891  there  were  several  paid  firemen  as  well. 

The  change  made  by  the  commissioners  supplanted  the  town  marshal 
with  a  chief  of  police  and  created  a  police  force  made  up  of  men  who 
were  appointed  permanently,  or  during  good  behavior,  John  F.  Cantwell 
being*  made  head  of  the  department.  The  fire  department  of  mixed 
volunteers  and  paid  men  gave  way  to  a  paid  department,  of  which  W.  H. 
Moore  was  named  chief  and  W.  J^.  Knox  assistant  chief. 

For  more  than  ten  years  the  board  of  city  commissioners  remained 
as  part  of  the  government  of  Youngstown,  but  the  existence  of  this 
board  was  ended  in  1902  by  a  decision  of  the  state  supreme  court,  which 
held  that  special  city  legislation  was  unconstitutional  in  Ohio.  While 
Youngstown  and  Akron  alone  had  resorted  to  this  form  of  administra- 
tion, the^court  decision  was  felt  throughout  the  state,  since  this  decree 
meant  that  one  form  of  government  must  be  in  effect  in  all  Ohio  cities. 

At  a  special  legislative  session  in  1902-03  a  new  code  was  adopted 
for  Ohio  cities  that  reduced  the  councilmanic  membership  in  Ohio  cities 
and  created  an  elective  board  of  public  service  of  three  members  and 
an  appointive  board  of  public  safety  of  two  members.  At  the  spring 
election  in  1903,  W.  T.  Gibson  was  elected  the  first  mayor  under  this 
charter,  David  Heinselman,  Philip  Hagan  and  George  J.  Yetter  were 
elected  members  of  the  board  of  public  service,  and  C.  Perry  Edwards 
was  elected  president  of  council,  or  vice  mayor.  Vice  Mayor  Edwards 
was  the  first  councilmanic  president  elected  by  direct  vote,  occupants 
of  that  office  having  previously  been  elected  by  members  of  council 
from  within  that  body.  Subsequently  Bales  M.  Campbell  and  Jerry 
R.  Woolley  were  appointed  by  Mayor  Gibson  members  of  the  first 
board  of  public  safety. 

About  this  time  too  there  was  a  general  realization  that  the  duties 
of  the  mayor  were  becoming  too  heavy,  as  Youngstown  had  become 
a  60,000  population  city  and  was  growing  rapidly.  Relief  was  fur- 
nished by  creating  a  Municipal  Court  to  replace  the  Police  Court,  over 
which  the  mayor  had  presided  as  magistrate,  and,  in  1904,  Anthony  B. 
Calvin  was  elected  the  first  judge  of  this  court. 

In  1910  the  charter  under  which  Ohio  cities  were  governed  under- 
went a  modification  that  abolished  the  public  service  and  public  safety 
boards,  an  appointive  director  of  service  and  director  of  safety  being 
substituted.  Herman  Duesing  was  named  to  the  former  position  and 
James  J.  Quinn  to  the  latter  place  by  Mayor  A.  W.  Craver. 

Except  that  the  number  of  ward  councilmen  was  increased  when  the 
census  of  1910  gave  Youngstown  a  population  of  79,066,  Youngstown's 


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Grotf  of  Yoi'Ncstowx  Pup.lic  IUii .dinc.s 


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266        YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

municipal  government  has  been  changed  but  little  in  ten  years.  The 
state  constitutional  convention  of  1912  removed  the  barrier  to  home 
rule  imposed  by  the  court  decision  of  1902  and  permitted  special  char- 
ters for  Ohio  cities,  a  reform  that  was  much  needed  in  Ohio.  In  191 3 
Youngstown  elected  a  board  of  charter  commissioners,  who  drafted 
a  special  charter  for  Youngstown ;  but  after  a  warmly,  and  even  bitterly, 
cdntested  campaign,  the  charter  was  defeated  on  a  popular  vote  on 
July  22  of  that  year. 

For  almost  twenty-five  years  after  the  Brier  Hill-Haselton  city 
limits  extension  of  1889,  Youngstown's  area  was  changed  but  little. 
There  was  one  extension  in  1902,  when  the  land  on  which  the  Ohio 
works  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company  is  located  was  taken  into  the 
city;  this  annexation  being  in  fulfilment  of  an  agreement  made  in  1892, 
when  the  steel  mill  territory  was  excluded  from  the  city  for  a  ten-year 
period  as  an  inducement  toward  the  building  of  the  plant.  In  1903  a 
few  acres  of  land  were  added  to  the  city  in  the  Crab  Creek  settlement 
neighborhood,  apparently  for  no  purposes  except  to  include  a  saloon 
located  there.  There  was  one  annexation  in  1904,  ^one  in  1906,  four 
in  1907  and  one  in  1910;  but  these  were  small  tracts  taken  into  the 
city  after  they  had  been  platted  into  city  lots. 

For  some  time  there  had  been  agitation  in  favor  of  making  the 
municipality  of  Youngstown  co-extensive  with  the  Township  of  Youngs- 
town, and  this  movement  eventually  bore  fruit  in  19 13.  On  November 
17th  of  that  year  city  council  passed  an  ordinance  taking  in  the  entire 
township,  and  on  December  18,  191 3,  this  annexation  became  effective 
after  it  had  been  approved  by  the  county  commissioners.  A  small  sec- 
tion of  Coitsville  Township  also  was  included  at  the  same  time.  On 
August  31,  191 7,  Youngstown  again  spread  outside  the  old  township 
limits  for  territory,  the  Pleasant  Grove  tract  in  Boardman  Township 
being  added  to  the  city.  Thus  Youngstown  became  a  city  covering 
twenty-five  and  eighteen  one-hundredths  square  miles  of  ground,  and 
John  Young's  city  became  even  greater  in  area  than  John  Young's  town- 
ship that  was  settled  123  years  ago. 

Until  the  incorporation  of  1850,  Youngstown,  of  course,  had  no 
municipal  officials.  The  village  charter,  from  1850  to  1868,  provided 
for  annual  elections  in  April.  Following  is  a  list  of  the  men  who  acted 
as  mayor  of  Youngstown  in  village  days,  and  the  years  in  which  they 
served : 

John   Heiner,    1850-51.  Reuben   Carroll,    1857-62. 

Robert    W.    Tayler,    1851-52. .  Peter  W.  Keller,  1862-63. 

Stephen  F.   Burnett,    1852-53.  John  Manning,  1863. 

William  G.  Moore,  1853-5$.  Thomas  H.  Wells,  1863-64. 

William  Rice,   1855-56.  Brainard  S.  Higley,  1864-66. 

,Thomas    W.    Sanderson,    1856-57.  George  McKee,  1866-68. 

John  Manning  resigned  in  October,  1863,  after  serving  a  few  months 
of  his  year's  term. 

With  the  admission  of  Youngstown  to  the  list  of  second  class  cities 
municipal  officers  were  elected  for  two  years,  instead  of  one,  the  city 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       267 

elections  taking  place  in  April  of  even  numbered  years.  After  the  divi- 
sion of  the  city  into  wards,  in  1870,  two  councilmen  were  assigned  to 
each  ward,  but  the  terms  of  five  of  the  members  of  council  expired  each 
year,  so  that  annual  elections  were  held  for  membership  in  this  body. 
Following  is  a  list  of  the  executive,  legislative  and  legal  officials  of 
Youngstown  from  the  incorporation  of  the  city  until  today : 

1868-69 — George  McKee,  mayor;  Thomas  W.  Sanderson,  solicitor; 
councilmen,  Chauncey  H.  Andrews,  Joseph  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  Homer  Ham- 
ilton, Richard  Brown,  William  Barclay. 

1869-70 — George  McKee,  mayor;  Thomas  W.  Sanderson,  solicitor; 
James  F.  Hudson,  clerk;  councilmen,  James  Cartwright,  William 
Barclay,  John  Fowler,  William  B.  Pollock,  Paul  Wick. 

1870-71 — George  McKee,  mayor;  Joseph  R.  Harris,  solicitor;  F.  S. 
Whitslar,  president  of  council;  James  F.  Hudson,  city  clerk;  council- 
men,  John  Stambaugh,  Daniel  V.  Tilden,  John  Manning,  F.  S.  Whitslar, 
John  Jones,  E.  C.  Wells,  John  W.  Beede,  John  Fowler,  William  Barclay, 
James  Cartwright. 

Solicitor  Harris  resigned  on  June  14,  1870,  and  on  July  2,  1870, 
George  F.  Arrel  was  elected  to  succeed  him.  Councilman  E.  C.  Wells 
resigned  and  A.  J.  Packard  was  elected  in  his  place  on  November  7, 
1870. 

1871-72 — George  McKee,  mayor;  George  F.  Arrel,  solicitor;  James 
Cartwright,  president  of  council;  J.  H.  Odell,  clerk;  councilmen,  James 
Cartwright,  D.  V.  Tilden,  John  S.  Besore,  John  Fowler,  John  Jones, 
A.  J.  Packard,  William  L.  Buechner,  John  Manning,  James  P.  Tillot- 
son,  George  Rudge. 

1872-73 — John  D.  Raney,  mayor;  George  F.  Arrel,  solicitor;  James 
Cartwright,  president  of  council;  J.  H.  Odell,  clerk;  councilmen,  James 
Cartwright,  William  L.  Buechner,  John  S.  Besore,  James  P.  Tillotson, 
George  Rudge,  Alfred  Smith,  John  O'Herron,  Job  Froggett,  Hugh  King, 
William  Dennison. 

1873-74 — John  D.  Raney,  mayor;  George  F.  Arrel,  solicitor;  D.  V. 
Tilden,  president  of  council;  L.  F.  Shoaf,  clerk;  councilmen,  Alfred 
Smith,  John  O'Herron,  Job  Froggett,  Hugh  King,  William  Dennison, 
S.  H.  Shedd,  D.  V.  Tilden,  Gordon  Parish,  George  T.  Lewis,  George 
Daniels. 

Councilman  John  O'Herron  died.     Succeeded  by  Evan  J.  Evans. 

1874-75 — William  M.  Osborn,  mayor;  George  F.  Arrel,  solicitor; 
D.  V.  Tilden,  president  of  council ;  George  J.  Williams,  clerk ;  council- 
men,  S.  K.  Shedd,  D.  V.  Tilden,  Gordon  Parish,  George  T.  Lewis,  George 
Daniels,  H.  C.  Rowland,  John  A.  Woods,  John  S.  Besore,  Hugh  King, 
Henry  Toulmin. 

1875-76 — William  M.  Osborn,  mayor;  George  F.  Arrel,  solicitor; 
George  T.  Lewis,  president  of  council ;  George  J.  Williams,  clerk ;  coun- 
cilmen, H.  C.  Rowland,  John  A.  Woods,  John  S.  Besore,  Hugh  King, 
Henry  Toulmin,  Henry  Caldwell,  Patrick  McBride,  Homer  Hamilton, 
George  T.  Lewis,  Charles  S.  Hilker. 

1876-77 — Mathew  Logan,  mayor;  George  F.  Arrel,  solicitor;  George 
T.  Lewis,  president  of  council;  George  J.  Williams,  clerk;  councilmen, 


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268       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Henry  Caldwell,  Patrick  McBride,  Homer  Hamilton,  George  T.  Lewis, 
Charles  S.  Hilker,  F.  V.  Floor,  Ralph  J.  Wick,  John  S.  Besore,  Francis 
Miller,-  John  Scholl. 

1877-78 — Mathew  Logan,  mayor;  George  F.  Arrel,  solicitor;  John 
S.  Besore,  president  of  council;  George  J.  Williams,  clerk;  councilmen, 
F.  V.  Floor,  Ralph  J.  Wick,  John  S.  Besore,  Francis  Miller,  John  Scholl, 
Christ  Felber,  Patrick  McBride,  J.  M.  Bonnell,  J.  D.  Van  Fleet,  Charles 
S.  Hilker. 

1878-79 — Mathew  Logan,  mayor;  Volney  Rogers,  solicitor;  Francis 
Miller,  president  of  council;  George  J.  Williams,  clerk:  councilmen, 
Christ  Felber,  Patrick  McBride,  J.  M.  Bonnell,  J.  D.  Van  Fleet,  Charles 
S.  Hilker,  H.  C.  Rowland,  John  Weirick,  William  R.  Davis,  Francis  Mil- 
ler, Charles  Cook. 

1879-80 — Mathew  Logan,  mayor;  Volney  Rogers,  solicitor;  Philip 
Jacobs,  president  of  council;  Allen  Hellawell,  clerk;  councilmen,  H.  C. 
Rowland,  John  Weirick,  William  R.  Davis,  Francis  Miller,  F.  W. 
Andres,  L.  B.  Matthews,  Edward  Ritter,  Philip  Jacobs,  John  M.  Webb, 
George  Daniels. 

188081 — William  J.  Lawthers,  mayor;  Volney  Rogers,  solicitor; 
John  M.  Webb,  president  of  council;  Allen  Hellawell,  clerk;  councilmen, 
L.  B.  Matthews,  Edward  Ritter,  Philip  Jacobs,  John  M.  Webb,  George 
Daniels,  H.  C.  Rowland,  C.  M.  Reilly,  John  O'Keefe,  James  J.  Hamman, 
Charles  J.  Hilker. 

1881-82 — William  J.  Lawthers,  mayor;  Volney  Rogers,  solicitor; 
H.  C.  Rowland,  president  of  council ;  Allen  Hellawell,  clerk ;  councilmen, 
H.  C.  Rowland,  David  Reel,  James  Squire,  J.  J.  Hamman,  A.  B.  Mul- 
lineaux,  C.  M.  Reilly,  Charles  S.  Hilker,  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  George  H. 
Dingledy,  Patrick  M.  Kennedy,  Samuel  A.  Steele,  James  W.  Dickey, 
John  O'Keefe,  John  Cregan. 

1882-83 — William  J.  Lawthers,  mayor;  William  A.  Maline,  solicitor; 
C.  M.  Reilly,  president  of  council;  John  M.  Webb,  clerk;  councilmen, 
David  Reel,  George  H.  Dingledy,  Patrick  M.  Kennedy,  Samuel  A.  Steele, 
J.  W.  Dickey,  A.  B.  Mullineaux,  John  Cregan,  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  John 
O'Keefe,  John  S.  Besore,  J.  J.  Hamman,  John  Goeppinger,  Patrick 
Mylott,  C.  M.  Reilly. 

1883-84 — William  J.  Lawthers,  mayor;  William  A.  Maline,  solicitor; 
C.  M.  Reilly,  president  of  council ;  John  M.  Webb,  clerk ;  councilmen, 
J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  John  O'Keefe,  John  S.  Besore,  J.  J.  Hamman,  John 
Goeppinger,  Patrick  Mylott,  C.  M.  Reilly,  John  O.  McGowan,  James 
Squire,  Patrick  M.  Kennedy,  John  S.  Orr,  James  W.  Dickey,  Aaron 
Harber,  George  Welsch. 

1884-85 — Walter  L.  Campbell,  mayor;  Addis  E.  Knight,  solicitor; 
B.  O.  Eddy,  president  of  council;  D.  N.  Simpkins,  clerk;  councilmen, 
John  O.  McGowan,  James  Squire,  Patrick  M.  Kennedy,  John  S.  Orr, 
James  W.  Dickey,  Aaron  Harber,  George  Welsch,  A.  B.  Brownlee, 
George  M.  Summers,  Jared  D.  Porter,  James  H.  Nutt,  B.  O.  Eddy, 
John  Tomlins,  John  A.  Woods. 

1885-86 — Walter  L.  Campbell,  mayor;  Addis  E.  Knight,  solicitor; 
B.  O.  Eddy,  president  of  council;  D.  N.  Simpkins,  clerk;  councilmen, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       269 

A.  B.  Brownlee,  George  M.  Summers,  Jared  D.  Porter,  James  H.  Nutt, 
R.   Montgomery,   James    Squire,    Patrick   D.    Cotter,   James   Kennedy, 

B.  O.  Eddy,  John  Tomlins,  John  A.  Woods,  Robert  E  Daniels,  John  C. 
Maloney,  George  Welsch. 

1886-87 — Samuel  A.  Steele,  mayor;  William  A.  Maline,  solicitor;  B. 
O.  Eddy,  president  of  council;  John  M.  Webb,  clerk;  councilmen,  R. 
Montgomery,  James  Squire,  Patrick  D.  Cotter,  James  Kennedy,  Robert 
E.  Daniels,  John  C.  Maloney,  George  Welsch,  A.  J.  McCartney,  Thomas 
J.  Lee,  John  F.  Kennedy,  James  H.  Nutt,  B.  O.  Eddy,  Patrick  Mylott, 
John  A.  Woods. 

i887-88j-Samuel  A.  Steele,  mayor;  William  A.  Maline,  solicitor; 
John  C.  Maloney,  president  of  council;  John  M.  Webb,  clerk;  councilmen, 
A.  J.  McCartney,  Thomas  J.  Lee,  John  F.  Kennedy,  James  H.  Nutt,  B. 

0.  Eddy,  Patrick  Mylott,  John  A.  Woods,  Rhody  Maher,  R.  Mont- 
gomery, Ernest  Kurz,  Roger  Berry,  James  Kennedy,  Arthur  J.  Thomas, 
John  C.  Maloney,  Michael  Obendorfer,  Daniel  Gribbon. 

1888-89 — Randall  Montgomery,  mayor;  George  E.  Rose,  solicitor; 
James  H.  Nutt,  president  of  council ;  John  S.  Roller,  clerk ;  councilmen, 

1.  G.  Tinney,  Ernest  Kurz,  Roger  Berry,  James  Kennedy,  Arthur  J. 
Thomas,  John  C.  Maloney,  Michael  Obendorfer,  Daniel  Gribbon,  A.  J. 
McCartney,  Christ  Mauser,  Reese  L.  Jones,  James  H.  Nutt,  P.  H. 
McEvey,  William  K.  Chapman,  Thomas  Glenny,  John  Mitchell. 

1889-90 — Randall  Montgomery,  mayor;  George  E.  Rose,  solicitor; 
James  H.  Nutt,  president  of  council;  John  S.  Roller,  clerk;  councilmen, 
A.  J.  McCartney,  Christ  Mauser,  Reese  L.  Jones,  James  H.  Nutt,  P.  H. 
McEvey,  William  K.  Chapman,  Thomas  Glenny,  John  Mitchell,  N.  B. 
Acheson,  Ernest  Kurz,  Roger  Berry,  J.  C.  Smith,  Arthur  J.  Thomas, 
John  C.  Maloney,  Michael  Obendorfer,  Daniel  O'Connell. 

City  Clerk  John  S.  Roller  resigned  in  October,  1889,  and  on  Novem- 
ber 9,  Arthur  J.  Thomas  was  elected  in  his  place.  Fred  A.  Kaercher  was 
elected  member  of  council  to  succeed  Mr.  Thomas. 

1890-91 — Randall  Montgomery,  mayor;  George  E.  Rose,  solicitor; 
John  C.  Maloney,  president  of  council ;  Emanuel  Guthman,  clerk ;  coun- 
cilmen, N.  B.  Acheson,  Ernest  Kurz,  Roger  Berry,  J.  Craig  Smith,  Fred 
A.  Kaercher,  John  C.  Maloney,  Michael  Obendorfer,  Daniel  O'Connell, 
Veeder  Heasley,  Edward  McGinnis,  William  J.  Quinlan,  R.  W.  White- 
head, P.  H.  McEvey,  W.  K.  Chapman,  John  Weldon,  John  Mitchell. 

1891-92 — Randall  Montgomery,  mayor;  George  E.  Rose,  solicitor; 
N.  B.  Acheson,  president  of  council;  Emanuel  Guthman,  clerk;  board 
of  city  commissioners,  C.  M.  Reilly,  J.  W.  Dickey,  James  H.  Nutt,  A. 
J.  McCartney;  councilmen,  Veeder  Heasley,  Edward  McGinnis,  William 
J.  Quinlan,  R.  W.  Whitehead,  P.  H.  McEvey,  W.  K.  Chapman,  John 
Weldon,  N.  B.  Acheson,  P.  M.  Joyce,  Thomas  Peat,  Harry  B.  Chase, 
George  D.  Gessaman,  Andrew  C.  Fairgrieve,  George  Welsch,  John  Mit- 
chell, B.  M.  Gibson,  Charles  F.  Grapentine,  James  Feeney,  Patrick  Flan- 
nery,  Fred  K.  Wolff. 

1892-93 — I.  B.  Miller,  mayor;  I.  A.  Justice,  solicitor;  N.  B.  Acheson, 
president  of  council ;  J.  Howard  Edwards,  clerk ;  board  of  city  commis- 
sioners, James  H.  Nutt,  J.  W.  Dickey,  Levi  J.  Simonton,  Bales  M.  Camp- 


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270       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

bell ;  councilmen,  N.  B.  Acheson,  P.  M.  Joyce,  Harry  B.  Chase,  Thomas 
Peat,  George  D.  Gessaman,  Andrew  C.  Fairgrieve,  George  Welsch,  James 
Feeney,  Patrick  Flannery,  Fred  Wolff,  Veeder  Heasley,  Edward  McGin- 
nis,  Elihu  Williams,  R.  W.  Whitehead,  Fred  A.  Hartenstein,  William 
K.  Chapman,  Philip  Hagan,  John  F.  Ward,  Frank  McEvey,  Peter  Deibel. 

City  Commissioner  James  H.  Nutt  resigned  and  was  succeeded  by 
Veeder  Heasley.  Mr.  Heasley  was  succeeded  in  council  by  James  L. 
Botsford,  who  in  turn  resigned  and  was  succeeded  by  Frank  DeNor- 
mandie. 

1893-94 — L.  B.  Miller,  mayor ;  I.  A.  Justice,  solicitor ;  R.  W.  White- 
head, president  of  council;  J.  Howard  Edwards,  clerk;  board  of  city 
commissioners,  J.  W.  Dickey,  Veeder  Heasley,  Levi  J.  Simonton,  Bales 
M.  Campbell;  councilmen,  Frank  De  Normandie,  Edward  McGinnis, 
Elihu  Williams,  R.  W.  Whitehead,  Fred  A.  Hartenstein,  William -K. 
Chapman,  Philip  Hagan,  John  F.  Ward,  Frank  McEvey,  Peter  Deibel, 
Walter  A.  Beecher,  Peter  M.  Joyce,  William  R.  Davis,  jr.,  John  De- 
Venne,  Frank  A.  Scott,  Dennis  S.  Scannell,  L.  L.  Longstreet,  William 
Lyden,  Patrick  Flannery,  Thomas  Tyrell. 

Elihu  Williams  and  William  Lyden  resigned  on  February  26,  1894. 
Frank  McEvey  resigned  on  April  10,  1893,  and  Charles  Harris  was 
elected  to  succeed  him. 

1894-95 — I.  B.  Miller,  mayor;  J.  A.  L.  Campbell,  solicitor;  Walter  A. 
Beecher,  president  of  council ;  J.  Howard  Edwards,  clerk ;  board  of  city 
commissioners,  J.  W.  Dickey,  Veeder  Heasley,  Harry  B.  Chase,  Frank 
G.  McConnell;  councilmen,  Walter  A.  Beecher,  P.  M.  Joyce,  William 
R.  Davis,  jr.,  John  DeVenne,  Frank  A.  Scott,  Dennis  C.  Scannell,  L. 
L.  Longstreet,  Frank  P.  Hood,  John  C.  Worrall,  William  R.  Leonard, 
W.  P.  Williamson,  Mansfield  Milton,  David  Heinselman,  Rudolph  Kurz, 
Timothy  McAuliffe,  Patrick  Flannery,  Thomas  Tyrell,  John  F.  Ward, 
Charles  Harris,  J.  R.  Woolley. 

Councilman  L.  L.  Longstreet  resigned  and  Joseph  A.  Miller  was 
elected  to  succeed  him. 

1895-96 — I.  B.  Miller,  mayor;  J.  A.  L.  Campbell,  solicitor;  Walter  A. 
Beecher,  president  of  council ;  J.  Howard  Edwards,  clerk ;  board  of  city 
commissioners,  Veeder  Heasley,  J.  W.  Dickey,  Harry  B.  Chase,  Frank 
G.  McConnell;  councilmen,  Frank  P.  Hood,  John  C.  Worrall,  William 
R.  Leonard,  W.  P.  Williamson,  Mansfield  Milton,  David  Heinselman, 
Rudolph  Kurz,  John  F.  Ward,  Charles  Harris,  J.  R.  Woolley,  Walter  A. 
Beecher,  John  P.  Hazlett,  William  R.  Davis,  Jr.,  John  Devenne,  T.  J. 
Helrigle,  John  H.  Fitch,  Frank  Staub,  Timothy  McAuliffe,  Patrick  Flan- 
nery, John  Wolff. 

Councilman  Frank  P.  Hood  resigned  and  Z.  P.  Curry  elected.  Wil- 
liam R.  Leonard  resigned  and  John  P.  Hazlett  elected.  Charles  Harris 
resigned  and  C.  E.  Cross  elected.  John  P.  Hazlett  resigned  and  S.  B. 
E.  McVay  elected. 

1896-97 — E.  H.  Moore,  mayor;  W.  T.  Gibson,  solicitor;  John  De- 
Venne, president  of  council ;  F.  C.  Brown,  clerk ;  board  of  city  commis- 
sioners, J.  W.  Dickey,  Veeder  Heasley,  Harry  B.  Chase,  Ernest  Kurz; 
councilmen,  Walter  A.  Beecher,  S.  B.  E.  McVay,  Edward  Powell,  John 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       271 

DeVenne,  T.  J.  Helrigle,  John  H.  Fitch,  Frank  Staub,  Timothy  Mc- 
Auliffe,  Patrick  Flannery,  John  Wolff,  Z.  P.  Curry,  Harry  Thomas,  Wil- 
liam Rowney,  W.  P.  Williamson,  E.  L.  Welch,  David  Heinselman, 
Rudolph,  Kurz,  James  J.  Quinn,  C.  E.  Cross,  Marvin  C.  Knibb. 

1897-98 — E.  H.  Moore,  mayor;  W.  T.  Gibson,  solicitor;  David  Hein- 
selman, president  of  council;  F.  C.  Brown,  clerk;  board  of  city  commis- 
sioners, Ernest  Kurz,  Harry  B.  Chase,  Patrick  Mylott,  William  Corne- 
lius; councilmen,  Z.  P.  Curry,  Harry  Thomas,  William  Rowney,  W.  P. 
Williamson,  E.  L.  Welch,  David  Heinselman,  Rudolph  Kurz,  James  J; 
Quinn,  C.  E.  Cross,  Marvin  C.  Knibb,  George  L.  Fordyce,  A.  L.  Row- 
land, Edward  Powell,  Cyrus  A.  Knox,  Edward  C.  Schroeder,  Thomas  L. 
Jones,  John  J.  Connor,  John  Martin,  John  J.  Kane,  John  Wolff. 

Councilman  William  Rowney  resigned  and  was  succeeded  by  Mark 
R.  Morris. 

1898-99 — E.  H.  Moore,  mayor;  W.  T.  Gibson,  solicitor;  A.  L.  Row- 
land, president  of  council;  F.  C.  Brown,  clerk;  board  of  city  commis- 
sioners, Patrick  Mylott,  William  Cornelius,  Randall  Montgomery,  F.  A. 
Kaercher;  councilmen,  George  L.  Fordyce,  Thomas  J.  Lee,  Ellsworth 
Jones,  Cyrus  A.  Knox,  Edward  C.  Schroeder,  Thomas  L.  Jones,  John 
J.  Connor,  John  Martin,  John  J.  Kane,  John  Wolff,  Z.  P.  Curry,  A.  L. 
Rowland,  Edward  Powell,  M.  S.  Clark,  E.  L.  Welch,  Thomas  J.  Vahey, 
Andrew  Reed,- James  J.  Quinn,  Richard  Sause,  Marvin  C.  Knibb. 

1899-1900 — E.  H.  Moore,  mayor;  W.  T.  Gibson,  solicitor;  M.  S. 
Clark,  president  of  council ;  F.  C.  Brown,  clerk ;  board  of  city  commission- 
ers, Patrick  Mylott,  William  Cornelius,  Rufus  F.  Thompson,  F.  A. 
Kaercher;  councilmen,  M.  C.  McNab,  Thomas  J.  Lee,  Ellsworth  Jones, 
M.  S.  Clark,  Thomas  J.  Vahey,  Andrew  Reed,  James  J.  Quinn,  Richard 
Sause,  Marvin  C.  Knibb,  M.  E.  Dennison,  Daniel  J.  Shea,  Edward  Powell, 
Edward  C.  Schroeder,  Thomas  L.  Jones,  John  J.  Connor,  Thomas  F. 
Murray,  John  J.  Kane,  Jerry  R.  Woolley. 

City  Solicitor  Gibson  resigned  to  become  prosecuting  attorney  and 
was  succeeded  by  I.  A.  Justice. 

1900-01 — Frank  L.  Brown,  mayor;  Carvey  Miller,  solicitor;  Jerry 
R.  Woolley,  president  of  council ;  William  I.  Davies,  clerk ;  board  of  city 
commissioners,  Rufus  F.  Thompson,  F.  A.  Kaercher,  Patrick  Mylott, 
William  Cornelius;  councilmen,  Myron  E.  Dennison,  Walter  D.  Euwer, 
Edward  Powell,  Cyrus  A.  Knox,  Edward  C.  Schroeder,  Thomas  L.  Jones, 
John  J.  Connor,  Thomas  F.  Murray,  Michael  H.  McMahon,  Jerry  R. 
Woolley,  David  Tod,  John  R.  Squire,  Ellsworth  Jones,  Chase  T.  Trues- 
dale,  Thomas  G.  Lewis,  C.  Perry  Edwards,  John  Ludt,  James  F.  Mc- 
Carron,  Richard  Sause,  Harry  R.  Lewis. 

Solicitor  Carvey  Miller  died  during  the  first  year  of  his  incumbency 
and  on  October  1,  1900,  he  was  succeeded  by  Stephen  S.  Conroy. 

1901-02 — Frank  L.  Brown,  mayor;  Stephen  S.  Conroy,  solicitor;  M. 
E.  Dennison,  president  of  council;  William  I.  Davies,  clerk;  board  of 
city  commissioners,  C.  W.  McNab,  James  Butler,  R.  F.  Thompson,  F. 
A.  Kaercher;  councilmen,  David  Tod,  John  R.  Squire,  Ellsworth  Jones, 
Chase  T.  Truesdale,  Thomas  G.  Lewis,  C.  Perry  Edwards,  John  Ludt, 
James  P.  McCarron,  Richard  Sause,  Harry  R.  Lewis,  M.  E.  Dennison, 


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272       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

W.  J.  Roberts,  Edward  Powell,  Anthony  B.  Calvin,  Alexander  Irvine, 
John  McGuire,  Andrew  M.  Williamson,  Thomas  F.  Murray,  Michael  H. 
McMahon,  John  W.  Brennan. 

1902-03 — Frank  L.  Brown,  mayor*;  Stephen  S.  Conroy,  solicitor; 
C.  Perry  Edwards,  president  of  council ;  William  I.  Davies,  clerk ;  board 
of  city  commissioners,  R.  F.  Thompson,  Charles  W.  McNab,  James  But- 
ler, Charles  F.  Harris;  councilmen,  M.  E.  Dennison,  W.  J.  Roberts, 
Edward  Powell,  Anthony  B.  Calvin,  David  Tod,  J.  C.  Birmingham,  Ells- 
worth Jones,  Chase  T.  Truesdale,  Alexander  Irvine,  John  McGuire, 
Andrew  M.  Williamson,  Thomas  F.  Murray,  Michael  H.  McMahon, 
John  W.  Brennan,  Thomas  G.  Lewis,  C.  Perry  Edwards,  John  Ludt, 
James  P.  McCarron,  W.  J.  Phelan,  Harry  Baker. 

1903-06 — William  T.  Gibson,  mayorf;  Anthony  B.  Calvin,  judge  of 
the  criminal  court;  Stephen  S.  Conroy,  solicitor;  C.  Perry  Edwards, 
president  of  council;  Pyatt  W.  Hubler,  clerk;  board  of  public  service, 
David  Heinselman,  Philip  Hagan,  George  J.  Vetter;  board  of  public 
safety,  Bales  M.  Campbell,  Jerry  R.  Woolley;  councilmen-at-large,  Harry 
Parrock,  Chase  T.  Truesdale,  Warren  Williams ;  ward  councilmen,  David 
Tod,  John  H.  Middleton,  William  L.  Bence,  Anthony  B.  Calvin,  Sol  S. 
Davis,  R.  D.  Campbell,  Mylie  A.  Sweeney. 

Councilman  Calvin  resigned  on  November  14,  1904,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  George  McDonald. 

1906-08 — Frank  L.  Baldwin,  mayor;  Anthony  B.  Calvin,  judge  of  the 
criminal  court;  Frank  L.  Oesch,  solicitor;  M.  C.  Higgins,  president  of 
council;  Pyatt  W.  Hubler,  city  clerk;  board  of  public  service,  George 
J.  Vetter,  Philip  Hagan,  David  Heinselman;  board  of  public  safety, 
John  R.  Squire,  James  Butler;  councilmen-at-large,  Harry  Parrock, 
Edward  H.  Welsh,  Warren  Williams;  ward  councilmen,  David  Tod, 
Lionel  Evans,  William  L.  Bence,  James  A.  Green,  Sol  S.  Davis,  R.  D. 
Campbell,  Mylie  A.  Sweeney. 

Service  Board  Member  Vetter  resigned  in  1906  and  was  succeeded 
by  J.  Edgar  Rudge.  Safety  Board  Member  John  R.  Squire  resigned  in 
1906  and  was  succeeded  by  L.  E.  Davis.  Councilman  David  Tod  re- 
signed and  was  succeeded  by  W.  H.  Hayden. 

1908-10 — Alvin  W.  Craver,  mayor;  Anthony  B.  Calvin,  judge  of  the 
criminal  court;  Frank  L.  Oesch,' solicitor ;  M.  C.  Higgins,  president  of 
council ;  M.  F.  Hyland,  clerk ;  board  of  public  service,  J.  Edgar  Rudge, 
Lionel  Evans,  A.  John  Miller;  board  of  public  safety,  L.  E.  Davis, 
James  J.  Quinn ;  councilmen-at-large,  John  R.  Davis,  George  Kennedy, 


*  Mayor  Brown  and  Solicitor  Conroy  were  elected  in  April,  1902,  for  two-year 
terms,  but  the  city  code  adopted  by  the  Legislature  the  following  winter  provided 
for  new  municipal  elections  in  April,  1903,  reducing  to  one  year  the  terms  of  all 
city  officials  elected  in  April,  1902. 

t  Mayor  Gibson  and  all  other  city  officers  were  elected  in  April,  1903,  for  two- 
year  terms,  but,  in  1904,  April  elections  were  abolished  in  Ohio  and  November 
municipal  elections  substituted,  the  terms  of  all  officials  elected  in  1903  being 
extended  to  January  ir  1906.  The  number  of  wards  in  Youngstown  was  reduced 
from  ten  to  seven  and  the  number  of  councilmen  fixed  at  one  to  a  ward,  instead 
of  two.  Three  counc  lmen-at-large  were  provided  for,  however,  while  the  presi- 
dent of  council  was  elected  by  popular  vote  instead  of  being  selected  from  the 
membership  of  council. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       273 

John  E.  Fowler ;  ward  councilmen,  J.  Bruce  Fithian,  Thomas  F.  Murray, 
Joseph  Owens,  James  A.  Green,  Robert  McMaster,  John  P.  Ryan,  Ernest 
Hensch. 

Councilman  George  Kennedy  resigned  in  1909  and  was  succeeded  by 
Peter  Strachan.  Councilman  Owens  resigned.  Succeeded  by  Michael 
Hernan. 

191012 — Alvin  W.  Craver,  mayor;  Herman  Brandmiller,  judge  of  the 
criminal  court;  David  G.  Jenkins,  solicitor;  Sol  S.  Davis,  president  of 
council ;  M.  F.  Hyland,  clerk ;  Herman  Duesing,  director  of  public  service ; 
James  J.  Quinn,  director  of  public  safety;  councilmen-at-large,  David 
J.  Miles,  William  J.  Sampson,  Jerry  R.  Woolley;  ward  councilmen, 
James  G.  Ewing,  Thomas  F.  Murray,  Jerry  C.  Sullivan,  Fred  G.  Weimer, 
Robert  McMaster,  John  P.  Ryan,  Frank  J.  Hechmer. 

1912-14 — Fred  A.  Hartenstein,  mayor;  Herman  Brandmiller,  judge 
of  the  criminal  court;  David  G.  Jenkins,  solicitor;  Sol  S.  Davis,  presi- 
dent of  council;  M.  F.  Hyland,  clerk;  Veeder  Heasley,  director  of  public 
service;  Harry  Parrock,  director  of  public  safety;  councilmen-at-large, 
Dudley  R.  Kennedy,  David  J.  Miles,  Jerry  R.  Woolley;  ward  council- 
men,  William  M.  Jones,  William  F.  Lyden,  Louis  C.  Breetz,  Robert  H. 
Barclay,  William  G.  Reese,  James  B.  Clark,  Charles  F.  Weller,  Fred  G. 
Weimer,  Harry  J.  Shay. 

Councilman  Barclay  resigned  and  was  succeeded  by  Daniel  Kenvin. 

1914-16 — Fred  A.  Hartenstein,  mayor;  judges  of  the  municipal 
court,  Herman  Brandmiller,  Michael  B.  Welsh;  George  J.  Carew,  solici- 
tor; Joseph  N.  Higley,  president  of  council;  M.  F.  Hyland,  clerk;  Veeder 
Heasley,  director  of  public  service;  Harry  Parrock,  director  of  public 
safety;  councilmen-at-large,  J.  R.  Woolley,  William  P.  Kerr,  Thomas 
T.  Woods ;  ward  councilmen,  Gus  A.  Doeright,  Patrick  A.  Hyland,  Wil- 
liam Harrison,  Daniel  Kenvin,  William  G.  Reese,  James  B.  Clarke, 
Charles  F.  Weller,  Allen  Shale,  Harry  Shay. 

1916-18 — Carroll  Thornton,  mayor;  judges  of  the  municipal  court, 
Herman  Brandmiller,  Michael  B.  Welsh;  Max  E.  Brunswick,  solicitor; 
Joseph  N.  Higley,  president  of  council;  M.  F.  Hyland,  clerk;  Harry 
Parrock,  director  of  public  service;  James  H.  Nutt,  director  of  public 
safety ;  councilmen-at-large,  William  G.  Reese,  William  P.  Kerr,  William 
F.  Davis;  ward  councilmen,  Gus  A.  Doeright,  Patrick  A.  Hyland,  Wil- 
liam Harrison,  Daniel  Kenvin,  Wiliam  F.  Mehlo,  James  H.  Morris,  Wil- 
liam C.  Damman,  Allen  Shale,  Harry  Hogue. 

Municipal  Judge  Welsh  died  in  191 7  and  was  succeeded  by  George 
H.  Gessner.  Councilman-at-large  William  P.  Kerr  died  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Thomas  T.  Woods.  Ward  Councilman  James  H.  Morris 
resigned  and  was  succeeded  by  Daniel  Morgan.  Ward  Councilman  Allen 
Shale  resigned  and  was  succeeded  by  Hugh  Best. 

1918-20 — Alvin  W.  Craver,  mayor;  judges  of  the  municipal  court, 
Herman  Brandmiller,  George  II.  Gessner;  Max  E.  Brunswick,  solicitor; 
Joseph  X.  Higley,  president  of  council;  M.  F.  Hyland,  clerk;  William 
L.  Sause,  director  of  public  service;  John  W.  Kuhns,  director  of  public 
safety;  councilmen-at-large,  William  G.  Reese,  Thomas  T.  Woods,  Wil- 
liam F.  Davis;  ward  councilmen,  Gus  A.  Doeright,  Frank  P.  Galvin, 


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274       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Jerry  C.  Sullivan,  David  Shermer,  William  F.  Mehlo,  Daniel  Morgan, 
David  J.  Welsh,  Hugh  Best,  Harry  Hogue. 

Public  Service  Director  Sause  resigned  in  January,  1919,  to  become 
street  railway  commissioner.  Succeeded  by  John  W.  Kuhns,  who  was 
succeeded  as  director  of  safety  by  W.  W.  McDowell. 

Councilman  Frank  P.  Galvin  resigned,  succeeded  by  A.  J.  Wardle. 

Councilman  David  Shermer  resigned,  succeeded  by  Carl  Stickle. 

Councilman  William  F.  Mehlo  resigned,  succeeded  by  Robert  Backus. 

Councilman  Daniel  Morgan  resigned,  succeeded  by  Harry  Holloway. 

Councilman  Hugh  Best  resigned,  succeeded  by  Thomas  Booth. 

Councilman  Harry  Hogue  resigned,  succeeded  by  Raymond  J.  Cope- 
land. 

Councilman  William  F.  Davis  resigned,  succeeded  by  Stephen  F.  Sul- 
livan. 

Councilman-at-Large  Stephen  F.  Sullivan  resigned  in  August,  1919, 
to  accept  a  position  as  secretary  of  the  municipal  hospital  commission. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Patrick  J.  Carney. 

1920-22 — Fred  J.  Warnock,  mayor;  judges  of  the  Municipal  Court, 
Herman  Brandmiller  and  George  H.  Gessner;  Jesse  H.  Leighninger, 
solicitor;  William  G.  Reese,  president  of  council;  M.  F.  Hyland,  clerk; 
Ett  S.  Smith,  director  of  public  service ;  David  J.  Scott,  director  of  public 
safety ;  Arthur  H.  Williams,  city  auditor ;  Edward  Johnson,  city  treasurer ; 
councilmen-at-large,  Thomas  T.  Woods,  John  F.  Smith,  Robert  R. 
Roberts;  councilmen,  Harry  Payne,  Robert  Backus,  Richard  Flannery, 
Harry  Holloway,  Jerry  C.  Sullivan,  David  Welsh,  George  W.  Millikin, 
Thomas  Booth,  Raymond  J.  Copeland.  Councilman  George  W.  Millikin 
died  and  was  succeeded  by  Carl  Stickle. 

The  first  postal  route  to  Yotmgstown  was  established  in  1801,  and  on 
January  1,  1802,  Calvin  Pease  was  named  the  first  postmaster.  He  was 
succeeded  on  July  1,  1803,  by  Dr.  Charles  Dutton,  who  held  this  office 
until  1818,  except  for  a  short  period  when  Samuel  White  was  postmaster. 
Succeeding  postmasters  include,  William  Rayen,  1818-39;  Asahel  Med- 
bury,  1839-41;  James  Hezlep,  1841,  (9  months);  Caleb  B.  Wick, 
1841-43;  William  Woodbridge,  1843-45;  Alexander  McKinnie,  1845-49; 
Jonathan  Edwards,  1849-53  >  Alexander  McKinnie,  1853-61 ;  Thomas  L. 
Moore,  1861-68;  Corydon  B.  Streeter,  1868-76;  Austin  R.  Seagrave, 
1876-81;  George  J.  Williams,  1881-85;  Henry  Cassidy,  1885-89;  Ed- 
ward H.  Hosmer,  1889-94;  George  B.  Snyder,  1894-98;  O.  P.  Shaffer, 
1898-1914;  George  B.  Snyder,  1914  (incumbent). 

The  Youngstown  Police  Department 

The  county  court  of  Trumbull  County  that  assembled  at  Warren  in 
the  summer  of  1800  originated  the  organization  that  is  now  the  public 
safety  department  of  the  City  of  Youngstown.  Almost  a  century  and  a 
quarter  has  passed  since  then,  and  while  the  Youngstown  Police  Depart- 
ment has  progressed  consistently  throughout  that  entire  period  the  ad- 
vancement has  been  far  greater  in  the  last  twenty-five  years  than  in  the 
preceding  one  hundred. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       275 

The  beginning  was  a  modest  one,  of  course.  "By  order  of  the  court" 
James  Hillman  was  named  constable  for  the  civil  township  of  Youngs- 
town,  a  "beat"  that  would  cause  dismay  to  a  twentieth  century  patrol- 
man, for  it  comprised  ten  actual  townships  of  what  was  then  Trumbull 
County,  or  an  area  almost  as  large  as  Mahoning  County  of  today.  For- 
tunately Constable  Hillman  was  his  own  chief,  and  was  given  free  rein 
with  no  hourly  reports  to  make.  Keeping  order  among  the  settlers  was 
not  a  difficult  task,  since  the  pioneers  were  usually  too  busy  wresting  a 
living  from  the  soil  to  engage  in  lawbreaking,  and  most  of  them  were 
landowners  or  prospective  landowners,  with  none  of  the  riff-raff  usually 
found  in  frontier  communities.  Dealing  with  the  shiftless  Indians  was 
perhaps  the  most  difficult  task  that  confronted  this  first  constable — 
since  they  were  troublemakers  when  filled  with  white  man's  whisky — 
but  this  was  a  work  for  which  Constable  Hillman  was  eminently  fitted. 
He  had  lived  among  the  Indians;  he  understood  them  and  they  under- 
stood and  respected  him. 

There  were  tax  laws  to  enforce,  laws  requiring  settlers  to  kill  preda- 
tory and  destructive  wild  animals,  and  laws  against  fighting;  for  much 
as  we  respect  our  ancestors,  they  were  frontiersmen  after  all,  and  rough 
and  tumble  fighting  was  ever  a  frontier  diversion.  There  was  no  jail 
here  in  the  days  of  the  first  constable,  or  for  many  years  afterwards, 
so  that  offenders  were  taken  to  Warren  for  incarceration.  The  first  "jail" 
at  Warren  was  not  properly  a  jail  at  all,  being  merely  an  open  space 
designated  by  rods  and  with  certain  trees  and  buildings  as  boundary 
lines.  The  prisoner  was  supposed  to  stay  within  this  area,  although  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  if  any  prisoner  was  ever  sentenced  to  remain  there  he 
probably  employed  himself  in  farm  work  and  in  pioneer  gossip  with  little 
regard  to  the  artificial  limits  that  the  dignified  law  had  placed  on  his 
freedom. 

As  early  as  1802  the  number  of  constables  in  Youngstown  Township 
was  increased  to  two,  and  as  the  remaining  townships  that  made  up  the 
civil  township  of  Youngstown  were  organized  from  time  to  time  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Youngstown  constables  diminished.  Yet  constables, 
sheriffs  and  sheriffs'  deputies  appeared  to  give  ample  protection  to 
Youngstown  until  the  incorporation  of  the  village  in  1850. 

With  the  adoption  of  the  village  form  of  government  the  office  of 
village  marshal  was  created  by  council,  and  Benjamin  H.  Lake  was 
elected  to  fill  this  position.  Marshal  Lake  served  throughout  1850. 
Succeeding  village  marshals  were,  Hugh  Moore,  1851;  John  G.  Wins- 
worth,  1852;  John  R.  Holcomb,  1853-54;  J-  M.  Silliman,  1855;  Lucius 
Dyer,  1856;  Matthew  D.  Sanderson,  1857;  John  McFadden,  1858; 
Matthew  D.  Sanderson,  1859;  Charles  C.  Chapman,  1860-61-62;  James 
G.  Niblock,  1863;  Lawrence  Baker,  1864;  Owen  Evans,  1865-66-67. 

Soon  after  Youngstown  became  a  city  of  the  second  class,  in  1868, 
it  took  on  the  dignity  of  a  police  department.  Owen  Evans  had  been 
elected  city  marshal  on  April  6,  and  on  August  4,  1868,  city  council  passed 
an  ordinance  providing  that  the  mayor  should  appoint  "one  night  police- 
man in  each  ward,"  adding  the  proviso  that  "each  councilman  select  a 
suitable  man  to  be  appointed."     Provision  was  also  made  for  not  more 


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276       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

than  fifty  policemen  to  be  appointed  in  time  of  emergency  and  to  serve 
without  pay.  The  first  police  force,  aside  from  the  marshal,  consisted 
of  three  night  watchmen,  Capt.  Samuel  C.  Rook,  veteran  of  the  Mexican 
and  Civil  wars,  William  Casey  and  John  Maltby.  Marshal  Evans  alone 
preserved  order  during  the  day. 

The  territory  to  be  covered  was  extensive,  since  the  city  limits  had  been 
extended  in  1868  to  take  in  land  west  and  south  of  the  Mahoning  River 
and  eastward  and  westward  along  Wilson  Avenue  and  Federal  Street. 
Captain  Rook  was  wont  to  say  in  later  years  that  the  residents  were  ex- 
pected to  do  much  of  their  own  police  work  during  the  daytime,  except  on 
circus  days  and  holidays,  when  the  night  watchman  did  double  duty. 
There  was  work  enough,  however,  as  brawling  was  a  regrettably  common 
pastime  in  Youngstown  in  the  '6os  and  '70s,  and  these  fights  were  usually 
stopped  with  no  argument  and  little  ceremony.  Marshal  Owen  Evans, 
in  fact,  acquired  considerable  fame  in  his  day  for  his  excellent  skill  in 
swinging  a  club  on  the  heads  of  riotous  brawlers.  There  was  no  patrol 
wagon  except  a  wheelbarrow;  there  was  no  jailkeeper  on  duty,  and  if  it 
chanced  to  be  a  wintry  night  the  unwritten  rules  of  the  department  re- 
quired that  the  arresting  officer  light  a  fire  and  make  his  prisoner  comfort- 
able before  starting  out  again.  In  addition  the  watchman  was  expected 
to  light  the  street  lamps,  to  keep  on  the  lookout  for  fires  and  sound  the 
alarm  by  bounding  to  the  engine  house  at  top  speed,  breaking  the  news  to 
the  entire  town  as  he  ran.  By  way  of  diversion  the  watchmen  were 
also  permitted  to  help  the  firemen  and  at  odd  times  to  gather  in  lost 
children  and  keep  roaming  hogs  and  cattle  from  getting  too  officious. 

The  police  force  grew  in  size  as  the  city  flourished  and  day  police 
were  added  until  the  department  numbered  more  than  a  dozen  men  in 
the  '80s,  the  force  being  divided  into  night  watchmen  and  day  policemen 
or  "roundsmen."  The  position  of  lieutenant  of  police  was  created  by 
council  in  1874  and  Dan  H.  Arnold  was  named  to  fill  it.  v  Evidently  it 
was  not  considered  a  necessary  position  as  it  was  abolished  in  1875.  The 
marshal  was  an  elective  officer,  so  that  politics  entered  largely  into  his 
selection,  and  the  policemen  were  appointed  by  the  mayor,  so  that  a 
change  of  administration  meant  a  shakeup  in  the  entire  force.  Although 
a  marshal's  term  was  but  two  years  but  four  men  held  this  office  after 
the  incorporation  of  the  city,  Owen  Evans  serving  from  1868  to  1877, 
David  Evans  from  1877  to  1881,  Hugh  Cowley  from  1881  to  1885 
and  William  Will'ams  from  1885  to  1891.  During  the  administration 
of  Mayor  Montgomery,  from  1888  to  1892,  modern  innovations  were 
introduced,  including  a  regular  patrol  wagon  and  the  Gamewell  fire  and 
police  alarm  system. 

In  189 1  the  police  department  of  Youngstown  underwent  an  entire 
reorganization.  In  preparation  for  this  city  council  abolished  the  office 
of  marshal  on  March  10,  1891,  and  on  May  16th  following,  the  newly 
organized  board  of  city  commissioners  brought  into  the  existence  the 
modern  police  force  of  Youngstown,  an  organization  headed  by  John  F. 
Cantwell  as  chief  of  police. 

In  September,  1894,  Chief  Cantwell  was  succeeded  by  W.  W.  Mc- 
Dowell, who  remained  as  head  of  the  police  department  for  twenty  years. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       277 

At  that  time  the  chief  was  the  one  titled  officer  in  the  department  and  the 
police  headquarters  and  the  city  jail  were  annexes  to  the  central  fire 
station.  Gradually  the  force  was  expanded,  new  positions  created  and 
finally  a  new  home  was  set  aside  for  the  safety  department  of  the  city 
when  the  Central  police  station  was  built  in  1904.  Actually  this  building 
was  used  in  part  for  a  city  hall  for  another  ten  years,  but  the  improve- 
ment was  marked  even  considering  this.  The  construction  of  this  build- 
ing gave  the  city  a  jail  that  was  modern  enough  at  that  day,  with  men's 
and  women's  departments,  annexes  for  youthful  offenders  and  a  harbor- 
ing place  for  the  homeless. 

The  establishment  of  the  Gamewell  police  alarm  system  was  followed 
by  the  adoption  of  the  Bertillcn  system,  the  motorizing  of  the  police 


Former  City  Marshals  of  Youngstown 

Read  from  left  to  rifch",  William  T.  Williams,  Owen  Evans,  David  Evans, 

Hugh  Cowley 

department  equipment,  the  establishment  of  the  traffic  police  system  and 
the  introduction  of  the  mounted  police  and  motorcycle  squads.  In  1914 
the  department  was  given  the  use  of  much  needed  space  when  con- 
struction of  the  new  city  hall  made  it  possible  to  use  the  nearby  building . 
for  police  purposes  solely.  Even  today  the  department  is  cramped  for 
space,  as  Youngstown  is  unique  in  being  a  city  of  more  than  125,000 
population,  and  one  of  the  busiest  cities  in  America,  with  but  one  police 
station.  This  situation  will  be  remedied,  however,  with  the  opening  of 
the  two  substations  now  being  constructed. 

In  September,  1914,  Chief  McDowell  retired  and  was  succeeded  by 
Capt.  Harry  H.  Hartenstein.  On  the  death  of  Chief  Hartenstein  in 
September,  1917,  Detective  James  Watkins  was  appointed  chief  and  still 
holds  that  position. 

From  a  force  of  4  men  in   1868  and   16  men  in   1891,  the  Youngs- 


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278       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

town  police  department  has  been  increased  to  an  organization  of  150  men 
and  women,  working  on  a  modern  three-shift  system. 

Youngstown  Fire  Department 

The  organization  on  which  Youngstown  depends  for  protection  against 
fires  is  of  even  more  recent  origin  than  the  police  department,  although 
the  beginning  of  the  modern  fire  department  dates  from  the  same  time. 

Fire  fighting  was  purely  a  volunteer  work  for  almost  three-quarters 
of  a  century  after  the  founding  of  Youngstown.  When  a  blaze  threatened 
home  or  business  establishment  the  sole  reliance  against  the  fire  fiend  was 
willing  neighbors.  The  "bucket  brigade"  inherited  from  pioneer  days 
survived  through  the  days  of  Youngstown  as  a  village,  and  not  until  the 
municipality  entered  the  grade  of  cities  was  there  even  the  slightest 
semblance  of  an  organized  fire  fighting  force. 

In  1867  Governor  David  Tod  built  a  city  residence  in  what  is  now 
Holmes  Street,  a  short  distance  north  of  Federal  Street,  with  the  intention 
of  moving  there  from  his  farm  known  as  "Brier  Hill,"  or  of  residing  there 
at  least  a  part  of  the  year.  In  the  winter  of  1867-68  the  home  was  burned, 
largely  because  Youngstown  had  no  equipment  capable  of  fighting  a  fire 
in  such  a  commodious  building. 

This  called  forcibly  to  the  attention  of  the  people  of  Youngstown 
the  need  of  a  fire  department  of  some  sort.  Not  alone  because  of  his 
own  loss,  but  rather  because  of  his  usual  public  spirit,  Governor  Tod  led 
in  the  movement  for  organizing  a  volunteer  fire  department  and  the 
securing  of  necessary  equipment.  It  was  at  first  proposed  to  raise  the 
required  amount  of  money  by  popular  subscription,  but  the  need  of  a 
comparatively  large  sum  was  soon  recognized  and  municipal  action  was 
urged.  On  March  2,  1868,  the  village  council  responded  by  authorizing  a 
bond  issue  of  $10,000  for  the  purpose  of  a  fire  engine. 

Even  this  amount,  however,  was  not  deemed  large  enough.  The  new 
city  government  came  into  existence  on  April  6,  1868,  and  on  April  14, 
1868,  city  council  authorized  a  bond  issue  of  $20,000  for  fire  equipment. 
A  Silsby  engine  that  was  immediately  named  the  "Governor  Tod"  was 
the  initial  equipment,  with  it  coming  the  reel  hose  wagon.  In  the  mean- 
time organization  of  the  volunteers  had  been  proceeding  and  on  April 
20,  1868,  was  completed.  The  first  volunteer  organization  had  a  mem- 
bership of  sixty,  and  was  under  the  following  officers : 

President  J.  M.  Silliman;  vice  president,  A.  W.  Jones;  secretary, 
J.  H.  Thompson;  treasurer,  Edward  Miller;  foreman,  James  J.  Hamman; 
first  assistant,  Dan  H.  Arnold ;  second  assistant,  L.  R.  Roberts ;  engineers, 
W.  S.  Hamilton,  N.  L.  Pollock  and  W.  B.  Wilson ;  hose  directors,  Owen 
Evans,  L.  P.  Gilman,  James  Van  Fleet,  C.  Miller,  T.  J.  Lewis,  John 
Davis;  fireman,  Henry  Morris;  assistant  fireman,  A.  W.  Jones.  Appro- 
priate uniforms  were  purchased,  of  course,  almost  immediately.  They 
were  used  for  the  first  time  when  the  volunteers  marched  at  the  funeral 
of  Governor  Tod  in  November,  1868. 

The  first  hook  and  ladder  company  was  organized  on  September  14, 
1871,  with  fifty  members.     The  officers  were,  foreman,  D.  D.  Hopper; 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       279 

first  assistant,  William  Fisher;  second  assistant,  J.  J.  Hamman;  axmen, 
I.  N.  Jones,  E.  Reel,  C.  A.  Smith  and  James  Probst;  laddermen,  E.  W. 
Johnson  and  William  Jennings ;  tillerman,  W.  E.  Morrison. 

On  May  6,  1873,  tne  office  of  chief  engineer  was  created  and  J.  W. 
Ross  was  named  to  fill  this  position.  Following  this  came  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  fire  police,  Robert  Riddle,  C.  T.  Metzger,  L.  Hellawell,  Charles 
Decker,  J.  Stevenson,  John  Casey,  Harrison  Sankey,  David  Osborn,  John 
McMillan,  Chauncey  Hamilton,  J.  W.  Metz,  N.  L.  Sibbet,  Joseph  Cook 
and  E.  W.  Johnson. 

In  1875  tne  tide  "chief  engineer,,  gave  way  to  plain  "chief. "  The 
volunteers  selected  Ross  for  this  place  also,  and  with  him  were  named 
the  following  officials:  Assistant  chief,  J.  W.  Metz;  fire  engineer,  W.  S. 
Hamilton;  hose  cart  driver,  Albert  Probst;  hook  and  ladder  marshal, 
Chauncey  Hamilton. 

.  In  1876  city  council  placed  the  chief  on  a  salary  of  $65  a  month,  which 
was  amended  a  year  later  to  $600  a  year.  Officers  elected  in  1876  were : 
Chief,  J.  W.  Metz;  assistant  chief,  Philip  McGonnell;  fire  engineer, 
W.  S.  Hamilton;  hose  cart  driver,  Albert  Probst. 

Charles  W.  McNab  was  elected  chief  in  1878  and  re-elected  in  1879. 
Associated  with  him  were  Assistant  Chief  Joseph  Cook;  Fire  Engineer 
W.  S.  Hamilton;  Hose  Cart  Driver  D.  H.  Evans.  Richard  Morgan 
served  as  chief  in  1880  and  William  Horner  in  1881,  while  E.  E.  Jones 
had  been  elected  fire  engineer  to  succeed  W.  S.  Hamilton. 

The  volunteer  organization  at  that  time  elected  its  own  officers  but 
the  selections  made  were  subject  to  ratification  by  city  council.  In  the 
spring  of  1882  a  serious  controversy  broke  out  between  the  volunteers 
and  council,  partly  a  dispute  over  supplies  and  partly  due  to  demands  for 
pay.  Council  finally  refused  to  recognize  the  officers  elected  by  the 
volunteer  organization  on  April  6,  1882,  and  on  May  8,  1882,  the  organi- 
zation resigned  in  a  body. 

Momentarily  it  appeared  as  though  Youngstown  was  going  to  be  with- 
out a  fire  fighting  organization  of  any  kind,  but  former  members  of  the 
department  came  to  the  rescue  in  this  emergency.  A  new  organization 
was  hastily  formed  with  Charles  W.  McNab  as  chief,  John  Lung  as  hose 
cart  driver  and  Albert  Probst  as  driver  of  the  hook  and  ladder  truck. 
The  new  organization  remained  and  the  fire  department  flourished  even 
to  the  extent  of  building  the  old  Central  fire  station,  a  structure  that  stood 
on  the  site  of  the  present  Central  station  and  is  familiar  in  memory  to 
many  residents  of  Youngstown. 

In  1883  William  H.  Moore  was  elected  chief,  and  in  1884  he  was  re- 
elected. At  the  same  time  three  regularly  paid  firemen  were  added  to  the 
department,  Ambrose  Perkins,  Charles  Vaughn  and  George  Batteiger 
being  assigned  to  these  places  at  a  salary  of  $60  a  month.  Provision  was 
also  made  for  the  payment  of  50  cents  an  hour  to  "minute  men,"  or 
volunteers  subject  to  call,  for  the  time  they  were  actually  engaged  in 
fire  fighting.  Chief  Moore  was  re-elected  in  1885  and  1886,  but  in  1887 
council  rejected  his  nomination  and  selected  John  P.  Mercer  instead.  In 
the  same  year  Michael  Quinn  and  William  Knox  were  added  to  the  paid 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       281 

force.  Sim  Dyer  had  been  made  hook  and  ladder  truck  driver  a  year 
previously. 

With  the  opening  of  No.  2  station  at  Oak  and  Fruit  streets,  in  1888, 
Warren  McCready,  William  H.  Loller  and  John  'McAleer  were  added  to 
the  department.  In  1S89  Michael  Sullivan  succeeded  James  Probst.  In 
1889  the  No.  3  station  in  Thomas  Street  was  opened  with  Sim  Dyer, 
John  B.  Reynolds  and  Warren  McCready  in  charge.  John  P.  Mercer 
remained  as  chief  of  the  department  until  the  reorganization  in  189 1  when 
even  the  semblance  of  a  volunteer  department  went  out  of  existence. 

The  old  volunteers  were  among  the  most  picturesque  figures  of 
Youngstown  of  the  '6os  to  the  '8os.  Actuated  as  much  by  sheer  love 
of  their  work  as  by  hope  of  reward — most  of  them  actually  received  no 
pay — they  did  heroic  work  for  many  years.  They  were  a  rescue  squad 
in  time  of  floods  as  well  as  property  protectors  in  time  of  conflagration. 
There  is  no  more  enjoyable  pleasure  today  than  to  hear  the  stories  of  the 
few  surviving  volunteers  and  tales  of  battles  with  the  flames  when 
water  was  pumped  from  the  old  canal  and  there  was  no  motive  power 
for  the  fire  fighting  equipment  except  the  sturdy  volunteers  themselves. 
As  Youngstown  boasted  no  paved  streets  in  the  early  days  of  the  volun- 
teer department,  while  it  did  afford  plank  sidewalks,  the  volunteer  squad 
often  converted  itself  into  a  wrecking  crew  as  well  as  a  rescue  squad  by 
careening  down  the  sidewalks  of  Federal  Street  with  engine  and  hose 
reel,  to  the  destruction  of  sidewalk  stands  and  the  demoralization  of 
pedestrians. 

The  volunteers'  organization  was  social,  too,  and  the  banquets  and 
picnics  given  by  the  firemen  are  still  remembered  by  old  time  residents. 
This  social  feature,  in  fact,  was  maintained  by  the  Veteran  Volunteer 
Firemen's  Association  after  its  organization  on  December  21,  1895. 
The  New  Year's  Eve  masque  balls  that  continued  under  the  auspices  of 
this  organization  until  1916  were  unique  and  bizarre  affairs  that  drew 
hundreds  of  dancers  and  spectators  alike. 

The  volunteers  went  out  of  existence  almost  thirty  years  ago  and 
their  organization  is  scarcely  recognizable  in  the  great  department  of  today 
with  its  modern  equipment.  The  "Governor  Tod/'  that  sturdy  first 
engine  of  the  department,  gave  way  to  finer  pieces  of  mechanism,  yet 
remained  in  honored  retirement  until  June,  1919.  when  it  was  sold  for 
scrap  iron,  a  regrettable  fate  and  a  wholly  inexcusable  one.  It  is  not 
creditable  to  this  rich  city  that  this  valued  relic  should  have  been  bartered 
away  for  a  few  dollars. 

On  May  16,  1891,  the  board  of  city  commissioners  brought  into  ex- 
istence the  full  paid  fire  department  of  Youngstown.  The  appointees 
named  on  that  day  were,  William  H.  Moore,  chief ;  William  L.  Knox, 
assistant  chief;  Albert  Probst,  Sim  Dyer,  Warren  McCready,  Charles 
Vaughn,  Michael  Quinn,  William  II.  Loller,  Christ  Weick,  Thomas  C. 
Reilly,  Charles  Daley,  William  Evans,  David  Stambaugh,  Samuel  Mc- 
Kenzie,  Patrick  Dooley,  Willard  Smedley  and  John  Haid,  firemen. 

It  was  an  uphill  fight  that  Chief  Moore  made  for  ten  years  in  main- 
taining a  fire  department,  but  the  organization  grew  with  the  opening 
of  three  new  fire  houses,  built  in  1896.     Station  No.  4,  at  Falls  Avenue, 


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282  YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

was  opened  on  December  26,  1896;  Station  No.  5,  at  Superior  and  Oak- 
land, on  January  9,  1897,  and  Station  No.  6,  in  Wilson  Avenue,  on 
December  19,  1896. 

In  April,  1901,  Chief  Moore  and  Assistant  Chief  Knox  retired  and 
William  H.  Loller  was  named  chief  and  Thomas  C.  Reilly  assistant  chief. 
During  the  dozen  years  of  Chief  Loller's  regime  two  more  stations  were 
opened,  No.  7  at  Madison  Avenue  and  Elm  Street,  on  January  20,  1903, 
and  No.  8,  in  Market  Street,  on  July  26,  1908. 

The  chief  event  during  Chief  Loller's  term,  however,  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  motorization  of  the  fire  department,  a  work  that  was  com- 
pleted during  the  regime  of  his  successor.  Youngstown  has  the  distinction 
of  being  the  first  city  in  Ohio  to  install  motor  apparatus,  and  when  the 
department  became  completely  motorized,  on  August  13,  1913,  it  was  one 
of  the  first  cities  in  the  United  States  to  boast  of  possession  of  this  modern 
equipment. 

Fighting  fires  is  not  the  only  work  that  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  the 
Youngstown  department.  It  has  a  complete  life  saving  squad  that  has 
been  called  upon  time  and  again,  especially  in  times  of  flood.  Its  men 
are  ever  ready  to  risk  their  lives,  a  fact  that  is  testified  to  by  the  toll  of 
five  dead  who  have  perished  in  the  line  of  duty.  Those  who  made  the 
great  sacrifice  were  Assistant  Chief  Thomas  C.  Reilly  and  Capt.  Charles 
Vaughn,  both  killed  in  the  Knox  store  fire  of  October  1,  1908,  Hoseman 
Michael  McDonough  and  Hoseman  Smith  Cowden,  who  died  of  injuries 
sustained  in  the  Stambaugh  fire  of  November  1,  1901,  and  Capt.  Albert 
Probst,  who  met  his  death  in  the  Youngstown  Consolidated  Gas  &  Elec- 
tric Co.  fire  of  June  23,  1903. 

On  January  l ,  1913,  Chief  Loller  was  succeeded  by  Joseph  Wallace, 
who  remains  as  head  of  the  fire  department  and  has  brought  it  to  an 
even  higher  standard.  Under  his  administration  the  number  of  fire 
stations  has  been  increased  to  ten  with  the  opening  of  No.  10  station, 
Mahoning  Avenue,  on  April  7,  1913,  and  No.  1 1  station,  Poland  Avenue, 
on  June  13,  1914.  There  is  no  No.  9  station,  as  this  number  has  been 
retained  for  a  proposed  down-town  fire  house  when  the  Central  station  is 
abandoned  and  replaced  by  one  at  Spring  Common  and  one  in  the  Lower 
End  of  the  city,  an  improvement  that  is  now  under  contemplation. 

A  site  has  already  been  purchased  for  fire  station  No.  11,  in  the  Pine 
Hollow  District,  and  the  construction  of  this  house  authorized.  No.  3 
station,  recently  condemned,  is  about  to  be  rebuilt  and  still  another  station 
is  being  urged  for  the  Crandall  Park  District. 

The  volunteer  fire  fighting  force  of  fifty  years  ago  and  the  four  paid 
firemen  of  thirty-five  years  ago  have  been  replaced  by  a  department  that 
numbers  125  men  and  women.  Chief  Wallace  has  three  assistants,  John 
Haid,  first;  Herman  Steinfurth,  second,  and  William  H.  Bennett,  third 
assistant. 


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CHAPTER  XVI 

YOUNGSTOWN'S  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM 

Founding  of  First  School  in  the  Village  and  Township  and 
Growth  of  School  System — Institution  or  Public,  or  Union, 
Schools  in  1851 — Origin  and  Growth  of  Parochial  Schools — 
Private  School  System  and  Business  Colleges. 

Provision  for  education  in  Youngstown  antedates  the  founding  of  the 
city  itself  by  ten  years  or  more,  since  the  act  of  the  Connecticut  Legislature 
of  1786  offering  the  Western  Reserve  lands  of  the  state  for  sale  re- 
served 500  acres  in  each  township  for  the  support  of  the  schools.  No 
sales  of  land  in  what  is  now  the  city  of  Youngstown  were  made  under 
this  act,  nevertheless  these  Connecticut  lawmakers  with  their  profound 
belief  in  education  decreed  that  schooling  should  follow  any  extension 
of  Connecticut. 

It  was,  in  fact,  a  half  century  after  the  settlement  of  Youngstown 
before  there  was  any  adequate  school  system  here.  Education  was  not 
wholly  neglected  in  the  meantime,  of  course.  As  early  as  1802  or  1803 
the  handful  of  settlers  made  the  initial  provision  for  schooling  their 
children  by  the  erection  of  a  one-room  log  school  building  in  the  public 
square.  The  first  teacher  was  Perlee  Brush,  a  bachelor  of  perhaps 
more  than  ordinary  attainments  who  later  became  a  lawyer  and  still 
later  a  farmer. 

Brush  remained  for  several  years,  teaching  reading,  writing,  spelling 
and  arithmetic  and,  to  the  more  ambitious,  geography  and  grammar. 
There  were  three  months  of  winter  school  at  that  time — December, 
January  and  February — and  a  second  term  in  the  early  summer  that 
lasted  well  into  July.  Frequently  adults,  even  married  persons  some- 
what older  than  the  teacher,  attended  the  winter  school  to  make  up  for 
opportunities  lost  in  their  youth.  School  hours  were  from  9  in  the 
morning  until  4  in  the  afternoon  except  on  Saturdays  when  school  was 
dismissed  at  noon.  Salaries  paid  male  teachers  were  $10  to  $12  a  month, 
while  female  teachers  had  to  be  content  with  $4  or  $5.  The  teachers, 
of  course,  "boarded  'round/'  their  keep  being  in  addition  to  the  month- 
ly wage.  Salaries  were  not  always  paid  in  cash;  currency  being  per- 
haps the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.  Clothing,  farm  produce,  pro- 
visions, wood,  even  whisky  was  often  contributed  in  lieu  of  money. 
The  furniture  of  the  school  buildings  was  of  the  crudest.  A  hewn  log 
with  four  pegs  driven  in  for  legs  sufficed  as  a  place  for.  the  pupils  to 
sit.    There  was  no  place  whereon  to  rest  their  backs.     A  board  placed 

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284       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

against  the  wall  in  a  slanting  position  was  the  writing  desk.  As  to 
teachers'  qualifications,  Dr.  Henry  Manning  wrote,  on  his  arrival  here 
in  1811,  that  "if  a  man  could  read  tolerably  well,  was  a  good  writer,  and 
could  cypher  as  far  as  the  rule  of  three,  knew  how  to  use  the  birch 
scientifically,  and  had  firmness  enough  to  exercise  this  skill,  he  would 
pass  muster."  From  the  same  authority  we  learn  that  there  were  four 
schools  in  Youngstown  Township  at  this  date,  the  village  school  on  the 
public  square,  one  on  the  Isaac  Powers'  farm,  one  at  Cornersburg  and 
one  near  the  Parkhurst  mills  on  Mill  Creek. 

On  March  31,  1818,  Jabez  P.  Manning  effected  a  better  organiza- 
tion of  the  village  school  by  entering  into  a  contract  with  subscribers 
to  teach  for  the  quarter  term,  the  rate  of  pay  to  be  $1.75  per  pupil. 
There  were  40^  subscribers  (parents  or  patrons  of  pupils)  so  that 
his  compensation  for  the  three-months  term  was  approximately  $70. 
The  subscribers  also  obligated  themselves  to  furnish  "wood  and  all 
other  things  necessary  for  the  use  of  the  school." 

These  subscribers,  largely  residents  of  the  village,  included  George 
Tod,  John  E.  Woodbridge,  Homer  Hine,  Henry  Wick,  Philip  Stam- 
baugh,  Samuel  Vail,  Robert  Kyle,  George  Hardman,  James  Davidson, 
Polly  Chapman,  Jerry  Tibbits,  John  F.  Townsend,  Henry  Manning, 
William  Bell,  Jonathan  Smith,  Moses  Crawford,  William  Cleland,  Mar- 
garet Murdock,  William  Potter,  William  Rayen,  William  Morris,  Noah 
Chamberlain,  Richard  Young,  James  Duncan,  Mrs.  McCullough  and 
Byron  Baldwin. 

In  1823  a  two-story  frame  school  building  was  built  on  the  site  now 
occupied  by  the  Diamond  Block,  fronting  on  the  public  square.  This 
building  was  paid  for  by  popular  subscription  and  was  used  until  about 
1850.     Soon  after  1820  the  log  school  in  the  square  was  abandoned. 

On  May  22,  1826,  the  trustees  of  Youngstown  Township,  James  Hill- 
man,  Henry  Manning  and  William  O.  Rice,  complied  with  the  school 
law  of  1825  by  dividing  Youngstown  Township  into  school  districts 
and  arranging  for  a  better  school  system.  Under  this  statute  Ohio 
townships  and  school  districts  were  compelled  to  retain  instructors  for 
the  children.  The  division  of  Youngstown  Township  was  made  into 
seven  full  districts  and  two  fractional  districts  and  included  the  follow- 
ing resident  householders  in  1826: 

First  district,  including  the  village  and  adjoining  territory  to  the 
north,  south  and  east — Richard  Holland,  Solomon  Holland,  Daniel 
Sheehy,  James  Davidson,  Homer  Hine,  John  Loughridge,  Peter  Rcpsher, 
Margaret  Murdock,  Henry  Manning,  James  McCartney,  Henry  Wick, 
Joshiah  Policy,  Samuel  Bryson,  Abraham  Lackey,  Solomon  Chapman, 
Mrs.  Fitch,  Wilson  Thorn,  Jeremiah  Scannell,  William  Wick.  James 
Hezlep,  Peter  Kline,  Philip  Kimmel,  Rev.  M.  Harned,  Daniel  S.  Morley, 
Robert  Pollock,  William  Morris,  Charles  Dutton,  Singleton  King, 
George  Hardman,  Jonathan  I.  Tod,  William  Rayen,  Jonathan  Smith, 
James  M.  Smith,  John  Day,  Moses  Crawford,  William  Curtis,  Jonathan 
Edwards,  John  E.  Woodbridge,  Alexander  McKinnie,  George  Cook, 
John  Bissel,  John  Hayes,  Robert  Kyle,  David  LeRoy,  Jacob  B.  Heaton, 
Levi    Morley,    Andrew    McKinnie,   Daniel    McDaniel,    Samuel    Hayden, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       285 

Christopher  Hayden,  Joshiah  Polley,  Jr.,  Mary  Dabney,  Peter  Everett 
and  Frederick  Ague. 

Second  district,  northeast  part  of  township — John  Swager,  John 
Derrick,  James  Moore,  Robert  McDonald,  Michael  Storm,  Isaac  Swager, 
Joseph  Rees,  Adam  Swager,  Joseph  Kerr,  Thomas  Watt,  James  Wilcox, 
John  Kimmel,  Daniel  Thornton,  Richard  Young,  William  O.  Rice, 
Joseph  Meglathery,  Dorcas  Caldwell,  Noah  Chamberlain,  Thomas 
Pauley,  Elizabeth  Baldwin,  Jeremiah  Allen,  Joseph  Cartney,  Erastus 
Cowdry,  James  Mackey,  Edward  Boyd,  Christopher  Sowers,  Byron 
Baldwin,  Neal  Campbell,  Kitty  Bryson  and  Henry  Matthews. 

Third  district,  north  part  of  township — George  Tod,  Archibald 
Beggs,  James  Wilson,  Andrew  Wilson,  James  H.  Protzman,  James 
Beard,  John  Stambaugh,  Justus  Dunn,  John  Murberger,  Peter  Wirt, 
Solomon  Kline  and  Christopher  Hollingsworth. 

Fourth  district,  west  part  of  township — Thomas  Ferrell,  Alexander 
Kinkead,  Marmaduke  Bright,  James  Rayen,  John  Rush,  John  Rush,  Jr., 
Eli  Rush,  John  Madden,  Joseph  Williamson,  James  McKinnie,  Stephen 
Baldwin,  John  Kyle,  Cornelius  Thomson,  George  Restler,  Philip  Mike- 
sell,  Jacob  Phister,  John  Gibson,  Robert  D.  Gibson,  James  Gibson,  Henry 
Meglathery,  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  Jonathan  Stout,  James  Hillman, 
George  Snider,  Matthew  Pool,  Martha  Knox,  Francis  Woodley,  Samuel 
Gibson  and  Pyatt  Williamson. 

Fifth  district,  northwest  part  of  township — John  Beard,  John  Bent- 
ley,  James  Taylor,  William  Smith,  William  Reid,  Robert  Holyrod,  Elener 
Lightbourn,  Anthony  Ague,  James  Kyle,  Joshiah  Robbins,  Hugh  Beard, 
Peter  Wonsettler,  John  Dougherty,  Michael  Rayen,  Alida  Ransom,  Jonas 
Foster,  David  Arner,  Amos  O.  Stoddard,  Joseph  Paul,  Daniel  Schell,  John 
Frederick,  Jedediah  Fitch,  Moses  Dray  and  Jacob  Wycoff. 

Sixth  district,  southwestern  part  of  township^John  Woods,  William 
West,  William  White,  Elisha  Blake,  John  White,  Joshua  Kyle,  James 
Price,  William  Hetfield,  Mrs.  Cleveland,  James  Fitch,  John  McCorkle, 
Joseph  Osborn,  George  Stall,  Phoebe  Cook,  Anthony  Osborn,  Mrs.  Ross, 
Thomas  Potts,  Isaac  Heaton,  James  Beggs,  James  White,  Luther  Babbitt, 
George  Hull,  Thomas  Woodard,  Jonathan  Shores  and  Martha  Woodard. 

Seventh  district,  northwest  part  of  township — John  Hogge,  Abram 
Powers,  Jacob  Powers,  Joseph  Wilson,  Eli  Phillips,  Aaron  Phillips,  Chris- 
topher Erwin,  Robert  Kinkaid,  J.  Crowell,  Samuel  White,  John  Browher, 
Aaron  Osborn,  Jr.,  Thomas  Erwin,  Abraham  Osborn,  Jacob  Erwin,  David 
Vestle,  Lewis  Swaney,  Robert  Kerr,  Humphrey  Goff,  Mrs.  Rigall,  Thomas 
Davidson,  Jesse  Bailey,  Robert  Patrick  and  William  Near. 

Cornersburg  district — Henry  Hull,  Jacob  Hull,  Samuel  Turner,  Nath- 
aniel Swift,  Abram  Leach,  Joseph  St  rock  and  Michael  Hanson. 

Powers  district — Isaac  Powers,  John  Shannon,  Frederick  Hake  and 
Joseph  Kennedy. 

About  1826  a  second  school  was  built  within  the  village,  this  being 
located  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  settlement  about  where  the  plant 
of  the  W.  B.  Pollock  Company  now  stands.  In  1827  Dr.  Henry  Manning 
opened  a  private  school  in  a  building  at  Wood  and  Champion  streets,  using 
a  structure  that  had  at  first  beerr  intended  for  church  purposes.    By  1840 


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286       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

school  accommodations  had  become  insufficient  and.  in  that  year  a  two- 
room  frame  school  was  erected  at  Front  and  Phelps  streets.  This  build- 
ing was  a  historic  one,  for  the  site  on  which  it  stood  was  used  for  school 
purposes  longer  than  any  other  location  in  Youngstown.  The  frame  build- 
ing eventually  gave  way  to  the  three-story  brick  school,  known  for 
years  as  the  "Front  Street,"  or  "Central,"  school,  a  structure  that  is 
still  standing  although  abandoned  for  school  purposes  a  dozen  years 
ago,  after  the  Front  and  Phelps  streets  location  had  been  used  for  school 
purposes  for  almost  seventy  years. 

On  March  7,  1838,  the  position  of  school  commissioner  of  Ohio  was 
created  by  an  act  of  'the  Legislature  and  a  better  system  of  common 
school  education  was  urged  on  all  townships,  provision  being  made  for  a 
state  grant  to  assist  in  supporting  the  schools.  It  is  notable  that  when 
an  attempt  was  made  at  this  time  to  extend  education  opportunities  to 
colored  as  well  as  white  children  only  two  members  of  the  Ohio  Senate 
voted  in  the  affirmative,  these  being  Senator  Benjamin  F.  Wade  of  Ash- 
tabula County  and  Senator  Leicester  King  of  Trumbull  County.  Trum- 
bull County  then  included  Youngstown  Township  and  nine  other  town- 
ships of  what  is  now  Mahoning  County. 

On  February  21,  1849,  the  Ohio  assembly  passed  legislation  provid- 
ing for  a  "union"  school  system  in  Ohio,  to  include  municipalities  of 
200  or  more  population.  The  public  school  system  of  Ohio  actually  dates 
only  from  this  time. 

Previous  to  this,  it  should  be  understood,  schools  supported  exclu- 
sively by  public  funds  were  unknown  in  Youngstown,  or  in  the  state. 
Except  for  private  educational  institutions  the  schools  were  open  to  all 
children,  but  the  parent  paid  the  tuition  fee  for  each  child  directly. 
After  1825  each  township  was  compelled  to  maintain  schools,  but  the 
system  of  direct  support  remained  for  another  twenty-five  years  in 
Youngstown. 

The  act  of  1849,  however,  provided  for  public,  or  "union,"  schools 
supported  by  established  funds  instead  of  by  tuition  fees.  In  1850  Wil- 
liam Travis  of  Jefferson  County,  Ohio,  came  to  Youngstown  as  a  teacher 
and  immediately  interested  himself  in  the  establishment  of  a  union 
school  system  here.  He  was  a  man  of  college  education  and  an  en- 
thusiast on  the  union  school  subject,  being  peculiarly  fitted  therefore  for 
the  task  ahead  of  him.  At  first  there  was  much  opposition  to  the  proposal, 
for  many  parents  objected  vigorously  to  being  taxed  "to  pay  for  the 
schooling  of  other  people's  children,",  but  Travis  persisted.  A  public 
gathering  was  finally  arranged  for  March  20,  1850,  when  John  Hutchins 
of  Warren  delivered  an  address  on  the  subject,  and  following  this  there 
was  increased  discussion. 

Converts  multiplied  and  favorable  sentiment  increased  until  an  elec- 
tion on  the  question  of  the  adoption  of  a  union  school  system  was  held 
on  April  12,  1851,  when  seventy-five  votes  were  cast  for  adoption  and 
five  against.  The  small  vote  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  acceptance  was 
considered  inevitable  at  this  time. 

The  union  school  act  of  1849  provided  for  the  creation  of  a  school 
board  of  six  members  in  boroughs  where  the  union  school  system  had 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       287 

been  adopted,  and  as  Youngstown  had  in  the  meantime  become  an  in- 
corporated borough,  or  village,  an  election  was  called  here  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  board  elected  consisted  of  Henry  Manning,  Dr.  Theodatus 
Garlick,  William  J.  Edwards,  Wilson  S.  Thorn,  Jesse  Baldwin  and  A.  D. 
Jacobs,  a  most  representative  body  of  men.  The  board  formally  organ- 
ized on  May  3,  1851,  when  Doctor  Manning  was  elected  president,  Wil- 
liam J.  Edwards,  secretary,  and  Wilson  S.  Thorn,  treasurer.  Ridgeley  J. 
Powers  was  appointed  school  examiner  for  two  years  and  R.  W.  Tayler 
for  three  years. 

This  first  board  of  education  of  Youngstown  was  charged  not  alone 
with  the  management  of  the  schools  but  with  their  organization.  Pro- 
vision first  had  to  be  made  for  their  support  and  this  was  done  by  direct- 
ing the  auditor  of  Mahoning  County  "to  make  out  a  tax  on  the  property 
of  the  district  of  three  mills  on  the  dollar  for  school  purposes  in  said  dis- 
trict." This  revenue  was  supplemented  by  moneys  derived  from  the 
Western  Reserve  fund,  the  state  school  fund  and  from  incidental  sources. 
High  school  as  well  as  grade  school  courses  were  provided  for — the 
schools  in  fact  being  divided  into  high  school,  grammar,  secondary  and 
primary.  Samuel  F.  Cooper  was  elected  the  first  superintendent  of 
schools,  his  salary  being  fixed  at  $500  a  year.  The  pay  of  the  teaching 
staff  ranged  from  this  figure  down  to  $140  a  year  for  primary  teachers. 

The  union  school  system  was  formally  launched  on  September  15, 
185 1.  At  that  time  there  were  three  school  buildings  in  the  village,  the 
school  fronting  on  Central  Square  (dignified  by  the  name  of  "the  acad- 
emy") ;  the  school  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  village,  and  the  Central,  or 
Front  Street,  school.  The  instruction  given  in  the  high  school  depart- 
ment included  geometry,  algebra,  chemistry,  botany,  physiology,  arithme- 
tic, geography,  English  grammar,  reading  and  history;  in  the  grammar 
school,  reading,  writing,  spelling  and  arithmetic  with  first  lessons  in 
grammar;  in  the  secondary  school  a  lower  grade  of  reading,  spelling, 
writing  and  elementary  arithmetic ;  in  the  primary  school  the  familiar  A, 
B,  C's  and  the  first  reading  lessons.  In  the  first  term  of  the  union  schools 
the  number  of  scholars  enrolled  was  386. 

A  partial  list  of  school  teachers  in  Youngstown  Township  from  the 
opening  of  the  first  log  school  to  the  establishment  of  the  public  school 
system  shows  that  James  Noyes  succeeded  Perlee  Brush  about  1816,  or 
perhaps  earlier,  Jabez  P.  Manning  taught  here  in  1818,  Fanny  Ross  about 
1819,  Phoebe  Wick  about  1820,  Mary  Case  at  about  the  same  date,  Mr. 
Robinson  about  1827,  Mr.  Black  about  1828,  Hiram  B.  Floyd  in  1829, 
Jane  Taylor  in  1831,  Loraine  Marvin  in  1832-33,  Mr.  Stafford  1834-36, 
Mr.  Metcalf  in  1835,  Mr.  Parrett  in  1838,  James  Thorn,  Hiram  A.  Hall 
and  George  Seaton  between  1840  and  1845,  Mr.  Gillespie,  Betsey  Kirk 
and  Susan  Standish  in  1845,  Mr.  Yates  in  1846,  E.  B.  Starkweather  and 
Louis  Phillips  in  1847,  and  Miss  Thompson  in  1848. 

With  the  opening  of  the  public  schools  Mrs.  Samuel  F.  Cooper  was 
elected  assistant  teacher  in  the  high  school,  Superintendent  Cooper  being 
teacher.  Rev.  W.  S.  Gray  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  secondary  depart- 
ment and  Alice  Kirk,  Miss  Upson,  Eliza  Powers  and  Huldah  Holcomb 
in  charge  of  the  primary  department. 


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288       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

On  August  16,  1853,  Superintendent  Cooper  was  succeeded  by  a  man 
who  was  destined  to  have  a  profound  effect  on  education  in  Youngstown 
and  who  is  still  remembered  with  love  and  gratitude  by  thousands  of 
Youngstown  residents.  This  was  Reuben  McMillan,  a  former  school 
superintendent  at  Hanoverton  and  Lisbon,  Columbiana  County,  but  then 
living  in  retirement  on  a  farm  at  Canfield.  On  this  occasion  Superintend- 
ent McMillan  remained  but  two  years,  teaching  the  high  school  as  well 
as  acting  as  superintendent,  but  his  entire  course  of  service  in  Youngs- 
town was  destined  to  cover  more  than  thirty  years. 

Superintendent  McMillan  was  succeeded  in  1855  by  Ephraim  Miller, 
who  gave  way  in  1856  to  Charles  H.  Lathrop.  A.  B.  Cornell  was  elected 
superintendent  in  1857  and  remained  until  1859,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Dwight  Hubbard,  who  in  turn  was  replaced  by  H.  A.  Hall  in  i860. 
In  1861  Reuben  McMillan  returned  at  a  salary  of  $1,100,  his  previous 
salary  having  been  $500. 

In  the  meantime  school  facilities  had  become  insufficient,  and  on 
February  19,  1859,  a  public  meeting  was  held  at  the  town  school  to  dis- 
cuss the  erection  of  a  new  school.  After  much  protest  against  the  "ex- 
travagance,'  it  was  finally  decided  to  raise  $7,500  for  the  purchase  of  a 
site. and  construction  of  a  school.  The  location  finally  picked  was  in 
Wood  Street  (then  Cole  Street)  where  a  lot  was  purchased  for  $800  and 
a  building  erected  at  a  cost  of  less  than  $6,000.  This  building,  with  addi- 
tions made  in  1884,  stood  until  a  few  years  ago,  when  it  was  replaced  by 
the  present  Wood  Street  school  on  the  same  site.  By  this  time  the  Cen- 
tral Square  School  had  been  abandoned  and  the  school  on  the  Pollock  site 
had  gone  out  of  existence  as  well,  but  a  frame  school  building  had  been 
erected  on  the  West  Side. 

In  1867  Superintendent  McMillan  was  forced  by  failing  health  to 
relinquish  his  position  and  he  was  succeeded  by  P.  T.  Caldwell,  who  re- 
mained until  1872.  During  the  last  year  of  Superintendent  McMillan's 
incumbency,  however,  the  school  system  of  the  village  had  been  immeas- 
urably improved  by  the  opening  of  the  Rayen  School  and  the  transferring 
of  the  high  school  department  to  that  building. 

After  five  years'  rest  Mr.  McMillan  had  sufficiently  recuperated  that 
he  resumed  his  duties  as  superintendent  of  the  Youngstown  schools.  On 
this  occasion  he  remained  until  1886  when  he  returned  to  Canfield  where 
he  lived  in  retirement  until  his  death  in  1898. 

The  school  accommodations  had  been  increased  in  the  meantime  by 
the  construction  of  the  Covington  Street  School  and  the  erection  of  a 
frame  school  building  in  Oak  Street.  This  latter  building  was  burned 
down  in  1877  and  was  replaced  by  a  four-room  brick  building  that  has 
twice  been  enlarged  and  is  still  in  use.  The  same  year  an  eight-room 
brick  building  replaced  the  two-room  frame  building  on  the  West  Side 
that  was  then  the  oldest  school  in  the  city.  In  1881  a  two- room  addition 
was  made  to  the  Covington  Street  School  and  a  two-room  structure  erected 
on  the  West  Side,  six  more  rooms  being  added  here  in  1882.  The  Hill- 
man  Street  School  was  built  in  1884. 

Superintendent  McMillan  was  succeeded  by  Frederick  A.  Treudley 
who  remained  as  superintendent  of  the  Youngstown  schools  for  sixteen 


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Reuben  McMillan 


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296       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

years.  Superintendent  Truedley's  incumbency  is  still  remembered  by 
even  the  younger  graduates  of  Youngstown  public  schools  and  is  recalled 
with  pleasure,  as  he  was  one  of  the  kindliest  of  men,  distinguished  in  ap- 
pearance and  exceptionally  well  qualified.  The  growth  of  the  Youngs- 
town school  system  was  favorable  during  his  term,  although  perhaps  not 
rapid,  as  Youngstown's  increase  in  population  was  not  great  during  this 
period.  The  extension  of  the  city  limits,  however,  widened  his  field  of 
supervision  greatly  after  1889  and  the  schools  thrived  and  advanced  under 
his  ministrations.  New  schools  were  built  to  service  outlying  parts  of 
the  city  and  new  courses  added. 

The  administration  of  Superintendent  Treudley  was  ended  by  his 
retirement  in  1902.  Many  eligible  men  were  proposed  to  succeed  him, 
the  board  of  education  finally  selecting  Dr.  N.  H.  Chaney  of  Chillicothe, 
who  assumed  charge  of  the  schools  in  September,  1902. 

The  modern  school  system  of  Youngstown  has  been  a  development 
of  the  incumbency  of  Doctor  Chaney.  In  fact  the  system  has  undergone 
such  pronounced  changes  that  it  might  be  said  to  bear  almost  no  relation 
to  the  system  of  twenty  years  ago.  Not  only  have  theories  of  education 
been  altered  in  that  time,  but  Youngstown  has  been  transposed  as  well 
from  a  "town"  to  a  great  city.  The  population  has  virtually  tripled  since 
1902,  and  in  addition  to  keeping  abreast  of  the  times  by  adopting  modern 
and  approved  methods,  there  has  been  the  added  burden  of  trying  to  keep 
abreast  of  the  growth  of  the  municipality. 

Doctor  Chaney's  work  has  not  only  been  successful,  but,  considering 
the  handicaps,  exceptionally  successful.  There  has  probably  been  not  a 
year  in  his  entire  regime  that  the  public  school  accommodations  have  been 
adequate.  Instead  of  relief  from  this  situation  it  has  been  growing  worse 
annually  although  the  greater  part  of  Youngstown's  school  construction 
has  been  since,  the  dawning  of  the  twentieth  century.  Since  the  era  of 
high  wages  began  four  years  ago  the  problem  of  securing  a  sufficient 
number  of  qualified  instructors  has  been  added  to  other  burdens,  and  at 
times  it  has  been  the  greatest  burden  of  all.  The  heavy  salary  increase 
granted  within  the  past  year  has  placed  Youngstown  in  the  front  rank 
of  cities  in  respect  to  teachers!  emoluments,  but  considering  the  training 
and  ability  required  of  a  teacher  the  entire  school  force  from  the  superin- 
tendent down  is  paid  little  enough. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  call  attention  to  the  additions  made  to  the 
work  of  the  city  schools  during  Doctor  Chaney's  administration  to  realize 
the  vast  changes  made  since  1902.  In  the  grade  schools  these  additions 
include,  school  savings  banks,  supervised  play,  department  of  hygiene  and 
physical  education,  manual  training,  domestic  art  and  science,  huniane 
and  safety  first  training,  medical  inspection  and  school  nurse  system,  spe- 
cial classes  for  defectives,  kindergartens,  psychological  clinic  and  chil- 
dren's service  bureau.  With  these  added  to  the  old  established  courses 
of  education  the  whole  theory  of  school  training  might  be  said  to  have 
been  altered.  In  the  high  schools,  too,  the  useful  academic  courses  have 
been  retained  but  to  them  has  been  added  practical  courses,  including 
commercial  work,  domestic  art  and  science,  biology,  iron  and  molding, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       291 

music  and  credits.  In  this  time  South  High  School  has  been  built  and 
opened  and  the  high  school  capacity  qi  the  city  probably  quadrupled. 

Today  the  public  school  holdings  of  Youngstown  consist  of  buildings 
worth  $2,820,000  on  lands  valued  at  $550,000,  together  with  apparatus, 
furniture  and  libraries — the  value  of  all  public  school  properties  being 
probably  $3,500,000.  There  are  two  high  schools  with  76  teachers  and 
2,138  pupils  and  43  elementary  schools  with  489  teachers  and  18,273 
pupils ;  a  grand  total  of  565  teachers  and  20,41 1  pupils. 

These  schools  have  all  the  usual  academic  studies  and  also  many  of 
the  industrial  arts.  They  have  six  kindergartens  in  addition  to  the  five 
others  operated  by  the  kindergarten  association,  and  all  the  new  depart- 
ments mentioned  above,  the  psychological  clinic,  special  teachers  for 
mental  defectives  and  the  near  blind  and  deaf  and  opportunity  rooms  for 
the  slow  and  the  hindered,  a  medical  department  of  doctors  and  nurses 
and  a  strong  department  of  physical  education  and  athletics.  They  co- 
operate closely  with  all  other  educational  forces  of  the  city.  Twelve 
school  buildings  are  used  as  social  centers  and  thirteen  schools  have  play- 
grounds. 

An  additional  grade  school  building,  the  twenty-four-room  U.  S. 
Grant  School,  is  under  construction,  and  a  twenty-room  addition  is  being 
built  to  the  Washington  School.  In  addition  to  this  Doctor  Chaney  has 
recommended  to  the  board  of  education  a  building  program  that  calls  for 
four  junior  high  schools,  in  the  east,  west,  north  and  south  parts  of  the 
city,  and  additions  to  present  grade  school  buildings  totaling  sixty-two 
rooms.  While  this  is  an  immense  and  ambitious  program  it  is  a  necessary 
one,  if  high  schools  and  grade  schools  alike  are  to  be  given  badly  needed 
relief.  The  junior  high  school  system  is  especially  desirable,  as  the  high 
schools  are  as  badly  congested  today  as  the  grade  schools.  Fewer  new 
schools  but  larger  ones  is  a  reform  also  urged.  A  revision  of  the  course 
of  study  and  the  adoption  of  a  new  text  book  was  also  urged  by  Doctor 
Chaney  in  January,  1920. 

After  eighteen  years'  service  Doctor  Chaney  retired  as  superinten- 
dent of  schools  in  June,  1920,  but  was  elected  superintendent-emeritus 
for  the  year  1920-21.  He  was  succeeded  as  superintendent  by  O.  L. 
Reid,  of  Louisville,  Kentucky. 

Rayen  School 

During  the  many  years  that  Judge  William  Rayen  was  one  of  the 
leading  figures  in  Youngstown  educational  opportunities  were  most 
limited.  A  profound  believer  m  the  value  of  education  and  a  thorough 
democrat  by  instinct,  although  a  man  of  wealth  and  .of  big  affairs,  Judge 
Rayen  provided  in  his  will  for  a  residuary  fund,  the  principal  of  which 
was  vested  in  trustees  who  were  authorized  to  use  the  income  derived  in 
establishing  and  maintaining  an  institution  to  be  known  as  Rayen  School, 
which  was  to  be  free  to  all  children  of  Youngstown  regardless  of  color 
or  creed.  The  will,  in  fact,  provided  that :  "As  this  school  is  designed 
for  the  benefit  of  all  youth  of  the  township,  without  regard  to  religious 
denominations  or  differences,  and  that  none  may  be  excluded  for  such  or 


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292       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

like  reasons  or  grounds,  I  hereby  prohibit  the  teaching  therein  of  the 
peculiar  religious  tenets  or  doctrines  of  any  denomination  or  sect  what- 
ever; at  the  same  time  I  enjoin  that  no  others  be  employed  as  teachers 
than  those  of  good  moral  character  and  habits." 

The  will  was  drawn  in  1852  and  Judge  Rayen  died  in  1854.  To  per- 
mit the  instructions  in  the  will  to  be  carried  out  an  act  of  the  Legislature 
was  passed  in  1856  "to  provide  for  the  government  of  schools  and  acad- 
emies especially  endowed. *'  By  virtue  of  this  act  the  Common  Pleas 
Court  appointed  a  board  of  five  trustees  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the 
will,  Jonathan  Warner,  Charles  Howard,  Charles  C.  Cook,  James  Mackey 
and  Robert  \V.  Mackey  being  named  in  June,  1857.     A  year  later  the 


Original  Rayen  School  Building 

executors  of  the  estate  delivered  to  the  trustees  securities  to  the  amount 
°f  $3T*390-9°  as  the  school  fund.  The  lot  on  which  the  present  school 
stands  was  purchased  and  when  sufficient  interest  had  accrued  a  commo- 
dious four-room  brick  school  was  erected  thereon.  The  school  was 
opened  in  1866  with  forty  pupils,  Prof.  Edwin  S.  Gregory  being 
retained  as  principal  and  Miss  Emma  Cutler  as  assistant,  Reuben  Mc- 
Millan being  in  charge  of  organizing  the  institution.  In  the  years  that 
had  elapsed  since  the  death  of  Judge  Rayen,  however,  conditions  had 
altered  in  Youngstown  municipality  and  township.  "Free"  schools  had 
been  established  and  education  was  assured  children  of  any  color  or 
creed.  Because  of  th:s  Rayen  School  was  made  a  city  and  township  high 
school  instead  of  the  grade  school  he  had  proposed  to  found. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        293 

The  first  class  was  graduated  at  Ray  en  School  in  1868,  and  for  almost 
fifty-five  years  it  has  had  an  honored  existence.  In  1878  Professor 
Gregory  was  succeeded  as  principal  by  A.  J.  Michael  who  remained  but  a 
year,  or  until  1879.  Middleton  S.  Campbell  was  made  principal  in  that 
year  and  remained  until  1883  when  he  was  succeeded  by  B.  M.  Hill,  who 
gave  way  in  1891  to  George  F.  Jewett. 

Even  before  this  the  demands  on  Ray  en  School  exceeded  the  accom- 
modations, and  in  1894  a  large  addition  was  made  to  the  rear  of  the  old 
structure.  Ten  years  later  the  school  had  become  so  inadequate  that  a 
movement  was  instituted  looking  toward  greater  accommodations.  It 
was  several  years  before  this  finally  bore  fruit,  but  in  1910  relief  was 
afforded  by  the  construction  of  an  addition  at  a  cost  of  $55,000,  this 
addition  being  built  to  front  on  Wood  Street.  It  provides  also  the  public 
school  headquarters,  the  land  on  which  it  stands  having  been  purchased 
by  the  board  of  education  from  the  board  of  Rayen  trustees. 

The  Rayen  trust  fund  does  not,  of  course,  provide  sufficient  funds  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  high  school.  The  major  share  is  borne  by  the 
city  and  the  school  is  under  joint  control  of  the  city  school  board  and  the 
Rayen  trustees. 

In  1901  Professor  Jewett  resigned  and  Wells  L.  Griswold  was  named 
in  his  place.  Mr.  Griswold  remained  until  191 1  when  he  accepted  a 
responsible  position  with  a  local  trust  company  and  was  succeeded  by 
Edwin  F.  Miller,  the  present  principal,  who  had  been  assistant  to  Mr. 
Jewett  and  Mr.  Griswold.    F.  F.  Herr  is  assistant  principal. 

On  January  13,  1920,  the  board  of  education  voted  to  enter  into  an 
agreement  with  the  board  of  Rayen  trustees  to  build  a  new  Rayen  High 
School  on  the  eleven-acre  site  at  Ohio,  Benita  and* Detroit  avenues, 
owned  by  the  Rayen  trustees.  The  new  school,  which  will  cost  about 
$1,000,000  when  completed,  will  be  governed  jointly  by  the  board  of 
education  and  the  board  of  Rayen  trustees,  under  the  present  plan  of 
operation.  It  will  be  a  most  modern  institution,  with  a  splendid  athletic 
field  as  an  accessory.  This  will  mean,  of  course,  the  passing  of  the  old 
Rayen  school  building  and  the  surrender  of  its  historic  site  to  encroach- 
ing business. 

South  High  School 

Historical  South  High  School  does  not  rank  with  Rayen  School,  for 
it  was  established  in  the  routine  manner  and  is  an  institution  young  in 
years  although  the  equal  in  every  other  way  of  the  North  Side  institution. 
In  fact  it  has  the  advantages  common  to  new  educational  institutions  in 
modern  equipment  and  construction  and  has  a  larger  attendance. 

The  need  of  a  high  school  south  of  the  river  became  apparent  soon 
after  the  opening  of  that  part  of  the  city  in  1899.  Differences  relative 
to  location,  as  well  as  many  other  considerations,  delayed  its  construction 
for  many  years,  but  in  1909  construction  was  finally  authorized  and  a 
site  on  the  old  Williamson  farm  in  Market  Street  at  the  foot  of  Warren 
Avenue  was  purchased  in  that  year  for  $48,500.  The  erection  of  the 
building  at  a  cost  of  approximately  $140,000  was  begun  the  same  year 


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294       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

and  in  September,  191 1,  the  school  was  formally  opened.  The  building 
is  a  handsome  three-story  structure  of  Italian  renaissance  and  Georgian 
colonial  style,  with  a  frontage  of  195  feet  and  a  depth  of  115  feet.  Lo- 
cated 250  feet  back  from  the  street  it  is  most  imposing.  In  the  rear  is  a 
splendid  athletic  field,  scene  of  countless  feats  of  physical  strength  and 
skill  and  especially  of  the  annual  Thanksgiving  football  game  between 
Rayen  and  South,  an  event  that  is  not  merely  a  school  affair  but  is  a 
recognized  Youngstown  institution. 

C.  B.  Dyke  was  named  principal  of  South  High  School  when  it  was 
opened  in  191 1.  Mr.  Dyke  wag  succeeded  in  1914  by  W.  E.  Severance, 
who  remained  until  1917  when  C.  E.  Reed  was  engaged.  Principal 
Reed '  resigned  in  June,  1920.  George  P.  Chatterton  is  the  assistant 
principal. 

In  both  the  high  schools  the  work  has  been  broadened  in  a  remarkable 
manner  in  the  last  nine  years  until  they  rank  near  the  top  in  the  list  of 
high  schools  of  the  country. 

Grade  Schools  and  School  Authorities 

The  public  grade  schools  are  the  Adams,  Brier  Hill,  Caldwell,  Cov- 
ington, Cochran  Park,  Delason,  Dewey,  Dry  Run,  Elm,  Fairmount,  Fos- 
terville,  •  Garfield,  Haselton,  Harrison,  Hillman,  Jackson,  Jefferson,  Kin- 
caid,  Kyles  Corners,  Lincoln,  Madison,  Market,  Monroe,  Myrtle,  Mc- 
Guffey,  McKinley,  Oak,  Park  Hill,  Perkins,  Parmelee,  Poland,  Pleasant 
Grove,  Princeton,  Roosevelt,  Shehy,  Stambaugh,  Steelton,  South  Avenue, 
Tod,  Washington,  West  Side  and  Wood. 

Members  of  the  board  of  education  for  1920-21  are,  Mrs.  R.  S.  Baker, 
president;  Mrs.  T.  J.  Bray,  Henry  A.  Butler,  L.  U.  Hulin,  Mrs.  T.  J. 
Inglis,  C.  A.  Manchester,  Thomas  McDonald,  George  Rudge,  Jr.,  and 
W.  J.  Thompson. 

The  board  of  Rayen  trustees  consists  of  W.  T.  Gibson,  Jonathan 
Warner,  Bales  M.  Campbell,  Robert  Bentley  and  M.  E.  Dennison. 

Catholic  Parochial  Schools 

Catholic  schools  had  their  beginning  in  Youngstown  less  than  ten 
years  after  the  inception  of  the  public  school  system  of  today.  The  birth 
of  the  parochial  school  system  was  in  i860,  or  shortly  after  the  assign- 
ment of  the  first  resident  Catholic  pastor  to  Youngstown.  This  was  in 
keeping  with  the  system  of  this  church  which  teaches  that  in  childhood 
years  the  work  of  religious  instruction  which  is  the  duty  of  parents  of 
any  creed  should  be  supplemented  by  daily  instruction  in  seeking  the  king- 
dom of  God.  In  keeping  with  this  doctrine  the  Catholic  Church  usually 
follows  the  construction  of  a  church  immediately  with  the  construction  of 
a  school.  Not  infrequently,  in  fact,  the  school  precedes  the  church,  and 
invariably  it  is  given  the  preference  when  limited  funds  make  impossible 
the  construction  of  two  structures  of  the  size  actually  needed.  That 
cultivation  of  the  mind  alone  is  not  sufficient,  that  the  home  nourishes  and 
the  church  strengthens,  but  the  school  spreads  before  the  growing  intel- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       295 

lect  the  beauty  of  that  ideal  that  the  world  cannot  dim  nor  the  years 
erase,  is  the  principle  acted  upon  in  the  encouragement  of  the  parochial 
school  system. 

Rev.  William  O'Connor  was  appointed  the  first  pastor  of  St.  Co- 
lumba's  Church,  the  pioneer  Catholic  Church  of  Youngstoiyn,  in  1858, 
and  two  years  later  secured  a  small  frame  building  and  opened  therein  a 
school  taught  by  two  lay  teachers.  In  1864  Rev-  Eugene  M.  O'Callaghan 
opened  a  more  commodious  school  in  the  basement  of  the  brick  church 
that  had  b$en  erected  in  1863  by  the  members  of  St.  Columba's  parish — 
which  included  all  Youngstown  and  vicinity.  Lay  teachers  remained  in 
charge  until  1868  when  they  were  succeeded  by  the  Sisters  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Mary.  The  sisters  remained  until  1871,  when  lay  teachers  were 
again  employed. 

A  year  before,  in  1870,  Father  O'Callaghan,  purchased  a  lot  at  Elm 
Street  and  Rayen  Avenue  as  a  site  for  school  and  began  construction  at 
once.  The  school  was  opened  in  1871  by  Rev.  W.  J.  Gibbons,  who  suc- 
ceeded to  the  pastorate  that  year,  and  for  the  next  five  years  it  was  taught 
by  the  lay  teachers. 

» In  1876  Rev.  P.  H.  Browne  placed  the  Ursuline  Sisters  in  charge  of 
the  parochial  schools  of  Youngstown.  The  modern  parochial  school 
system  might  be  said  to  date  from  this  time,  for  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Ursulines  the  schools  expanded  and  increased  and  many  Youngstown 
men  today  who  are  of  the  Catholic  faith  look  back  with  a  feeling  of  thank- 
fulness on  the  guidance  and  instruction  of  the  Ursulines.  The  local 
community  of  this  order  was  organized  on  September  18,  1874,  when 
seven  of  these  nuns  came  from  Cleveland,  their  first  home  being  a  small 
frame  structure  adjoining  St.  Columba's  School.  In  1878  seven  Ursulines 
came  from  Toledo  to  supplement  this  community.  Mother  Lawrence  is 
the  only  survivor  of  the  band  that  came  here  forty-two  years  ago.  Sister 
M.  Columba,  still  an  active  instructress,  was  the  first  person  received 
into  the  community  after  its  establishment. 

St.  Columba's  early  history  is  as  given  above.  The  school  building, 
erected  fifty  years  ago,  is  still  in  daily  use,  and  while  not  as  stately  as  it 
seemed  in  1870,  answers  all  purposes  well.  It  has  been  remodeled  sev- 
eral times,  the  last  occasion  being  but  four  years  ago.  The  present  corps 
of  instructors  includes  eight  Ursuline  Sisters.  The  attendance  at  the 
school  is  425. 

St.  Ann's  Parish  School  appears  to  have  been  established  in  1869  with 
the  founding  of  the  parish,  when  a  frame  building  that  had  been  used  for 
store  purposes  was  purchased  by  Rev.  E.  J.  Murphy  and  converted  into 
a  combination  church  and  school.  Lay  teachers  were  in  charge.  In  1872 
a  school  building  was  erected  and  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Humility  of 
Mary  were  engaged  as  teachers.  In  1898  a  two-story  frame  school  build- 
ing was  erected  adjoining  the  new  church  at  West  Federal  and  Jefferson 
streets  and  in  the  same  year  the  Ursuline  Sisters  were  given  charge  of  the 
school.  They  have  remained  since,  four  members  of  this  order  being 
instructors  there  now.    There  are  175  pupils  in  the  school. 

St.  Joseph's  School  was  organized  in  1870  by  Rev.  Peter  Becker,  and 
with  the  opening  of  the  present  St.  Joseph's  Church  in  1884  the  small 


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296       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

church  building  in  the  rear  was  converted  to  school  purposes.  In  1892 
Rev.  John  Klute  purchased  a  site  at  West  Rayen  Avenue  and  Phelps 
Street,  and  in  1893  the  present  three-story  building  on  that  location  was 
opened  as  a  school  and  parish  assembly  place.  The  Ursulines  were  the 
original  instructors  at  St.  Joseph's  and  remained  until  a  few  years  ago, 
when  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  were  placed  in  charge.  The  present 
enrollment  at  St.  Joseph's  is  in  the  neighborhood  of  300,  the  instructors 
being  seven  in  number. 

Immaculate  Conception  School,  located  in  Oak  Street,  dates  back  to 
the  opening  months  of  1883,  when  classes  were  formed  and  school  opened 
in  the  four  rooms  on  the  first  floor  of  the  newly  completed  church  and 
parish  building.  It  became  necessary  later  to  hold  additional  classes  in 
temporary  quarters,  but  with  the  dedication  of  the  present  church  edifice, 
in  1890,  the  old  church  building  was  converted  entirely  to  school  pur- 
poses. The  present  school,  opened  in  1906,  is  a  handsome  brick  structure 
with  creditable  school  equipment.  The  school  is  in  charge  of  nine  Ursu- 
line  Sisters.  The  attendance  at  the  Immaculate  Conception  School  is 
about  475. 

St.  Patrick's  School,  Oak  Hill  Avenue  and  McKinnie  Street,  is  one 
of  the  newest  parochial  schools  in  the  city  but  its  very  youth  gives  it 
advantages  for  it  is  one  of  the  most  modernly  equipped  and  complete 
schools  in  the  city,  public  or  parochial.  It  is  also  the  largest  Catholic 
school  in  Youngstown,  the  building  being  one  of  sixteen  study  and 
recitation  rooms  with  parish  assembly  rooms  in  the  basement.  The  at- 
tendance approximates  700,  by  far  the  largest  in  the  city.  St.  Patrick's 
was  opened  in  1914,  and  since  the  beginning  has  been  in  charge  of  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  whose  mother  house  is  located  at  West  Park,  Cleve- 
land. There  are  eleven  sisters  on  the  teaching  staff  now  and  they  are 
assisted  by  three  lay  teachers. 

St.  Edward's  School,  at  Ohio  and  Benita  avenues,  was  opened  for 
classes  in  September,  191 7,  and  has  been  most  successful  in  the  three 
years  of  its  existence.  The  school  building  is  a  modern  structure  and 
will  have  increased  accommodation  with  the  construction  of  the  proposed 
new  church  on  an  adjoining  site,  services  being  held  now  in  the  school 
building.  St.  Edward's  is  taught  by  seven  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Humility  of 
Mary.    The  attendance  at  St.  Edward's  is  250. 

Sts.  Cyril  and  Methodious  School  for  children  of  Slovak  parents  was 
opened  in  1904.  The  brick  building  in  Watt  Street  that  houses  the  school 
is  a  parish  gathering  place  as  well,  and  a  most  creditable  structure.  The 
attendance  at  the  school  is  about  475,  the  pupils  being  under  the  care  of 
Ursuline  Sisters.     The  teachers  include  eight  Ursuline  Sisters. 

St.  Stanislaus  School,  connected  with  the  Polish  parish  of  that  name, 
was  opened  in  1904  at  its  present  location  in  South  Avenue.  It  ranks 
well  among  the  parochial  schools  in  point  of  attendance,  the  number  of 
pupils  being  350.    St.  Stanislaus  is  taught  by  seven  Franciscan  Sisters. 

Sts.  Peter  and  Paul  School,  West  Rayen  Avenue,  is  identified  with 
the  Croatian  parish  of  the  same  name  and  was  opened  in  19 14.  It  has 
an  attendance  of  200  and  is  taught  by  four  Ursuline  Sisters. 

St.  Anthony's  School  is  part  of  the  Italian  parish  of  St.  Anthony's, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       297 

Calvin  Street,  but  is  a  cosmopolitan  institution,  since  children  whose  par- 
ents represent  seven  nationalities  are  enrolled  therein.  The  school  was 
opened  in  1907  and  has  an  attendance  now  of  105  pupils.  The  instructors 
are  two  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Humility  of  Mary  and  one  lay  teacher. 

St.  Matthias  School  in  Homewood  Avenue  is  for  children  of  Slovak 
parents  and  was  opened  in  1916.  The  school  is  a  flourishing  institution 
with  an  attendance  of  200  pupils  taught  by  three  Sisters  of  Charity. 

The  Ursuline  Academy,  founded  in  1874  and  incorporated  in  1882, 
is  conducted  as  a  day  school  for  girls,  while  boys  are  received  up  to  the 
fourth  grade.  The  curriculum  of  studies  provides  for  a  thorough  train- 
ing in  the  various  branches  required  for  a  liberal  education,  beginning 
with  elementary  work  and  extending  to  the  completion  of  high  school  or 
college  preparatory  courses.  Secular  education  of  the  highest  efficiency 
is  combined  with  religious  training. 

In  1919  the  Ursuline  community  purchased  the  C.  H.  Andrews  home 
in  Wick  Avemie,  and  in  September  of  that  year  the  academic,  or  high 
school,  classes  were  transferred  there.  The  splendid  building  on  these 
premises  is  located  amid  beautiful  surroundings,  and  with  the  expansion 
of  their  work  the  sisters  will  have  one  of  the  finest  and  most  modern  of 
schools  there. 

Recently  founded  Catholic  parochial  schools  include  St.  Elizabeth's 
Slovak  School  in  Haseltine  Avenue  and  St.  Nicholas*  Greek  Catholic 
School  in  Wilson  Avenue. 

The  Catholic  parochial  schools  are  supported  entirely  by  the  members 
of  the  various  parishes  and  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  diocesan 
superintendent  of  schools,  Rev.  William  A.  Kane,  of  Cleveland.  The 
parish  pastors  act  as  assistant  superintendents.  In  1914  the  work  of 
unifying  the  curriculum  was  begun,  and  the  Cleveland  diocese  is  now 
leading  the  way  in  drafting  a  uniform  system  of  instruction  for  the 
Catholic  schools  of  the  United  States.  The  attendance  at  the  local  schools 
is  unusually  large,  approximating  4,000  pupils. 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Parochial  Schools 

The  Lutheran  parochial  school  system,  conducted  in  connection  with 
the  church  of  that  denomination,  is  founded  on  the  principle  enunciated 
by  Daniel  Webster  that,  "Whatever  makes  men  good  Christians,  makes 
them  good  citizens. '  It  is  to  accomplish  both  the  making  of  good  Chris- 
tians and  good  citizens  that  the  Lutheran  Church  maintains,  wherever 
possible,  parish  schools.  These  institutions  are  supported  by  the  con- 
tributions of  members  of  the  respective  congregations.  In  them  are 
taught  not  only  all  the  secular  branches  included  in  the  public  school 
curriculum,  but  systematic  instruction  is  also  given  in  Biblical  subjects. 
The  teachers  in  these  schools  are,  without  exception,  graduates  of  a 
normal  school  and  seminary  and  well  qualified  and  equipped  for  service 
as  instructors  of  the  children  entrusted  to  their  charge.  There  are  three 
of  these  parish  schools  in  Youngstown. 

Martin  Luther  School,  the  oldest  and  largest  of  Lutheran  Schools 
in  Mahoning  County,  is  maintained  by  the  Martin  Luther  Church,  located 


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298       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

at  Wood  and  Champion  streets.  Steps  were  originally  taken  to  found 
this  school  soon  after  the  organization  of  the  church  congregation  in  1859, 
but  the  effort  was  not  successful  until  1870,  when  Rev.  G.  F.  K.  Meiser, 
the  pastor,  taught  a  school  during  the  summer.  His  work  was  so  suc- 
cessful that  in  1876  Prof.  A.  W.  Lindeman,  the  first  regular  teacher, 
was  called.  The  first  school  building,  a  small  frame  structure  well  re- 
membered by  many  of  the  older  residents  of  Youngstown,  was  erected 
in  1877.  Professor  Lindeman  was  called  to  another  field  in  1881,  and 
for  the  next  two  years  the  pastor  and  an  assistant  conducted  the  school. 
These  were  trying  days  for  the  institution  and  those  responsible  for  its 
work,  but  they  overcame  obstacles  and  brighter  days  followed.  In  1883 
William  Burger  was  engaged  as  teacher,  remaining,  two  years  or  until 
succeeded  by  Robert  O.  Kieling  in  1885.  Under  the  stern  but  efficient 
leadership  of  Professor  Kieling,  who  was  afterwards  a  justice  of  the  peace 
of  Youngstown  Township,  the  school  prospered  and  grew  in  size  until 
there  were  102  children  under  his  care. 

Within  a  few  years  this  necessitated  not  only  the  acquiring  of  more 
school  room  and  facilities,  but  also  the  calling  of  another  teacher.  The 
former  need  was  met  by  the  construction,  in  1892,  of  an  addition  to  the 
church  edifice,  which  also  provided  added  school  rooms,  and  the  latter  by 
engaging  Otto  Klotz,  a  graduate  of  the  Woodville,  Ohio,  Normal  School 
as  second  teacher.  Teachers  following  Mr.  Klotz  were  Miss  Caroline 
Walther,  Miss  Clara  Soennichsen  and  Leo  Blumenschein.  In  1900  Mr. 
Kieling's  resignation  was  reluctantly  accepted  by  the  congregation  and 
A.  G.  Linseman  was  called  in  his  place.  Mr.  Linseman  died  in  1903  and 
was  succeeded  by  Prof.  C.  F.  Theiss,  who,  with  Prof.  W.  Nischwitz, 
make  up  the  present  teaching  staff.  Rev.  F.  J.  Schellhase  is  supervisor 
of  the  school. 

The  school  today  is  housed  in  a  modern  brick  building,  built  in  1912, 
during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  E.  G.  Richter.  The  number  of  pupils  is  126 
and  only  a  lack  of  accommodations  prevents  a  greater  enrollment.  The 
efficiency  of  the  school  often  finds  acknowledgment  from  the  public  school 
authorities  by  favorable  comment  and  the  promotion  of  the  scholars. 

St.  Paul's  School  was  formed  in  1881  with  the  organization  of  St. 
Paul's  Lutheran  congregation  and  the  school  building  was  constructed  at 
the  same  time  as  the  church.  It  was  opened  for  classes  in  September, 
1881,  and  within  a  year  the  attendance  had  increased  until  the  school- 
house  was  enlarged  and  a  second  teacher  called.  In  1893  a  modern  and 
spacious  schoolhouse  was  built  and  the  efficiency  of  the  school  increased 
until  the  institution  was  able  to  give  not  only  a  thorough  religious  train- 
ing but  to  keep  pace  with  the  public  schools  in  secular  education. 

The  first  seven  grades  are  taught  at  St.  Paul's,  the  pupils  ranging  from 
six  to  thirteen  years  of  age.  They  are  sent  to  the  public  schools  for  their 
eighth  grade  education.  The  present  attendance  is  ninety  pupils,  the 
instructors  being  William  F.  Bieritz  and  F.  J.  Nickel. 

Immanuel  Lutheran  School,  Highland  Avenue  and  Lafayette  Street, 
was  organized  in  1882  along  with  the  Immanuel  Lutheran  congregation, 
and  has  been  maintained  by  the  parish  since.  Here,  too,  the  pupils  in- 
clude those  enrolled  in  the  first  seven  grades,  or  until  the  time  of  their 


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Group  of  Youngstown  Schools 


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300       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

confirmation  at  about  thirteen  years,  when  they  are  admitted  to  the 
eighth  grade  of  the  public  schools.  The  average  enrollment  is  now 
about  fifty  pupils,  and  since  its  founding  approximately  300  pupils  from 
Immanuel  School  have  been  confirmed  in  the  Immanuel  Church. 

In  the  early  years  this  school  was  in  charge  of  the  pastor  of  the 
parish,  but  since  1898  the  congregation  has  employed  a  regular  teacher. 
The  instructors  who  have  served  here  include,  Theodore  Kosche,  1898- 
1906;  H.  C.  Beck,  1906-08;  A.  C.  Blomenberg,  1908-15;  E.  Glawe,  1916- 
18;  E.  P.  Gremel,  present  teacher. 

Hebrew  Schools 

The  Youngstown  Hebrew  Institute  was  founded  in  1907  and  a  con- 
gregational school  established  in  connection  with  the  Emanuel  Congrega- 
tion, 117  East  Rayen  Avenue.  The  study  rooms  were  fitted  up  in  a 
frame  building  attached  to  the  church,  and  in  the  rear  of  that  building. 
Here  the  school  was  conducted  until  1919,  when  its  attendance  had  in- 
creased to  such  a  degree  that  more  ample  accommodations  were  necessary 
and  arrangements  were  made  to  hold  classes  in  the  Wood  Street  public 
school  building-  after  the  regular  school  hours.  The  attendance  is  now 
150  and  the  teaching  staff  includes  M.  Altshuler,  principal;  E.  Bazel,  A, 
Abrumovitz  and  E.  S.  Hochman. 

A  second  Hebrew  congregational  school  is  conducted  at  the  Elm 
Street  public  school  building  for  the  youth  of  the  Children  of  Israel  Con- 
gregation. The  class  here,  numbering  approximately  fifty  pupils,  is 
taught  by  M.  Eidelman. 

In  these  schools  instructions  are  given  in  the  first  six  grades,  the 
pupils  being  taught  to  speak  and  write  the  Hebrew  language,  religious 
training  being  given  in  connection  with  the  secular  education. 

Yale  School 

The  Yale  School,  recognized  as  one  of  the  standard  private  schools 
of  the  country,  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  small  neighborhood  kindergarten  of 
the  early  '90s.  By  1897  tne  school  had  grown  to  such  proportions  that  a 
school  building  was  erected  in  Yale  Avenue,  but,  in  spite  of  additions  to 
the  building  in  1899  and  again  in  1902,  the  school  had  grown  to  such 
proportions  by  another  tea  years  that  still  more  ample  accommodations 
were  necessary.  At  this  time,  too,  the  growth  of  the  city  had  been  such 
that  school  was  in  a  closely  built  residence  neighborhood  and  playgrounds 
were  lacking,  an  inconvenience  that  was  keenly  felt  as  the  movement  for 
greater  outdoor  training  had  begun  to  make  great  headway. 

Through  the  generosity  of  the  Yale  Land  Company  the  grounds  of 
the  Mahoning  Golf  Club  were  made  available  to  the  school.  The  club 
building  was  enlarged,  remodelled  and  equipped  for  school  purposes  and 
tennis  courts,  playgrounds  and  school  gardens  fitted  up.  Here  the  school 
has  remained  since,  the  location  at  Ohio  Avenue  and  Redondo  Road  being 
especially  admirable  because  of  its  proximity  to  Crandall  Park.  In  1919 
an  addition  was  made  possible  by  the  purchase  of  the  residence  adjoining 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        301 

the  tennis  courts,  this  being  fitted  up  for  junior  high  school  purposes. 
The  main  building  contains  four  class  rooms,  three  recitation  rooms,  a 
kindergarten  workshop,  art  room,  lunch  room  and  gymnasium. 

The  school  is  divided  into  three  departments,  the  kindergarten  and 
grade  school,  the  elementary  department,  which  includes  grades  two  to 
six  inclusive,  and  the  junior  high  school  which  includes  the  grades  be- 
ginning with  the  seventh  and  continuing  through  the  high  school  year. 
The  school  staff  includes,  Alice  D.  Holmes,  principal;  H.  L.  Holshoy,  M. 
Annis  Goodell  and  Elizabeth  H.  Frey,  junior  high  school;  Ora  M.  Blon, 
Erma  M.  Miller,  Myrna  McGeehon,  elementary  school;  Ruth  Leffler  and 
Lyndall  H.  Erdman,  kindergarten;  Ruth  Bennington,  Helen  Stryker, 
Alfred  Benson  and  Josephine  Lamy,  special  teachers. 

Business  Colleges 

The  first  business,  or  commercial  college  in  Youngstown,  was  estab- 
lished in  1872  by  Professor  Miller,  who  later  disposed  of  his  school  to 
Courtney,  Hall  and  Beardsley,  the  latter  selling  the  school  in  1880.  Suc- 
cessive institutions  were  opened  and  flourished  or  passed  out  of  existence. 
Today  there  are  three  of  these  schools,  the  Youngstown-Browne  Busi- 
ness College,  16  West  Federal  Street;  Hall  Business  University,  124 
East  Federal  Street,  and  Isabel  McGrath  Business  School,  Knights  of 
Columbus  Building. 

The  value  of  these  schools  is  apparent  every  day  in  the  business  life 
of  Youngstown.  Here  are  trained  the  efficient  helpers  in  business  houses 
who  later  hold  the  responsible  positions  in  these  institutions.  They  are 
one  of  the  assets  of  the  city. 


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CHAPTER  XVII 

YOUNGSTOWN  IN  THE  RELIGIOUS  WORLD 

Story  of  the  Early  and  the  Later-Day  Activities  of  the  Various 
Denominations — History  of  the  Founding  of  Individual 
Churches. 

Religious  exercises  in  Youngstown  date  back  almost  to  the  beginning 
of  the  settlement,  nearly  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago.  The  growth  of 
organized  church  bodies  was  not  rapid  in  the  early  days,  hardly  in  keep- 
ing in  fact  with  the  growth  of  the  village.  By  1840  there  were  but  three 
churches  with  resident  pastors. 

Ten  years  later,  however,  there  was  a  noticeable  increase,  and  today 
there  are  approximately  100  organized  congregations  in  Youngstown, 
aside  from  many  missions  and  Sunday  schools.  Practically  all  creeds" 
are  represented.  Recently  an  advanced  step  has  been  taken  by  the 
Protestant  Church  organizations  in  the  creation  of  The  Federated 
Churches,  a  centralized  organization  that  acts  as  a  clearing  house  for 
interests  common  to  all  the  churches  and  to  the  community  and  formu- 
lates plans  for  evangelism,  religious  education  and  social  betterment. 
Rev.  Joseph  E.  Priestley  has  capably  filled  the  position  of  executive 
secretary  of  this  body  since  it  was  formed. 

Youngstown  churches,  either  directly  or  through  allied  societies,  are 
carrying  on  a  vast  amount  of  charitable  and  social  welfare  work,  much 
more  than  the  non-churchgoing  public  generally  realizes.  This  is  true 
of  every  creed  and  denomination  and  it  is  also  true  that  work  of  this 
character  is  being  extended  daily,  to  the  immense  profit  of  the  city. 

Presbyterian 

As  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  Western  Reserve  were  largely  from 
Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania  it  is  but  natural  that  the  Presbyterian 
religion  predominated  among  them  and  that  this  should  have  been  the 
pioneer  religious  body  of  Youngstown. 

Services  under  the  leadership  of  an  ordained  missionary  from  Penn- 
sylvania may  have  been  held  at  Youngstown  as  early  as  1798,  but  the 
first  record  of  such  services  is  in  1799  when  Rev.  William  Wick  preached 
to  an  assemblage  of  settlers  here.  Born  on  Long  Island,  New  York, 
June  29,  1768,  Reverend  Wick  removed  to  Washington  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1790,  and  on  April  21,  1794,  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  McFarland.  Perhaps  a  year  later  he  began  to  study  for  the 
ministry,  and  on  August  28,  1799,  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel,  by 

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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       303 

the  Presbytery  of  Ohio.  His  visit  to  Youngstown  was  probably  a  month 
or  two  later. 

The  Presbytery  of  Ohio  had  been  formed  in  1798,  but  Reverend 
Wick's  first  call  was  to  the  pastorate  of  the  congregations  at  Hopewell 
and  Neshannock,  Pennsylvania.  It  was  in  1801  before  his  assignment 
was  changed  to  Hopewell  and  Youngstown,  but  that  he  officiated  in 
Youngstown  in  1800  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  he  performed  here  on 
November  3,  1800,  the  first  marriage  ceremony  in  Youngstown,  officiat- 
ing at  the  wedding  of  Stephen  Baldwin  and  Rebecca  Rush. 

Before  Youngstown  had  been  put  in  his  charge  the  Presbyterian 
Society  had  been  formally  organized  in  Youngstown.  This  organiza- 
tion took  place  in  May,  1800,  and  it  is  possible  Reverend  Wick  was 
actually  the  pastor  from  the  beginning.  Rev.  Joseph  Badger,  pioneer 
missionary  from  Connecticut,  reached  here  in  December,  1800,  and 
speaks  of  arriving  "at  the  cabin  of  Rev.  Wick,"  who  was  "settled  in 
charge  of  three  small  settlements,  Hopewell,  Neshannock  and  Youngs- 
town a  few  weeks  before  I  reached  the  Reserve."  While  there  is  some 
confusion  regarding  exact  dates  of  early  activities  of  this  church  body, 
the  fact  remains  that  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Youngstown  was 
the  first  church  founded  on  the  Western  Reserve. 

William  Stewart  and  Caleb  Baldwin  were  the  original  elders  of  the 
church.  When  the  first  church  edifice  was  erected  is  also  a  matter  of 
doubt  but  apparently  it  was  built  about  1802.  This  meeting  house  stood 
in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  present  Rayen  school  lot,  or  directly  across 
Wick  Avenue  from  the  present  church.  This  building,  according  to  the 
recollection  of  a  "pioneer  member  of  the  church,  was  constructed  of 
hewn  logs  and  was  perhaps  30  by  40  feet  in  dimensions.  The  door  was 
in  the  south  end,  opening  onto  the  road  that  is  now  Wood  Street.  The 
edifice  was  comfortably  furnished  for  its  day.  The  congregation  was 
made  up  of  residents  of  surrounding  townships  as  well  as  settlers  in 
Youngstown. 

Reverend  Wick's  pastorate  ended  with  his  death  on  March  29,  181 5, 
at  the  early  age  of  forty-seven  years.  Never  a  robust  man,  the  hard- 
ships of  pioneer  days  had  sapped  his  strength,  for  he  had  retained  his 
charge  at  Hopewell  and  ministered  to  it  even  though  it  meant  a  long 
journey  through  the  wilderness. 

On  October  2,  1801,  Youngstown  was  attached  to  the  Presbytery  of 
Erie  and  in  1808  became  part  of  the  Presbytery  of  Hartford.  On  June 
25,  1 81 7,  Rev.  John  Core  succeeded  to  the  Youngstown  pastorate,  having 
charge  also  of  the  Brookfield  and  Vienna  congregations.  Reverend  Core 
established  the  first  Sunday  school  at  the  Youngstown  church  and  re- 
mained until  April  10,  1823.  Rev.  Enoch  Bouton  supplied  the  church 
from  1824  to  1826  and  Rev.  Nathan  Harned  from  1826  to  1829,  the 
latter  being  succeeded  by  Rev.  Ward  Stafford  who  was  installed  on 
April  S,  1830. 

After  twenty-five  years  of  occupancy  the  old  church  became  unsuit- 
able and  a  movement  was  instituted  for  a  new  edifice.  A  lot  was  pur- 
chased at  what  is  now  Wood  and  Champion  streets  and  the  erection  of 
brick  building  begun,  but  the  congregation  became  mistrustful  of  the 


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304       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

strength  of  this  structure  and  it  was  abandoned.  There  was  a  sharp 
division  of  opinion  then  as  to  a  new  location,  but  a  site  was  finally  pur- 
chased in  Federal  Street  between  Champion  and  Walnut  streets,  and  a 
frame  building  put  up  that  was  opened  early  in  1832. 

Reverend  Stafford  remained  until  1837,  and  in  1839  Rev.  Charles  A. 
Boardman  accepted  a  call  to  the  church.  The  beginning  of  his  pastorate 
marked  the  acceptance  of  the  "new  school"  doctrine  by  the  church  and 
he  remained  as  shepherd  of  the  flock  for  fifteen  years,  or  until  1854. 
Rev.  Frederick  H.  Brown  supplied  the  church  from  1855  to  1859,  and 
he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Levi  B.  Wilson,  who  was  installed  on  Novem- 
ber 5,  1859.  Under  his  pastorate  the  membership  increased  rapidly  and 
the  "movement  for  a  new  church  was  instituted,  with  the  result  that  con- 
struction of  the  present  edifice  was  begun  in  1866,  the  church  being 
completed  in  1868. 

Youngstown  had  been  transferred  to  the  Trumbull  Presbytery  in 
1839,  and  in  1870  the  Mahoning  Presbytery  was  created.  Coincident 
with  this  change  began  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Daniel  H.  Evans,  D.  D., 
who  remained  for  more  than  thirty  years.  It  was  a  period  of  great 
growth  in  the  congregation.  In  1889  the  Helen  Chapel  was  erected  by- 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Myron  C.  Wick  in  memory  of  their  daughter  Helen,  the 
dedication  taking  place  on  May  4,  1890.  In  July,  1899,  Rev.  William 
Herbert  Hudnut,  D.  D.,  became  co-pastor  of  the  church  and  in  May. 
1900,  the  Old  First  Church  celebrated  its  centennial  with  a  week's  exer- 
cises beginning  on  Sunday  the  27th,  and  lasting  throughout  the  week. 

On  March  31,  1901,  Doctor  Evans  retired  from  the  pastorate  and 
was  succeeded  by  Doctor  Hudnut,  who  is  still  pastor.  The  First  Church 
has  expanded  its  work  greatly  under  Doctor  Hudnut's  ministry,  one  of 
its  valuable  auxiliaries  being  a  foreign  department  instituted  in  1917,  with 
Miss  Katherine  McNally  as  director.  The  Wayside  Mission  is  another 
noted  church  activity. 

Other  Presbyterian  Churches 

The  earliest  branch  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  was  the  Second 
Church,  founded  in  1874.  This  congregation  flourished  in  the  West 
Rayen  Avenue  neighborhood  until  1886. 

Westminster  Presbyterian  Church  was  formed  in  1893  from  the 
First  Church,  152  members  allying  themselves  with  the  new  congrega- 
tion. The  members  worshiped  in  rented  quarters  for  some  time,  but 
on  November  13,  1898,  the  cornerstone  of  their  present  church  at  Mar- 
ket and  Front  streets  was  laid  and  in  1900  the  church  was  occupied. 
The  dedication  took  place  on  October  28,  1900.  Rev.  William  Garrison 
White  was  the  first  pastor  of  this  congregation,  serving  from  February, 
1894,  until  his  death  on  March  4,  1904.  He  wa*  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Thomas  J.  Stevenson,  who  in  turn  gave  way  to  Rev.  G.  Minor  Whit- 
enack.  Rev.  Henry  White  is  the  present  pastor,  having  succeeded 
Reverend  Whitenack  in  1914. 

The  Memorial  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized  in  1903  by  ninety- 
five  members  of  the  First  Church  who  wished  to  remain  under  the  pas- 
torate of  Dr.  Daniel  H.  Evans.     A  site,  was  purchased  at  Wick  and 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        303 

Madison  avenues,  the  cornerstone  of  the  new  church  was  laid  on  No- 
vember 9,  1903,  and  the  church  was  formally  organized  a  week  later. 
Services  were  conducted  in  the  building  for  the  first  time  on  August  7, 
1905.  Doctor  Evans  was  succeeded  as  pastor  by  Rev.  F.  R.  Dent,  who 
remained  until  1914,  when  Rev.  Charles  F.  N.  Voegelin  was  called.  He 
was  duly  installed  on  December  8,  1914,  and  is  still  in  charge. 

In  1883  a  mission  chapel  was  built  and  Sunday  school  organized  in 
Mahoning  Avenue,  and  in  1905  this  location  was  given  over  to  the 
Magyar  Evangelical  Reformed  Church,  allied  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  America.  This  congregation  had  been  organized  three  years 
previously.  A  stone  edifice  was  built  to  replace  the  chapel,  and  dedicated 
on  October  15,  1905,  with  Rev.  Geza  Kacziany  as  the  first  pastor.  This 
church  is  flourishing,  with  Rev.  Ladislaus  Gerenday  as  pastor,  he  having 
succeeded  Rev.  J.  M.  Hanko  in  1919. 

The  Evergreen  Presbyterian  Church  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  union 
mission  Sunday  school  held  in  a  building  in  Iron  Street,  now  Wayne 
Avenue.  This  was  subsequently  transferred  to  the  Presbyterian  Church 
and,  on  April  27,  1903,  preliminary  steps  were  taken  toward  organizing 
a  church.  The  church  was  formally  organized  on  August  8,  1904,  and 
on  May  5,  1905,  Rev.  Francis  A.  Kearns  was  installed  as  pastor.  Tem- 
porary meeting  places  sufficed  for  the  church  until  the  erection  of  the 
present  church  building  at  Market  Street  and  Earl  Avenue  in  1909. 
Rev.  W.  C.  Press  has  been  pastor  of  the  congregation  for  more  than  ten 
years,  except  for  a  period  of  a  year  and  a  half  in  1917-18,  when  he  was  a 
United  States  Army  chaplain  attached  to  Base  Hospital  No.  31,  in 
France. 

The  Foster  Memorial  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized  as  a  Sun- 
day school  following  the  Billy  Sunday  meetings  here  early  in  1910,  and 
remained  a  Sunday  school  and  mission  until  the  summer  of  1916,  when 
it  was  organized  as  a  church.  Rev.  J.  M.  Thompson  was  called  to  the 
pastorate  in  the  fall  of  191 6  and  has  successfully  ministered  to  this 
charge  until  June,  1920.  Services  are  held  in  the  former  Evergreen 
church  building,  which  was  moved  to  the  site  at  Glenwood  and  Indianola 
avenues. 

The  Slovak  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized  as  a  Sunday  school 
in  connection  with  the  First  church  and  for  several  years  met  in  the 
Helen  Chapel.  In  1919  it  became  an  organized  congregation  with  the 
construction  of  a  church  in  Lansingville,  Rev.  Joseph  Nadenicek  being 
pastor.  The  church  building  was  opened  for  worship  in  December, 
1919,  and  dedicated  in  June,  1920. 

The  Welsh  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized  in  1857  as  tne  Cal- 
vinistic  Methodist  Church,  and  in  1882  erected  a  church  at  Walnut  Street 
and  Rayen  Avenue.  In  1919  this  congregation  was  dissolved,  the  mem- 
bers allying  themselves  with  other  local  Presbyterian  churches. 

Methodist  Episcopal 

Methodism  in  this  field  dates  back  to  1802  when  Dr.  Shadrach  Bost- 
wick,  who  was  a  practicing  physician  as  well  as  an  itinerant  minister, 
located  at  Deerfield  under  appointment  of  the  Baltimore  conference,  the 


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306       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

field  assigned  to  him  being  under  the  care  of  Thornton  Fleming,  pre- 
siding elder  of  the  Pittsburgh  district.  His  first  visit  to  Youngstown, 
and  other  villages  of  what  is  now  Mahoning  County,  was  made  in  1803, 
when  he  preached  to  a  small  assemblage,  the  services  being  held  in  Judge 
Raven's  barn,  as  there  were  no  other  available  quarters. 

The  same  year,  1803,  Doctor  Bostwick  formed  the  first  Methodist 
Episcopal  Society  of  Youngstown.  It  numbered  but  six  persons,  Moses 
Crawford  and  wife,  John  Hogue  and  wife,  Isaac  Powers  and  Jeremiah 
Breaden.  Before  this  date  a  congregation  had  been  founded  at  West 
Hubbard,  and  Crawford  and  his  family  attended  meetings  there,  making 
the  journey  on  foot.  "Father"  Crawford,  in  fact,  was  the  leader  of  this 
class. 

Shortly  after  the  founding  of  the  society  the  use  of  the  log  school- 
house  on  the  public  square  was  secured,  and  services  were  held  here 
and  at  the  homes  of  Mr.  Crawford  and  Mr.  Hogue,  the  quarterly  meet- 
ings being  held  in  the  ballroom  of  Holland's  tavern.  Doctor  Bostwick 
settled  in  Youngstown  in  1804  and  practiced  medicine  and  preached  here 
until  1807  when  he  removed  to  Canfield,  where  he  died  in  1837.  In 
1805  the  Erie  and  Deerfield  circuits  were  combined,  embracing  a  terri- 
tory 400  miles  around,  with  James  Hunter  as  presiding  elder  and  David 
Best  and  J.  A.  Shacklefield  as  preachers. 

The  first  church  was  apparently  built  about  1810,  the  congregation 
paying  $20  for  a  site  in  what  is  now  Phelps  Street.  This  building  was 
a  small  frame  structure  that  was  used  until  1828  when  a  brick  church 
replaced  it,  this  being  built  on  the  site  of  the  present  Trinity  Church. 
This  edifice  was  used  until  1841  when  a  frame  building  was  put  up  and 
occupied,  although  not  finished  until  several  years  later.  In  1826  a 
Sunday  school  was  established  with  William  H.  Fitch  as  superintendent 
and  A.  W.  Upham  and  Samuel  Black  as  teachers  and  in  1842  Youngs- 
town was  made  a  station,  with  the  ministers  officiating  at  nearby  settle- 
ments. 

The  frame  building,  the  third  of  the  Methodist  churches  here,  sufficed 
until  1861  when  it  was  replaced  by  a  structure  that  was  the  most  impos- 
ing church  building  in  the  village.  Although  apparently  ample  in  size 
the  congregation  soon  outgrew  it,  and  within  twenty  years  a  movement 
was  begun  for  a  new  church.  This  resulted  in  the  erection  of  the  present 
stately  building  at  Front  and  Phelps  streets. 

Ground  was  broken  for  the  new  church  in  May,  1883,  and  the  corner- 
stone was  laid  that  year  by  Bishop  Andrews.  In  1885  the  edifice  was 
dedicated  by  Bishop  Bowman,  and  for  almost  forty  years  now  has  stood 
as  one  of  the  leading  houses  of  worship  in  the  city,  although  remodeled 
in  1918  when  a  parish  house  and  social  service  building  was  added  to 
meet  the  needs  of  this  industrial  city. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  present  church  the  organization 
adhered  to  the  original  name  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
but  in  lieu  of  this  the  title  Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
adopted  for  this  pioneer  congregation. 

Trinity  church  has  ever  been  known  for  its  many  activities,  especially 
those  engaging  the  interest  of  young  people.     In  every  respect  it  is  one 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       307 

of  the  great  churches  of  this  denomination  in  Ohio,  even  members  of 
this  creed  being  astonished  at  its  size  and  its  work  on  the  occasion  of 
the  Northeast  Ohio  Conference  held  here  in  1919. 

In  the  more  than  100  years  of  its  existence  Trinity  has  been  under 
the  ministrations  of  several  score  of  circuit  riders  and  resident  pastors, 
Dr.  W.  E.  Hammaker  being  the  present  head  of  the  congregation.  The 
board  of  trustees  of  the  church  numbers  E.  L.  Brown,  T.  B.  Van  Alstine, 
S.  B.  Clegg,  George  E.  McNab,  Fred  R.  Moody,  George  E.  Dudley  and 
Charles  N.  Crandall. 

The  Belmont  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  as 
the  Second  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1877,  and  on  January  20, 
1878,  the  church  building  at  Rayen  and  North  avenues  was  ready  for 
occupancy,  with  Rev.  G.  F.  Oliver  in  charge.  In  1890  a  modern  brick 
church  was  completed  in  Belmont  Avenue  and  the  organization  became 
the  Belmont  Avenue  Church.  Recently  this  structure  has  been  sold  and 
plans  made  for  a  new  church.  Services  are  now  being  held  in  the  taber- 
nacle in  Belmont  Avenue  between  Oxford  and  Fairmount.  Rev.  J.  M. 
Ackman  is  pastor  of  the  church. 

Epworth  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  in  1888  by 
South  Side  members  of  this  denomination  and  on  September  17,  1888, 
the  cornerstone  of  Wesley  Chapel  was  laid  by  Dr.  A.  N.  Craft,  pastor  of 
Trinity.  The  church  edifice  was  rebuilt  in  1899  an^  rededicated  on 
March  i8;  1900.  Epworth  church,  located  at  Hillman  Street  and  Lake- 
wood  Avenue,  is  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  W.  O.  Hawkins. 

Grace  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  on  March  6,  1901, 
and  the  first  church  edifice  dedicated  on  June  21,  1903,  this  building  be- 
ing located  at  Forest  Avenue  and  Shehy  Street.  In  1910  the  structure 
was  enlarged  to  its  present  capacity  and  rededicated  on  January  1,  191 1. 
Rev.  J.  W.  Van  Kirk  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  congregation,  suc- 
ceeding ministers  being  Rev.  W.  S.  Jenkins,  Rev.  G.  M.  Henderson, 
Rev.  W.  H.  Jeffers,  Rev.  J.  W.  Flesher,  Rev.  E.  T.  Mohn,  Rev.  W.  A. 
Rutledge  and  Rev.  J.  H.  Palmer,  the  present  pastor. 

The  Wilson  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  ministered  for 
many  years  to  members  of  this  denomination  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
city  but  in  1919  this  congregation  was  consolidated  with  the  Coitsville 
Center  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  form  the  Marion  Heights  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.  This  latter  congregation  is  now  building  a 
house  of  worship  within  Coitsville  Township. 

In  memory  of  her  husband,  Richard  Brown,  one  of  the  pillars  of 
Methodism  in  Youngstown  for  many  years,  Mrs.  Henrietta  Brown  de- 
cided to  erect  a  memorial  Sunday  school,  and  selected  for  this  purpose  a 
board  of  trustees  whose  membership  included  W.  A.  Kingsley,  Mrs. 
Cyrus  E.  Felton,  W.  C.  McKain,  W.  M.  Wallace,  George  Tod,  W.  V. 
Faunce,  Miss  Arabella  Crandall,  Charles  R.  Clegg  and  Thomas  Mc- 
Donald. 

In  June,  1904,  a  location  at  Woodbine  Avenue  and  Elm  Street  was 
selected  and  a  chapel,  that  later  became  a  church,  was  erected  thereon, 
the  committee  in  charge  of  the  building  numbering  Messrs.  Tod,  Wallace, 
Faunce  and  Clegg  and  Mrs.  Cyrus  E.  Felton  of  the  board  of  trustees. 


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308       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  structure,  dedicated  on  February  17,  1907,  is  one  of  the  most  pleas- 
ing church  buildings  in  the  city  and  a  worthy  monument  to  the  man 
whose  name  it  bears. 

From  a  chapel  this  edifice  became  the  Brown  Memorial  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  the  church  organization  being  formed  on  September 
3,  1917.  Rev.  H.  R.  Whiting  is  the  present  pastor  of  this  flourishing 
North  Side  congregation. 

For  many  years  Sunday  schools  had  been  in  existence  on  the  West 
Side  and  in  191 2  the  Mahoning  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
was  organized,  Rev.  Walter  B.  Ruggles  coming  as  the  first  pastor  in  the 
fall  of  that  year.  In  1913  a  lot  was  purchased  in  outer  Mahoning  Ave- 
nue and  a  church  completed  and  dedicated  on  July  6,  191 3.  Rev.  George 
A.  Gibson  is  the  present  pastor  of  this  church. 

Remaining  Methodist  Episcopal  churches  in  Youngstown  include  the 
Cornersburg  Church,  the  familiar  "church  with  a  welcome,"  in  charge 
of  Rev.  C.  A.  Reed  and  the  Italian  Mission,  435  Emma  Street,  in  charge 
of  Rev.  Vincent  Zaffiro. 

Protestant  Episcopal 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Mahoning  County  had  its  be- 
ginning, not  in  Youngstown,  but  in  Boardman,  where  the  first  services 
held  according  to  the  prayer  book  of  this  creed  took  place  in  1807,  with 
Joseph  Piatt  as  lay  reader. 

Plans  for  a  regularly  constituted  church  organization  were  set  on 
foot  and  on  June  20,  1809,  a  meeting  was  held  at  Boardman  at  which 
a  petition  was  drafted  and  presented  to  the  bishop  of  New  York  State 
asking  the  incorporation  of  an  Episcopal  society.  This  petition  read  as 
follows : 

"We,  the  subscribers,  inhabitants  of  the  towns  of  Boardman,  Can- 
field  and  Poland,  in  the  county  of  Trumbull  and  state  of  Ohio,  being 
desirous  to  promote  the  worship  of  God  after  the  order  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  having  for  some  time 
past  met  and  attended  divine  service  according  to  the  established  form 
of  that  church  and  finding  ourselves  under  great  inconveniences  for  the 
want  of  prayer  books  and  sermons,  to  remedy  which  and  to  endeavor  to 
procure  the  assistance  of  a  worthy  teacher,  judge  it  best  to  form  our- 
selves into  a  regular  Episcopal  society,  investing  the  same  with  the  proper 
officers,  thereby  putting  ourselves  in  the  proper  situation  to  petition  the 
Rt.  Revd.  Bishop  of  the  state  of  New  York,  praying  him  to  incorporate 
us  and  grant  us  such  relief  as  in  his  wisdom  he  may  deem  meet  and  con- 
sistent. 

"We  appoint  Saturday,  the  12th  day  of  August  next,  to  meet  at  the 
town  of  Boardman  for  the  above  purpose." 

The  petition  was  signed  by  Turhand  Kirtland,  Ensign  Church, 
Charles  Chittenden,  Josiah  Wetmore,  Samuel  Blocker,  Joseph  Piatt, 
Ethel  Starr,  Francis  Dowler,  John  Liddle,  John  Dowler,  Jared  Kirtland, 
Eleazor  Fairchild,  Ziba  Loveland,  Arad  Way,  Eleazor  Gilson,  Eleazor 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       309 

C.  Fairchild,  Russell  F.  Starr,  Eli  Piatt,  John  Loveland,  Lewis  Hoyt, 
Joseph  Liddle. 

At  the  meeting  on  August  12,  1809,  Turhand  Kirtland  was  appointed 
moderator;  Ethel  Starr,  clerk;  Joseph  Piatt,  warden;  Turhand  Kirt- 
land, Ethel  Starr  and  Lewis  Hoyt,  vestrymen.  On  September  4th  organ- 
ization was  formally  effected  and  these  appointments  were  confirmed. 

At  a  meeting  held  on  August  27,  1810,  a  motion  was  passed  "that 
a  committee  be  appointed  to  draw  a  subscription  for  the  obtaining  and 
supporting  a  respectable  clergyman  from  the  states  of  Connecticut  or 
New  York  to  come  to  this  place  and  visit  us,  and  tarry  as  long  as  the 
society  and  himself  can  agree."  It  was  further  voted  "that  we  will  asso- 
ciate with  any  persons  in  the  town  of  Youngstown  who  will  associate 
with  us  and  share  with  us  all  the  benefits  of  the  said  society."  This  is 
the  first  mention  of  Youngstown  participation,  the  movement  heretofore 
having  been  one  supported  by  Canfield,  Poland  and  Boardman  residents. 

Actual  founding  of  a  parish  was  delayed,  however,  until  several 
years  later.  Services  were  continued  at  Boardman  and  Canfield  with 
lay  readers,  and  in  September,  1814,  Rev.  Jackson  Kemper,  afterwards 
bishop  of  Wisconsin,  visited  Poland,  Boardman  and  Canfield  and  prob- 
ably Youngstown,  the  first  Protestant  Episcopal  clergyman  to  reach  this 
neighborhood.    On  this  occasion  twenty-nine  persons  were  baptized. 

In  September,  1816,  Rev.  Jacob  Morgan  Douglas,  who,  like  Reverend 
Kemper,  was  in  the  employ  of  the  "Society  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  for  the  Advancement  of  Christianity  in  Pennsylvania,"  admin- 
istered to  the  flock  here. 

On  March  23,  1817,  Rev.  Roger  Searle,  a  Connecticut  missionary, 
visited  Boardman.  He  called  a  meeting  of  the  vestry,  a  new  formula  of 
organization  was  adopted  and  St.  James  parish  came  into  being. 

The  diocese  of  Ohio  was  organized  at  Columbus  on  January  5,  1818, 
Rev.  Philander  Chase,  a  missionary  from  New  York,  being  president 
of  the  organizing  convention.  At  Worthington,  Ohio,  on  June  21,  1818, 
Reverend  Chase  was  elected  bishop  of  the  new  diocese,  being  consecrated 
at  Philadelphia  on  February  11,  1819,  by  Rt.  Rev.  William  White.  He 
made  his  first  episcopal  visit  here  in  October,  181 9,  stopping  at  Canfield 
on  the  6th  of  that  month.  He  again  visited  Canfield  and  Boardman  in 
1823  and  preached  at  Youngstown  in  1825. 

Rev.  Marcus  Tullius  Cicero  Wing  was  the  first  permanent  pastor  of 
St.  James  parish,  serving  from  1829  to  183 1.  Irregular  services  were 
held  at  Youngstown  until  1836  when  Rev.  Joshua  L.  Harrison  of  St. 
James  established  regular  services  here,  churches  at  this  time  having 
been  built  at  Boardman  and  Canfield.  The  pioneer  church  at  Board- 
man  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Chase  on  August  23,  1829. 

The  Youngstown  parish  had  its  origin  in  the  Sunday  school  work 
begun  by  Mrs.  Jesse  Thornton.  This  was  in  the  early  '50s.  The  num- 
ber of  members  of  the  Episcopal  denomination  had  increased  appre- 
ciably here  within  a  short  time  and  ministration  became  more  frequent 
under  Rev.  A.  T.  McMurphy,  who  became  pastor  at  Boardman  in  1857. 
Rev.  C.  S.  Abbott  of  Warren  also  held  services  here.  It  was  considered 
advisable  therefore  to  organize  a  parish  in  Youngstown  and  a  meeting 


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310       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

for  this  purpose  was  held  on  July  7,  1859,  w^  M.  T.  Jewell  as  chair- 
man. Reverend  McMurphy  and  Reverend  Abbott  were  present  to  give 
counsel  and  a  motion  was  adopted  declaring  that  "It  was  desirable  and 
practicable  to  organize  a  parish  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
Youngstown,"  the  name  "St.  John's"  being  adopted  on  motion  of  Mr. 
Jewell.  The  meeting  was  held  in  a  small  session-room  building  on  the 
Presbyterian  Church  grounds,  both  this  congregation  and  the  Methodist 
Church  having  assisted  the  Episcopalians  frequently  by  providing  them 
meeting  accommodations.  The  parish  was  formally  organized  on  De- 
cember 9,  1859,  Bishop  Bedell  having  visited  here  on  November  29th 
previously  and  passed  on  the  petition  for  the  creation  of  a  parish. 

On  Easter  Monday,  1861,  the  vestry  of  the  church  named  W.  J. 
Hitchcock,  F.  O.  Arms,  John  W.  Ellis  and  M.  T.  Jewell  a  building  com- 
mittee. They  selected  a  site  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Wood  and  Cham- 
pion streets  for  a  church  site  and  on  May  27,  1861,  the  cornerstone  of 
the  church  was  laid  by  Assistant  Bishop  Gregory  T.  Bedell,  assisted  by 
Rev.  A.  T.  McMurphy.  The  building  was  completed  in  1862  and  con- 
secrated on  October  21,  1863,  by  Bishop  Bedell.  Rev.  Wyllys  Hall  had 
in  the  meantime  become  rector  of  the  parish,  assuming  this  position  on 
December  15,  1861. 

After  almost  thirty  years'  service  this  church  building  became  inade- 
quate and  in  1891  the  parish  purchased  a  lot  from  Doctor  Woodbridge 
in  Wick  Avenue  as  a  site  for  a  new  church.  The  building  project  lagged 
owing  to  the  industrial  panic  that  came  soon  afterwards,  but  the  partial 
destruction  of  the  old  church  building  by  fire  in  December,  1895, 
hastened  action  and  on  January  6,  1896,  a  building  committee  composed 
of  James  Mackey,  J.  L.  Botsford,  W.  J.  Hitchcock  and  Henry  Tod  was 
named.  Tod  and  Mackey  were  succeeded  in  May,  1896,  by  E.  L.  Ford 
and  J.  M.  Butler.  Work  on  this  present  St.  John's  Chutch,  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  church  buildings  in  the  city,  was  begun  in  October, 
1896,  and  the  building  was  dedicated  on  May  22,  1898,  with  Bishop 
W.  A.  Leonard  officiating.  Since  that  time  St.  John's  Church  has  be- 
come known  for  its  famed  chimes,  a  memorial  to  Mrs.  E.  L.  Ford, 
installed  in  1914  and  that  pealed  forth  for  the  first  time  on  August  2d 
of  that  year. 

Reverend  Hall,  the  first  rector  of  St.  John's,  was  called  to  Pittsburg 
in  1865  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Samuel  Maxwell,  who  remained 
from  1866  to  1883.  Rev.  Frederick  Burt  Avery  was  pastor  from  1883 
to  1889,  Rev.  Robert  B.  Claiborne,  1889  to  1892,  and  Rev.  A.  L.  Fraser 
from  1892  to  1917,  when  he  resigned  to  become  chaplain  in  the  Thirty- 
Seventh  (Ohio)  Division,  United  States  Army.  Rev.  Leonard  W.  S. 
Stryker,  the  present  rector,  has  been  in  charge  of  St.  John's  since 
February,  19 18. 

St.  James'  Chapel,  Albert  and  State  streets,  was  the  first  branch  of 
St.  John's  and  was  maintained  for  many  years.  In  1908  Episcopal 
activities  were  extended  to  the  South  Side  and  St.  Andrew's  Mission  at 
Oak  Hill  and  Chalmers  avenues,  was  built.  Later  this  became  a  regu- 
larly constituted  parish  with  Rev.  Alfred  Izon  as  rector.  Reverend  Izon 
was  succeeded  in  1919  by  Rev.  Vincent  Kline. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       311 

St.  Augustine's  parish,  colored,  owes  its  origin  to  Mrs.  Leonora  Berry 
who,  in  1907,  proposed  the  organization  of  a  colored  Episcopal  church. 
The  first  mission  meeting  was  held  at  Mrs.  Berry's  home  and  on  Febru- 
ary 20,  1908,  the  parish  was  organized.  For  five  years  the  mission  was 
attended  by  Rev.  Robert  Bagnall  and  Rev.  P.  W.  Paxton  of  Cleveland, 
Rev.  A.  L.  Fraser  giving  aid  and  assistance.  During  this  time  the  pres- 
ent church  property  was  purchased  and  the  building  fitted  up  for  serv- 
ices, and  in  June,  1912,  Rev.  John  T.  Ogburn  became  the  first  resident 
pastor.  Reverend  Ogburn  is  still  rector,  and  under  his  administration 
the  church  property  has  been  improved  and  the  congregation  has  grown 
appreciably. 

St.  Rocco's  Parish,  Calvin  Street,  is  a  congregation  for  Italian- 
speaking  and  was  founded  in  19 18.  The  members  worship  in  the  church 
formerly  occupied  by  St.  Rocco's  Independent  parish.  Rev.  O.  Salcini 
is  pastor. 

Roman  Catholic 

The  first  Catholic  parish  in  the  present  diocese  of  Cleveland  was 
organized  in  1820  at  Dungannon,  Columbiana  County,  and  attended  by 
missionary  priests  from  the  Dominican  convent  at  Somerset,  Perry 
County,  Ohio. 

In  1826  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Martin,  one  of  these  missionaries,  came  on 
to  Youngstown  after  a  stop  at  Dungannon,  and  held  the  first  Catholic 
services  here.  This  mass  was  probably  read  in  the  cabin  of  Daniel 
Sheehy,  the  first  Catholic  resident  of  Youngstown,  and  one  of  its  found- 
ers. From  this  time  until  1840  visits  were  made  at  intervals  by  mission- 
aries from  Dungannon,  Somerset  and  Steubenville,  and  from  1840  to 
1847  Youngstown  was  a  regular  mission  of  the  Dungannon  church,  at- 
tended by  Rev.  James  'Conlan.  On  these  occasions  mass  was  read  at  the 
homes  of  William  Woods  and  Neal  Campbell,  sons-in-law  of  Sheehy, 
and  at  the  home  of  James  Moore  in  Brier  Hill.  For  another  ten  years 
or  more  Youngstown  was  a  mission,  attached  at  different  times  to  Cleve- 
land, Akron,  Randolph,  Summitville  and  Dungannon  and  attended  by 
Rev.  Fathers  Howard,  Moran,  Ringele,  McGann,  O'Connor,  Stroker, 
Flum  and  Prendergast. 

The  first  Youngstown  parish  was  formally  organized  about  1847  by 
Rev.  F.  McGann,  while  a  guest  at  the  home  of  William  Woods,  and 
the  construction  of  a  church  building  was  soon  taken  up.  In  185 1  work 
was  begun  on  a  small  frame  structure  on  the  site  of  the  old  St.  Col- 
umba's  Church  at  Wood  and  Hazel  streets,  and  in  1853  it  was  completed. 

Until  1858  Youngstown  was  a  mission,  but  in  July  of  that  year  Rev. 
William  O'Connor  was  appointed  resident  pastor.  He  was  succeeded 
in  1861  by  Rev.  Eugene  O'Callaghan,  under  whose  direction  the  con- 
struction of  the  old  St.  Columba's  Church  was  begun  in  1863.  The 
church  was  opened  for  worship  in  1864. 

Father  O'Callaghan  remained  for  ten  years,  although  Rev.  E.  J. 
Murphy  was  temporarily  in  charge  for  a  few  months  in  1870.  In 
August,  1 87 1,  Rev.  W.  J.  Gibbons  was  named  pastor,  and  he  was  suc- 


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312       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

S 

ceeded  in  August,  1872,  by  Rev.  P.  H.  Browne,  who  remained  until  1876. 

In  July,  1877,  Rev.  Edward  Mears  was  named  to  succeed  Father 
Browne.  Father  Mears  has  remained  since  and  is  the  oldest  active  pastor 
in  Youngstown  today  in  point  of  service.  On  March  7,  1919,  he  cele- 
brated the  golden  jubilee  of  his  ordination,  the  public  celebration  being 
held  two  months  later,  or  on  May  4,  1919.  At  the  same  time  the  new 
St.  Columba's  Church  was  consecrated. 

Work  on  this  present  St.  Columba's  building  was  begun  in  1893,  after 
the  old  church  had  given  thirty  years'  service.  Panic  times  stopped 
progress,  and  it  was  July  1,  1900,  before  the  cornerstone  of  the  new 
building  was  laid.    In  June,  1903,  the  church  was  dedicated. 

In  ministering  to  St.  Columba's  parish  Father  Mears  is  assisted  by 
Revs.  Richard  P.  Gibbons,  Joseph  P.  Hurley  and  George  F.  Martin. 

St.  Ann's  Parish  was  founded  in  Brier  Hill  in  September,  1869,  with 
Rev.  E.  J.  Murphy  as  pastor.  A  temporary  habitation  was  used  for  two 
years.  In  187 1  Rev.  Patrick  McCaffrey  built  a  small  church  at  Federal 
and  Calvin  streets,  and  in  1893  construction  of  the  present  St.  Ann's 
Church  at  Federal  and  Jefferson  streets  was  begun.  It  was  1909  before 
the  church  was  completed,  although  it  had  been  used  for  some  years 
before.  Rev.  J.  P.  Barry  has  been  pastor  since  1887,  his  predecessors 
being  Rev.  Francis  McGovern  and  Rev.  F.  J.  Henry. 

St.  Joseph's  Parish  was  organized  in  March,  1870,  with  Rev.  Peter 
Becker  as  pastor.  A  small  brick  church  was  built  in  Rayen  Avenue  in 
that  year,  and  in  1882  the  present  church  was  opened  for  worship,  being 
dedicated  on  July  20,  1884.  Rev.  John  Klute  has  been  pastor  of  St. 
Joseph's  since  1883. 

The  Immaculate  Conception  Parish  was  organized  in  July,  1882, 
with  Rev.  W.  J.  Manning  as  pastor.  The  original  church  building  was 
completed  in  December  of  that  year,  standing  on,  the  site  of  the  present 
Immaculate  Conception  School.  The  congregation  soon  outgrew  this 
building  and  on  June  17,  1888,  the  cornerstone  of  the  present  church 
was  laid,  the  church  being  opened  for  services  on  Christmas  day,  1890. 
Father  Manning  remained  as  pastor  until  his  death  in  1899,  ^ev-  M.  P. 
Kinkead  from  1899  until  his  death  in  1910.  Rev.  J.  R.  Kenny,  LL.  D., 
has  been  pastor  since  December,  1910. 

The  Sacred  Heart  Parish  was  organized  in  October,  1888,  with  Rev. 
W.  J.  Leeming  as  pastor  and  a  frame  church  in  Wilson  Avenue  was 
opened  on  Christmas  day  of  that  year.  Father  Leeming  was  succeeded 
on  his  death  in  1906  by  Rev.  John  I.  Moran,  under  whose  supervision 
the  present  church  building  was  erected  and  dedicated  in  1909. 

St.  Patrick's  Parish  was  formed  in  June,  191 1,  under  the  leadership 
of  its  present  pastor,  Rev.  Charles  A.  Martin,  LL.  D.  The  parish  church 
was  dedicated  in  November  of  that  year.  Although  one  of  the  youngest 
parishes  in  the  city  it  is  also  one  of  the  largest  and  funds  are  now  being 
raised  to  erect  a  $300,000  house  of  worship  on  the  site  of  the  present 
church. 

St.  Edward's  Parish  was  organized  in  August,  1916,  and  the  present 
school  building  and  temporary  church  was  built  the  following  year,  the 
church  being  opened  in   November,   19 17.     A   modern  church   will   be 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       313 

built  later  on  an  adjoining  site.  Rev.  M.  F.  Griffin  has  been  pastor  of 
St.  Edward's  since  its  founding. 

Sts.  Cyril  and  Methodious'  Parish  was  organized  in  1896  and  the 
present  church  was  built  and  dedicated  in  1900,  with  Rev.  A.  Kolar  as 
pastor.  Rev.  Francis  Kozelek  is  now  the  parish  priest.  This  parish  is 
made  up  of  Slovak-speaking  residents. 

St.  Anthony's  Parish,.  Italian,  was  organized  in  1898,  and  in  May  of 
that  year  Rev.  Anthony  Petillo  was  named  pastor.  In  June  the  parish 
purchased  the  old  St.  Ann's  Church,  which  it  uses  for  services,  Rev.  E. 
J.  Spitzig  being  the  present  pastor. 

St.  Stanislaus'  Parish,  Polish,  was  organized  in  1904  and  the  present 
church  in  South  Avenue  built  the  same  year.  Rev.  John  Kasinszki  is  the 
present  pastor. 

St.  Stephen's  Parish,  Hungarian,  was  organized  in  1907.  St.  Stephen's 
Church  in  Wilson  Avenue  was  built  and  dedicated  in  1910  and  rebuilt 
in  1918.    Rev.  Alex  Varlaky  is  pastor. 

St.  Casimir's  Church,  Polish,  Jefferson  Street,  was  built  in  1908  with 
the  organization  of  the  parish.    Rev.  C.  Szymkiewicz  is  the  parish  priest. 

Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel  Parish,  Italian,  was  organized  in  191 1 
and  the  parish  church  in  Summit  Avenue  built  that  year.  Rev.  Victor 
Franco  is  the  pastor. 

Sts.  Peter  and  Paul's  Parish,  Croatian,  was  organized  in  1912  under 
Rev.  M.  G.  Domladovac.  The  present  church,  in  Covington  Street,  was 
built  that  year.    Rev.  J.  A.  Stipanovic  is  in  charge  of  the  parish. 

St.  Mathias'  Parish,  Slovak,  was  organized  in  1914.  St.  Mathias' 
Church,  Homewood  Avenue,  was  built  the  same  year.  Rev.  J.  M. 
Gerenda  has  been  pastor  since  the  founding  of  the  parish. 

Holy  Name  of  Jesus  Parish,  Slovak,  was  formed  in  1916,  the  parish 
church  in  Lakeview  Avenue  being  built  at  the  same  time.  Rev.  Francis 
Dubosh  is  pastor  of  the  Holy  Name  Church. 

St.  Francis*  Parish,  Lithuanian,  was  formed  in  191 7.  The  parish 
church  is  located  at  917  Shehy  Street  and  is  in  charge  of  Rev.  Felix 
Alinskas. 

St.  Maron's  Parish,  Syro-Maronite,  was  organized  about  1903,  the 
church  in  Wilson  Avenue  being  built  in  1912.  Rev.  N.  S.  Beggiani  is 
pastor. 

Greek  Catholic 

Greek  Uniat  (Greek  united  with  Rome),  commonly  known  as  "Greek 
Catholic,"  churches  are  four  in  number.  Their  membership  is  made  up 
largely  of  Uhro-Rusins,  or  Ruthenians. 

The  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  Parish,  Ruthenian,  is 
the  oldest  of  these,  the  parish  church  at  Salt  Springs  Road  and  Gilbert 
Street  having  been  dedicated  on  July  4,  1900.  Rev.  Valentine  Balogh  is 
pastor. 

Holy  Trinity  Parish,  Ruthenian-speaking,  was  organized  and  the 
church  built  in  1909.  Rev.  Basil  Stetzyuk  is  pastor  of  this  church,  lo- 
cated in  West  Rayen  Avenue. 


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314       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

St.  Mary's  Parish,  Roumanian-speaking,  was  organized  in  1910,  the 
church  in  Prospect  Street  being  built  the  same  year.  Rev.  Aurel  Voda 
is  pastor. 

St.  Nicholas*  Parish,  Wilson  Avenue,  Ruthenian-speaking,  was  or- 
ganized in  1910  and  the  church  built  at  the  same  time.  Rev.  Alex  Papp 
is  pastor. 

Baptist 

The  Baptist  Church  in  Youngstown,  as  Youngstown  was  constituted 
at  that  time,  dates  back  to  1859,  when  a  Sunday  school  with  thirty-seven 
members  was  organized  in  a  hall  over  Theobald's  store.  B.  F.  Parks 
was  chosen  superintendent  of  this  school. 

The  First  Baptist  congregation  was  formally  organized  on  June  6, 
i860,  at  a  meeting  held  in  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  twenty- 
eight  members  enrolling.  The  new  congregation  was  fortunate  in  secur- 
ing as  its  first  pastor  Rev.  W.  M.  Ingersoll,  a  most  remarkable  man.  An 
enthusiastic  worker  and  a  splendid  citizen  as  well  as  pastor,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  church  made  unusual  strides  under  his  ministry.  Under 
his  direction — and  in  fact  assisted  by  the  labor  of  his  own  arms — the 
first  church  of  the  congregation  was  built  in  Hazel  Street  in  1861. 
Within  a  few  years  this  became  inadequate  for  the  needs  of  the  con- 
gregation and  a  site  was  purchased  at  Market  and  Boardman  streets, 
where  a  new  church  was  built,  being  dedicated  in  1869.  In  1872  Rever- 
end Ingersoll  resigned  as  pastor  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  B.  F.  Ash- 
ley, who  remained  two  years,  giving  way  to  Rev.  C.  F.  Nicholson,  who, 
in  turn,  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  D.  B.  Simms  in  1879.  Rev.  John  A. 
Snodgrass  became  pastor  in  June,  1881. 

On  January  6,  1887,  the  First  Baptist  Church  building  was  destroyed 
by  fire  following  the  explosion  of  natural  gas  in  the  building  which 
stood  across  the  street  on  the  northeast  corner  of  the  present  court- 
house lot.  The  work  of  rebuilding  was  immediately  begun  and  the 
church  was  used  for  worship  in  December,  1887,  although  not  dedicated, 
or  rededicated,  until  July  1,  1888. 

Reverend  Snodgrass  remained  as  pastor  until  February  1,  1889,  and 
was  succeeded  on  September  1,  1889,  by  Rev.  Clement  Hall.  Rev.  Henry 
Parrish  was  pastor  from  1899  to  January  1,  1904,  and  Rev.  C.  H.  Pen- 
dleton from  February  10,  1904,  until  1916,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  Barry  B.  Hall,  the  present  pastor. 

Calvary  Baptist  Church  is  new  in  name,  but  by  descent  the  oldest 
of  Youngstown  Baptist  churches.  It  had  its  origin  in  the  ministrations 
of  Rev.  David  Probert  who  came  to  Brier  Hill,  then  a  suburb  of  Youngs- 
town, in  1845.  On  December  10,  1846,  the  Welsh  Baptist  Society  was 
formed  by  Reverend  Probert  and  Rev.  William  Owens  of  Pittsburgh, 
and  a  church  was  built  on  West  Federal  Street  in  Brier  Hill  in  1847. 

In  1866  activities  were  transferred  to  Youngstown  with  the  removal 
of  many  of  the  members  of  the  congregation  here  and  in  that  year  a 
church  building  was  put  up  in  Walnut  Street,  being  dedicated  in  January, 
1867.     It  became  then  the  Walnut   Street  Baptist  Church.     With   the 


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Group  of  Youngstown  Churches 


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316       YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

exception  of  an  interval  between  1872  and  1877  Reverend  Probert  re- 
mained as  pastor  from  1846  to  1895,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  R. 
C.  Morgan.  In  1883  the  church  building  was  remodeled  and  thirteen 
years  later  a  new  and  modern  structure  was  put  up,  being  dedicated  on 
November  10,  1896. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Lloyd  became  pastor  of  the  Walnut  Street  Church  in  De- 
cember, 1898.  Twenty  years  later  changed  residence  conditions  made 
a  new  location  desirable,  and  in  1919  the  church  building  was  sold  4nd 
a  new  congregation  formed  of  members  of  the  Walnut  Street  Church  and 
South  Side  members  of  the  First  Baptist  Church.  This  new  congrega- 
tion, Calvary  Baptist  Church,  is  meeting  temporarily  in  the  tabernacle 
at  Oak  Hill  Avenue  and  Regent  Street,  with  Reverend  Lloyd  as  pastor, 
but  is  planning  a  new  and  commodious  church  structure. 

The  Wilson  Avenue  Baptist  Church  was  formerly  the  Lawrence 
Street  Baptist  Church.  It  was  organized  in  1898,  being  the  pioneer 
religious  body  of  this  denomination  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  city.  The 
present  modern  brick  church  at  Wilson  Avenue  and  Jackson  Street  was 
built  and  dedicated  in  1909.    Rev.  F.  A.  Close  is  pastor. 

The  Himrod  Avenue  Baptist  congregation  was  organized  on  June  8, 
1902,  with  forty-five  members,  and  worshiped  in  the  small  frame  build- 
ing at  Himrod  Avenue  and  Prospect  Street,  formerly  used  as  a  school. 
A  handsome  brick  church  was  built  at  Himrod  and  Garland  avenues 
seven  years  later,  and  dedicated  on  March  20,  1910.  On  February  8, 
1914,  this  church  burned  down,  but  a  new  one  was  built  the  same  year 
and  dedicated  on  December  20,  1914.  On  September  19,  1916,  this 
structure  was  also  destroyed  by  fire.  Undaunted  by  this  double  mis- 
fortune the  congregation  began  to  rebuild  immediately  and  the  present 
church  was  completed  and  dedicated  on  June  10,  19 17.  Rev.  W.  H. 
Beymon  was  the  first  pastor  of  this  church.  Rev.  J.  M.  Miller  was 
pastor  ten  years.  The  present  pastor,  Rev.  George  L.  Ford,  succeeded 
Rev.  D.  E.  Fuller  on  November  15,  1916. 

The  Swedish  Baptist  Church  was  organized  at  Brier  Hill  in  1890. 
Students  attended  the  congregation  there,  meetings  being  held  in  rented 
quarters.  The  present  church  in  East  Woodland  Avenue  was  built  and 
dedicated  in  February,  1904,  with  Rev.  John  P.  Westerberg  as  the  first 
pastor.  Rev.  S.  J.  Peterson  is  now  in  charge.  The  congregation  pro- 
poses soon  to  build  a  new  church  on  a  site  in  Warren  Avenue  owned  by 
the  church. 

Other  Baptist  religious  organizations  include  the  Hungarian  Mission, 
1252  Manning  Avenue,  Rev.  Michael  Szilagyi,  superintendent;  Mount 
Olive  Mission,  Himrod  Avenue;  Italian  Mission,  233  East  Wood  Street; 
North  Side  Sunday  School,  meets  at  Parmalee  School ;  West  Side  Sun- 
day School,  held  in  Washington  School  Building. 

Colored  Baptist 

The  Third  Baptist  Church  is  the  oldest  colored  Baptist  congregation 
in  Youngstown,  dating  back  to  December,  1874,  when  members  of  this 
denomination  formally  organized  a  congregation.    A  frame  church  build- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       317 

ing  was  erected  in  Mahoning  Avenue  shortly  afterwards  and  for  many 
years  the  members  worshiped  at  this  place.  Rev.  Robert  Holmes  was 
the  first  pastor. 

In  191 2  the  Third  Baptist  congregation  erected  a  fine  brick  church 
in  Oak  Hill  Avenue  as  their  home.  This  is  a  flourishing  church,  Rev. 
W.  O.  Harper,  D.  D.,  being  the  present  pastor. 

The  Tabernacle  Baptist  Church  members  worshiped  for  several 
years  in  a  meeting  place  in  East  Federal  Street,  but  in  1907  removed  to 
Griffith  Street,  near  Federal.  This  was  the  home  of  the  congregation 
for  almost  ten  years,  or  until  191 6,  when  the  present  location  in  West 
Arlington  Street  was  selected.  Rev.  W.  P.  Phillips  is  pastor  of  the 
Tabernacle  Church. 

The  Good  Hope  Baptist  Church  was  organized  about  1910  and  in 
191 1  the  church  building  in  Hillman  Street  was  put  up.  Rev.  R.  L. 
Thomas  is  pastor  of  this  congregation. 

Other  churches  of  this  denomination  include  the  Morning  Star  con- 
gregation, Rev.  J.  E.  Perry,  pastor;  Jerusalem  Baptist,  Lawrence  Street, 
Rev.  J.  Reese  Sanders ;  Valley  Street  Baptist,  Reverend  Flowers ;  Himrod 
Avenue  Baptist,  Rev.  Lane  Daw. 

Evangelical   Lutheran  . 

The  influx  of  newcomers  into  the  Mahoning  Valley  in  the  '40s  and 
the  '50s  added  to  the  number  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  mem- 
bers who  were  here  before  that  time.  Lutheran  congregations  had  been 
formed  in  the  early  days  of  the  century  in  rural  townships  of  Trumbull 
County,  notably  in  Boardman  and  Canfield  before  1810  and  in  Jackson 
about  1835,  and  Youngstown  members  of  this  denomination  attended 
services  at  the  churches  in  these  townships. 

Rev.  F.  C.  Becker,  for  many  years  pastor  at  Jackson  and  Lordstown, 
came  to  Youngstown  and  attended  Lutherans  in  the  late  '405  and  in  the 
'50s.  In  1857  Rev.  G.  Kranz  of  North  Lima  proposed  the  organization 
of  a  congregation  made  up  of  Lutherans  and  Reformed  Church  mem- 
bers and  in  1858  a  body  of  this  sort  was  formed  here.  Within  a  short 
time  this  became  a  Reformed  Church,  but  on  August  1,  1859,  tne  Martin 
Luther  congregation  was  organized  with  twenty-two  members.  Rev. 
L.  Krebs  came  with  the  organization  of  the  congregation.  Temporary 
meeting  places  sufficed  for  a  time  and  later  a  small  church  was  put  up. 
Early  in  1862  the  cornerstone  of  the  present  church  was  laid  and  on 
November  2,  1862,  the  church  was  dedicated.  In  the  same  year  Rever- 
end Krebs  gave  up  his  other  charges  to  devote  his  sole  attention  to 
Youngstown. 

On  January  1,  1869,  Rev.  G.  F.  H.  Meiser  was  called  to  the  pastorate 
of  the  Martin  Luther  Church  and  remained  until  1885,  being  succeeded 
by  Rev.  E.  A.  Boehme,  on  April  15th  of  that  year.  In  1891  the  church 
building  was  entirely  remodeled  and  modernized. 

Reverend  Boehme's  pastorate  exceeded  in  length  even  that  of  his 
predecessor  as  he  remained  in  charge  of  Martin  Luther  congregation 
until  191 1  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  F.  G.  Richter,  who  in  turn 


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318       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

was  succeeded  in  1917  by  Rev.  F.  J.  Schellhase,  the  present  pastor.  Under 
Reverend  Schellhase's  capable  leadership  the  church  has  prospered 
greatly. 

St.  Paul's  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  was  organized  at  Brier  Hill 
on  May  2,  1881.  On  July  10th  of  the  same  year  the  cornerstone  of  the 
church  building  was  laid  by  Rev.  G.  F.  H.  Meiser  and  in  December, 
1881,  the  church  was  dedicated.  Reverend  Meiser  attended  this  church 
for  a  short  time  until  Rev.  H.  H.  Schmidt  was  installed  as  the  first  resi- 
dent pastor.    Rev.  J.  F.  C.  Soller  is  the  present  pastor. 

Immanuel  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  was  organized  in  1882  by 
Rev.  H.  Weseloh  of  Cleveland  and  the  first  church  was  built  in  1883. 
Rev.  J.  H.  Ehle  became  pastor  with  the  construction  of  the  church  and 
remained  a  year,  being  succeeded  by  Rev.  C.  F.  W.  Huge,  who  remained 
until  1890.  In  1888  the  original  church  was  destroyed  by  fire  and  a 
new  building  was  erected  and  dedicated  in  1889.  Rev.  E.  Kirchner  was 
pastor  from  1890  to  1892,  Rev.  George  Eyler  from  1892  to  1908  and 
Rev.  H.  W.  Walker  has  been  in  charge  since  the  latter  year.  The 
Immanuel  Church  is  located  at  Highland  Avenue  and  Lafayette  Street. 

Grace  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  had  its  origin  in  September, 
1877,  in  a  congregation  formed  by  Rev.  Samuel  Baechler.  Early  meet- 
ings were  held  in  Reading  Room  Hall  in  East  Federal  Street  with  Rev. 
E.  J.  Meissner  as  pastor.  On  December  n,  1881,  the  first  church,  at 
Wood  Street  and  Belmont  Avenue,  was  dedicated  and  in  1902  the 
present  church  in  West  Rayen  Avenue  was  erected,  being  dedicated  on 
September  6,  1903.  Reverend  Meissner  remained  as  pastor  until  1887. 
Rev.  Homer  W.  Tope  was  in  charge  from  1888  to  1896  and  Rev.  A.  D. 
Potts  succeeded  him,  remaining  until  1897  when  Rev.  Jesse  Leroy  Miller, 
the  present  pastor,  came. 

Trinity  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  was  organized  as  a  mission  on 
January  3,  1896,  with  Rev.  W.  M.  Kibler  as  the  first  pastor,  his  work 
actually  beginning  here  in  August,  1895.  Services  were  held  first  at  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  later  in  tfie  city  council  chambers,  but  later  arrange- 
ments were  made  for  the  use  of  the  township  hall,  where  the  congrega- 
tion worshiped  at  the  time  .the  mission  was  formally  organized.  In  1901 
the  mission  became  a  church  congregation  and  in  1902  a  church  property 
in  Wilson  Avenue  was  purchased  and  remodeled,  being  dedicated  on 
March  24,  1903.  The  present  church  in  Forest  Avenue  was  built  and 
occupied  in  1912.    Rev.  C.  A;  Riehl  is  the  present  pastor. 

St.  Luke's  Lutheran  congregation  was  formed  on  June  4,  1899. 
Original  services  were  held  in  the  Evergreen  Chapel,  the  first  pastor  be- 
ing Rev.  S.  H.  Yerian  who  organized  the  congregation.  The  present 
church  building  in  Market  Street  was  built  in  1901  and  dedicated  on 
August  1st  of  that  year.  It  is  soon  to  be  replaced  by  a  new  building  at 
Oak  Hill  and  Evergreen  avenues.  Pastors  who  have  served  St.  Luke's 
since  Reverend  Yerian  include  Rev.  H.  E.  Simon,  Rev.  G.  W.  Englar, 
Rev.  C.  A.  Boory  and  Rev.  W.  J.  Kratz,  the  present  pastor  who  came 
on  June  1,  191 1. 

The  Woodland  Avenue  Evangelical  Lutheran  congregation  was  or- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       319 

ganized  in  191 1  and  the  present  church  building  of  most  pleasing  appear- 
ance, was  built  the  same  year.    Rev.  Edgar  P.  Ebert  is  pastor. 

The  Honterus  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  was  organized  in  191 2 
and  for  some  time  worshiped  in  Saxon  Hall  at  Franklin  Avenue  and 
Flint  Hill  Street.  In  191 4  the  former  Jewish  Synagogue  at  Rayen  Ave- 
nue and  Holmes  Street  was  purchased  by  the  congregation.  Rev.  George 
Schuster  is  pastor. 

The  Swedish  Evangelical  Luther  Bethel  Church  was  organized  in 
1888  and  in  19 12  dedicated  its  present  church  in  Ridge  Avenue.  Rev. 
Emil  Westlund  is  pastor  of  this  congregation. 

The  Bethlehem  Lutheran  Church,  South  Avenue  and  Midlothian 
Boulevard,  was  originally  a  Boardman  Township  congregation,  founded 
in  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  by  members  of  the  Simon 
family  and  other  residents  of  the  northeastern  part  of  Boardman.  This 
congregation,  a  Lutheran-Reformed  union  body,  built  a  log  church  in 
1810.  This  was  replaced  by  a  frame  building  in  1845.  Reverend  Stough 
was  the  first  pastor.  Later  the  present  church  was  erected  just  across 
the  line  in  Youngstown  Township  and  with  the  extension  of  the  city 
limits  in  191 3  became  a  city  congregation.  Previously  it  had  become 
entirely  Lutheran  in  creed.    Rev.  J.  H.  Trout  is  the  present  pastor. 

The  Slovak  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  was  organized  in  1908. 
The  present  church  building  in  Mahoning  Avenue  was  erected  the  same 
year.    Rev.  Andrew  Hvizdak  is  the  pastor. 

St.  James*  Lutheran  Mission,  Washington  Avenue  and  Snyder  Street, 
is  the  newest  of  Lutheran  congregations.    It  is  without  a  resident  pastor. 

A  project  that  the  Lutherans  of  Youngstown  now  have  under  con- 
sideration is  the  establishment  of  a  hospital.  While  a  new  proposal  here 
it  is  not  experimental  as  the  Lutherans  have  been  successful  in  hospital 
work  in  many  other  places. 

Christian 

Congregations  of  the  Christian,  or  Disciples  of  Christ,  Church  were 
organized  in  Trumbull  County  prior  to  1830  and  on  July  18,  1841,  the 
Disciples  Society  was  formed  in  Youngstown  with  twenty-seven  charter 
members.  In  1842  Alexander  Campbell  visited  Youngstown  and  made 
several  addresses,  and  in  1843  ^e  society  purchased  the  old  "Academy" 
building  in  Central  Square  as  a  church.  This  building  stood  on  the 
Diamond  Block  site,  the  purchase  being  made  largely  through  the  efforts 
of  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Bane  and  John  Kirk.  Other  early  day  members  were 
James  Calvin,  Nicholas  Jacobs,  Peter  Wirt,  W.  H.  Kyle  and  Joseph 
Harber.  Rev.  J.  W.  Lamphear  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  church,  and 
in  the  year  it  was  dedicated  to  worship,  1843,  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Disciples  of  Christ  in  Ohio  was  held  in  this  pioneer  church  building. 
Actually  only  limited  services  could  be  held  therein  as  several  thousand 
persons  attended  the  gathering  and  its  sessions  were  held  largely  in  a 
grove. 

In  1872  the  Central  Square  site  was  sold  and  the  present  church 
location  of  the  First  Christian  Church,  in  West  Wood  Street,  was  pur- 


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320       YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

chased.  A  new  church  was  put  up  the  same  year,  occupied  in  1873  an^ 
fully  completed  and  dedicated  in  1874. 

Early  in  the  '90s  a  memorable  evangelistic  meeting  was  held  in  the 
church  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  Roland  A.  Nichols,  and  with  the 
additional  members  gained  by  the  congregation  the  edifice  became  too 
small.  In  1895  ^e  building  was  entirely  remodeled  and  enlarged  to  its 
present  capacity.  Ministering  to  the  church  after  Reverend  Lamphear 
were  a  number  of  ministers  and  elders,  including  in  later  years  Rev.  R.  E. 
Davis,  Rev.  C.  C.  Smith,  Rev.  M.  L.  Streator,  Rev.  J.  N.  Monroe,  Rev. 
George  Anderson,  pastor  for  thirteen  years,  Rev.  W.  R.  Lloyd,  Rev.  J. 
L.  Garvin,  Rev.  John  Ray  Ewers  and  Rev.  L.  G.  Batman,  its  present 
pastor,  who  came  in  1908. 

The  Central  Christian  Church  was  organized  in  Davis  Hall  on  the 
first  Sunday  in  January,  1895,  Rev.  E.  V.  Zellars,  president  of  fliram 
College,  presiding.  The  original  membership  was  105.  The  charter  of 
the  church  is  dated  November  28,  1894. 

Within  a  few  months  the  need  of  a  church  building  became  apparent 
and  the  building  committee,  consisting  of  John  H.  Fitch,  L.  H.  Thayer 
and  W.  P.  Williamson  purchased  the  Browne  homestead  in  Market 
Street.    Rev.  A.  Lincoln  Davis  was  the  first  pastor. 

The  residence  on  this  property  was  dedicated  for  worship  after  being 
remodeled  and  sufficed  until  1905  when  work  was  begun  on  the  present 
church  building.  The  building  was  completed  and  used  for  worship  the 
first  time  on  Sunday,  January  28,  1906,  the  splendid  pipe  organ  was  in- 
stalled a  few  weeks  later  and  on  February  18,  1906,  the  church  was 
dedicated. 

Rev.  Walter  S.  Goode  became  pastor  of  the. Central  Church  in  April, 
1900,  and  remained  for  ten  years,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Dunn  Ryan,  the  present  pastor.  Under  Reverend  Ryan's  pastorate, 
in  191 2,  the  church  building  was  remodeled  to  meet  the  demands  of  a 
rapidly  growing  congregation  and  its  growth  has  continued  during  the 
more  than  ten  years  in  which  he  has  been  in  charge.  In  January,  1920, 
the  Central  Church  celebrated  its  silver  anniversary. 

The  Hillman  Street  Christian  Church  was  organized  in  1900  and  the 
same  year  erected  a  church  building  at  Hillman  Street  and  Marion  Ave- 
nue (then  Silver  Street).  The  building  was  completed  and  dedicated 
the  same  year  with  Rev.  Elanson  Wilcox  as  pastor.  In  1906  the  church 
building  was  entirely  rebuilt,  the  dedication  taking  place  in  1907. 

Succeeding  Reverend  Wilcox  in  charge  of  the  congregation  were 
Revs.  L.  J.  McConnell,  F.  D.  Draper,  R.  A.  Nicholls,  Alfred  Johnson, 
F.  M.  Moore,  D.  A.  Williams  and  W.  S.  Goode.  Rev.  F.  C.  Ford  has 
been  pastor  since  March,  191 7. 

United  Presbyterian 

Activities  of  this  denomination  in  the  Youngstown  neighborhood 
began  early  in  the  nineteenth  century  with  the  organization  of  churches 
in  nearby  townships.  Congregations  were  formed  in  Poland  in  1804  and 
Liberty  in  1805  and  Youngstown  members  of  the  Associate  Presbyterian 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       321 

and  Associate  Reformed  Presbyterian  churches  attended  at  these  places. 
Discussion  of  the  organization  ol  a  congregation  here  soon  arose  and 
with  the  union  ef  the  two  denominations  in  1858  this  movement  was 
strengthened  with  the  result  that  the  First  United  Presbyterian  congre- 
gation was  organized  on  October  10,  1859,  with  Rev.  James  W.  Logue, 
D.  D.,  then  pastor  at  Norttifield,  in  charge  of  the  organization  meeting. 
The  charter  members,  seventeen  in  number,  were  James  Smith,  Harriett 
Smith,  William  Smith,  Sr.,  Polly  Smith,  Nancy  Smith,  Jane  Smith,  James 
Orr,  Sarah  Orr,  J.  R.  Kennedy,  William  H.  Kennedy,  Mrs.  William  H. 
Kennedy,  j.  C.  Kennedy,  Sarah  Kennedy,  Goodwill  Kennedy,  Esther 
Kennedy,  Margaret  Kennedy  and  Mrs.  Martha  McClelland.  Rev.  W.  M. 
Melvin,  a  traveling  minister,  attended  the  congregation  for  some  time 
but  on  September  3,  1861,  Rev.  George  K.  Ormond  was  installed  in  the 
pastorate,  attending  the  Warren  Church  as  well  at  first. 

The  congregation  worshiped  first  in  Arms  Hall  and  later  in  the 
Methodist  Protestant  Church,  the  Disciple  Church  in  Central  Square, 
the  Martin  Luther  Church  and  again  in  Arms  Hall.  In  1867  the  first 
church  building,  a  comfortably-sized  brick  structure,  was  erected  at 
Wood  and  Walnut  streets  and  dedicated  in  May,  1868.  This  building 
was  remodeled  in  1877  and  again  in  1881. 

Reverend  Ormond  remained  Until  February  1,  1870,  and  on  Febru- 
ary 7,  1871,  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  M.  Wallace,  D.  D.,  who  remained 
until  December  13,  1881.  For  two  years  the  church  was  without  a 
pastor,  but  on  January  1,  1884,  Rev.  S.  R.  Frazier  was  placed  in  charge. 
Doctor  Frazier  remained  for  twenty-two  years  and  under  his  pastorate 
the  present  church  building,  on  the  site  of  the  old  one,  was  erected.  This 
building  was  put  up  in  1893  and  dedicated  on  January  28,  1894,' the  name 
of  the  church  being  changed  at  this  time  to  the  Tabernacle  United  Pres- 
byterian. 

About  eight  years  slater  the  Third  United  Presbyterian  Church  was 
organized,  owing  to  a  division  in  the  Tabernacle  Church,  but  within  four 
years  this  breach  was  healed.  Rev.  W.  II.  Vincent,  D.  D.,  was  pastor 
of  this  congregation.  ' 

Doctor  Frazier  resigned  on  June  13,  i<;o6,  and  on  September  8,  1907, 
Rev.  Gilbert  O.  Miller  Was  installed  as  pastor.  Reverend  Miller  re- 
mained until  the  fail  of  1912  when  Rev.  John  Heslip  became  minister* 
of  the  church,  the  fifth  to  hold  this  place  in  the  more  than  sixty  years: 
of  the  existence  of  the  congregation.  Norman  Igo  is  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday  school  and  Tabernacle  Church  is  stronger  today  than  ever 
in  its  history  although  the  expansion  of  the  city  has  caused  the  organ- 
ization of  five  other  churches  of  this  creed. 

The  Second  United  Presbyterian  congregation  was  organized  on' 
May  6.  1887,  the  membership  coming  almost  entirely  fr6m  the  Taber- 
nacle Church.  For  a  dozen  years  the  members  worshiped  in  the  school- 
house  chapel  at  Himrod  Avenue  and  Prospect  Street,  but  in  1899  erected 
a  brick  church  in  Himrod  just  above  Prospect.  This  structure  was  used 
for  almost  twenty  years.  In  1918  construction  of  the  present  -  church 
aft  Himrod  Avenue  and  Rebecca  Street  was  begun  and  oh  February  2, 
19 1 9,  the  building  was  dedicated.     Rev.  J.  M.  Jamiesori  Avas  the  first 


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322       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

pastor  of  the  congregation.  The  present  pastor,  Rev.  John  Lytle,  has 
been  in  charge  since  November  12,  191 6. 

The  South  Side  United  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized  as  a  Sun- 
day school  on  the  first  Sabbath  in  January,  1908,  the  meeting  taking  place 
in  a  storeroom  in  Market  Street,  near  Delason  Avenue,  thirty-six  mem- 
bers enrolling.  At  the  next  meeting,  a  week  later,  Reverend  Houston 
of  Struthers  was  in  attendance  and  he  assisted  greatly  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  church  congregation  that  came  into  existence  early  in  April, 
1908.  Rev.  D.  C.  Fulton  came  as  the  first  pastor  of  the  church  in  July, 
1908. 

In  1908  a  residence  building  at  Market  Street  and  Delason  Avenue 
was  purchased  and  remodeled  for  church  purposes  and  this  sufficed  until 
1916,  when  it  was  moved  away  and  a  splendid  brick  church  built  on  the 
site.  This  church  was  dedicated  on  March  4,  191 7.  Rev.  J.  A.  Mc- 
Donald is  the  present  pastor  of  the  South  Side  Church. 

The  Lansingville  United  Presbyterian  Church  is  the  outgrowth  of  a 
Union  Sabbath  School  founded  in  1891.  It  was  organized  as  a  church 
on  July  28,  191 1,  with  fifty  members,  mostly  from  the  Tabernacle 
Church.  A  small  frame  building  was  first  used  for  worship,  but  in  1912 
this  was  enlarged  and  a  new  building  added,  the  dedication  of  this  struc- 
ture taking  place  on  October  20,  191 2;  A  Bible  school  was  organized 
on  the  first  Sabbath  in  March,  1913,  with  seventy  members  and  the  first 
session  of  the  church  was  elected  on  January  3,  1913. 

Rev.  F.  C.  Davidson  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  Lansingville  church, 
taking  charge  on  August  1,  191 1.  His  successors  were  Rev.  M.  G. 
Jerrow  and  Rev.  H.  C.  McAuley.  Rev.  Oscar  Person,  the  present  pastor, 
was  installed  on  January  24,  1918. 

The  Brownlee  Woods  United  Presbyterian  Church  held  its  first 
service  on  December  24,  1916,  Rev.  H.  C.  McCauley  becoming  pastor  at 
that  time.  A  Sabbath  school  was  formed  January  7,  1917,  and  the 
church  formally  organized  on  February  11,  1917,  with  a  charter  member- 
ship of  sixty.  A  small  frame  chapel  was  erected  during  this  winter  and 
in  September,  1918,  the  cornerstone  of  the  present  church  was  laid,  the 
church  being  dedicated  on  May  11,  1919. 

The  North  Side  United  Presbyterian  Church  was  formed  in  191 7  and 
a  chapel  erected  in  Halleck  Street.  The  church  has  no  resident  pastor 
at  present. 

Jewish 

Jewish  migration  to  the  Mahoning  Valley  began  in  the  '30s  and  with 
gradual  increases  in  population  religious  services  were  held  in  private 
homes  and  the  faith  preserved.  On  May  12,  1867,  faithful  members, 
numbering  David  Theobald,  Henry  Theobald,  Morris  Uliman,  Abraham 
Wallburn,  Ferdinand  Ritter,  William  Jonas,  Charles  Ritter,  Simon 
Loewenstein,  A.  Ritter,  A.  Schaffner,  A.  Printz,  Edward  Ritter,  S.  J. 
Lambert,  Emanuel  Guthman,  Emanuel  Hartzell,  A.  Goldstein  and  A. 
Schwab  held  the  first  meeting  to  organize  a  Jewish  congregation.  On 
May  19th,  one  week  later,  the  Rodef  Sholem  organization  was  perfected 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       323 

with  David  Theobald  as  president ;  Edward  Ritter,  vice  president ;  Abra- 
ham Wallburn,  treasurer,  and  Emanuel  Guthman,  secretary. 

Early  services  were  held  in  the  Porter  Block  in  West  Federal  Street 
and  shortly  afterwards  church  quarters  were  fitted  up  in  the  Gerstle 
Block  at  Federal  and  Hazel  streets.  Dr.  Henry  Bloch  came  as  pastor 
in  February,  1885,  and  in  the  same  year  the  congregation  felt  that  it  was 
in  position  to  erect  a  home  of  its  own  and  a  site  was  purchased  at 
Lincoln  Avenue  and  Holmes  Street.  Construction  of  a  temple  was  be- 
gun immediately  and  on  June  4,  1886,  this  structure  was  formally 
dedicated. 

This  building  sufficed  for  more  than  twenty-five  years  but  in  1912-13 
a  movement  was  launched  for  a  new  house  of  worship  and  at  a  congrega- 
tional dinner  held  at  the  Progress  Club  rooms  in  January  of  the  latter 
year  the  project  took  definite  shape  when  $25,000  was  voluntarily  sub- 
scribed for  a  new  building.  A  location  at  Elm  Street  and  Woodbine 
Avenue  was  selected  and  work  begun  the  same  year,  with  the  result  that 
the  imposing  Rodef  Sholem  Temple  of  today  was  dedicated  in  191 4. 
The  dedicatory  services  were  attended  by  distinguished  rabbis  from 
throughout  the  country. 

For  twenty-five  years  Dr.  J.  B.  Grossman  presided  over  the  Rodef 
Sholem  congregation,  coming  here  in  1888  and  resigning  in  1913,  but 
remaining  in  Youngstown  where  he  is  yet  one  of  our  honored  and  be- 
loved citizens.  He  was  succeeded  on  September  28,  1913,  by  Dr.  I.  E. 
Philo,  who  has  become  since  his  residence  here  more  than  the  pastor  of 
a  congregation,  being  a  student  and  a  speaker  that  people  of  all  creeds 
flock  to  hear.  The  business  organization  of  the  church  founded  more 
than  fifty  years  ago  remains,  the  presidents  of  the  church  organizations 
who  have  served  numbering,  after  David  Theobald,  Abraham  Schwab, 
Samuel  Weil,  Moses  Weinberg,  Emanuel  Guthman,  Emanuel  Mittler, 
Adolph  Louer,  Emanuel  Hartzell,  Isaac  Strouss,  Max  E.  Brunswick, 
B.  H.  Printz  and  Herman  C.  Ritter. 

The  Jewish  congregations  of  Youngstown  carry  on  charitable  and  so- 
cial work  as  well  as  religious  work,  being  distinguished  for  the  care  of 
their  own  people,  a  most  admirable  trait. 

The  Children  of  Israel  congregation  was  formed  in  1892  by  orthodox 
Jews  and  in  1893  the  present  synagogue  in  Summit  Avenue  was  built 
and  dedicated.  Previous  to  erecting  their  own  home  the  people  of  this 
congregation  worshiped  in  the  Porter  Block.  This  church  too  is  flour- 
ishing under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  I.  M.  Davidson. 

The  Emanuel  congregation  was  organized  in  1906  with  Nathan  Ozer- 
sky  as  president;  M.  Altshuler,  vice  president;  H.  Myerson,  secretary; 
I.  Edelman,  treasurer,  and  Louis  Ozersky  as  trustee,  and  for  a  time 
worshiped  at  349  East  Federal  Street.  In  1908  the  present  location  in 
East  Rayen  Avenue  was  purchased  and  after  the  temporary  church  there 
had  been  used  for  a  short  time  the  present  synagogue  was  erected. 
Rev.  Samuel  Bloch  is  pastor  of  this  congregation. 

The  Shara  Tora  congregation  was  formed  in  1912  and  later  the  or- 
ganization purchased  the  former  Second  United  Presbyterian  Church  ira 


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324       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Himrod  Avenue  for  a  house  of  worship.     It  is  a  growing  church,  with 
Rev.  Max  Brown  as  rabbi. 

The  Asnhe  Emeth  congregation  is  the  youngest  of  Jewish  religious 
organizations,  having  been  formed  in  19 19  but  is  a  vigorous  infant.  At 
a  gathering  held  soon  after  the  founding  of  the  congregation,  addressed 
by  Rabbi  S.  Goldman  of  Cleveland,  $60,000  was  subscribed  for  a  new 
temple  of  worship.  The  congregation  has  already  purchased  a  site  in 
Elm  Street  where  a  splendid  temple  will  be  built. 

Congregational 

The  Welsh  Congregational  Church,  oldest  of  the  two  churches  of  this 
denomination  in  Youngstown,  had  its  origin  in  meetings  of  Congrega- 
tionalists  of  Welsh  birth  who  first  gathered  in  a  schoolhouse  on  the 
Peter  Wirt  farm  in  Brier  Hill,  these  meetings  beginning  about  1840. 
The  church  was  formally  organized  in  1845  under  the  supervision  of 
Rev.  David  Davies  of  Brady's  Run,  Pennsylvania,  with  Reese  Herbert. 
Thomas  Morgan,  Joshua  Davies,  David  Evans,  John  Edwards,  William 
Owens  and  William  Matthews  among  the  charter  members.  Rev. 
Thomas  Evans  was  the  first  resident  pastor  of  the  congregation. 

Rev.  Thomas  W.  Davis  became  pastor  in  1861,  and  in  the  same  year 
the  scene  of  the  church  activities  was  transferred  from  Brier  Hill  to 
Youngstown  with  the  construction  of  a  franie  church  in  Elm  Street, 
near  Wood.  This  church  building,  completely  remodeled  in  1887,  is 
still  in  use. 

Rev.  Thomas  W.  Davis  was  succeeded  as  pastor  in  January,  1867,  by 
Rev.  David  Daves.  Succeeding  pastors  included  Rev.  Lot  Lake,  Rev. 
John  Morgan  Thomas,  Rev.  John  Lewis  Davies,  under  whose  super- 
vision the  Plymouth  Church  was  formed;  Rev.  Lot  Lake  (second 
pastorate),  Rev.  J.  P.  Williams,  Rev.  J.  B.  Davies  who  remained  for 
more  than  ten  years;  Rev.  R.  L.  Roberts  and  Rev.  H.  R.  Hughes,  the 
present  pastor,  who  came  in  191 8. 

The  Plymouth  Congregational  Church  was  organized  on  November 
28,  1882,  in  response  to  a  demand  of  younger  members  of  this  creed  for 
an  English-speaking  congregation,  the  charter  members  numbering 
sixty-three,  of  whom  forty-seven  were  identified  until  that  time  with 
the  Elm  Street,  or  Welsh,  Congregational  Church.  Rev.  John  L.  Davies 
was  installed  as  pastor  and  for  the  first  two  years  church  services  were 
held  in  the  courthouse,  but  on  December  28,  1884,  a  permanent  home 
of  the  congregation  was  dedicated. 

On  December  23,  1892,  this  structure  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The 
construction  of  a  brick  church  was  begun  immediately,  the  cornerstone 
of  the  new  edifice  was  laid  on  June  11,  1893,  and  the  church  occupied 
for  the  first  time  on  December  31,  1893.  On  Sunday,  December  18, 
1899,  this  structure  was  dedicated  free  of  debt,  this  occasion  being  a 
memorable  one  in  the  history  of  the  congregation.  Xumerous  clergy- 
men assisted  in  the  ceremonies,  the  dedicatory  sermon  being  preached 
by  Rev.  Charles  Thwing,  president  of  Western  Reserve  University. 

Reverend  Davies  remained  as  pastor  of  Plymouth  Church  until  1891. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       325 

Succeeding  pastors  were  Rev.  B.  N.  Chamberlain,  Rev.  D.  D.  McSkim- 
ming,  Rev.  Perry  Wayland  Sinks,  Rev.  D.  T.  Thomas,  Rev.  CM.  Burk- 
holders  and  Rev.  George  W.  Brown.  Rev.  A.  A.  Lancaster  came  as 
pastor  in  1916  and  has  been  in  charge  since  except  for  a  period  of  more 
than  a  year  when  he  was  on  leave  of  absence  as  a  United  States  Army 
chaplain  in  France  during  the  World  war. 

Reformed 

The  history  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  Youngstowri  goes  back  to 
1856  or  1857  when  Rev.  G.  Kranz,  then  living  at  North  Lima,  began  tp 
pleach  to  German-speakrng  residents  here.  This  resulted  in  the  organ- 
ization of  a  congregation  to  which  Rev.  C.  H.  Fehr  was  called  to  minister 
in  r.858.    A  small  church  building  was  put  Up  in  Mahoning  Avenue. 

In  1865  a  number  of  members  of  this  congregation  separated  and 
organized  the  First  Reformed  Church,  an  organization  that  erected  a 
church  structure  of  its  own.  This  congregation  was  served  by  Rev.  W. 
J£g#terK  Rev.  J.  M.  Grether,  Rev.  J.  Biery  aftd  Rev.  J.  B.  Zumpp.  In 
1879  the  original  congregation  united,  with  the.  First  Church  and  in  1880 
Rev.  J.  Herold  became  pastor. 

The  present  church  building,  located  in  West  Wood  Street,  was 
erected  in  1886,  and  a  year  later  Rev.  W.  F.  Zander  became  pastor  of  the 
congregation.  Reverend  gander  renjained  until  189 1  when  Rev.  Fred- 
ripk  Mayer  was  installed  as  pastpr.  Reverend  Mayer  has  remained 
since  that  time  and  is  now  nearing  the  close  of  the  thirtieth  year  of  his 
pastorate. 

The  church  building  that  has  been  used  for  more  than  a  third  of  a 
century  has  long  since  become  too  small  for  this  congregation,  now  one 
of  the  largest  Protestant  church  organizations  in  the  city,  and  a  site  for 
q.  new  building  has  been  purchased  at  Wick  and  Lincoln  avenues,  where 
a  modern  church  edifice  will  be  put  up. 

St.  Paul's  Reformed  Church  was  organized  as  a  Sunday  school  on 
July  15,  1894,  and  as  a  church  on  September  16th,  of  the  same  year,  in 
1895  a  church  site  was  purchased  in  West  Boardman  Street  and  the  con- 
struction of  a  church  begun.  The  cornerstone  of  this  building  was  laid 
in  May,  1896,  and  the  church  dedicated  on  November  29,  i8</),  this 
edifice  having  been  erected  and  opened  for  worship  under  Rev.  Aaron 
Noll,  who  came  as  pastor  of  the  church  on  April  21,   1895. 

Changing  residential  conditions  made  a  new  church  location  desire- 
able  and  in  April,  1917,  a  site  was  purchased  at  Oak  Hill  Avenue  and 
Glenaven.  The  old  church  property  was  sold  in  September,  1919  and 
a  temporary  church  erected  on  the  new  location,  pending  the  erection  of 
a  building  for  which  plans  have  been  drawn. 

Reverend  Noll  resigned  on  April  t,  1897,  and  was  succeeded  on 
July  1,  1898,  by  Rev.  J.  M.  Kendig,  who  remained  until  April  1,  1905. 
Rev.  J.  M.  Kendig  was  pastor  from  April  30,  1905,  to  September,  1916, 
and  was  succeeded  on  October  1,  1916,  by  Rev.  Richard  R.  Yocum,  the 
present  pastor,  under  whose  ministry  the  silver  anniversary  of  the  church 
was  celebrated  in  September,  19*9. 


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326       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  Third  Reformed  Church,  Brownlee  Woods,  was  organized  in 
September,  1917,  by  Rev.  E.  D.  Wettach,  formerly  pastor  of  St.  Paul's. 
A  bungalow  chapel  was  built  at  that  time  and  was  opened  for  services  in 
February,  1918.  Reverend  Wettach  is  still  pastor  of  this  church,  located 
in  a  growing  part  of  the  city. 

Orthodox 

The  Hellenic  Greek  Orthodox  congregation  was  organized  about 
1910  for  Greek-speaking  residents  of  Youngstown  as  St.  John's  Church. 
Natives  of  Greece  first  emigrated  here  more  than  forty  years  ago  and 
many  of  them  have  become  prominent  in  the  business  life  of  the  city. 
With  the  increase  in  numbers  in  the  last  decade  the  need  of  a  congrega- 
tion of  the  creed  with  which  they  are  identified  was  emphasized  and  St. 
John's  was  formed.  Temporary  meeting  quarters  have  sufficed  here- 
tofore, a  location  in  West  Federal  Street  being  used  for  the  last  few 
years,  but  a  splendid  Greek  community  church  of  oriental  design  is  now 
being  built  at  Woodland  Avenue  and  Williams  Street  by  the  congrega- 
tion. The  edifice  will  represent  an  expenditure  of  $70,000.  Rev.  Stef- 
anos  Sauriotis  is  pastor. 

The  Greek  Orthodox  Roumanian  Church  is,  as  its  name  indicates,  a 
congregation  of  Roumanian-speaking  residents  identified  with  the 
Orthodox  Church.  This  congregation  was  founded  in  1910  and  has  a 
church  building,  erected  soon  afterwards,  in  Wilson  Avenue.  Rev.  John 
Podea  is  pastor. 

St.  Nicholas'  Greek  Orthodox  congregation  was  formed  in  1918*  and 
made  up  of  former  members  of  St.  John's  who  live  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  city.  The  congregation  purchased  in  1919  the  former  Walnut 
Street  Baptist  Church  building  in  North  Walnut  Street  and  are  using  it 
as  a  house  of  worship.  The  members  are  Greek-speaking.  Reverend 
Kaloudis  is  pastor. 

The  Nativity  of  Christ  Russian  Orthodox  Church  was  organized  in 
1916,  its  members  being  Russian-speaking.  The  congregation  has 
erected  a  church  in  Arlington  Street.    Rev.  Paul  Lotozky  is  pastor. 

Primitive  Methodist 

The  First  Primitive  Methodist  Church  was  organized  in  1893  by  Rev. 
W.  Russell,  still  known  affectionately  to  members  of  this  creed  as 
"Grandpa"  Russell.  Reverend  Russell  remained  as  the  first  pastor  and 
under  his  direction  a  church  building  was  put  in  West  Federal  Street. 
The  present  church  at  Madison  Avenue  and  Covington  Street  was  built 
in  1907  and  the  congregation  has  grown  appreciably  since  that  time. 
Rev.  C.  H.  Higginson  has  been  pastor  since  1916. 

The  Second  Primitive  Methodist  Church  was  organized  on  May  6, 
1916,  and  a  church  building  erected  in  Kendall  Avenue  at  that  time. 
Rev.  Thomas  Cook  came  as  pastor  in  1917  and  in  May,  1918,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  W.  R.  Currie,  the  present  pastor. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        327 
African  Methodist  Episcopal 

The  Oak  Hill  Avenue  A.  M.  E.  Church  is  the  pioneer  religious  or- 
ganization of  colored  people  in  Youngstown.  It  began  with  a  series  of 
meetings  in  1870,  held  first  at  the  home  of  Oscar  Boggess  and  later  at 
the  home  of  John  Holmes.  The  church  was  formally  organized  on 
March  14,  1871,  and  met  in  a  building  in  Front  Street  and  later  in  the 
Jewell  Block  and  in  the  Excelsior  Hall  and  Town  Hall.  Rev.  J.  Hugh 
Holliday  was  the  first  pastor.  Mrs.  Susan  Holmes,  Mrs.  Julia  Johnson 
and  Watson  A.  Williams  are  the  only  surviving  charter  members  of  this 
church. 

In  the  '8os  a  brick  church  in  Oak  Hill  Avenue  became  the  home  of 
the  congregation  and  in  1909  this  was  replaced  by  a  modern  church 
structure.    Rev.  J.  T.  Farley  is  pastor  of  this  church. 

St.  Mary's  A.  M.  E.  Zion  Church  was  organized  in  1878  and  later 
erected  a  frame  church  in  Mahoning  Avenue.  In  1900  the  congregation 
was  reorganized,  with  Reverend  Hicks  as  pastor.  In  1919  the  frame 
church  building  was  remodeled  into  a  brick  structure.  Rev.  B.  M. 
Butler  is  pastor. 

The  Centenary  A.  M.  E.  Church  was  organized  in  1918  by  Rev.  C.  E. 
Ball,  at  that  time  pastor  of  St.  Mary's.  In  1919  the  congregation  pur- 
chased the  brick  building  that  had  been  the  home  of  the  Belmont  Avenue 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.    Reverend  Ball  is  pastor  of  the  church. 

The  Albert  Street  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  is  a  new  and  flourish- 
ing congregation.    Rev.  J.  M.  Hodges  is  pastor. 

Other  Youngstown  Churches 

The  First  Methodist  Protestant  Church  is  one  of  the  oldest  religious 
organizations  in  Youngstown,  having  been  organized  in  1834  when  the 
only  other  church  congregations  in  the  village  were  those  of  the  Presby- 
terian and  the  Methodist  Episcopals. 

In  1841  the  congregation  erected  the  church  in  East  Front  Street 
that  later  became  known  as  the  "Brown  Church,"  Rev.  William  Reeves 
being  pastor  at  that  time  with  Philip  Kimmel,  Abraham  Powers,  Jonah 
Stout  and  Wilson  Thorn  as  leaders  in  the  church.  Later  the  member- 
ship dwindled  but  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  W.  E.  Brindley,  who  came 
in  September,  1881,  the  church  took  on  new  life.  Succeeding  pastors 
were  Rev.  J.  F.  Dyer,  Rev.  J.  M.  Bennett,  Rev.  J.  F.  Dyer  (second  time), 
Rev.  W.  H.  Gladden,  Rev.  D.  C.  White,  Rev.  J.  H.  Shimp,  Rev.  J.  H. 
Lamberton,  Rev.  E.  J.  Headley  and  Rev.  S.  K.  Spahr,  the  present  pastor, 
who  came  in  191 7.  In  1910  the  congregation  erected  the  present  modern 
house  of  worship  in  West  Delason  Avenue. 

The  First  Unitarian  Church  had  its  origin  in  gatherings  held  here 
more  than  thirty  years  ago  when  mission  preaching  was  done  by  profes- 
sors and  students  from  the  Meadville  Theological  School.  These  meet- 
ings, held  in  hired  halls,  resulted  in  the  organization  in  October,  1892,  of 
the  First  Unitarian  Parish  of  Youngstown. 

Various  missionary  preachers  attended  the  congregation  until  1904, 


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,328   YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

when,  under  the  leadership  of  Ifov;  Leon  A.  Harvey,  the  church  was 
reorganized.  In  1907,  during  the  ministry  of  Rev.  W.  L.  Beers,  a  lot 
>#as,  purchased  by  the  parish  at  Elm  Street  ajq4  Bissell  Avenue  and  in 
I99§  the  present  portable  church  was  erected  i-Jjere^n.  The  growth  of 
the^urch  ha^s  beeji  rapid  since  t^aj, time.  . 

Rev.  Horace  W£$tw<g#l  served  as  pastor  from  1909  to  December, 
1912;  and  R£v.  H.  H.  Bunch-  during  1913.  Rev.  F.  M.  Bennett,  the 
present  pastor,  began  his  service  m  October,  1914.  Not  only  has  the 
character  of  the  membership  of  this  qtiurch  given  it  great  prestige  and 
strength,  but  it  has  also  been  fortunate  in  the  high  standing  of  its  pastors, 
especially  the  present  one.  Reverend  Bennett  has  been  something  mor£ 
than  a  mere  pastor.  He  is  a  broad  gauge  citizen  and  a  man  of  attain- 
ments and  active  in  sociological  and  humanitarian  work.  As  vice  chair- 
man of  the  children's  service  bureau  he  has  rendered  especially  valuable 
service.  ...-•• 

i  The  First  Church  of  Christ,  Scientist,  was  incorporated  on  February 
13, -,1900,  by^  M.  Stella  Johnston,  J.  R.  Johnston,  Louis  Croll,  Allen 
Walker,  Cora  A.  Walker,  Mary  E.  Rand^  Susie  A.  Bowdre,  Louisa  F. 
Edelman,  George  W.  Banson,  Jr.,  Edward  W.  Edelman,  Lucy  M.  Shoff, 
Ada  I.  McArthur,  G.  W.  Bowdre,  W.  C.  Robinson  and  C.  H.  Simpkins. 
.Early  meeting  where  held  in  the  Gibson  Hall,  but  rapid  growth  of  the 
flppk  made  the  construction  of  a  church  desirable,  and  in  .1908  the 
present  commodious  structure  at  Spring  and  Bryson  streets  was  com- 
-pleted  and  occupied.  The  growth  of  this  organization  has  been  steady 
since.  ..„:.■      \     . 

The  Grace  United  Evangelical  Church  was  organized  in  1879  as  tne 
Evangelical  Association,  and  in  the  same  year  built  a  small  frame  church 
in  Jefferson  Street  in  Brier  Hill.  In  1893  '*  became  the  United  Evangeli- 
cal Church  and  at  that  time  the  church  building  was  remodeled  and 
enlarged.  Rev.  M.  D.  Brandyberry,  the  present  pastor,  came  in  1918, 
although  he  had  served  previously  as  pastor  ten  years  ago. 

The  Swedish  Mission  Church,  Market  Street  and  Woodland  Avenue, 
was  organized  in  1886  and  a  church  was  built  shortly  afterwards.  The 
church  was  rebuilt  in  1913.    Rev.  P.  A.  Nelson  is  pastor. 

The  Free  Methodist  Church  was  organized  in  1891,  with  ten  mem- 
bers, by  Rev.  S.  K.  Wheatlake.  The  congregation  met  first  in  Miller's 
Hall  in  Market  Street  but  in  1899  erected  its  present  church  building  in 
Myrtle  Avenue.  This  structure  was  dedicated  on  February  4,  19CO,  by 
District  Elder  J.  E.  Williams.     Rev.  E.  F.  Aiken  is  the  present  pastor. 

The  Church  of  the  Covenanters  congregation  first  worshiped  in  a 
church  in  Mahoning  Avenue  but  in  19 19  erected  the  present  edifice  at 
High  and  Edwards  streets.     This  is  a  flourishing  congregation. 

The  First  Spiritualist  Church  was  organized  twenty  years  ago  and  is 
now  located  at  i>2$  West  LaClede  Avenue,  with  Rev.  Ida  Howard  in 
charge.  The  Second  Church  meets  in  the  Caq>enters'  Hall,  West  Fed- 
eral Street,  with  Mrs.  R.  Sutcliffe  as  director. 

The  Seventh-Day  Adventists  meet  in  Bushnell  Hall.  Rev.  W.  J. 
Yenen  is  minister. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       329 

The  Church  of  the  Brethren  "is  located  at  Woodworth  and  Market 
streets.    Rev.  John  T.  Byler  is  pastor. 

The  Full  Gospel  Church  is  located  in  a  temporary  tabernacle  at  2833 
Hillman  Street.    Rev.  G.  E.  Smith  is  pastor. 

The  Reorganized  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-Day  Saints  is 
located  in  East  Earl  Avenue.    Elder  T.  U.  Thomas  is  pastor. 

The  Salvation  Army 

It  was  on  December  23,  1883,  that  three  members  of  an  organiza- 
tion, then  comparatively  new  in  America,  appeared  in  Youngstown  with 
their  familiar  base  drum  and  began  the  formation  of  a  corps  of  the 
Salvation  Army. 

Prominent  business  men  interested  themselves  in  the  work  of  the 
Salvationists  and  on  February  9,  1884,  the  local  branch  was  formally 
organized.  In  its  early  days  the  struggle  was  hard.  Its  methods  of 
going  out  into  the  highways  and  byways  for  the  fallen  and  the  unfor- 
tunate were  not  understood,  nor  were  they  appreciated.  Yet  the  Salva- 
tionists persevered  with  the  assistance  of  those  who  fully  realized  the 
good  they  were  doing.  Their  work  expanded.  To  preaching  the  gospel 
they  added  works  of  charity,  care  of  the  sick,  assistance  for  the  unem- 
ployed, relief  of  poor  mothers  and  many  other  activities.  The  Salvation 
Army  barracks  was  a  refuge  to  the  poor  during  "hard  times"  and  to  the 
weak  and  fallen  in  other  days.  Its  familiar  Christmas  collections  when 
Salvation  maids  stood  guard  over  the  tripods  and  suspended  Christmas 
kettles  and  tinkled  their  bells  for  alms,  not  for  themselves  but  for  the 
poor,  are  still  easily  recalled. 

Organized  charity  and  the  adoption  of  Salvation  Army  methods  by 
other  agencies  have  relieved  the  army  of  much  of  its  former  work,  but  it 
has  taken  on  new  duties  in  their  place  and  is  still  one  of  the  useful 
agencies  of  Youngstown.  The  splendid  work  of  the  Salvation  Army 
along  the  battle  front  during  the  World  war  would  be  of  itself  sufficient 
justification  for  its  existence.  It  has  gone  about  doing  good,  often 
without  much  encouragement  and  even  now  without  the  help  it  deserves 
in  the  shape  of  a  home  of  its  own.  The  local  branch  of  the  army  now 
meets  in  the  old  Town  Hall  but  will  soon  launch  its  many-times-post- 
poned campaign  for  an  armory  of  its  own.  an  enterprise  toward  which 
Youngstown  should  give  liberally  when  the  time  comes.  Staff  Capt. 
F.  P.  Osmond  is  now  in  charge  in  Youngstown,  with  Ensign  Henry 
Hesse  manager  of  the  industrial  home  and  Lieut.  Evelyn  Carlson  in 
charge  of  the  Swedish  branch,  244  Wayne  Avenue. 

Missions 

Community  Welfare  No.  1,  Wick  Avenue  and  Erie*  Crossing,  Rev. 
Wesley  Brown,  superintendent. 

Community  Welfare  No.  2,  Commerce  and  Holmes  streets,  Rev. 
Wesley  Brown,  superintendent. 

Mennonite,  314  Worthington  Street,  C.  K.  Hostetler,  superintendent. 


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330       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

City  Rescue,  21  Spring  Common,  J.  J.  Van  Ness,  superintendent. 

Pentecostal,  124  East  Federal,  Rev.  J.  T.  Boddy. 

Booker  T.  Washington  Settlement,  West  Federal  and  Ardale,  Rev. 
George  Johnson,  pastor. 

Christian  and  Missionary  Alliance,  Oak  Hill  Avenue  and  Glenaven. 
Reverend  Clemens  in  charge. 

Church  of  God  and  Saints  of  Christ,  Rev.  J.  J.  Brooks,  pastor. 

Revelation  14  Mission,  Clinton  Street.    L.  Schmidt  in  charge. 

Associated  Bible  Students,  East  Federal  Street. 

West  End  Mission,  West  Federal  Street.  Stevens  Bromley,  super- 
intendent. 

Emma  Street  Mission,  R.  L.  Knight,  superintendent. 

Federation  of  Roumanian  Jews.    Meets  at  225  East  Federal  Street. 

International  Bible  Students  Class,  114  East  Federal  Street. 

Triumph  Church,  514  Griffith  Street,  Rev.  S.  T.  McKee,  pastor. 


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CHAPTER  XVIII 

YOUNGSTOWN  IN  THE  PROFESSIONS 

One  Hundred  and  Twenty  Years  of  Medicine  and  Surgery— The 
Legal  Profession  in  Early  Days  and  Since  the  Organization 
of  Mahoning  County — Newspapers  Past  and  Present — The 
Newer  Professions 

Four  years  after  its  founding,  or  in  1801,  Youngstown  was  but  a 
struggling  settlement  of  one  street.  Within  the  township  were  200  to 
300  residents,  young  and  old.  It  was  perhaps  not  a  promising  field  for 
a  medical  man  who  had  been  brought  up  in  the  more  thickly  settled  East, 
but  it  was  to  Youngstown  that  Dr.  Charles  Dutton  decided  to  emigrate 
in  the  above  year. 

He  was  a  youth  of  but  twenty-four  years,  having  been  born  at  Wall- 
ingford,  Connecticut,  in  1777.  His  medical  studies  were  pursued  there 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Jared  Potter  and  his  journey  to  the  Western 
Reserve  was  made  in  company  with  a  band  of  Connecticut  emigrants 
under  the  leadership  of  Turhand  Kirtland.  As  the  field  in  Youngstown 
appeared  satisfactory  to  him  he  purchased  land  in  West  Federal  Street, 
just  east  of  Spring  Common,  in  1802,  and  erected  thereon  a  log  house 
for  a  residence  and  office.  He  was  Youngstown's  pioneer  physician,  and 
for  ten  years  its  only  medical  practitioner. 

That  sturdy  Youngstowners  of  that  day  did  not  require  the  services 
of  even  one  physician  for  a  great  part  of  the  time  is  apparent  from  the 
fact  that  Doctor  Dutton  was  a  man  of  varied  pursuits.  He  was  post- 
master of  Youngstown  from  1803  to  1818  and  also  held  several  township 
offices.  His  attention  was  also  directed  toward  farming,  as  he  became 
the  owner  of  considerable  land  adjoining  the  township,  and  for  some 
years  was  interested  in  the  operation  of  the  grist  mill  where  the  Baldwin 
mill  now  stands,  first  as  part  owner  and  then  as  sole  owner.  In  farming 
and  stockraising,  according  to  an  authentic  biographer,  he  devoted  his 
attention  "particularly  to  raising  mules,"  and  in  later  years  practiced  his 
profession  only  occasionally.  He  was  eccentric,  gruff,  yet  kindly,  not 
overly  gentle  in  practice  and  yet  regarded  as  a  most  capable  physician 
and  surgeon.  Doctor  Dutton  died  in  1842,  leaving  one  daughter,  Jane 
Wick,  the  wife  of  Dr.  Lemuel  Wick. 

Doctor  Shadrach,  itinerant  minister  as  well  as  physician,  resided  in 
Youngstown  from  1804  to  1807,  when  he  returned  to  Canfield.  He  was 
a  clergyman,  however,  rather  than  a  doctor. 

Dr.  Henry  Manning,  Youngstown's  second  doctor,  was  a  native  of 

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332       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Lebanon,  Connecticut,  born  on  January  15,  1787.  He  settled  in  Youngs- 
town  in  181 1  and  a  year  later  became  regimental  surgeon  under  Col. 
William  Rayen  of  the  First  Regiment,  Third  Brigade,  Fourth  Division, 
Ohio  Militia.  His  service  in  the  War  of  181 2  continued  until  the  Trum- 
bull County  troops  returned  in  181 3,  chiefly  at  the  camps  in  North- 
western Ohio.  In  181 5  he  opened  a  drug  store  in  partnership  with  Col. 
Caleb  B.  Wick.  He  was  active  in  public  affairs  and  in  the  business  life 
of  the  village  and  the  Mahoning  Valley,  serving  as  a  representative  in 
the  State  Legislature  in  1819-20  and  again  in  1843-44,  as  a  state  senator 
in  1825-26  and  as  associate  justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  from 
J836  to.  1843.:  r^e  was  elected  president  of  the  Mahoning  County  Bank 
in  1854  and  also  was /named  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  when 
it  was  organized /in  1 863J  Doctor  Manning  died  on  January  11,  1869. 
In  his  profession  he  was  an  excellent  physician"  and  a  most  skillful 
surgeon. 

Dr.  Charles  C.  Cook,  like  his  predecessors,  was  a  native  of  Connecti- 
cut. Born  at  Wallingford  in  that  state  on  June  22.  1799,  he  graduated 
from  the  medical  department  of  Yale  University  in  1822  and  locate^  in 
Youngstown  in  1824.  He  practiced  in  Youngstown  for  almost  forty 
years^dying  jOn  November  3,  1862. 

Dr.  Timothy  Woodbridge  was  the  first  native  born  medical  man  in 
Youngstown. .  Bom  here  in  March,,  iSio,  a  son  of  John  E;  Woodbridge, 
he  studied  under  Doctor  Manning  and  later  attended  Jefferson  Medical 
College  at  Philadelphia,  from  which  institution  he  was  graduated  in 
1833.  Married  to  Miss  Isabel  Ja  McCurdy  on  April  3,  1844,  ne  accom- 
panied David  Tod  to  Brazjl  \vhen  trie  tatter  was  minister  to  that  country 
in  1847.  In  I^6i  he  became  a  surgeon  in"  the  United  States  Army  and 
was  located  at  Jonnson's  fsland,  where  he  remained  until  the  close  of 
the  war  in  1865.  In  1879  he  became  a  surgeon  in  the  regular  army  and 
was  stationed  at  Fort  Peck,  Montana.  Doctor  Woodbridge  dieel  in 
1893,  a  medical  man  of  more  than  local  fame. 

Dr.  Theodatus  Garlick  practiced  in  Youngstown  from  1834  to  1853, 
when  he  removed  to  Cleveland,  where  he  died  in  1884.  Contemporary 
with  him  were  the  physicians  above  named,  and  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Barie. 

In  addition  to  Dr.  Timothy  Woodbridge,  four  men  who  were  Youngs- 
town medical  practitioners,  at  that  time  or  later,  served  in  the  Civil  war. 
Dr.  [ John  MacCurdy,  who  began  practice  here  in  1858,  enlisted  in  1861 
and  was  made  assistant  surgeon  of  the  Twenty-Third  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry,  serving  later  as  district  medical  inspector  in  West  Virginia, 
surgeon  of  the  Eleventh  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  assistant  medical 
director  of  the  Fourteenth  Army  Corps  and  medical  inspector  011  the 
staff  of  General  Thomas.  He  was  captured  at  Chickamauga  and  spent 
six  months  in  Libby  prison.  Captured  again  before  Atlanta  in  1864,  he 
was  imprisoned  for  six  weeks.  Returning  to  Youngstown  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  he  practiced  here  until  his  death. 

Dr.-  Charles  N.  Fowler  enlisted  from  Poland  and  was  appointed  sur- 
geon of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  serving 
later  as  medical  inspector  of  the  Fourteenth  Army  Corps.  He  removed 
to  Youngstown  soon  after  the  war, and  practiced  here  for  many  years. 


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Dr.  Henry  Manning 
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334       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Dr.  William  J.  Whelan  was  a  medical  student  in  Detroit  when  he 
enlisted  with  the  First  Michigan  Cavalry  in  1861.  Captured  at  Win- 
chester, Virginia,  he  was  paroled  in  January,  1863,  and  pursued  his 
medical  studies  further  at  St.  Louis  Medical  College  in  the  winters  of 
1863-64,  and  1864-65.  Returning  to  the  army  in  the  spring  of  1865,  he 
completed  his  medical  course  after  the  war  had  ended,  and  in  1867 
located  in  Youngstown,  where  he  was  a  practitioner  until  his  death  three 
years  ago. 

Dr.  John  E.  Woodbridge  received  his  early  schooling  in  Youngstown 
but  was  a  resident  of  Kentucky  when  the  war  broke  out.  He  enlisted 
in  the  Twenty-Seventh  Kentucky  Volunteer  Infantry  in  1861  and  later 
served  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Sixty-Ninth  Ohio  National  Guards. 
Mustered  out  in  September,  1864,  he  completed  his  medical  studies  and 
began  practice  in  1866.  Doctor  Woodbridge  served  as  a  regular  army 
doctor  for  three  years  and  loc*t6fi  in  Youngstown  in  1871. 

In  the  early  '7os>  when  Youngstown  had  a  population  of  10,000  ^nd 
an  equally  limited  number  6f  doctors,  an  organization  of  medical  men 
was  suggested,  and  this  movenient  bore  fruit  in  the  creation  of  a  body 
that  is  now  the  oldest  organization  of  professional  men  in  the  city  or 
county.  The  first  formal  gathering  was  held  at  the  office  of  Doctors 
Cunningham  &  Brooks  on  November  13,  1872,  Dr.  John  E.  Woodbridge 
acting  as  chairman  and  Dr.  W.  J.  Whelan  as  secretary.  A  committee 
consisting  of  Drs.  G.  W.  Brooks,  John  MacCurdy,  Timothy  Wood- 
bridge,  Jr.,  and  W.  J.  Whelan  was  named  to  draft  a  constitution  and 
by-laws,  and  at  a  second  meeting  held  cm  November  27,  1872,  the  report 
of  the  committee  was  adopted  and  the  Mahoning  Valley  Medical  Society 
was  formally  organized.  The  election  of  permanent  officers  was  held 
at  a  meeting  at  the  office  of  Dr.  C.  N.  Fowler  on  December  4,  1872,  when 
Dr.  John  E.  Woodbridge  was  named  president ;  Dr.  G.  W.  Brooks,  vice 
president;  Dr.  W.  J.  Whelan,  secretary,  and  Dr.  John  MacCurdy,  treas- 
urer. Doctors  Fowler,  W.  L.  Buechner  and  George  L.  Starr  were  named 
censors,  and  drew  up  and  reported  the  first  fee  bill  to  govern  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  in  Mahoning  County. 

In  1878  a  permanent  meeting  room  for  the  society  was  rented  over 
the  M.  &  K.  Drug  Store.  This  was  later  given  up  and  there  was  no 
fixed  meeting  place  until  the  completion  of  the  Reuben  McMillan  Library 
Building  in  191 1,  when  the  trustees  of  the  library  generously  offered  a 
basement  room  to  the  society  as  a  permanent  headquarters.  This  room 
has  been  furnished  by  the  society,  and  up  to  date  medical  periodicals 
are  subscribed  for  and  preserved  after  being  read,  to  be  bound  later 
and  retained.  In  addition,  the  private  medical  libraries  of  several  de- 
ceased members  have  been  presented  to  the  society  until  there  are  at 
present  several  thousand  volumes  on  the  shelves. 

The  society  meets  monthly  on  the  third  Tuesday.  The  officers  for 
1920  are,  Dr.  W.  E.  Ranz,  president;  Dr.  George  S.  Nutt,  vice  president; 
Dr.  H.  E.  Patrick,  secretary;  Dr.  W.  P.  Connor,  treasurer;  Drs.  J.  K. 
Hamilton,  M.  P.  Jones  and  R.  B.  Dobbins,  censors. 

Membership  in  the  society  is  open  to  any  reputable  graduate  of  a 
recognized  medical  school  who  professes  no  adherence  to  any  exclusive 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       335 

dogma  or  school.  The  membership  is  restricted  to  Mahoning  County 
practitioners  and  the  present  enrollment  is  125.  The  society  has  as  its 
object  and  aims  the  furtherance  of  medical  progress,  exchange  of  ideas 
and  the  maintenance  of  ethical  relations  between  members  of  the 
profession. 

Mahoning  County  medical  men  who  were  identified  with  the  Medical 
Society  prior  to  1880  include  Drs.  William  S.  Matthews,  John  E.  Wood- 
bridge,  William  J.  Whelan,  John  MacCurdy,  H.  G.  Cornell,  George  L. 
Starr,  John  S.  Cunningham, r  Daniel  Campbell  of  Canfield,  H.  H.  Hawn, 
J.  J.  Louis,  M.  D.  McCandless,  R.  W.  Weller,  C.  N.  Fowler,  Frank  F. 
Smith,  Asa  C.  Wilson,  W.  L.  Buechner,  M.  S.  Clark,  F.  V.  Floor,  A.  J. 
Lanterman,  M.  E.  Williams,  R.  P.  Hays,  G.  W.  Brooks,  T.  Woodbridge, 
Jr.,  R.  D.  Gibson,  A.  M.  Clark  and  George  S.  Peck. 

Other  physicians  and  surgeons  in  Youngstown  about  1880,  or  who 
had  practiced  here  prior  to  that  date,  were  Drs.  James  F.  Wilson,  Joseph 
Wilson,  Isaiah  Brothers,  M.  L.  Davis,  C.  H.  Slosson,  William  H.  Mc- 
Granaghan,  B.  F.  Hawn,  O.  D.  Paine  and  R.  H.  Barnes.  Since  that  day 
many  have  come  and  gone,  the  number  of  practitioners  in  Mahoning 
County,  including  all  branches  of  the  profession,  being  150  today. 

YoyNGSTOWN  Hospital 

The  Youngstown  Hospital  Association  was  incorporated  on  Septem- 
ber 8,  1881,  with  John  Stanjbaugh,  F.  H.  Matthews,  Robert  McCurdy, 
George  Rydge,  Sr.,  David  Theobald,  Janies  J.  Hamman,  F.  S.  Whitslar 
and  Richard  Brown  as  incorporators.  The  first  organization  meeting 
was  held  on  October  3,  1881,  at  the  Reading  Room  Hall,  East  Federal 
Street,  with  David  Theobald  presiding  as  chairman.  A  board  of  trus- 
tees consisting  of  Mrs.  Arabella  Ford,  Mrs.  Richard  Brown,  Mrs.  David 
Theobald,  Mrs.  J.  S.  Besore,  Mrs.  F.  S.  Whitslar,  Mrs.  J.  Botsford,  Mrs. 
Mary  Bentley,  John  Stambaugh,  C.  H.  Andrews,  A.  B.  Cornell,  J.  H. 
Matthews,  George  Rudge,  Sr.,  James  J.  Hatnman,  Disney  Rogers  and 
Frank  B.  Williams  was  named,  the  trustees  organizing  by  electing  John 
Stambaugh,  president;  Mrs.  Arabella  Ford,  vice  president;  Frank  B. 
Williams,  secretary,  and  A.  B.  Cornell,  treasurer. 

Land  in  Oak  Hill  Avenue  had  been  donated  by  John  Stambaugh.  On 
November  15,  1881,  the  building  committee  was  instructed  to  purchase 
a  lot  adjoining  this  and  the  construction  of  the  hospital  building  was 
begun  soon  afterwards.  A  subscription  list  was  opened  and  $10,000 
raised,  the  cornerstone  of  the  building  was  laid  in  the  summer  of  1882 
and  on  March  8,  1883,  the  hospital  was  formally  opened,  although  the 
first  patient  had  been  received  on  the  previous  January  1st.  The  first 
staff  of  physicians,  consisting  of  Drs.  C.  N.  Fowler,  W.  L.  Buechner, 
Timothy  Woodbridge,  W.  J.  Whelan,  John  MacCurdy,  J.  S.  Cunning- 
ham and  W.  S.  Matthews  was  named  in  November,  1882. 

In  1887  the  hospital  experienced  reversals  and  is  was  feared  for  a 
time  that  it  would  have  to  close,  but  public-spirited  citizens  came  to  the 
financial  aid  of  the  institution.  A  chrysanthemum  show,  given  by  the 
women  of  the  city  in  the  skating  rink  in  East  Federal  Street,  netted 


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336       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

$4,000  of  itself.  A  year  later  the  endowment  fund  for  the  hospital  was 
created  by  a  $300  gift  from  David  Theobald,  a  sum  that  the  trustees  in- 
creased to  $i,oco  and  that  has,  of  course,  grown  greatly  since.  In  1896 
the  training  school  for  nurses  was  established  and  a  board  of  lady  man- 
agers, for  the  hospital  created. 

About   1900  more  adequate  accommodations  became  necessary  and 
the  present  hospital  site,  almost  across  the  street  from  the  old  institution, 


was  purchased.  On  December  15,  1900,  Myron  C.  Wick  made  a  proposal 
to  the  trustees  for  the  erection  of  an  administration  building,  two  wards 
and  a  power  house  and  also  agreed  to  erect  a  children's  ward  on  behalf 
of  his  wife  and  daughters.  At  the  same  time  Sarah  Arms  Bonnell, 
Annie  Arms  Bonnell,  Katherine  Arms,  Caroline  W.  Arms,  Laurabelle 
Arms  Robinson  and  Olive  F.  A.  Arms  agreed  to  erect  a  woman's  ward 
and  Myron  I.  Arms,  Mary  Arms  Wick,  Warner  Arms.  Emeline  Arms 
Peck,  Jennie  Arms  Hoffer  and  Harriett  Arms  Booth  offered  a  nurses' 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        337 

home.  These  generous  proposals  assured  the  success  of  the  new  institu- 
tion, and  the  nucleus  of  the  present  hospital  was  opened  in  the  summer 
of  1902. 

In  1914  the  Tod  Memorial  wing  was  added  to  the  hospital  plant 
through  the  medium  of  bequests  by  George  Tod  and  Miss  Sailie  Tod 
and  gifts  by  John  Tod  and  Mrs.  Grace  Tod  Arrell,  and  in  the  same  years 
the  Hitchcock  operating  building  was  erected  by  Frank  Hitchcock,  Wil- 
liam J.  Hitchcock,  Mrs.  M.  I.  Arms  and  Mrs.  George  D.  Wick  in  memory 
of  their  parents,  William  J.  Hitchcock  and  Mrs.  Mary  Johnston  Peebles 
Hitchcock.  In  191 5  the  splendid  nurses'  home  at  Francis  and  Werner 
streets,  just  across  from  the  hospital,  was  erected  by  John  Stambaugh, 
Henry  H.  Stambaugh  and  Mrs.  Fred  D.  Wilkerson  in  memory  of  their 
parents,  John  Stambaugh  and  Mrs.  Caroline  Stambaugh. 

The  present  buildings  and  equipment  represent  an  investment  of 
more  than  $500,000  devoted  to  the  care  of  the  sick  and  the  injured  of 
Youngstown.  The  fifteen  buildings  have  been  erected  at  intervals  but 
designed  in  a  way  that  makes  a  harmonious  whole.  In  February,  1916, 
a  campaign  to  raise  an  endowment  fund  of  $200,000  for  the  Youngs- 
town Hospital  was  launched  and  made  such  a  pronounced  appeal  to  the 
people  of  Youngstown  that  $236,000  was  raised  within  the  city  while 
added  contributions  came  from  outside.  The  Youngstown  Hospital  is 
now  a  250  bed  institution,  with  operating  expenses  last  year  of 
$274,104.17.       . 

John  Stambaugh,  first  president  of  the  Youngstown  Hospital  Asso- 
ciation, served  from  1881  to  1888.  Succeeding  presidents  were  Richard 
Brown,  1888-90;  G.  M.  McKelvey,  189098;  R.  Montgomery,  1898-1907. 
George  L.  Fordyce  was  elected  president  in  1907  and  still  holds  that 
position.  Other  officers  in  1920  are,  M.  I.  Arms,  vice  president,  and 
C.  W.  Reihl,  secretary-treasurer.  Miss  Sara  Sims,  superintendent,  was 
succeeded  in  1910  by  Fred  S.  Bunn,  who  died  in  November,  1918, 
heroically  sacrificing  his  life  during  the  influenza  epidemic.  Mr.  Bunn 
was  succeeded  by  Ralph  W.  Yengling,  the  present  superintendent. 
Officers  of  the  board  of  lady  managers  are,  Mrs.  David  Tod,  president; 
Mrs.  C.  H.  Booth,  first  vice  president ;  Mrs.  A.  Young,  second  vice 
president;  Mrs.  M.  U.  Guggenheim,  secretary;  Mrs.  Mason  Evans, 
treasurer. 

St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital 

The  movement  in  favor  of  the  erection  of  a  hospital  to  be  in  charge 
of  Catholic  sisters  was  instituted  early  in  1909,  and  on  the  evening  of 
July  1,  1909,  the  first  meeting  to  launch  the  hospital  project  was  held  in 
St.  Columba's  Auditorium,  with  Rev.  M.  P.  Kinkead  presiding.  A 
permanent  organization  to  further  the  movement  was  launched  with 
Rev.  Edward  Mears  as  president ;  Austin  P.  Gillen,  secretary,  and  Hugh 
W.  Grant  as  treasurer.  A  committee  consisting  of  Charles  B.  Cushwa, 
Austin  P.  Gillen,  John  F.  Cantwell  and  Hugh  W.  Grant  was  named  to 
present  the  proposal  to  Bishop  John  P.  Farrelly  of  the  Cleveland  diocese, 
and  the  approval  of  the  bishop  and  the  endorsement  of  the  Mahoning 


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338       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Valley  Medical  Association  were  freely  given.  A  committee  of  twenty- 
two  men,  Martin  Dunn,  William  Phelan,  A.  J.  Loftus,  James  P.  Col- 
leran,  Austin  P.  Gillen,  H.  W.  Grant,  P.  M.  Kennedy,  John  F.  Cantwell, 
James  J.  McNally,  John  P.  Gerrity,  William  C.  Reilly,  John  F.  Ward, 
Frank  Horton,  Charles  B.  Cushwa,  Michael  Sause,  Edward  Lattau, 
Peter  Deibel,  Edward  J.  Deibel,  Michael  Obendorfer,  F.  Linberger, 
Joseph  Vogelberger  and  John  Kirby,  was  named  to  raise  the  initial 
funds  for  the  institution.  Aside  from  private  subscriptions  the  first 
step  toward  raising  funds  was  the  "Aviation  Day"  gathering  on  October 
12,  1910.  This  aerial  flight,  with  the  old  Willis  Park  ball  grounds  as 
the  starting  place,  gave  most  Youngstowners  their  first  sight  of  an  air- 
plane, then  a  most  novel  instrument.    The  meeting  netted  $3,018.46. 

Early  in  191 1  the  Paul  Fitch  property  in  Belmont  Avenue,  a  tract 
with  133  feet  frontage  and  a  depth  of  300  feet  and  containing  three 
frame  buildings,  was  purchased,  and  in  May,  191 1,  the  Sisters  of  the 
Humility  of  Mary  were  assigned  to  take  charge  of  the  hospital.  The 
largest  of  the  buildings  on  the  hospital  site  was  remodeled  for  hospital 
purposes  proper  and  the  remaining  buildings  for  a  sisters*  home  and  a 
laundry,  and  quarters  for  help.  In  1912  the  house  and  lot  adjoining  the 
hospital  property  was  purchased  and  fitted  up  as  a  nurses'  home,  their 
former  quarters  being  converted  to  hospital  purposes.  Still  later  in  the 
same  year  an  additional  225  feet  frontage  was  purchased  in  Belmont 
Avenue  and  the  building  located  thereon  was  moved  and  annexed  to 
the  hospital,  giving  accommodations  for  twenty-five  more  patients. 

In  April,  1912,  a  great  impetus  was  given  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital 
by  the  public  campaign  waged  in  its  behalf  for  funds,  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr., 
serving  as  chairman  of  the  campaign  committee  on  the  occasion,  Grant 
S.  Whitslar  as  secretary  and  H.  W.  Grant,  treasurer.  The  goal  set  was 
$100,000,  but,  with  the  generosity  it  usually  displays,  Youngstown  sub- 
scribed approximately  $130,000  in  a  week,  hundreds  of  workers  taking 
part  in  this  movement. 

In  191 3  work  on  the  present  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital  was  begun,  and 
the  building  was  formally  opened  on  January  31,  191 5.  It  is  a  thorough- 
ly modern  structure  of  Italian  renaissance  design,  with  gray  bri£k  exte- 
rior, sun  courts  being  also  provided  at  north  and  south  ends.  Its  equip- 
ment is  of  the  latest  and  most  approved  design.  The  hospital  supports  a 
nurses'  training  school  that  provides  for  a  three-year  course  for  young 
women  with  proper  educational  qualifications  who  have  attained  their 
eighteenth  year.  At  present  twenty-three  Sisters  of  the  Humility  of 
Mary  have  charge  of  the  disciplinary  and  directive  work  of  the  institu- 
tion in  all  departments.  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital  is  a  200-bed  institution. 
Although  holding  no  official  position  Rev.  M.  F.  Griffin  is  a  tower  of 
strength  in  the  management  of  the  institution  and  has  become  a  recog- 
nized hospital  authority  throughout  the  country.  Mother  Genevieve  is 
superintendent  of  the  hospital,  with  Mother  Geraldine,  superior  of  the 
Sisters  of  the  Humility  of  Mary  order  here,  assistant  superintendent. 
The  advisory  board  of  the  hospital,  an  unofficial  organization,  numbers 
J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  James  A.  Campbell,  Robert  Bentley,  H.  W.  Gram, 
James  P.  Colleran  and  P.  M.  Kennedy. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY  #     339 
Other  Institutions  for  the  Stck 

For  years  Youngstown  has  been  without  a  contagion  hospital  for  the 
isolation  of  victims  of  contagious  diseases,  and  this  deficiency  is  about 
to  be  remedied  by  the  construction  of  a  municipal  contagion  hospital  that 
may  later  be  expanded  into  a  greater  institution.  A  fourteen-acre  site 
for  this  hospital  has  been  purchased  with  a  frontage  on  Homestead  and 
Indianola  avenues,  and  city  council  has  issued  $250,000  in  bonds  to  cover 
the  construction  of  the  building,  in  addition  to  a  previous  bond  issue  of 
$25,000  to  pay  for  the  site.    This  building  is  now  under  construction. 

In  addition  Youngstown  supports  a  visiting  nurse  association  that 
is  one  of  the  most  splendid  institutions  of  the  city,  an  organization  with 
twelve  staff  nurses  who  made  28,199  visitations  last  year;  an  anti-tuber- 
culosis league  to  care  for  victims  of  consumption;  a  community  social 
hygienic  clinic;  baby  welfare  committee;  Crittenton  Home  for  unmar- 
ried mothers ;  a  board  of  health  of  five  members  with  a  full-time  health 
officer  to  be  named  in  1920,  and  several  organizations  devoted  to  pre- 
serving health  rather  than  to  treating  the  sick.  Dr.  Harry  E.  Welch 
has  been  health  officer  of  Youngstown  for  a  number  of  years  and  has 
given  service  far  beyond  the  compensation  paid  him. 

Dentistry 

Dentistry,  once  part  of  the  work  of  a  medical  practitioner,  later  be- 
came "dental  surgery"  of  forty  years  or  more  ago  and  evolved  into  mod- 
ern dentistry,  a  profession  so  distinct  in  itself  that  it  is  associated 
with  medical  practice  only  in  the  sense  that  science  has  in  the  past  few 
years  brought  to  a  realization  of  the  world  the  many  ills  that  have  their 
origin  in  bad  teeth.  Dentistry  is  today  something  more  than  merely 
making  the  teeth  comfortable  and  useful.  It  is  a  profession  that  offers 
the  greatest  possibilities  and  that  has  made  remarkable  strides  in  a 
single  generation. 

Early  days  dentists  in  Youngstown,  beginning  with  the  period  soon 
after  the  Civil  war,  were  Dr.  B.  F.  Gibbons,  Dr.  N.  B.  Acheson,  Dr. 
F.  S.  Whitslar,  Dr.  C.  A.  Baird  and  Dr.  S.  J.  Baird.  As  early  as  the 
'8os  the  dentists  organized  an  association  here,  but  it  was  not  until  1909 
that  the  Youngstown  Dental  Society  was  formally  organized  "to  pro- 
mote the  public  welfare  by  the  advancement  of  the  dental  profession  by 
education,  science,  and  mutual  good  fellowship,  by  advocating  proper 
legislation  and  by  co-operation  with  the  medical  profession  in  matters 
of  mutual  interest  and  advantage  to  the  public/'  a  code  that  the  dental 
society  has  endeavored  to  carry  out. 

The  first  officers  of  the  Youngstown  Dental  Society  were,  Dr.  T.  H. 
Whiteside,  president,  and  Dr.  C.  H.  Clark,  secretary.  The  present 
officers  are,  Dr.  F.  W.  Ward,  president;  Dr.  W.  H.  McCreary,  presi- 
dent-elect; Dr.  F.  G.  Greer,  secretary;  Dr.  H.  H.  Stafford,  treasurer. 
The  society  has  a  membership  of  50,  the  number  of  dentists  in  the  city 
being  65. 


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340       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 
The  Mahoning  County  Bar 

Properly  speaking,  of  course,  the  history  of  the  legal  profession  in 
Mahoning  County  begins  only  with  the  organization  of  the  county  in 
1846.  Previous  to  that  members  of  the  bar  located  here  were  Trumbull 
County  practitioners.  Actually  the  story  of  the  law  here  goes  back  to 
1800. 

From  this  latter  date  until  1846  Warren  was  the  gathering  point 
for  lawyers.  During  much  of  this  period  it  outranked  Youngstown  in 
numerous  ways,  but  it  was  an  especially  desirable  field  for  legal  men, 
being  the  county  seat  of  one  of  the  large  counties  of  the  state.  The 
number  of  lawyers  whose  home  offices  were  in  Youngstown  prior  to  1846 
was  limited,  and  even  some  of  those  usually  known  as  Youngstown 
lawyers  were  actually  Warren  residents  part  of  the  time. 

George  Tod,  afterward  Judge  Tod,  Calvin  Pease  and  Samuel  Hunt- 
ington were  the  pioneer  lawyers  of  what  is  now  Mahoning  County,  and 
of  these  three  Judge  Tod  ranks  as  Youngstown's  first  lawyer  because 
the  two  remaining  members  of  the  profession  spoken  of  in  connection 
with  him  were  but  brief  residents  of  Youngstown.  Coming  here  in  1800, 
Judge  Tod  was  appointed  the  first  prosecuting  attorney  of  Trumbull 
County  when  that  sub-division  was  organized  in  1800.  For  almost 
forty  years  thereafter  he  was  a  prominent  public  figure  in  Youngstown, 
in  Trumbull  County  and  throughout  Ohio. 

Calvin  Pease  was  the  first  postmaster  of  Youngstown,  but  removed 
to  Warreri  in  1803,  and  his  activities  are  largely  associated  with  that 
city.  Samuel  Huntington  was  presiding  judge  of  the  Court  of  Quarter 
Sessions  in  1802  and  Trumbull  County  member  of  the  Chillicothe  con- 
vention that  framed  the  first  constitution  of  Ohio  in  the  same  year. 
Huntington  later  located  in  Cleveland  and  served  as  governor  of  Ohio 
from  1809  to  181 1. 

Homer  Hine,  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  came  to 
the  Western  Reserve  in  1801  and  located  at  Canfield.  In  1806  he  re- 
moved to  Youngstown,  served  in  the  War  of  1812  and  was  four  times 
a  member  of  the  Legislature.  He  was  a  pioneer  foe  of  intoxicating 
drink  and  for  many  years  president  of  the  Youngstown  Temperance 
Society.  Perlee  Brush,  the  first  schoolmaster  in  Youngstown,  was  a 
lawyer  by  profession  and  practiced  after  teaching  for  several  years  here. 

Klisha  Whittlesey,  of  Litchfield  County,  Connecticut,  located  at  Can- 
field  in  1806,  was  a  prosecutor  of  Trumbull  County,  soldier  in  the  War 
of  181 2,  member  of  the  State  Legislature  and  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  Congress  and  comptroller  of  the  currency.  Judge  Eben 
Newton,  associate  of  Whittlesey,  was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1795.  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  at  Warren  in  1823  and  served  as  judge,  state  senator 
and  member  of  Congress. 

Henry  J.  Canfield,  graduate  of  Yale  and  son  of  Judson  Canfield,  one 
of  the  proprietors  of  the  Town  of  Canfield,  located  at  Canfield  in  1806 
and  practiced  law  there,  being  a  farmer  also. 

David  Tod  was  the  first  native  born  Youngstown  lawyer,  having 
been  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1827.     Governor  Tod,  however,  early  turned 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        341 

from  the  law  to  a  career  as  a  business  man  and  is  better  known  for  his 
business  activities.  Robert  W.  Taylor  was  born  near  Harrisburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1812,  came  to  Youngstown  with  his  parents  in  1815  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1834.  He  served  as  prosecuting  attorney  of 
Trumbull  County,  mayor  of  Youngstown,  state  senator,  state  auditor, 
comptroller  of  the  ourrency  and  as  cashier  of  the  Mahoning  County 
bank  on  its  organization.  Edward  Rockwell  practiced  law  in  Youngs- 
town prior  to  the  creation  of  Mahoning  County. 

John  M.  Edwards,  lawyer,  newspaperman,  political  leader  and  valued 
historian,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1838,  removed  to  Can  field  on  the 
organization  of  Mahoning  County  and  to  Youngstown  in  1864.  Judge 
Benjamin  F.  Hoffman,  was  also  a  practicing  lawyer  before  the  organiza- 
tion of  Mahoning  County  and  a  law  associate  of  Judge  George  Tod 
and  Governor  David  Tod,  but  was  a  Youngstown  resident  only  between 
1870  and  1886.  Judge  Hoffman  was  born  in  Chester  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, on  January  25,  1812,  and  lived  to  the  age  of  97  years,  dying 
at  Pasadena,  California,  in  August,  1909.  Ridgeley  J.  Powers,  born  in 
Youngstown  on  April  17,  1822,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1844  a°d  be- 
gan the  practice  of  law  here.  William  Ferguson,  a  native  of  Trumbull 
County,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  same  year  and  opened  an  office 
in  Youngstown.  He  was  the  first  prosecuting  attorney  of  Mahoning 
County.  William  W.  Whittlesey,  son  of  Elisha  Whittlesey,  was  born  at 
Canfield,  began  the  practice  of  law  there  in  1840  and  was  the  first  clerk 
of  courts  of  Mahoning  County.  Col.  Seidell  Haines,  began  practicing 
at  Poland  in  1828,  leaving  the  law  later  for  the  ministry.  William 
Knight  was  also  an  early  day  Poland  lawyer. 

With  the  organization  of  Mahoning  County  the  legal  profession 
began  to  flourish  at  Canfield  and  Youngstown,  more  especially  at  the 
former  town  of  course,  since  it  was  made  the  county  seat.  Court  con- 
vened at  the  office  of  Elisha  Whittlesey  at  Canfield  on  March  16,  1846, 
and  the  first  regular  session  of  a  Mahoning  County  court  was  held  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  there  on  May  it  of  the  same  year. 
Judge  Eben  Newton  was  the  presiding  judge  on  both  occasions. 

Within  the  next  fifteen  years,  or  up  to  about  the  date  of  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  war,  more  than  two  score  of  lawyers  began  the  prac- 
tice of  their  profession  in  the  new  county.  Prominent  among  Youngs- 
town attorneys  of  those  days  were  William  G.  Moore,  early  mayor  of 
Youngstown ;  David  M.  Wilson,  Democratic  leader  and  Mahoning  County 
member  of  the  State  Constitutional  Convention  of  1874;  General  Thomas 
W.  Sanderson,  Homer  H.  Hine,  Milton  Sutliff,  Judge  Francis  E.  Hutch- 
ins,  John  H.  King,  William  C.  Bunts,  Henry  G.  Leslie  and  Brainard  S. 
Higley,  the  last  named  being  once  mayor  of  the  village ;  Canfield  lawyers 
in  these  years  included  James  E.  Blocksom,  E.  J.  Estep,  Edward  G. 
Canfield,  Judge  Francis  G.  Servis,  Judge  Garrettson  I.  Young,  Isaac  E. 
Coffee,  Judge  Theron  M.  Rice,  Samuel  W.  Gilson,  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature from  Mahoning  County;  Judge  John  W.  Church,  Charles  Rug- 
gles,  Francis  C.  Nesbit,  William  B.  Dawson,  later  editor  of  the  Vindi- 
cator at  Youngstown,  and  Judge  Giles  Van  Hyning.  Judge  William 
Porter  practiced  at  Milton  and  Youngstown,  Alexander  H.   Moore  at 


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342       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Milton,  Canfield  and  Youngstown,  John  H.  Lewis  at  Greenford  and 
Canfield.  John  W.  Cracraft  practiced  at  Lowellville  before  enlisting  in 
the  Civil  war  and  Judge  Charles  E.  Glidden  was  a  Poland  lawyer  before 
removing  to  Warren.     David  E.  Burden  practiced  in  Smith  Township. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  the  law  school  known  as  the  Ohio 
State  and  Union  Law  College  flourished  at  Poland.  •This  school,  founded 
in  1856,  was  discontinued,  or  rather  removed  to  Cleveland  after  a  brief 
existence.  Of  its  founders,  Judge  Chester  Hayden,  who  had  been  a 
practicing  lawyer  in  New  York  State,  and  Marcus  A.  King,  were  ad- 
mitted to  practice  at  Canfield  in  1857  and  left  here  with  the  removal  of 
the  college  four  years  later.  The  third  member  of  the  firm,  Mortimer 
D.  Leggett  of  Warren,  raised  an  Ohio  regiment  in  the  Civil  War,  retired 
at  the  close  of  the  war  with  the  rank  of  major-general  and  later  prac- 
ticed law  at  Cleveland.  He  had  been  a  prominent  resident  of  Warren 
before  engaging  in  the  Poland  law  school  venture. 

With  the  industrial  growth  that  came  to  Youngstown  following  the 
Civil  War  the  number  of  members  of  the  legal  profession  here  increased 
rapidly,  and  this  growth  was  emphasized  with  the  removal  of  county 
seat  in  August,  1876.  The  first  session  of  court  in  the  Youngstown 
courthouse  opened  on  September  10,  1876,  and  closed  on  the  December 
19th  following,  Judge  Philip  B.  Conant  of  Ravenna  being  the  presiding 
judge  and  Charles  R.  Truesdale  prosecuting  attorney  of  Mahoning 
County.  At  that  time,  and  for  many  years  thereafter,  Mahoning  County 
was  united  with  adjoining  counties  in  a  common  pleas  judicial  district, 
Judges  Charles  E.  Glidden,  George  F.  Arrel,  Joseph  R.  Johnston,  James 
B.  Kennedy  and  Disney  Rogers  serving  as  common  judges  during  this 
period.  Perhaps  one  of  the  best  known  members  of  the  judiciary  in 
Northeastern  Ohio  in  the  day  of  the  common  pleas  circuit  was  Judge 
George  F.  Robinson,  of  Ravenna,  Portage  County.  Although  not  a 
Mahoning  County  lawyer,  Judge  Robinson  held  court  in  Youngstown  for 
the  greater  part  of  the  year,  and  for  many  years,  and  in  everything  but 
name  was  a  Youngstown  man  and  one  generally  admired  and  esteemed. 
With  the  installation  of  the  county  judge  system  he  sat  by  assignment, 
continuing  to  hold  court  until  his  death  in  1917. 

In  1909  a  second  common  pleas  judgeship  was  created  for  Mahoning 
County  and  William  P.  Barnum  was  elected  to  this  seat.  On  his  res- 
ignation in  191 7  Judge  Barnum  was  succeeded  by  Judge  Ralph  A. 
Beard.  The  domestic  relations  branch  of  the  common  pleas  court  was 
created  in  1917  and  Judge  George  J.  Carew  named  to  fill  this  place. 
The  present  common  pleas  judges  of  Mahoning  County  bench  are  Judge 
William  S.  Anderson  and  Judge  Dahl  B.  Cooper,  the  latter  of  the 
domestic  relations  branch,  who  will  serve  until  1925  and  Judge  David  G. 
Jenkins,  whose  term  expires  in  1923.  The  Mahoning  County  bar  had 
also  furnished  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  Associate 
Justice  John  H.  Clarke,  incumbent,  to  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
Congress  Laurin  D.  Woodworth,  Robert  W.  Tavler  and  James  Kennedy, 
one  governor  of  Ohio,  David  Tod,  and  one  lieutenant-governor,  Asa 
W.  Jones. 

Today  the  Mahoning  County  bar  numbers  230  men  eligible  to  prac- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       343 

tice  law.  Many  of  these  have  forsaken  the  law  for  the  business  open- 
ings so  plentiful  in  Youngstown,  some  as  counsel,  some  as  executives 
and  some  as  managers  of  their  own  business  enterprises,  but  the  greater 
number  are  true  to  the  profession  of  the  law.  While  Youngstown  is 
the  legal  center  of  the  county  and  the  home  city  of  the  great  majority 
of  the  lawyers,  the  profession  is  also  represented  in  every  incorporated 
municipality  of  the  county. 

The  Mahoning  County  Bar  Association,  as  a  formal  incorporated 
body  is  a  comparatively  youthful  organization.  A  loosely  formed  as- 
sociation existed  here  fully  forty  years  ago,  but  the  first  step  toward 
the  organization  of  a  modern  bar  association  was  taken  in  1908  when 
the  members  of  the  bar  banded  together  in  an  association  with  Judge  J. 
R.  Johnston  as  president  and  Guy  T.  Ohl  as  secretary.  On  the  death 
of  Judge  Johnston  in  1917  Ensign  N.  Brown  succeeded  to  the  presidency 
and  a  year  later  the  association  was  formally  incorporated. 

The  charter  for  the  Mahoning  County  Bar  Association  was  granted 
on  November  6,  1918,  with  L.  A.  Manchester,  Charles  Koonce,  Jr., 
Judge  Ralph  A.  Beard,  Guy  T.  Ohl  and  Judge  W.  P.  Barnum  as  in- 
corporators. On  March  21,  1919,  the  association  formally  organized 
with  the  election  of  Ensign  N.  Brown  as  president;  U.  C.  DeFord,  vice 
president;  John  B.  Morgan,  secretary,  and  A.  E.  Burkey,  treasurer. 
The  organization  has  at  present  no  active  members. 

The  Mahoning  County  Law  Library  Association  is  an  older  organiza- 
tion. The  first  meeting  to  consider  the  formation  of  such  a  body  was 
held  on  December  17,  1904,  with  Judge  Disney  Rogers  as  chairman, 
and  a  committee  consisting  of  General  T.  W.  Sanderson,  Charles  Koonce, 
Jr.,  S.  L.  Clark,  W.  A.  Maline  and  W.  Noble  Anderson  was  named  to 
consider  plans  of  organization.  On  December  24,  1904,  the  committee 
presented  a  draft  of  proposed  constitution  and  by-laws  that  was  adopted, 
and  an  election  of  officers  was  held,  General  Sanderson  being  named 
president;  R.  B.  Murray,  vice  president;  W.  C.  Carman,  secretary;  M. 
C.  McNab,  treasurer  and  M.  A.  Norris,  Judge  Disney  Rogers,  James 
P.  Wilson,  S.  L.  Clark  and  C.  D.  Hine,  trustees. 

For  a  little  more  than  a  year  the  association  existed  as  an  informal 
body,  but  on  February  7,  1906,  it  was  granted  a  charter  as  an  incor- 
porated body.  The  original  board  of  trustees  was  named  under  the 
charter,  while  M.  A.  Norris  was  elected  president;  James  P.  Wilson, 
vice  president;  W.  C.  Carman,  secretary  and  librarian,  and  M.  C.  Mc- 
Nab, treasurer. 

On  March  2,  1907,  Theodore  A.  Johnson  was  named  librarian,  li- 
brary rooms  having  been  fitted  up  in  the  Dollar  Bank  building,  where 
quarters  were  maintained  until  1910,  when  splendid  library  rooms  were 
fitted  up  in  the  new  courthouse.  Peter  B.  Mulholland  served  as  assistant 
librarian  until  1910,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Joseph  Donnelly,  who 
became  librarian  on  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Johnson  in  1919.  The  li- 
brary has  grown  rapidly  more  valuable,  numbering  now  approximately 
6,400  volumes. 

The  membership  of  the  law  library  association  is  75.  The  library 
is  maintained  and  given  opportunity  for.  extension  by  dues,  notary  fees, 


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344       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

a  certain  portion  of  fines  and  an  allowance  from  the  county  commis- 
sioners. It  is  of  valuable  assistance  to  members  of  the  Mahoning  County 
bar.  The  present  officers  of  the  association  are,  Charles  Koonce,  Jr., 
president;  Frank  L.  Oesch,  vice  president;  John  B.  Morgan,  secretary: 
Guy  T.  Ohl,  treasurer. 

The  probate  court  of  Mahoning  County  was  organized  on  March  8, 
1852,  William  Hartsel,  the  first  probate  judge,  serving  from  1852  to 
1855.  Succeeding  judges  of  the  probate  court  have  been,  Garrettson  I. 
Young,  1855-61  ;  Giles  Van  Hyning,  1861-67;  Joseph  R.  Johnston,  1867- 
73;  M.  V.  B.  King,  1873-76;  L.  D.  Thoman,  1876-82;  L.  W.  King,  1882- 
88;  E.  M.  Wilson,  1888-94;  George  E.  Rose,  1894-1900;  J.  Calvin 
Ewing,  1900-06;  David  F.  Griffith,   1906-13;  John  W.  Davis,  1913-21. 

Prosecuting  attorneys  of  Mahoning  County  include,  William  Fergu- 
son, 1846-49;  James  B.  Blockson,  1849-51;  Edward  G.  Canfield,  1851- 
53;  Ridgeley  J.  Powers,  1853-57;  Thomas  W.  Sanderson,  1857-59; 
Ridgeley  J.  Powers,  1859-61;  William  C.  Bunts,  i8f>[-63;  James  B. 
Blocksom,  1863  (died  in  office) ;  Francis  G.  Servis,  1863-68;  Henry  G. 
Leslie,  1868  (died  in  office);  Asa  W.  Jones,  1868-70;  W.  G.  Moore, 
1870-72;  Asa  W.  Jones,  1872-74;  Isaac  A.  Justice,  1874-76;  Charles 
R.  Truesdale,  1876-78;  Monroe  W.  Johnson,  1878-82;  Charles  R. 
Truesdale,  1882-85;  Disney  Rogers,  1885-91;  James  B.  Kennedy,  1891- 
97;  S.  D.  L.  Jackson,  1897-1900;  William  T.  Gibson,  190003;  William 
R.  Graham,  1903-09;  Ralph  A.  Beard,  1909-13;  Andrew  M.  Henderson, 
1913-17;  J.  P.  Huxley,  1917-20;  Harold  H.  Hull,  1920. 

Architects 

The  architects'  profession  in  Youngstown  is  one  that  has  kept  pace 
with  the  growth  of  the  city  in  every  respect,  dating  back  for  perhaps 
forty  years  when  men  skilled  in  the  designing  of  public  buildings  and 
homes  began  to  practice  here. 

Since  that  time  it  has  become  one  of  the  outstanding  professions, 
especially  in  the  last  twenty  years,  during  which  Youngstown  has  become 
a  modern  city.  No  greater  testimonial  can  be  paid  to  the  Youngstown 
architects  than  fo  say  that  they  have  been  found  competent  for  the 
city's  most  important  building  work  in  that  line,  and  building  has  been 
on  a  generous  scale  here  in  the  twentieth  century. 

At  present  there  are  twenty  architects  and  architectural  firms  in 
Youngstown.  The  architects  have  no  formal  organization,  although 
the  organization  of  a  studio  of  the  American  Institute  of  Architects  has 
been  proposed  several  times  and  eventually  will  take  place. 

Newspapers 

•We  have  already  reviewed,  in  chapter  ten  of  this  volume,  the  his- 
tory of  "The  Olive  Branch  and  New  County  Advocate/'  the  first  news- 
paper published  in  Youngstown.  This  publication  ran  its  course  between 
August  23,  1843,  and  March  7,  1845.    It  was  a  regulation  weekly  journal 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        345 

of  that  day,  although  not  a  vigorous  exponent  of  the  cause  it  assumed 
to  champion. 

For  a  year  after  the  demise  of  the  Olive  Branch,  Youngstown  was 
without  a  newspaper,  but  on  May  12,  1846,  The  Ohio  Republican  was 
launched  by  John  M.  Webb  and  Asahel  Medbury.  It  announced  itself 
as  a  "political  and  literary  news  paper,"  and  as  "independent,  but  not 
neutral."  In  reality  it  was  rather  staunchly  Democratic  in  politics,  its 
founders  being  members  of  that  party  and  warm  admirers  of  Andrew 
Jackson,  the  patron  saint  of  Democracy.  It  supported  Lewis  Cass  for 
president  in  1848  and  Franklin  Pierce  in  1852. 

In  1852  the  Mahoning  Sentinel  was  started  at  Canfield  with  Ira 
Norris  as  editor,  and  about  1853  tne  Republican  was  removed  to  the 
county  seat  and .  consolidated  with  that  journal  under  the  name  of  the 
Mahoning  Republican  Sentinel.  In  1855  John  M.  Webb  became  sole 
owner.  In  1858  he  sold  out  to  William  B.  Dawson,  but  in  r86o  re- 
purchased the  paper  and  removed  it  to  Youngstown,  where  he  pub- 
lished it  under  the  name  of  the  Mahoning  Sentinel.  It  was  an  un- 
propitious  time  for  an  old  line  Democratic  newspaper,  and  in  October, 
1861,  it  suspended  publication.  Revived  in  July,  1862,  it  was  given 
temporary  life  by  the  Democratic  victory  in  Ohio  that  year,  but  late  in 
1864  it  passed  out  of  existence  permanently. 

Youngstown  Telegram 

The  Youngstown  Telegram  of  today  had  its  beginning  in  the  Free 
Democrat,  issued  on  December  31,  1852,  by  Edward  D.  Howard  and  M. 
Cullaton.  Like  its  predecessor,  its  name  is  confusing  today,  since  it 
represented  the  sentiments  of  the  Republican  party  established  a  few 
years  later.  It  was  frankly  anti-slavery,  and  free  of  allegiance  alike  to 
Democratic  and  Whig  parties.  In  1853  it  supported  Samuel  Lewis,  can- 
didate of  the  Abolitionist  party  for  governor  of  Ohio. 

Early  in  1855  the  Free  Democrat  suspended  publication,  the  True 
American  appearing  out  of  the  wreckage,  with  D.  S.  Elliott  and  J.  M. 
Nash  as  editors,  Elliott  having  been  owner  of  the  Free  Democrat  in 
1854.  The  True  American  supported  Salmon  P.  Chase,  Republican 
nominee  for  governor  of  Ohio  in  1855,  and  became  definitely  allied  with 
this  newly  organized  political  party.  On  December  1,  1855,  the  True 
American  was  sold  to  Col.  James  Dumars  of  Warren,  who  changed 
the  name  to  the  Mahoning  Register.  It  supported  the  Republican  ticket 
in  1856  and  i860,  and  during  the  Civil  Wrar  was  welcomed  both  in  camp 
and  at  home.  Colonel  Dumars  had  something  of  the  modern  news  sense, 
offering  current  news  of  home  happenings  as  well  as  foreign  news  and 
long  editorial  opinions.  On  April  1,  1865,  the  Mahoning  Register  was 
purchased  by  V.  E.  Smalley  &  Co.,  Mr.  Smaliey  and  John  M.  Edwards 
becoming  editors.  R.  E.  Hull  and  J.  F.  Hudson  later  became  associated 
with  Mr.  Smalley,  and  in  1870  the  firm  became  Hull  &  Hudson.  Hull 
retired  in  1871,  and  in  December,  1873,  Hudson  sold  out  to  C.  A. 
Vaughan,  A.  R.  Seagrave  and  W.  H.  Gault.     In  May,  1874,  Walter  L. 


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346       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Campbell  purchased  Mr.  Gault's  interest,  and  in  December,   1874,  the 
Register  was  made  a  daily  paper. 

The  Youngstown  Tribune,  a  daily  and  weekly,  began  publication  on 
February  18,  1874,  with  James  M.  Nash,  J.  R.  Johnston,  James  K. 
Bailey  and  L.  F.  Shoaf  as  its  owners.  In  February,  1875,  it  was  con- 
solidated with  the  Register  under  the  name  of  the  Register  and  Tribune, 
continuing  as  a  daily  paper.  Seagrave  was  later  appointed  postmaster 
of  Youngstown,  and  Campbell  continued  as  editor.  In  the  fall  of  1880 
the  name  of  the  publication  was  changed  to  the  Evening  Register. 

The  Evening  News,  a  daily  paper,  came  into  existence  on  July  16, 
1877,  backed  by  R.  E.  Hull,  W.  S.  Stigleman,  E.  K.  Hull.  Thomas  Kerr 
and  C.  E.  Kennedy.  In  January,  1878,  a  stock  company  was  formed 
and  John  M.  Webb  became  editor  of  the  News.  In  1880  it  was  made  a 
regular  Republican  organ,  O.  P.  Shaffer  succeeding  Webb  as  editor  and 
the  Democratic  stockholders  retiring. 

There  was  not  room  enough  in  Youngstown,  however,  for  two  Re- 
publican dailies,  or  for  two  daily  papers  at  all,  and  on  January  21,  1882, 
the  Register  and  the  News  companies  combined,  under  the  name  of  the 
Youngstown  Publishing  Company,  to  publish  the  Youngstown  News- 
Register.  A  board  of  directors  was  chosen,  with  Robert  McCurdy, 
Thomas  H.  Wells  and  H.  O.  Bonnell  representing  the  Register  and 
Gen.  T.  W.  Sanderson,  Mason  Evans  and  O.  P.  Shaffer,  the  News. 
Frank  B.  Williams  was  elected  seventh  director,  or  "umpire,"  a  position 
later  filled  by  W.  W.  McKeown. 

This  was  a  stormy  era  in  Youngstown  newspaper  life.  The  rivalry 
between  the  Register  and  the  News  had  been  intensely  bitter  and  "per- 
sonal journalism"  reigned.  It  was  not  alone  a  newspaper  war  but  a 
struggle  for  Republican  political  control  and  even  a  quarrel  for  business 
supremacy.  C.  H.  Andrews  was  heavily  interested  in  the  News  and  be- 
tween him  and  Robert  McCurdy  existed  an  intense  business  feud.  Mc- 
Curdy was  a  staunch  supporter  of  Walter  L.  Campbell,  while  O.  P. 
Shaffer  was  associated  with  Andrews.  In  the  reorganization  following 
the  Register  and  News  consolidation  Andrews  gained  control  of  the 
directorate  and  Shaffer  replaced  Campbell  as  editor  of  the  new  paper. 
Campbell,  a  scholarly  man,  a  lawyer,  public  speaker  and  an  able  writer, 
although  wholly  blind  from  youth,  passed  out  of  journalism.  Elected 
mayor  of  Youngstown  in  1884,  he  devoted  himself  thereafter  to  law 
and  business. 

In  April,  1882,  Thomp  Burton,  who  had  been  connected  with  the 
News,  started  the  Sunday  Morning.  As  its  name  would  indicate,  it 
was  a  weekly  paper,  issued  on  Sunday  morning.  In  September  of  that 
year  he  sold  out  to  H.  L.  Preston  and  Henry  Gow,  who  gave  way  to  a 
company  formed  in  December,  1883.  With  this  reorganization  Thomas 
W.  Johnston  became  editor  of  the  Sunday  Morning,  while  Judge  L.  W. 
King  became  a  contributor  of  political  articles. 

Early  in  1885  another  shakeup  occurred  in  the  News-Register  man- 
agement and  O.  P.  Shaffer  was  replaced  as  editor  by  Frank  Presbrey. 
This  move  brought  a  renewal  of  the  old  war,  that  had  actually  been 
only  slumbering  since  the  consolidation  of  the  two  old  rival  newspapers. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       347 

The  Industrial  Printing  Co.  was  organized  by  C.  H.  Andrews,  O.  P. 
Shaffer,  Mason  Evans,  Gen.  T.  W.  Sanderson  and  Jonathan  Head, 
and  on  April  6,  1885,  the  Youngstown  Daily  News,  an  independent  Re- 
publican paper,  made  its  appearance  with  O.  P.  Shaffer  as  editor.  Shaf- 
fer was  an  able  writer  and  an  aggressive  news  getter  and  the  new 
daily  began  immediately  to  make  serious  inroads  on  its  rival. 

This  newspaper  war  may  have  been  entertaining  but  it  could  not  be 
financially  profitable.  Before  long  a  movement  was  on  foot  to  bring 
order  out  of  strife,  with  the  result  that  the  Youngstown  Printing  Co. 
was  organized  on  November  17,  1885,  with  G.  M.  McKelvey,  Judge  L. 
W.  King,  H.  M.  Garlick,  William  Cornelius  and  Hal  K.  Taylor  as  in- 
corporators. The  new  company  negotiated  the  purchase  of  the  News- 
Register,  Daily  News  and  Sunday  Morning,  and  arranged  for  the  pub- 
lication of  an  evening  and  Sunday  Republican  newspaper  that  was  to 
come  out  of  the  consolidation.  G.  M.  McKelvey  was  named  president 
of  the  Youngstown  Printing  Co.  and  Hal  K.  Taylor,  secretary.  The 
Sunday  Morning  published  its  final  issue  on  November  29,  1885,  the 
News  was  discontinued  on  November  30,  the  News-Register  ceased  pub- 
lication under  that  name  on  the  same  day,  and  on  Tuesday,  December  1, 
1885,  the  Youngstown  Evening  Telegram  came  into  existence  with 
Judge  L.  W.  King  as  editorial  manager,  Thomas  W.  Johnston,  managing 
editor,  H.  L.  Preston,  city  editor,  George  McGuigan,  reporter,  and  Wil- 
liam Cornelius,  business  manager. 

The  Sunday  edition  of  the  Telegram  was  discontinued  about  1891 
and  the  daily  became  the  Youngstown  Telegram,  the  "evening"  being 
dropped. 

In  the  following  twenty  years  the  Telegram  underwent  changes  of 
ownership,  but  for  thirty-five  years  has  kept  its  present  name  after 
its  previous  long  period  of  vicissitudes."  James  J.  McNally  became 
manager  on  December  2,  1892,  and  on  July  6,  1894,  was  succeeded  by 
J.  Howard  Edwards.  Mr.  Edwards  was  elected  clerk  of  courts  of  Ma- 
honing County  in  1899,  and  on  his  accession  to  this  office  in  1900  was 
succeeded  as  manager  by  George  C.  Phillips.  Ralph  R.  Sharman  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Phillips  in  1903  and  remained  until  March,  1906,  when  the 
Telegram  was  purchased  by  R.  T.  Dobson  of  Akron.  Mr.  Dobson  re- 
tained control  but  three  months,  disposing  of  the  newspaper  plant  to 
S.  G.  McClure,  of  Columbus,  in  June,  1906. 

Under  Mr.  McClure's  management  the  Telegram  has  made  re- 
markable strides  and  has  gained  immense  prestige  in  Youngstown  and 
in  surrounding  territory.  It  is  aggressive,  vigorous  and  fearless  in  its 
policies  and  a  great  influence  in  a  great  community. 

Youngstown  Vindicator 

Like  its  contemporary,  the  Youngstown  Vindicator  underwent  many 
trials,  changes  of  ownership  and  reverses  in  the  first  twenty  years  of 
its  existence.  In  fact  it  was  more  than  once  threatened  with  complete 
extinguishment,  but  managed  to  survive  these  early  day  struggles  and 
during  the  more  than  half  century  of  its  life  has  continued  publication 


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348       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

without  absorption  of  any  other  newspaper,  merger  with  any  paper,  or 
change  of  name.  Being  the  organ  of  the  minority  Democratic  party  it 
escaped  the  battles  for  political  control  that  distinguished  the  life  of  its 
chief  rival  in  the  hectic  political  days  of  the  '70s  and  *8os  and  its  history 
is  therefore  less  lengthy  because  less  stormy. 

For  almost  five  years  after  the  demise  of  the  Sentinel  there  was  no 
Democratic  newspaper  in  Youngstown,  the  vacancy  in  the  field  being 
filled  in  June,  1869,  when  J.  H.  Odell  launched  the  Vindicator  as  a 
weekly  paper.  Mark  Shakey  was  interested  with  Odell  for  a  few  months 
in  1870,  and  in  September,  1873,  Odell  retired  and  was  succeeded  by 
O.  P.  Wharton.  Wharton  remained  but  seven  months,  the  paper  being 
repurchased  in  April,  1874,  by  Odell  and  W.  A.  Edwards,  Odell  be* 
coming  editor.  In  February,  1875,  the  Vindicator  was  sold  to  S.  L. 
Everett  who  remained  in  charge  less  than  six  months,  disposing  of  the 
plant  in  July,  1875,  to  Col.  William  L.  Brown,  a  lawyer,  newspaper- 
man and  prominent  Democratic  political  figure.  O.  P.  Shaffer  and  O.  P. 
Wharton  were  active  chiefs  of  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Vindicator  dur- 
ing Cplonel  Brown's  ownership. 

In  April,  1880,  Colonel  Brown  disposed  of  the  Vindicator  to  Charles 
L.  Vajlandigham  and  John  H.  Clarke,  the  latter  then  a  young  lawyer. 
Vallandigham  remained  here  but  a  year,  selling  his  interest  in  t88i  to 
Judge  L,  D.  Thoman.  Tn  1882  Thoman  and  Clarke  sold  out  to  Dr. 
Thomas  Patton,  who  published  the  Vindicator  until  his  death  in  1884, 
when  the  ownership  passed  to  his  son,  W.  H.  Patton.  Early  in  1887 
the  younger  Patton  disposed  of  the  Vindicator  to  J.  A.  Caldwell,  who, 
in  conjunction  with  Charles  Underwood,  launched  a  daily  paper  a  few 
weeks  after  they  had  attained  possession  of  the  newspaper  plant. 

It  was  an  ambitious  project,  but  financially  a  failure.  The  two-daily 
plan,  had  been  tried  intermittently  in  Youngstown  for  fifteen  years  and 
there  was  not  patronage  enough  to  justify  it.  In  November,  1887,  fire 
gutted  the  newspaper  office,  which  was  located  in  the  building  in  North 
T*helps  Street  now  used  by  the  Erie  Railroad  as  a  baggage  room,  and 
Caldwell  gave  up. 

By  order  of  the  court  Attorney  A.  J.  Woolf  offered  the  plant  at  pub- 
lic sale  and  the  lone  bidder  was  William  F.  Maag.  Maag,  in  fact,  had 
attended  the  sale  only  as  a  spectator  and  had  no  intention  of  buying  the 
newspaper,  nor  indeed  had  he  any  money  with  which  to  buy  it.  With 
the  paper  on  his  hands,  however,  he  gained  a  limited  financial  backing 
and  took  into  partnership  with  him  John  M.  Webb,  veteran  news- 
paperman. It  was  a  fortunate  move,  since  Webb  was  a  writer  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability  and  pleasing  style. 

In  1888  Mr.  Maag  organized  a  stock  company  to  assume  ownership 
of  the  Vindicator.  Sale  of  the  stock  proceeded  slowly,  and  it  was  a 
year  later,  or  on  September  3,  1889,  that  the  Vindicator  Printing:  Co. 
was  formally  organized  with  John  M.  Webb  as  president,  Judge  E.  M. 
Wilson,  vice  president,  John  H.  Clarke,  secretary,  and  William  F.  Maag, 
treasurer  and  general  manager. 

In  the  meantime  a  daily  edition  of  the  Vindicator  had  been  projected, 
and  it  made  its  appearance  on  September  23,  1889,  with  John  M.  Webb 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       349 

as  managing  editor,  William  B.  Dawson  as  associate  editor,  and  Wil- 
liam F.  Maag  as  business  manager.  Webb  died  on  February  2,  1893, 
his  burial  services  being  held  from  the  present  Vind.cator  building,  then 
nearing  completion,  and  Dawson  died  in  1903,  while  Mr.  Maag  remains 
as  active  manager  of  the  Vindicator  after  more  than  thirty  years  of 
service. 

On  Sunday,  June  12,  1896,  the  Vindicator  began  the  publication  of 
a  Sunday  edition  and  has  continued  this  issue  for  almost  twenty-five 
years.  Both  as  a  daily  and  Sunday  newspaper  it  has  more  than  kept 
pace  with  the  growth  of  the  city  and  maintained  its  high  standing  as  the 
leading  independent  Democratic  paper  of  Northeastern  Ohio. 

Other  Newspapers 

Youngstown's  daily  papers  are  limited  to  the  Telegram  and  the 
Vindicator,  but  it  supports  nine  weekly  papers,  published  in  English 
pr  foreign  languages. 

The  Youngstown  Labor  Record,  published  by  the  Record  Publishing 
Company,  is,  as  its  name  indicates,  the  organ  of  organized  labor  in 
Mahoning  County.  It  succeeded  the  Labor  Advocate,  a  weekly  that  was 
started  in  1903  and  suspended  in  1907.     Harry  Deehend,  is  editor. 

The  Youngstown  Journal,  labor  and  current  topics,  was  launched  in 
1907. by  Byron  Williams  and  still  continues  under  Mr.  Williams'  owner- 
ship and  management. 

The  Citizen,  a  weekly  paper  devoted  to  current  local  events,  was 
started  in  1914  by  D.  Web  Brown  and  purchased  by  David  Tod  early  in 
1919,  the  .Citizen-News  Company  being  incorporated  soon  after  with  a 
capital  of  $50,000  to  issue  a  morning  daily.  Since  the  death  of  Mr. 
Tod,  a  few  weeks  after  he  gained  control  of  the  paper,  it  has  been  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  Brown,  who  has  acquired  its  ownership  and  continued  it 
as  a  weekly.     Chester  A.  Dickhaut  is  the  editor. 

•  The  Amerikai  Magyar  Hirlap;  weekly,  is  the  organ  of  the  Hun- 
garian-speaking population;  the  Youngstownske  Slovenske  Noviny  of 
the  Slovak-speaking;  111  Cittadino  Italo-Americano  and  La  Nuova  Italia 
of  the  Italian-speaking;  Romanul  of  the  Roumanian-speaking;  Kampana 
of  the  Greek-speaking. 

Newspapers  of  the  Past 

"  Youngstown  has  also  seen  the  birth  and  death  of  many  newspapers 
in  addition  to  those  that  passed  out  of  existence  through  the  medium  of 
merger  or  absorption.  The  earliest  of  these,  of  course,  were  the  Olive 
Branch,  Republican,  and  Sentinel,  whose  history  has  already  been  givem 
In  1865  the  Mahoning  Courier  was  started  by  Patrick  T.  O'Connor 
and  Richard  O'Connor  as  an  independent  weekly.  Later  it  became  a 
Republican  organ  and  still  later  Prohibitionist.  It  was  in  the  Courier 
office  in  1870  that  the  use  of  steam  power  in  the  operation  of  a  printing 
press  was  first  called  into  use  in  Youngstown.  In  1X72  the  O'Connor 
brothers  sold  out  to  A.  D.  Fassett,  who  made  the  paper  a  labor  organ, 


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350       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

under  the  name  of  the  Miner  and  Manufacturer.  In  June,  1873,  Fas- 
sett  launched  the  daily  Miner  and  Manufacturer,  the  first  daily  paper 
in  Youngstown.  Fassett  was  an  aggressive,  even  combative,  news- 
paperman, but  with  the  establishment  of  the  Daily  Register  in  Decem- 
ber, 1874,  the  Miner  and  Manufacturer  went  out  of  existence. 

On  May  5,  1875,  Patrick  O'Connor,  who  had  in  the  meantime  become 
an  itinerant  Methodist  minister,  began  the  publication  of  the  Youngs- 
town Commercial,  in  conjunction  with  L.  F.  Shoaf.  Its  existence 
covered  a  period  of  but  six  months.  In  1876  O'Connor  again  entered 
the  newspaper  field  with  the  Morning  Star,  a  Greenback  organ.  It  sus- 
pended after  a  brief  existence,  but  was  revived  by  O'Connor  in  1879 
under  the  name  of  the  New  Star,  continuing  as  a  Greenback  paper  until 
about  1881. 

The  Rundschau  was  started  in  1874  by  Henry  Gentz  as  a  German- 
language  paper  and  was  sold  in  1875  to  William  F.  Maag.  Mr.  Maag 
retained  ownership  until  the  paper  was  discontinued  in  191 7. 

The  Free  Press  was  started  by  O..P.  Wharton  in  1881.  It  remained 
in  existence  about  a  year. 

In  1883  Thomp  Burton  began  the  publication  of  the  Saturday  Night, 
a  literary  paper  and  one  devoted  to  current  local  events.  In  June,  1885, 
Burton  sold  out  to  George  W.  Penn  and  C.  J.  Miller  and  the  paper 
suspended  some  months  later. 

The  Daily  Morning  News  came  into  existence  later  in  1888,  with  J. 
Edd  Leslie,  John  F.  McGowan  and  R.  E.  Hull  as  publishers.  It  lasted 
about  six  months. 

In  1888  Monroe  W.  Johnson,  a  lawyer  and  former  prosecuting  attor- 
ney of  Mahoning  County,  started  the  Daily  and  Weekly  Herald.  It  went 
out  of  business  at  the  end  of  three  months.  This  paper  was  published 
in  a  building  where  the  Vindicator  Block  now  stands  and  the  equipment 
was  purchased  by  Maag  &  Webb,  publishers  of  the  Vindicator. 

The  Buckeye  Record,  established  by  Thomp  Burton  about  1890,  had 
a  similarly  brief  existence. 

The  "News"  appears  to  have  been  a  popular  name  fOr  Youngstown 
newspapers  a  generation  or  more  ago.  The  fourth  journal  bearing  this 
title  came  into  being  in  1892,  when  Charles  M.  Shaffer  founded  the 
Sunday  Morning  News.     It  continued  until  July,  1896. 

The  Ohio  Sun,  a  one-cent  afternoon  paper,  was  started  in  1893,  but 
quit  after  a  short  existence.    It  was  financed  largely  by  outside  capital. 

The  Morning  Call  was  launched  by  an  association  of  local  news 
writers  in  March,  1897,  but  lasted  only  a  few  weeks. 

The  Daily  Times,  a  morning  Republican  publication,  was  established 
in  the  fall  of  1903,  backed  by  a  stock  company  of  local  men  and  with 
L.  A.  Paisley  as  editor.  It  was  a  more  pretentious  effort  than  most  of 
those  that  had  preceded  it  and  was  started  at  a  most  propitious  time, 
as  Youngstown  was  just  beginning  its  modern  growth.  In  spite  of 
favorable  circumstances  it  succumbed  to  reverses  and  suspended  early 
in  1904. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       351 
Engineering 

If  the  engineers  were  boastful  they  might  claim  to  be  members  of 
the  pioneer  profession  of  Youngstown.  Surveying  is  one  of  the  branches 
of  engineering,  and  of  the  six  men  who  have  gone  down  in  record  as  the 
founders  of  Youngstown  two  were  surveyors  by  profession  and  the 
remaining  four  came  here  as  surveyors'  assistants  as  well  as  land  buyers. 

For  many  years,  in  fact,  surveying,  or  civil  engineering,  was  the 
one  branch  of  engineering  practiced  here,  and  the  first  surveyors,  as  we 
have  pointed  out,  were  John  Young  and  Alfred  Wolcott.  Succeeding 
them  within  a  year  was  Turhand  Kirtland,  the  leading  member  of  his 
professibn  in  this  neighborhood  in  the  earliest  days  since  he  laid  out 
townships,  towns  and  roads  and  surveyed  the  original  village  of  Youngs-? 
town. 

With  the  industrial  growth  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  engineering  in 
all  its  branches  became  one  of  the  great  professions  here,  and  this  has 
been  especially  true  in  the  last  twenty  years.  The  men  who  follow  this 
line  of  endeavor  are  not  only  among  the  leaders  in  the  community, 
but  among  the  most  necessary  professional  men,  since  the  industrial  life 
of  the  valley  depends  to  a  great  extent  upon  them. 

The  original  association  of  engineers  in  Youngstown  was  the  Engi- 
neers' Club,  organized  in  1906.  This  body  was  limited  in  its  member- 
ship, and  a  year  ago  a  reorganization  was  effected  that  permitted  thev 
membership  of  all  classes  of  engineers  and  those  in  lines  contributory 
to  engineering.  The  reorganized  club  was  formally  incorporated  on 
May  9,  1919,  the  following  officers  of  the  association  being  named :  F. 
W.  Funk,  president;  W.  H.  Ramage,  vice  president;  E.  R.  Rose,  secre- 
tary; C.  I.  Crippen,  treasurer;  H.  E.  White,  E.  D.  Haseltine,  Fred 
Hubbard,  Mr.  Rose  and  Mr.  Crippen,  trustees.  Membership  is 
divided  into  five  classes,  active,  associate,  junior,  honorary  and  non- 
resident, and  the  club  has  as  its  objects  "the  professional  and  economic 
improvement  of  its  members,  the  improvement  of  the  engineering 
profession  in  the  public  estimation,  the  encouragement  of  social  inter- 
course among  its  members  and  the  advancement  of  engineering  and 
allied  sciences."  The  organization  now  has  a  membership  in  excess 
of  500. 

There  are  also  a  number  of  members  of  the  American  Society  of 
Mechanical  Engineers  in  Youngstown  and  vicinity  and  steps  are  now 
being  taken  to  organize  a  local  section  of  this  body  here. 

Real  Estate  Dealers 

A  profession  that  numbers  approximately  200  individual  members 
and  firms,  as  the  real  estate  profession  does  in  Youngstown,  has  a 
decided  influence  upon  any  municipality. 

From  the  days  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  the  original  own- 
ers of  Youngstown  and  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  unique  real  estate 
companies  ever  formed,  the  real  estate  profession  has  been  a  A  im- 
portant one  here.     Since  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century  it  has 


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352       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

been  especially  so,  and  it  is  under  the  skilled  hands  of  those  engaged  in 
this  line  of  endeavor  that  Youngstown  has  grown  from  a  village  to  a 
great  city. 

Real  estate  men  were  late  in  forming  a  formal  organization  as  it 
was  not  until  February  15,  191 5,  that  the  Youngstown  Real  Estate 
Exchange  was  founded,  with  W.  J.  Williams,  S.  L.  Mullineaux,  G.  E. 
Rose,  Earl  M.  McBride,  Dan  Mullane,  Harry  Guggenheim,  Alexander 
Lyle,  D.  T.  Peters,  Bert  M.  Summers,  W.  J.  Thompson,  C.  Harry  Miller, 
C.  E.  Semple,  Jr.,  W.  L.  Sause,  Ira  C.  Park,  Henry  W.  Davis  and 
Alfred  Liebman  as  incorporators.  On  January  2,  1916,  the  name  of 
thg  organization  was  changed  to  the  Youngstown  Real  Estate  Board. 

The  aim  of  the  board  is  "to  secure  the  benefits  of  organized  action 
to  persons  engaged  in  various  phases  of  the  real  estate  profession,  to 
advance  the  interests  of  the  community  by  fostering  public  improve- 
ments, and  to  establish  and  maintain  the  calling  of  the  real  estate  dealer 
in  a  position  of  dignity  and  responsibility,  employing  such  means  to 
execute  these  purposes  as  the  board  may,  from  time  to  time,  adopt." 

The  present  officers  of  the  real  estate  board  are,  Bert  M.  Summers, 
president;  Dan  Mullane,  Jr.,  first  vice  president;  Earl  M.  McBrider 
second  vice  president;  Russell.  McKay,  treasurer  and  counsel;  Robert 
M.  Winter,  secretary.  W.  Edgar  Leedy  is  honorary  president.  There 
are  60  active  members  of  the  board  and  100  associate  members. 

Life  Underwriters 

Life  underwriters,  or  life  insurance  managers  and  salesmen,  number 
a  full  hundred  in  Youngstown,  and  no  profession  has  made  greater 
strides  in  ten  years  in  elevating  the  dignity  of  its  calling.  In  one  sense 
this  is  due  to  the  changed  public  attitude  in  a  generation  or  two  toward 
life  insurance.  At  one  time  it  was  regarded  as  almost  a  death  warrant, 
or  even  a  defiance  of  the  will  of  the  Almighty,  while  there  was  also 
pronounced  indifference  toward  guarding  against  want  on  the  part  of 
dependents  in  case  of  death.  Nevertheless  high-class  insurance  agencies 
flourished  in  Youngstown  for  many  years  back  because  of  the  percent- 
age of  the  people  who  looked  upon  life  insurance  as  a  necessary  precau- 
tion, and  in  recent  years  it  has  become  recognized  as  something  as  neces- 
sary as  medical  attention  or  the  ownership  of  a  home. 

To  the  wrork  of  life  underwriters  in  making  a  profession  of  what 
was  once  a  business  is  also  due  much  credit  for  the  high  standing  of 
this  line  of  work  today.  And  the  Youngstown  Life  Underwriters'  As- 
sociation has  had  much  to  do  with  this. 

The  Life  Underwriters'  Association  was  organized  in  Youngstown 
on  September  7,  191 1,  following  a  gathering  addressed  by  J.  J.  Jackson 
of  Cleveland,  then  one  of  the  vice  presidents  of  the  National  Association 
of  Life  Underwriters.  Those  present  at  the  meeting  who  are  still  con- 
nected with  the  association  were  Roy  L.  Hartzell,  W.  B.  Randolph,  F. 
B.  Hawkins,  Leo  Guthman,  Charles  Rudibaugh,  K.  V.  Clyde,  C.  W. 
Hench,  Myron  H.  Eckert,  and  Elias  Jenkins.  F.  B.  Hawkins  was 
elected  temporary  chairman  and  Roy  L.  Hartzell  temporary  secretary. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       353 

Later  Mr.  Hawkins  was  elected  president  of  the  association ;  Mr.  Hart- 
zell,  secretary;  Myron  H.  Eckert,  first  vice  president;  Leo  Guthman, 
second  vice  president;  E.  V.  Clyde,  treasurer. 

The  object  of  the  association  is  to  advance  the  standing  of  the 
profession  and  promote  social  intercourse  between  its  members,  and 
tnembership  is  open  to  all  those  of  good  character  whose  chief  business 
is  selling  legal  reserve  life  insurance.  The  association  has  sixty  mem- 
bers and  its  present  officers  are,  B.  A.  Sanford,  president;  L.  M.  Gil-, 
lette,  vice  president;  James  A.  Quinn,  treasurer;  Otis  Holt,  secretary; 
C.  M.  Stilson,  Sam  Hawkins,  R.  L.  Hartzell,  Myron  Eckert  and  W.  B. 
Randolph,  members  of  executive  committee. 

The  fire  underwriters  occupy  a  place  not  less  important  than  the  life 
underwriters,  and  in  many  instances,  in  fact,  these  two  agencies  are  com- 
bined. The  fire  underwriters  have  no  organized  association  in  Youngs- 
town,  although  formation  of  such  a  body  is  frequently  discussed. 

Chiropractors  and  Optometrists 

The  chiropractic  profession  as  a  branch  of  healing  has  made  great 
headway  in  Youngstown  in  recent  years,  numbering  now  a  dozen  prac- 
titioners. Its  members  are  banded  together  in  the  Mahoning  Valley 
Chiropractors  Association,  an  organization  whose  membership  is  open 
to  chiropractors  from  all  cities  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  and  is  a  virile 
association.  Officers  of  this  body  are,  Dallas  H.  Morris,  president;  A. 
S.  Johnson,  vice  president;  W.  D.  Taylor,  secretary;  Joseph  Sof  ranee, 
treasurer. 

The  Mahoning  County  Optometric  Society  is  a  flourishing  organiza- 
tion, numbering  most  of  the  members  of  this  profession.  Officers  of  the 
society  are  J.  B.  Reynolds,  president ;  W.  L.  Blase,  vice  president ;  Mrs. 
W.  L.  Blase,  secretary;  G.  T.  Hills,  treasurer. 


Vol.  1—23 


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CHAPTER  XIX 

BUSINESS  ACTIVITIES  IN  YOUNGSTOWN 

Wholesale  and  Retail  Houses — The  Automobile  Business — 
Youngstown  Banks — Building  and  Loan  Companies — Public 
Utilities,  Private  and  Municipal. 

Manufacturing,  of  course,  is  the  heart  of  the  business  life  of  Youngs- 
town and  steel,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  is  the  heart  of  manufac- 
turing here.  With  the  making  of  steel,  and  manufacturing  in  general, 
we  will  not  deal  here  as  the  story  of  the  manufacturing  industry  is  told 
in  another  chapter  of  this  work. 

In  a  wholesale  and  retail  sense  Youngstown  is  the  center  of  a  terri- 
tory of  approximately  200,000  people,  while  added  thousands  come  from 
outside  this  territory.  Necessarily  this  makes  Youngstown  both  a  job- 
bing and  retail  center,  a  business  metropolis  fed  by  steam  and  electric 
railroad  and  the  most  important  trade  city  between  Cleveland  and 
Pittsburgh. 

From  a  half  dozen  little  stores  when  Youngstown  became  an  in- 
corporated village  seventy  years  ago,  there  has  been  an  advance  until 
mercantile  institutions,  great  and  small,  now  run  literally  into  thou- 
sands. In  trade  in  the  necessities  of  life  they  range  from  the  great  de- 
partment stores  to  tiny  neighborhood  shops.  There  are  in  Youngstown 
500  incorporated  companies  alone,  aside  from  the  many  partnerships  and 
individual  business  concerns.  In  the  automobile  business  alone,  the 
newest  of  all  great  business,  there  are  300  firms  here  engaged  in  the 
various  branches  of  the  trade.  To  say  that  "Youngstown  is  the  busiest 
place  of  its  size  in  the  United  States,"  is  not  the  boast  of  a  resident — 
for  the  resident  scarcely  realizes  this — but  the  exclamation  common  to 
the  infrequent,  or  even  frequent,  visitor  who  is  an.  unprejudiced  judge. 

In  a  mercantile  way  its  business  houses  include  great  wholesale, 
jobbing  and  distributing  as  well  as  retail  houses.  In  all  these  branches 
there  is  rapid  expansion  as  Youngstown  increases  in  industrial  and 
commercial  importance. 

In  both  wholesale  and  retail  business  there  are  thriving  trade  organ- 
izations here,  the  chief  business  body  of  course,  being  the  Youngstown 
Chamber  of  Commerce. 

The  need  of  a  body  of  this  kind  was  apparent  more  than  thirty  years 
ago  and  resulted  in  the  organization,  in  1887,  of  the  Youngstown  Board 
of  Commerce,  more  familiarly  known  as  the  Board  of  Trade.  For 
several  years  this  association  flourished  and  did  good  work,  but  indiffer- 

354 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       355 

ence  and  inaction  set  in  and  in  1899  **  went  out  of  existence  through 
lack  of  support. 

For  more  than  five  years  Youngstown  was  without  a  trade  or  com- 
merce body,  although  there  was  a  merchants  association  and  various 
organizations  devoted  to  some  exclusive  branch  of  trade.  Early  in  1905, 
however,  public  spirited  men  set  to  work  to  found  a  greater  Youngstown 
business  association,  and  the  present  Youngstown  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce was  the  result  of  their  efforts.  Organization  was  formally  ef- 
fected at  a  meeting  held  on  March  3,  1905,  after  200  individuals  and 
firms  had  pledged  their  membership.  A.  E.  Adams  was  elected  first 
president  of  the  organization  and  Charles  W.  Gilgen  was  selected  for 
secretary. 

The  association  started  in  as  a  virile  body,  this  being  evident  from 
the  fact  that  in  the  first  two  years  of  its  existence  it  had  secured  the 
approval  of  the  voters  for  the  new  courthouse  project,  had  brought  the 
Milton  reservoir  and  grade  crossings  elimination  improvements  to  life 
and  had  secured  several  notable  industries  for  the  city.  Its  work  for 
the  betterment  of  Youngstown  has  now  continued  unceasingly  for  fifteen 
years  and  more.  It  is  an  organization  of  broad  character,  active  not  only 
in  business  lines  but  in  civic  work  and  embracing  a  membership  of  1,500 
business  men,  professional  men  and  tradesmen. 

Mr.  Adams  served  as  president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in 
1905-06;  George  L.  Fordyce  in  1906-07;  Frank  Hitchcock  in  1907-08; 
J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  1908-15;  James  A.  Campbell,  1915-16;  Fred  A.  Harten- 
.stein,  1916-17;  A.  E.  Adams,  1917-18;  Leroy  A.  Manchester,  1918-19; 
Robert  Bentley,  1919-20.  Philip  J.  Thompson  is  the  present  president. 
Remaining  officers  in  1920  are,  Walter  C.  Stitt,  first  vice  president ;  H.  L. 
Round,  second  vice  president;  H.  W.  Grant,  treasurer. 

Charles  W.  Gilgen  was  secretary  of  the  body  from  its  organization 
until  early  in  1910,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  D.  F.  Williams,  who  re- 
mained only  a  few  months.  M.  J.  Megown  served  as  secretary  from 
July  15,  1910,  to  August  31,  1914;  Robert  Wadsworth  from  September 
1,  1914,  to  May  1,  1918,  and  Fred  A.  LaBelle  from  May  1,  1918  to  date. 

The  Retail  Merchants  Board  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  was 
organized  on  February  14,  191 3,  by  O.  U.  Cassaday,  James  P.  Colleran, 
S.  D.  Currier,  I.  G.  Goldsmith,  William  Jeckell,  H.  L.  Marquette,  I. 
Harry  Meyer,  E.  L.  Morgan,  Frank  H.  Ray,  R.  C.  Wadsworth,  C.  F. 
Wilkins  and  P.  J.  Thompson.  The  first  officers  were  P.  J.  Thompson, 
chairman;  R.  C.  Wadsworth,  vice  chairman;  M.  J.  Megown,  secretary. 
Caroline  M.  Chadwick  is  assistant  secretary.  The  present  officers 
are  E.  L.  McKelvey,  president;  H.  F.  Grossman,  first  vice  president; 
W.  F.  Proctor,  second  vice  president;  Fred  A.  LaBelle,  secretary; 
H.  W.  Grant,  treasurer.  As  its  name  indicates,  this  body  is  an  organ- 
ization of  retail  merchant  members  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

The  Youngstown  Association  of  Credit  Men  was  organized  on  May 
17,  1903,  and  since  its  beginning  has  included  in  its  membership  all  the 
progressive  wholesale,  jobbing,  manufacturing  and  banking  institutions 
of  the  city.  It  is  a  protective  organization  for  firms  engaged  in  these 
and  other  lines  of  business  and  has  been  a  valuable  agency  in  the  seven- 


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356        YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

teen  years  of  its  existence.  As  subsidiaries  the  association  has  a  re- 
porting bureau  and  an  adjustment  bureau,  the  latter  organized  in  1906 
and  incorporated  in  1908.  The  present  officers  of  the  Youngstown  As- 
sociation of  Credit  Men  are,  J.  A.  Thompson,  president;  Bruce  R. 
Campbell,  vice  president;  David  B.  Shaw,  treasurer;  VV.  C.  McKain, 
secretary. 

The  Youngstown  Retail  Grocers  and  Meat  Dealers  Association  was 
organized  in  1900  and  today  has  a  membership  of  ninety-five,  including 
the  most  progressive  of  the  firms  in  the  two  lines  of  business  mentioned. 
.  Officers  of  the  association  are,  H.  V.  Tutter,  president ;  Frank  Hag- 
berg,  vice  president;  Clyde  Metz,  treasurer;  J.  R.  Truesdale,  secretary. 

The  Youngstown  Retail  Credit  Men's  Association  was  formed  in 
1919  and  filled  the  place  for  retail  merchants  that  the  older  credit  men's 
association  does  for  wholesalers.  While  a  new  body  this  is  a  flourish- 
ing one.  Officers  of  this  organization  are,  I.  Harry  Meyer,  president; 
E.  A.  Stocker,  vice  president;  Miss  Anna  Burke,  treasurer;  J.  R. 
Truesdale,  secretary. 

The  Merchants  Mercantile  Company  is  a  private  credit  reporting 
body,  organized  in  1903  and  that  has  increased  steadily  in  importance 
since.     J.  R.  Truesdale  is  secretary  of  this  organization. 

Youngstown  in  Finance 

There  are  six  kinds  of  financial  institutions  in  Youngstown,  national 
banks,  state  banks,  and  trust  companies,  building  and  loan  companies, 
a  postal  savings  bank,  a  Morris  Plan  bank  and  private  banks. 

The  national  banks  are  three  in  number,  the  First  National,  Ma- 
honing National  and  Commercial  National;  the  state  banks  number 
six,  the  Dollar  Savings  and  Trust  Company,  City  Trust  and  Savings 
Bank,  South  Side  Savings  Bank,  Mahoning  Savings  &  Trust  Company, 
Central  Bank  &  Trust  Company,  and  a  new  organization,  the  Youngs- 
town Savings  Bank.  There  are  six  building  and  loan  companies,  the 
Home  Savings  and  Loan  Company,  Federal  Savings  and  Loan  Company, 
Central  Savings  and  Loan  Company,  South  Side  Savings  and  Loan 
Company,  Youngstown  Citizens  Savings  and  Loan  Company  and  Slovan 
Building  and  Loan  Company.  There  is  but  one  postal  savings  bank, 
of  course,  and  one  Morris  Plan  bank.  The  G.  V.  Hamory  bank  is  the 
largest  of  the  private  institutions  of  this  kind. 

Youngstown's  banks  are  notable  for  the  amount  of  their  paid-in 
non-withdrawable  capital,  the  high  quality  of  their  service  to  customers 
and  the  soundness  and  liberality  of  their  policies,  rather  than  for  any 
idiosyncrasy  of  appearance  or  practice.  The  largest  of  them  has  twice 
as  much  paid-in  capital  as  any  other  bank  in  Ohio  outside  of  Cleveland 
and  Cincinnati.  Youngstown  has  never  had  a  bank  failure  or  even  a 
bank  suspension.  Indeed,  it  has  never  had  a  commercial  failure  of  any 
proportions  that  has  cost  the  creditors  of  the  failing  concern  anything. 

Youngstown's  building  and  loan  companies  are  among  the  best  in- 
stitutions of  their  kind  to  be  found.  These  institutions  confine  their 
loans  largely  to  loans  upon  real  estate  mortgages.     They  have  no  capital 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        357 

in  the  sense  that  banks  have,  that  is,  permanent,  taxable  capital,  but 
they  accept  money  on  deposit  in  much  the  same  way  that  the  banks,  do, 
and  in  addition  accept  money  as  payment  on  what,  in  the  nomenclature 
of  the  business,  is  called  stock.  In  Youngstown  these  institutions  have 
served  a  useful  purpose.  They  have  encouraged  savings  and  stimulated 
home  building.  No  large  one  has  ever  failed.  Though  lacking  the  guar- 
antees of  safety  provided  by  banks  and  free  from  some  other  restric- 
tions applied  to  banks  they  have  been  pretty  generally  prosperous  and 
have  grown  rapidly. 

Youngstown's  postal  savings  bank,  like  all  others  of  its  kind,  accepts 
savings  deposits  but  exercises  no  other  banking  function. 

Youngstown's  Morris  Plan  bank  is  an  ably  managed  institution.  It 
is  designed  to  meet  the  needs  of  those  who,  being  obliged  to  borrow  and 
being  without  the  collateral  required  by  regular  banks,  must  depend  upon 
the  endorsement  of  some  friend,  or  friends,  for  security.  Its  loans  are 
mostly  for  small  amounts,  and  while  its  interest  rates  are  much  higher 
than  those  regular  banks  are  allowed  to  charge  they  are  much  lower 
than  small  borrowers  were  formerly  obliged  to  pay  to  'loan  sharks." 

Owing  to  the  inadequacy  of  the  trust  company  laws  of  Ohio  until 
1919  the  growth  of  business  of  this  kind  on  the  part  of  state  bank  and 
trust  companies  has  been  relatively  slow  throughout  the  state,  but  the 
Dollar  Savings  and  Trust,  which  has  been  conducting  a  trust  depart- 
ment for  more  than  twenty  years,  developed  a  volume  of  business  in 
this  respect  running  into  millions  and  the  trust  company  business  has 
been  growing  rapidly  in  recent  years.  Today  it  is  the  rule,  rather  than 
the  exception  for  people  who  are  drawing  wills — and  particularly  those 
of  large  means — to  select  the  trust  company  rather  than  an  individual 
as  executor  or  trustee. 

Youngstown's  financial  institutions,  in  fact,  are  able  to  meet  every 
legitimate  need  of  the  community  and  more  than  able  to  protect  and 
support  the  business  of  the  community.  Financially  speaking  Youngs- 
town is  one  of  the  strongest,  best  prepared  and  best  equipped  cities  in 
the  world.  What  is  also  of  importance,  it  has  kept  relatively  clear  of 
"fly-by-night"  and  "get-rich-quick"  concerns  and  the  "watered  stock" 
of  high  finance.  When  a  new  concern  is  started  here  it  is  started  in 
the  ojd  fashioned  way.  Real  money  is  put  into  it  and  the  capital  stock 
issued  against  the  money  show?  the  amount  put  in.  A  new  concern 
whose  stock  will  not  practically  sell  itself  without  the  aid  of  high  per- 
centage house-to-house  canvassers  is  looked  upon  as  unworthy. 

In  short,  Youngstown  can  boast  about  as  wholesome,  sound  and 
sane  financial  atmosphere  as  is  found  anywhere.  And  it  has  paid  well, 
for  Youngstown  is  one  of  the  most  prosperous  cities  in  the  world. 

First  National  Bank-Dollar  Savings  and  Trust  Company 

This  dual  institution,  the  largest  financial  institution  in  any  city  of 
the  United  States  the  size  of  Youngstown,  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  Ma- 
honing County  Bank,  the  first  bank  established  in  Mahoning  County. 
The  Mahoning  County  Bank  was  organized  on  August  7,   1850,  with 


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358       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Judge  William  Rayen  as  president  and  Robert  W.  Tayler  as  cashier. 
It  was  a  prosperous  and  ably  managed  institution  from  its  inception. 
On  the  death  of  Judge  Rayen  in  1854  Dr.  Henry  Manning  became  presi- 
dent, and  in  i860  Mr.  Tayler  was  succeeded  as  cashier  by  Col.  Caleb  B. 
Wick.  Colonel  Wick  retired  in  October,  1862,  and  was  succeeded  as 
cashier  by  John  S.  Edwards. 

In  the  spring  of  1863  the  National  Banking  Act  was  passed,  being  a 
war  emergency  act,  intended  rather  to  create  a  market  for  government 
bonds  than  to  establish  a  banking  system.  The  country  was  in  the 
darkest  days  of  the  Civil  War,  government  bonds  found  no  market,  and 
the  National  Banking  Act  was  enacted  to  induce  existing  banks  to  buy 
these  bonds,  offering  in  return  the  right  to  issue  a  limited  amount  of 
currency.  As  government  bonds  were  of  doubtful  value  it  required 
patriotism  and  foresight  to  accept  this  offer. 

Yet  on  June  2,  1863,  the  Mahoning  County  Bank  obtained  a  national 
charter  and  became  the  First  National  Bank.  This  pioneer  Youngstown 
institution  was  the  third  bank  in  the  United  States  to  take  this  step,  and 
as  the  third  oldest  national  bank  in  the  country  proudly  retains  its  orig- 
inal number  "3."    Its  original  capital  was  $156,000. 

Doctor  Manning  continued  as  president  of  the  First  National  Bank 
until  1866  when  he  was  succeeded  by  William  S.  Parmelee,  who  in  turn 
resigned  in  1877,  when  he  removed  to  Cleveland,  and  was  replaced  by 
Robert  McCurdy.  Robert  McCurdy  retained  the  presidency  until  his 
death  on  March  25,  1904. 

John  S.  Edwards  remained  as  cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank 
until  June,  1865,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Robert  McCurdy,  and  on 
the  election  of  Robert  McCurdy  to  the  presidency  in  1877  William  H. 
Baldwin  became  cashier.  Mr.  Baldwin  was  succeeded  by  Myron  E. 
Dennison. 

The  Second  National  Bank  was  chartered  on  December  15,  1874, 
with  a  capital  of  $200,000,  and  began  business  in  the  now  partly  dis- 
mantled Howells  Block,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Central  Square  and 
Federal  Street,  a  structure  that  is  soon  to  be  replaced  by  an  addition  to 
the  First  National  Bank  Building.  Its  first  officers  were,  Henry  Tod, 
president;  T.  K.  Hall,  vice  president;  George  J.  Margerum,  cashier; 
H.  M.  Garlick,  teller  and  bookkeeper.  In  1878  the  bank  removed  to  the 
Andrews  &  Hitchcock  Building,  where  the  Central  Bank  and  Trust 
Company  is  now  located,  and  in  1888  erected  and  moved  into  the  build- 
ing now  occupied  by  the  Realty  Trust  Company.  Following  the  death 
of  Robert  McCurdy  the  Second  National  Bank  was  merged  into  the 
First  National,  the  officers  of  the  Second  National  at  that  time  being 
Henry  Tod,  president;  H.  M.  Garlick,  vice  president;  R.  E.  Cornelius, 
cashier.  The  original  capital  of  the  First  National  Bank  had  been  in- 
creased to  $250,000  in  1866,  to  $300,000  in  1870  and  to  $500,000  in  1875. 
With  the  merger  of  these  banks  in  1904  H.  M.  Garlick  was  named  presi- 
dent of  the  First  National;  Henry  M.  Robinson,  Myron  I.  Arms  and 
Henry  Tod,  vice  presidents;  M.  E.  Dennison,  cashier,  and  R.  E.  Cor- 
nelius, assistant  cashier. 

The  Dollar  Savings  and  Trust  Company  was  incorporated  on  March 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       359 

29,  1887,  with  an  authorized  capital  of  $100,000,  and  with  John  I.  Wil- 
liams as  president;  George  F.  Arrel  and  Louis  Gluck  as  vice  presidents, 
and  David  E.  Davis,  secretary  and  treasurer.  In  1900  A.  E.  Adams  was 
elected  secretary  and  treasurer.  The  bank  was  authorized  to  act  as  a 
trust  company  on  June  30,  1898. 

The  -Peoples  Savings  and  Banking  Company  was  formed  late  in  1899 
and  opened  on  August  1,  1900,  with  an  authorized  capital  of  $300,000, 
of  which  $150,000  was  paid  in.  The  officers  were,  John  H.  Fitch,  presi- 
dent; George  L.  Fordyce  and  H.  M.  Robinson,  vice  presidents:  R.  P. 
Hartshorn,  secretary  and  treasurer;  E.  W.  Ritchie,  assistant  treasurer. 
On  February  22,  1903,  this  institution  was  merged  with  the  Dollar 
Savings  and  Trust  Company,  A.  E.  Adams  being  elected  president  of  the 
consolidated  bank;  E.  Mason  Wick,  secretary;  R.  P.  Hartshorn,  treas- 
urer; Paul  H.  McElevey,  assistant  treasurer;  E.  W.  Ritchie,  assistant 
secretary. 

Wick  Bros,  and  Company  was  formed  in  1857  by  Hugh  B.  Wick  and 
Paul  Wick.  In  1894  the  Wick  National  Bank  was  chartered  as  the 
successor  to  Wick  Bros,  and  Company,  the  capital  being  fixed  at  $300,- 
000  and  increased  later  to  $500,000.  John  C.  Wick  was  president; 
Myron  C.  Wick,  vice  president;  Charles  J.  Wick,  cashier;  E.  H.  Hosmer, 
assistant  cashier.  On  July  ii«  1906,  the  Wick  National  Bank  was  con- 
solidated with  the  Dollar  Savings  and  Trust  Company,  Charles  J.  Wick 
being  elected  cashier  and  E.  H.  Hosmer  assistant  cashier  of  the  con- 
solidated bank. 

The  capital  of  the  Dollar  Savings  and  Trust  Company  had  been  in- 
creased to  $300,000  on  January  10,  1896,  to  $500,000  on  August  15, 
1901;  to  $1,000,000  on  May  15,  1903,  and  to  $1,500,000  on  May  15, 
1906.  On  July  1,  1907,  the  capital  of  the  First  National  Bank  was  also 
increased  to  $1,500,000  and  the  two  institutions,  each  preserving  its  re- 
spective title  and  charter  and  separate  entity,  were  brought  under  com- 
mon ownership  and  became  one  institution.  This  union  has  since  con- 
tinued. 

To  bind  this  dual  institution  a  third  corporation — the  Union  Safe 
Deposit  Company — was  formed  with  a  capital  of  $100,000,  all  owned  by 
the  banks,  the  first  officers  being,  W.  P.  Arms,  president;  Thomas  L. 
Robinson,  vice  president;  E.  Mason  Wick,  secretary;  Perry  B.  Owen, 
manager.  It  acts  as  a  trustee  for  the  stockholders  of  the  two  banks  and 
in  addition  conducts  a  safe  deposit  business,  having  four  of  the  heaviest 
armor  plate  vaults  in  the  world. 

Today  the  combined  First  National  Bank  and  Dollar  Savings  and 
Trust  Company  has  a  combined  capital,  surplus  and  undivided  profits  of 
nearly  $7,000,000  and  total  resources  amounting  to  more  than  $42,000,- 
000.  H.  M.  Garlick  is  chairman  of  the  Board  of  the  two  banks ;  A.  E, 
Adams,  president;  R.  P.  Hartshorn,  M.  E.  Dennison,  John  Tod,  Charles 
H.  Booth  and  Robert  Bentley,  vice  presidents,  and  C.  W.  Reihl,  auditor. 
For  the  First  National  Bank  J.  H.  Parker  is  cashier  and  D.  N.  Cooper, 
assistant  cashier.  In  the  Dollar  Savings  and  Trust  Company  D.  M. 
Wick  is  treasurer;  Paul  H.  McElevey,  secretary;  Wells  L.  Griswold, 
trust   officer;  V.   J.   Goodridge,   assistant   treasurer;   Charles   Ephraim, 


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360       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

assistant  secretary ;  Harry  A.  Boyd,  assistant  trust  officer.  W.  P.  Arms 
is  president  of  the  Union  Safe  Deposit  Company;  John  Tod,  vice  presi- 
dent ;  L.  L.  Rice,  treasurer ;  Perry  B.  Owen,  secretary  and  manager. 

The  Wick  Bros.  Trust  Company  was  organized  in  1908  with  a  capital 
of  $125,000  and  with  Thomas  L.  Robinson  as  president ;  Myron  C.  Wick 
and  George  D.  Wick,  vice  presidents;  Paul  H.  McElevey,  secretary  and 
treasurer.  This  institution  was  merged  into  the  trust  department  of  the 
Dollar  Savings  and  Trust  Company  on  May  15,  1909. 

Mahoning   National  Bank  and  Mahoning  Savings  and 
Trust  Company 

The  Mahoning  National  Bank,  parent  institution  of  the  two  above 
mentioned  banks,  had  its  origin  in  the  Youngstown  Savings  and  Loan 
Association,  organized  in  1868  by  some  of  the  solid  business  men  of 
Youngstown  of  that  day.  Its  first  organization  meeting  was  held  on 
September  14,  1868,  the  directors  named  being  David  Tod,  C.  H.  An- 
drews, W.  J.  Hitchcock,  F.  O.  Arms,  T.  K.  Hall,  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  T.  H. 
Wells,  John  Stambaugh,  David  Theobald,  Richard  Brown,  A.  B.  Cor- 
nell, B-  F.  Hoffman  and  William  Powers.  As  the  virtual  organizer  of 
the  institution,  Governor  Tod  was  elected  president ;  C.  H.  Andrews 
and  John  Stambaugh  were  elected  vice  presidents  and  J.  H,  McEwen 
was  named  secretary  and  treasurer. 

The  company  opened  for  business  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Central 
Square  and. Federal  Street  and  remained  there  until  1873,  when,  in  con- 
nection with  Andrews  &  Hitchcock,  it  erected  at  its  present  location  a 
building  that  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  most  familiar  in  Youngs- 
town. 

In  1877  the  association  adopted  a  national  bank  charter  under  the 
name  of  the  Mahoning  National  Bank.  Governor  Tod  died  about  two 
months  after  his  election  as  president  and  was  succeeded  by  F.  O.  Arms, 
who  held  the  office  until  May  5,  1874,  when  Joseph  H.  Brown  was 
elected  president.  Mr.  Brown  was  succeeded  on  January  8,  1878,  by 
H..  O.  Bonnell,  who  served  until  his  death  on  January  16,  1893,  when 
W.  Scott  Bonnell,  his  brother,  was  chosen  to  succeed  him.  Mr.  Bonnell 
remained  as  president  until  January  14,  1908,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
J.  H.  McEwen  who  had  rounded  out  forty  years'  service  as  cashier  of 
this  institution. 

In  1909  the  Mahoning  National  Bank  purchased  the  Andrews  & 
Hitchcock  interest  in  the  property  and  in  1910  razed  the  old  structure 
and  erected  the  present  handsome  thirteen-story  structure. 

In  this  latter  year  too  there  was  incorporated  under  a  separate  char- 
ter, the  Mahoning  Savings  and  Trust  Company,  the  capital  being  fixed 
at  $100,000.  This  institution  is  devoted  exclusively  to  savings  bank 
business,  all  the  stock  being  owned  by  the  national  bank  stockholders 
and  the  management  being  identical. 

On  January  11,  1910,  President  McEwen  was  succeeded  by  Edmond 
L.  Brown,  who  resigned  on  October  14,   191 1.     R.  E.  Cornelius  was 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       361 

elected  to  fill  the  vacancy,  and  on  November  i,  191 1,  assumed  the  presi- 
dency, a  position  he  still  holds. 

T.  A.  Jacobs,  successor  to  Mr.  McEwen  as  cashier,  resigned  in 
October,  1916,  and  W.  J.  Roberts  was  made  cashier,  with  William  I. 
Davies  as  assistant  cashier.  In  March,  191 7,  J.  R.  Rowland  was  named 
vice  president  of  the  bank,  and  in  1918  W.  J.  Roberts  was  also  elected  to 
a  vice  presidency,  William  I.  Davies  becoming  cashier,  and  W.  Scott 
Bonnell  and  Walter  A.  Beecher  remaining  as  vice  presidents.  These  are 
the  present  officers  of  the  Mahoning  National  Bank.  Mr.  Davies  is  also 
treasurer  of  the  Mahoning  Savings  and  Trust  Company,  and  Mr.  Roberts 
secretary  of  that  institution.  These  banks  have  shared  in  the  general 
prosperity  of  Youngstown  and  today  have  resources  in  excess  of 
$8,000,000. 

Commercial  National  Bank 

The  Commercial  National  Bank  was  organized  in  May,  1880,  cele- 
brating but  recently  its  fortieth  anniversary  and  being  granted  at  that 
time  its  third  twenty-year  charter  as  a  national  institution. 

The  Commercial  Bank  began  business  in  the  rear  part  of  the  old 
Andrews  &  Hitchcock  Building  at  Federal  Street  and  Central  Square, 
now  occupied  by  the  Central  Bank  and  Trust  Company,  C.  H.  Andrews 
being  the  first  president  of  the  institution,  Gen.  T.  W.  Sanderson,  vice 
president,  and  Mason  Evans,  cashier.  By  1890  it  had  expanded  until  it 
occupied  the  entire  building,  remaining  there  until  1908  when  it  pur- 
chased its  present  property  and  remodeled  the  banking  rooms  that  stood 
there.  In  1917  the  building  was  again  remodeled  throughout,  extended 
the  fuU  length  of  the  lot,  built  to  a  height  of  three  stories  and  made  into 
a  virtually  new  structure. 

Mr.  Andrews  remained  as  president  of  the  Commercial  bank  until 
his  death  on  December  25,  1893,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  G.  M.  Mc- 
Kelvey.  Mr.  McKelvey  died  in  December,  1905,  and  Mason  Evans  was 
elected  president  in  January,  1906,  remaining  in  this  capacity  until 
January,  1919,  when  he  became  chairman  of  the  board  of  directors,  C.  H. 
Kennedy  succeeding  to  the  presidency.  Mr.  Kennedy  had  also  succeeded 
Mr.  Evans  as  cashier  in  1906,  and  on  his  election  to  a  vice  presidency 
Harry  Williams,  his  assistant,  was  made  cashier.  Mr.  Evans  is  still 
chairman  of  the  board,  Mr.  Kennedy  president  and  Mr.  Williams 
cashier,  other  officers  being  James  B.  Kennedy  and  Harry  L.  Rownd, 
vice  presidents ;  James  R.  Halls  ancf  Frederick  G.  Evans,  assistant 
cashiers. 

In  its  two  score  years  of  existence  the  Commercial  Bank  has  grown 
entirely  through  its  own  efforts  and  without  consolidation,  merger  or 
affiliations  of  any  kind.  Mr.  Evans  and  Mr.  Kennedy  have  been  asso- 
ciated with  the  bank  since  its  organization  and  Mr.  Williams  has  been 
a  member  of  its  personnel  since  1887. 

Originally  capitalized  at  $130,000,  the  Commercial  bank  increased 
its  capital  to  $200,000,  later  to  $300,000  and  in  1918  to  $500,000.  Its 
resources  now  exceed  $7,500,000. 


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362       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 
City  Trust  and  Savings  Bank 

The  City  Trust  and  Savings  Bank  was  organized  in  September,  1904, 
as  the  Youngstown  Savings  and  Banking  Company,  with  a  capital  of 
$50,000,  and  opened  for  business  on  March  18,  1905,  in  the  corner 
room  of  the  old  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Building  at  Federal  and  Champion  streets. 
Its  original  directorate  included  W.  T.  Gibson,  J.  S.  Paterson,  Michael 
Obendorfer,  Rudolph  Kurz,  I.  K.  Ilgenfritz,  W.  R.  Leonard,  T.  J. 
Lawlor,  W.  A.  Maline,  F.  A.  Scott  and  H.  W.  Grant.  Mr.  Gibson  was 
elected  president  and  Mr.  Grant  secretary  and  treasurer. 

This  institution  was  prosperous  from  the  start.  For  five  years  it 
remained  in  its  original  location,  but  on  June  1,  1910,  removed  to  the 
Wick  Building  where  it  is  now  located.  Coincident  with  the  removal 
the  name  was  changed  to  the  City  Trust  and  Savings  Bank.  The  orig- 
inal capital  of  this  institution  was  increased  to  $100,000  on  July  1,  1906, 
to  $200,000  in  May,  1913,  and  to  $300,000  in  January,  1920.  With 
fifteen  years  of  life  its  resources  have  grown  to  more  than  $6,000,000.  It 
is  a  member  of  the  Federal  Reserve  system. 

Present  officers  of  the  bank  are,  W.  T.  Gibson,  president;  H.  W. 
Grant,  vice  president  and  treasurer;  W.  R.  Leonard,  vice  president  and 
secretary;  James  E.  Gribbon,  assistant  treasurer;  Edward  J.  McGowan, 
assistant  secretary. 

South  Side  Savings  Bank 

The  South  Side  Savings  Bank  was  incorporated  on  June  24,  1914,  by 
John  C.  Leavitt,  W.  H.  Barr,  C.  F.  Matteson,  W.  F.  Williamson,  Frank 
P.  Cailor,  Horace  Williamson  and  Bales  M.  Campbell,  and  opened  for 
business  on  June  2,  1915,  in  its  own  building  in  Market  Street.  The 
capital  stock  was  fixed  at  $100,000  and  the  first  officers  were  Chase  T. 
Truesdale,  president;  Bales  M.  Campbell,  first  vice  president;  Bruce 
Matthews,  second  vice  president;  W.  H.  Barr,  secretary  and  treasurer; 
Hugh  Swaney,  assistant  secretary. 

This  institution  has  served  well  the  rapidly  growing  business  section 
of  the  South  Side  of  which  Market  Street  is  the  heart.  The  present 
officers  of  the  bank  are  the  same  as  given  above  except  that  A.  D.  Reese 
has  succeeded  Hugh  Swaney  as  assistant  secretary  and  James  A.  Hen- 
derson has  been  made  assistant  treasurer. 

Central  Bank  and  Trust  Company 

The  Central  Bank  and  Trust  Company  was  organized  in  September, 
1916,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $150,000,  the  organization  being  in  response 
to  a  demand  for  a  commercial  banking  institution  for  the  convenience  of 
the  patrons  of  the  Central  Savings  and  Loan  Company,  an  organization 
that  had  come  into  existence  four  years  earlier. 

The  first  officers  of  this  institution  were,  T.  B.  Van  Alstine,  chair- 
man of  the  board;  A.  E.  Reinmann,  president  and  treasurer;  Dr.  Harry 
E.  Welch,  vice  president;  John   M.   Shaw,   secretary.     The  bank  has 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       363 

grown  rapidly  and  today  has  resources  exceeding  $800,000.  It  is  a 
member  of  the  Ohio  Banking  Association  and  the  American  Banking 
Association. 

Youngstown  State  Bank 

The  Youngstown  State  Bank  was  incorporated  in  June,  1920,  by  a 
group  of  business  men  who  have  successfully  conducted  the  Slovan 
Building  &  Loan  Company  for  several  years. 

Youngstown  Clearing  House  Association 

The  Youngstown  Clearing  House  Association,  is,  as  its  name  indi- 
cates, an  organization  designed  to  facilitate  business  between  the  banks 
of  the  city.  It  is  a  corporation  organized  not  for  profit,  its  present 
officers  being  W.  R.  Leonard,  president;  Harry  Williams,  secretary; 
John  M.  Shaw,  treasurer. 

Morris  Plan  Bank 

The  objects  of  the  Morris  Plan  Bank  have  already  been  explained, 
and  it  is  an  institution  that  has  fulfilled  its  mission  well.  The  bank  was 
organized  on  April  29,  1916,  by  Philip  Wick,  W.  B.  Hall,  George  E. 
Dudley,  R.  E.  Cornelius  and  John  T.  Harrington.  The  directorate  was 
named  on  May  12,  191 6,  and  on  May  15th  Philip  H.  Schaff  was  elected 
president;  C.  J.  Strouss  and  H.  W.  Grant,  vice  presidents;  John  W. 
Ford,  secretary  and  treasurer.  On  June  14,  1916,  E.  J.  Obendorfer 
became  secretary,  treasurer  and  manager  and  on  October  13th  R.  J. 
Money  was  named  assistant  in  these  positions.  On  December  1,  1916, 
William  Jenkins  succeeded  Mr.  Obendorfer,  and  with  these  exceptions 
the  original  list  of  officers  is  unchanged.  On  July  1,  1918,  a  regular 
savings  department  was  installed  and  on  June  1,  1919,  a  retail  trade 
acceptance  department  was  added  to  the  institution. 

Building  and  Loan  Companies 

The  Home  Building  and  Loan  Company  was  chartered  on  January 
15,  1889,  the  pioneer  institution  of  its  kind  in  Youngstown,  and  at  the 
first  election  of  officers  John  R.  Davis  was  made  president,  Christopher 
Deibel,  vice  president,  and  James  M.  McKay,  secretary.  The  company 
opened  for  business  early  in  that  year. 

On  the  death  of  Mr.  Davis  in  1900  P.  M.  Kennedy  was  elected  presi- 
dent, and  J.  R.  Woolley  subsequently  succeeded  Mr.  Deibel  as  vice 
president.  A  second  vice  presidency  was  also  created  and  S.  G.  Pyle 
selected  to  fill  this  place.  *  These  officers  still  remain,  Mr.  McKay  having 
been  secretary  since  the  organization  of  the  company,  also  acting  as 
attorney  for  the  company  until  January,  1919,  when  J.  R.  McKay,  his 
son,  succeeded  to  this  place.  The  company  started  out  on  a  mutual 
plan  and  still  adheres  to  that. 


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364        YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Early  in  1898  the  name  was  changed  to  the  Home  Savings  and  Loan 
Company,  this  change  of  name  being  accompanied  by  the  introduction 
of  a  new  loaning  plan  by  which  the  borrower  was  given  a  straight  partial 
payment  loan. 

The  company  has  been  successful  since  its  organization. and  is  now 
one  of  the  largest  building  and  loan  companies  in  the  state.  In  the 
spring  of  1918  the  construction  of  a  new  home  of  the  company  was 
begun  at  West  Federal  and  Chestnut  streets  and  this  structure  was  com- 
pleted and  occupied  in  December,  1919.  Including  the  mezzanine  floor 
the  Home  Savings  and  Loan  Building  is  a  ten-story  steel  frame  struc- 
ture, with  the  mezzanine  of  marble  and  brick  and  terra  cotta  above. 
With  the  ground  and  equipment  it  represents  an  expenditure  of  approxi- 
mately $i,ooo,coo. 

Federal  Savings  and  Loan  Company 

The  Federal  Savings  and  Loan  Company  was  incorporated  in  1900 
as  the  Equity  Savings  and  Loan  Company  by  A.  W.  Jones,  Ralph  E. 
Cornelius,  E.  H.  Turner  and  A.  W.  Jones,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $500,- 
000.  The  company  located  in  North  Phelps  Street  and  was  successful 
from  the  beginning,  so  much  so  that  on  September  20,  1905,  its  capital 
was  increased  to  $1,000,000. 

After  almost  twenty  years  existence  these  quarters  became  too  small 
and  in  1919  the  construction  of  a  permanent  home  of  the  company  on  a 
site  purchased  in  West  Federal  Street  was  begun,  this  building  being  but 
recently  completed  and  occupied.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  stock- 
holders in  January,  1920,  the  name  of  the  company  was  formally  changed 
to  the  Federal  Savings  and  Loan  Company.  Present  officers  of  this 
company  are,  B.  F.  Wirt,  president ;  A.  G.  Sharp,  vice  president :  H.  H. 
Geitgey,  vice  president  and  general  manager;  H.  P.  McCoy,  secretary; 
H.  W.  Pennock,  assistant  secretary  and  attorney. 

Central  Savings  and  Loan  Company 

The  Central  Savings  and  Loan  Company  was  organized  in  March, 
191 2,  with  a  capital  of  $100,000,  this  being  increased  in  1914  to  $200,000. 
The  institution  was  organized  by  A.  E.  Reinmann,  and  the  first  officers, 
who  have  remained  since  without  change,  were,  T.  B.  Van  Alstine,  presi- 
dent; J.  P.  Colleran,  F.  A.  Hartenstein  and  S.  A.  Pfau,  vice  presidents; 
A.  E.  Reinmann,  secretary  and  manager.  The  present  resources  of  the 
company  are  $2,250,000,  the  company  having  enjoyed  exceptional  pros- 
perity. 

Since  its  organization  the  company  has  been  located  in  the  building 
at  the  southwest  corner  of  Central  Square  and  West  Federal  Street  so 
long  favored  by  financial  institutions,  and  in  i<)i8  and  1919  it  purchased 
this  property  and  the  adjoining  Ludington  properties  where  it  intends  to 
erect  a  handsome  office  building  and  permanent  home  for  the  savings 
and  loan  company  and  the  Central  bank,  mentioned  above,  the  two  insti- 
tutions being  under  the  same  ownership  and  management. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        365 
South  Side  Savings  and  Loan  Company 

The  South  Side  Savings  and  Loan  Company  was  incorporated  on 
April  19,  1917,  in  connection  with  the  South  Side  Savings  Bank,  the  in- 
corporators being  John  Devenne,  W.  J.  Thompson,  C.  F.  Matteson, 
A.  D.  Reese,  John  C.  Leavitt,  Hugh  Swaney,  J.  S.  Zimmerman,  C.  T. 
Truesdale,  F.  E.  Cailor,  W.  H.  Barr,  B.  M.  Campbell,  W.  R.  Leonard, 
L.  D.  Wellendorf,  James  A.  Henderson,  M.  A.  Kimmel.  J.  C.  Urn- 
stead,  Frank  F.  Simon,  Aaron  Wiesner,  E.  H.  Dunlap,  William  Ding- 
ledy,  T.  W.  Miller,  E.  J.  Kane,  P.  H.  McEvey  and  Mary  Anne  Thomas. 
The  capital  stock  was  fixed  at  $100,000  of  which  $66,000  has  been  sub- 
scribed and  paid  in. 

The  officers  of  the  company  are,  B.  M.  Campbell,  president;  C.  T. 
Truesdale,  first  vice  president;  E.  J.  Kane,  second  vice  president;  W.  H. 
Barr,  secretary;  A.  D.  Reese,  treasurer;  W.  P.  Williamson,  assistant 
secretary;  A.  R.  Hall,  assistant  treasurer. 

Youngstown  Citizens  Savings  Company 

The  Youngstown  Citizens  Savings  Company  was  organized  on  No- 
vember 13,  1916,  by  A.  L.  Montgomery,  H.  C.  Hoffman,  E.  M.  McBride, 
C.  E.  Schreiber  and  J.  Oppenheimer  and  opened  for  business  at  its 
present  location  in  the  Tod  House  Building  on  April  17,  1917.  The  first 
officers  still  remain,  including  George  S.  Bishop,  president;  Dr.  W.  H. 
Hayden  and  J.  J.  Dalzell,  vice  presidents;  H.  C.  Hoffman,  secretary 
and  attorney.  In  three  years  of  its  existence  the  company  has  increased 
its  business  from  $16,000  to  $325,000. 

Slovan  Building  and  Loan  Company 

The  Slovan  Building  and  Loan  Company  was  organized  in  1910  and 
one  year  later,  or  in  191 1,  removed  from  South  Avenue  to  its  present 
location  in  East  Federal  Street.  It  has  experienced  a  steady  and  pleas- 
ing growth  since  its  formation.  A  foreign  exchange  bank  is  conducted 
in  connection  with  the  company.  The  officers  of  the  organization  are, 
Michael  Willo,  president;  Joseph  Mogus,  vice  president;  Michael  Fialla, 
secretary;  J.  G.  Vascak,  treasurer.  The  Michael  Willo  Foreign  Ex- 
change Bank  is  conducted  in  connection  with  this  institution. 

Public  Utilities 

The  Youngstown  City  Water  Works,  a  municipally-owned  utility 
as  well  as  a  public  utility,  was  established  by  councilmanic  ordinance 
passed  on  May  23,  1871,  after  the  need  of  a  better  water  system  for 
Youngstown  had  become  plainly  apparent.  To  arrange  for  building  and 
managing  this  plant  a  board  of  waterworks  trustees  was  created,  this 
organization  of  three  members  remaining  in  existence  until  the  amended 
municipal  code  became  effective  in  1903. 

The  waterworks,  or  pumping  station,  was  built  in  1872  on  the  west 


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366       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

bank  of  the  Mahoning  River  just  above  Stull  Street,  now  West  Avenue, 
and  the  Holly  pumping  system  installed.  The  equipment  consisted  of 
one  Holly  gang  pump  of  1,000,000  gallons  capacity  each  twenty- four 
hours;  two  Holly  rotary  pumps,  one  of  2,000,000  gallons  and  one  of 
3,000,000  gallons  capacity;  one  Holly  vertical  boiler  to  generate  steam 
for  the  rotary  pumps;  two  return  tubular  boilers  to  generate  steam  for 
the  gang  pump.  The  original  cost  of  the  plant  was  about  $135,000.  In 
1879,  and  again  in  1886,  more  modern  equipment  was  installed. 

The  filter-intake  was  located  in  the  river  more  than  half  way  across 
from  the  pumping  station,  the  main  suction  pipes  leading  from  this 
filter  to  the  pumps.  Also  a  steam  whistle  was  installed,  giving  Yoqngs- 
town  a  more  modern  fire  alarm  than  the  fire  bell. 

With  improvements  from  time  to  time  the  old  waterworks  did  service 
for  forty-four  years,  but  was  abandoned  with  the  completion  of  the 
new  pumping  station,  located  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  and  in 
connection  with  the  filtration  plant.  The  equipment  at  this  new  station 
consists  of  four  stoker  equipped  boilers  of  500  horse  power  each;  one 
vertical  triple  expansion  pumping  engine  of  7,500,000  gallons  capacity 
daily;  three  centrifugal  pumps  direct  connected  to  turbine  engines  with 
8,000,000  gallons  capacity  each  per  day.  The  plant  has  a  rated  pumping 
capacity  of  10,000,000  gallons  each  twenty-four  hours  through  two 
separate  distributing  systems,  one  against  a  head  of  210  feet,  the  other 
against  a  head  of  320  feet.  In  actual  practice  the  plant  delivers  about 
12,000,000  gallons  of  water  daily. 

Youngstown  Filtration  Plant 

The  filtration,  or  filter  plant,  also  municipally-owned,  is  the  out- 
growth of  a  movement  begun  twenty  years  ago  for  a  purer  domestic 
water  supply.  The  old  system  of  taking  the  water  directly  from  the 
river  with  no  purification  except  through  a  netting  was  well  enough 
when  Youngstown  was  small,  but  wholly  inadequate  as  the  city  grew. 
Disease,  especially  typhoid  fever,  became  prevalent  and  was  traced  to 
the  water  supply. 

Work  on  the  filter  plant  was  begun  in  1904,  the  location  being  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Mahoning  River,  opposite  the  old  pumping  station. 
The  plant  was  completed  in  June,  1905,  the  construction  work  being 
done  by  Thomas  Lightbody  while  the  equipment  was  installed  by  the 
William  Tod  Company. 

In  191 2  work  was  begun  on  a  new  waterworks  plant,  to  include  a 
modern  pumping  station  and  a  virtually  new  filtration  system.  This 
modern  plant  was  completed  and  placed  in  operation  in  November,  1916, 
provision  being  made  in  connection  with  this  work  for  softening  the 
water  before  turning  it  into  the  city  mains  through  the  medium  of  lime, 
intended  to  precipitate  iron  from  the  water.  Even  this  system  has  not 
been  continuously  successful  as  the  city  has  expanded  and  the  amount 
of  foreign  matter  introduced  in  the  river  has  increased.  Various  "soft- 
ening" methods  have  been  used  but  the  water  is  still  far  from  "soft." 

The  present  filtration  and  waterworks  system  comprises  a  mechanical 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       367 

sand  filtration  plant  of  30,000,000  gallons  capacity  daily;  pumping  sta- 
tion equipment  with  a  capacity  of  31,500,000  gallons  capacity  daily;  206 
miles  of  cast  iron  distributing  mains ;  2,091  fire  hydrants ;  two  standpipes 
of  528,000  gallons  capacity  each  and  one  of  3,000,000  gallons  capacity. 
The  valuation  of  the  system  is  approximately  $2,500,000. 

Milton  Reservoir 

The  Milton  Reservoir  was  designed  as  an  industrial  water  supply  for 
Youngstown,  the  great  demands  made  upon  the  river  for  water  having 
seriously  imperiled  the  future  of  the  city  as  a  manufacturing  center  as 
the  stream  was  drawn  upon  almost  to  the  exhaustion  supply  during  the 
summer  months. 


Upper  Bridge  and  Milton  Dam,  6J4  Miles  Long,  Source  of  Youngs- 
town Water  Supply 

Proposed  as  early  as  1906,  the  original  plan  provided  for  a  reservoir 
to  be  built  in  Berlin  Township.  Interference  of  private  interests  caused 
a  further  survey  of  the  river  valley  to  be  made,  and  the  Milton  basin  was 
selected  as  a  more  favorable  site  for  the  proposed  lake,,  although  the 
greater  part  of  the  land  needed  in  Berlin  Township  had  been  purchased 
and  is  still  municipally-owned. 

It  was  191 1  before  any  appreciable  progress  was  made,  but  within 
two  years  all  the  necessary  land  had  been  obtained  and  in  December, 
x9i3>  the  contract  for  the  great  dam  to  impound  the  water  was  let  to 
Louis  Adavasio  of  Youngstown.  Work  was  started  in  the  spring  of 
1914,  but  proceeded  slowly  and  it  was  late  in  1916  before  the  dam  was 
completed  and  the  filling  of  the  reservoir  begun.  The  first  relief  given 
the  industries  was  in  the  summer  of  191 7. 

The  dam  is  located  in  Milton  Township,  a  little  more  than  a  half 
mile  south  of  the  Trumbull  County  line  and  is  2,800  feet  long,  spanning 


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368       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

the  river  valley  at  a  comparatively  wide  point.  The  reservoir  is  about 
six  miles  in  length,  varying  in  width  from  more  than  a  mile  to  a  few 
hundred  yards.  It  covers  approximately  1,700  acres  and  impounds  10,- 
000,000,000  gallons  of  water,  sufficient  to  maintain  a  flow  of  90,000,000 
gallons  a  day  in  the  lower  river  during  the  dry  months.  The  lake  is 
seventeen  miles  from  Youngstown  by  a  direct  line,  although  twice  that 
distance  away  by  the  river  route.  The  cost  of  this  improvement  was 
$1,250,000. 

Pennsylvania-Ohio  Electric  Company 

The  movement  for  street  railway  facilities  in  Youngstown  began 
about  1872  or  1873  when  Youngstown  had  attained  a  population  of  10,- 
000,  and  on  March  3,  1874,  application  for  a  street  railway  franchise  was 
made  to  city  council  by  Henry  Tod,  G.  C.  Wilson,  Samuel  Wallace, 
Robert  Montgomery  and  J.  H.  McCartney. 

At  this  time,  or  shortly  afterwards,  a  franchise  was  granted  and  the 
Youngstown  Street  Railway  Company  was  formed  with  James  Mackey, 
David  Mackey,  Robert  Mackey,  Robert  Montgomery,  Alfred  Smith, 
James  Cartwright  and  Thomas  Connell  as  directors.  James  Mackey 
was  elected  president  of  the  company,  James  Cartwright,  vice  president, 
and  Alfred  Smith,  secretary  and  treasurer.  Construction  of  a  street 
railway  line  was  begun  late  in  1874. 

Early  in  May,  1875,  the  line  was  completed.  It  was  a  single  track 
road*  extending  along  Federal  Street  from  a  point  near  Basin  Street  to 
Federal  and  Jefferson  streets  in  the  suburb  of  Brier  Hill.  The  track  was 
a  narrow  gauge,  with  rails  of  the  "strap*1  type,  fastened  to  heavy  wooden 
joists.  The  cars  were  of  the  light,  short,  "bob-tail"  variety.  It  was  a 
horse-car  line,  of  course.        •    > 

Ori  May  8,  1875,  the  road  was  formally  opened  for  business.  There 
was  a  heavy  demand  for  seats  On  the  first  car  but  the  patronage  on  this 
initial  trip  was  confined  to  Barney  Kennedy,  the  proud  driver,  Joseph 
O'Neill,  superintendent  of  the  road,  members  of  the  board  of  directors, 
and  John  F.  McGowan  and  A.  D.  Fassett,  newspapermen.  The  trip  was 
made  with  an  admiring  audience  and  the  road  was  then  opened  for 
business. 

A  one-way  trip  on  the  line  required  one-half  to  three-quarters  of  an 
hour,  when  the  cars  remained  on  the  track.  Not  infrequently  they  went 
astray  from  deep  snow  or  other  causes.  Passengers  who  cared  to  smoke 
had  to  remain  in  the  broad  back  platform  and  sometimes  smokers  were 
excessive  in  numbers  and  tilted  the  front  wheels  off  the  rails.  On  all 
occasions  when  the  cars  left  the  roadway  all  passengers  helped  replace 
them.  The  cars  were  not  heated ;  the  passengers  comforting  themselves 
in  winter  by  burying  their  feet  in  straw  liberally  piled  on  the  floor.  No 
conductors  were  employed,  although  in  rush  hours  a  relief  employe 
boarded  the  cars  at  Central  Square  and  collected  fares.  The  officers  and 
stables  were  at  the  Jefferson  Street  terminal,  where  the  electric  company 
afterwards  had  a  car  barn. 

For  almost  fifteen  years  the  jogging  horse  cars  sufficed  in  Youngs- 
town, but  in  1888  electric  cars  came  into  use  in  the  United  States  and 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       369 

in  1889  50  the  Youngstown  line  was  electrified.  The  Youngstown  Street 
Railway  Company  was  reorganized  at  this  time  and  extensions  were 
built  to  Haselton,  to  Fruit  Street,  up  North  Avenue,  up  Elm  Street  to 
Broadway  and  out  Mahoning  Avenue. 


Market  Street  Viaduct,  Looking  North 


Central  Square  and  Viaduct,  Looking  South 

The  Mahoning  Valley  Electric  Railway  Company  was  chartered  in 
November,  1894,  and  in  1895-96  built  an  electric  line  from  Youngstown 
through  Girard  to  Niles.  At  Niles  this  line  connected  with  the  Trum- 
bull Electric  Railroad  Company's  line.  This  latter  road  had  been  built 
from  Niles  to  Warren  in  1892-93.  In  1901  the  Trumbull  Electric  ex- 
tended its  road  to  Leavittsburg. 
Vol.  x— 14 


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370       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

In  1896  the  Mahoning  Valley  Street  Railway  Company  was  organ- 
ized, taking  over  the  Youngstown  Street  Railway  Company  on  Decem- 
ber 1,  1896.  Subsequently  the  Mahoning  Valley  Railway  Company  was 
formed,  assuming  control  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany's city  lines  and  the  Mahoning  Valley  Electric  Railway  Company's 
interurban  liile.  In  1899  the  Mahoning  Valley  Railway  Company  con- 
structed a  line  to  Struthers  and  in  1900-01  this  line  was  extended  to 
Lowellville.  In  1902  the  company  purchased  the  Trumbull  Electric 
Company's  line  from  Niles  to  Warren  and  at  the  same  time  purchased 
the  electric  road  from  Niles  to  Mineral  Ridge. 

The  Mahoning  and  Shenango  Railway  and  Light  Company  was 
chartered  in  1905  and  in  that  year  took  over  these  lines  and  also  the 
holdings  of:  the  Youngstown  and  Sharon  Street  Railway  Company.  The 
Youngstown  and  Sharon  Company  was  organized  in  1899,  incorporated 
in  1900,  and  in  1900-02  built  and  opened  an  electric  line  from  Youngs- 
town to  Sharon  by  way  of  Hubbard.  At  the  same  time,  1905,  the  Ma- 
honing and  Shenango  came  into  control  of  the  Youngstown  Consolidated 
Gas  and  Electric  Company,  a  subsidiary  of  the  Youngstown  and  Sharon, 
although  separately  operated. 

The  Youngstown  Park  and  Falls  Street  Railway  Company  was  char- 
tered in  1893.  A  temporary  line  was  opened  soon  afterwards  in  Market 
Street  and  in  1898-99  the  electric  line  from  Central  Square  to  Idora 
Park  was  built  and  opened.  In  1906  the  Youngstown  Park  and  Falls 
line  became  a  part  of  the  Mahoning  and  Shenango  system. 

Early  city  extensions  after  the  advent  of  the  electric  line  thirty  years 
ago  included  the  construction  of  the  South  Side  belt  line  and  the  exten- 
sion of  the  Albert  Street  line  to  McGuffey  Street.  Since  that  time  exten- 
tions  have  been  made  to  the  Elm  Street,  North  Avenue,  Mahoning  Ave- 
nue and  Albert  Street  lines.  The  corporate  identity  of  the  present  par- 
ent company  has  remained  the  same  since  its  organization  in  1905,  but  in 
January,  1920,  the  stockholders  of  the  Mahoning  and  Shenango  Rail- 
way and  Light  Company  voted  to  change  the  name  to  the  Pennsylvania- 
Ohio  Electric  Company. 

The  company  operates  fifty-nine  miles  of  track  within  Youngstown 
and  1 19  miles  outside  the  city,  including  the  interurban  lines  connecting 
Youngstown  with  jSiratfd,  Niles,  Warren,  Hubbard,  Mineral  Ridge  and 
Leavittsburg  in  Trumbull  bounty*  Ohio ;  Struthers  and  Lowellville  in 
Mahoning  County,  Ohio;  New  castle,  Edenburg  and  New  Bedford  in 
Lawrence  County,  Pennsylvania ;  Sharon,  Farrell,  Sharpsville,  Wheat- 
land and  West  Middlesex  in  Mercer  County,  Pennsylvania.  The  power 
and  lighting  territory  served  by  the  company  extends  from  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Niles  and  Mineral  Ridge  on  the  west  through  the  same  territory 
as  is  served  by  the  electric  lines,  with  additional  lines  to  the  important 
Bessemer  limestone  section  and  to  West  Pittsburgh,  Ellwood  City, 
Wampum  and  Zelienople  in  Lawrence  and  Beaver  counties,  Pennsyl- 
vania. This  system  comprises  218  miles  of  transmission  line,  much  of 
it  of  the  most  modern  steel  tower  type,  and  more  than  1,000  miles  of  dis- 
tribution circuits.  The  company  has  power  generating  stations  at  North 
Avenue  in  Youngstown,  at  Lowellville,  Ohio,  and  Ellwood  City,  Penn- 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       371 

sylvania.  That  at  Lowellville  is  a  60,000  horse-power  station  of 
thoroughly  modern  design  and  efficiency  and  has  developed  rapidly  to 
meet  the  increasing  demand  for  electric  power  for  industrial  purposes. 

The  Youngstown  city  lines  are  now  operated  under  a  service-at-cost 
franchise  that  went  into  effect  on  January  .16,  1919.  Under  this  system 
the  service  to  be  rendered  car  patrons  is  specified  by  the  city  through 
its  municipal  street  railway  commissioner,  but  operation  of  the  service 
is  carried  on  by  the  company.  The  commissioner  has  access  to  all  ac- 
counts and  supervision  of  all  expenditures.  The  cost  of  operation  and 
of  maintenance  of  roadway  and  equipment  is  paid  out  of  the  receipts  of 
the  lines  on  a  car-mile  basis,  the  car  allowance  being  fixed  by  city  coun- 
cil, subject  to  arbitration  in  event  of  a  disagreement.  The  return  to  the 
company  is  at  the  rate  of  7  per  cent  per  annum  on  the  agreed  valuation 
of  the  property  at  the  time  of  the  enactment  of  the  service-at-cost  ordi- 
nance. 

The  present  officers  of  the  Pennsylvania-Ohio  Company  are,  R.  P. 
Stevens,  president;  R.  Montgomery  and  F.  L.  Dame,  vice  presidents; 
Garrett  T.  Seely,  vice  president  and  general  manager;  W.  M.  Coleman, 
secretary  and  general  counsel;  E.  G.  Dunlap,  treasurer  and  assistant 
secretary;  A.  R.  Hughes,  assistant  treasurer;  F.  E.  Wilkin,  auditor. 
Chief  operating  officials,  in  addition  to  the  officers  of  the  company  are, 
E.  H.  Beil,  manager  of  the  light  and  power  department ;  R.  N.  Graham, 
manager  of  the  railway  department  outside  Youngstown;  J.  B.  Stewart, 
Jr.,  general  superintendent  of  the  Youngstown  Municipal  Railway  Com- 
pany. 

Youngstown  and  Suburban  Railway  Company 

;v  The  Youngstown  and  Suburban  Railway  Company  was  incorporated 
On  July  1,  1902,  as  the  Youngstown  and  Southern  Railway  Company, 
the  incorporators  being  R.  L.  Andrews,  W.  S.  Anderson,  John  H.  Ruhl- 
rnan,  A,  W.  Jones  and  W.  H.  Ruhlman.  The  first  meeting  on  organiza- 
tion was^held  several  weeks  previously,  on  June  7,  1902.  The  company 
was  capitalized  at  $iJ?oo,ooo,  with  a  bond  issue  of  $1,500,000. 

Construction  of  a  steam  railroad  from  Youngstown  southward  was 
begun  in  the  spring  of  1903-tind  the  tracks  were  laid  to  Columbiana  that 
year.  In  May,  1905,  the  property  was  purchased  by  John  Stambaugh, 
Henry  H.  Stambaugh,  Richard  Garlick,  David  Tod,  James  A.  Campbell, 
Warner  Arms  and  others,  and  in  the  summer  of  1906  the  line  was  ex- 
tended to  Leetonia  and  preparations*  made  for  electrifying  it.        _.     . 

By  the  spring  of  1907  the  line  had  been  electrified  and  througt?  serv- 
ice from  Youngstown  to  Leetonia  was  installed  that  year.  v  The  first 
officers  of  the  company  under  the-  redrgataizations  were,  John  Stam- 
baugh, president;  S.  J.  Dill,  yice  president  and  general  manager;  David 
Tod,  secretary  and  treasurer^  In  1908  Davi^Tod  became  president  and 
A.  W.  Hartford  became  igen/ral  maM2^r.  J         "  .* 

In  July,  1914,  the  company  went  into  receivership  owing  to  a  series 
of  accidents  and  other  circumstances,  although  financially  sound,  and 
David  Tod  was  named  receiver.    Within  a  few  months  it  was  reors^n- 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       373 

ized  as  the  Youngstown  and  Suburban  Railway  Company,  the  receiver- 
ship was  terminated  and  David  Tod  was  elected  president  of  the  new 
company.  Following  this  reorganization  a  controlling  interest  in  the 
property  was  sold  to  the  Municipal  Service  Company  of  Philadelphia, 
controlled  by  Baker,  Aling  and  Young  of  Boston.  It  is  managed  by 
Daniel  Zimmerman,  Inc.,  engineers,  of  Philadelphia. 

The  directors  of  the  company  are  C.  H.  Kennedy,  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr., 
A.  B.  Calvin,  A.  W.  Hartford  and  George  B.  Reamer  of  Youngstown ; 
J.  H.  McClure,  Oil  City;  Gordon  Campbell,  Philadelphia;  G.  B.  Baker 
and  L.  N.  Freeman,  Boston.  The  presidency  of  the  company  has  been 
left  vacant  since  the  death  of  President  David  Tod  in  1919. 

Other  Utilities 

The  artificial  gas  property  in  Youngstown  is  controlled  by  the  electric 
railway  and  power  system.  The  city  is  served  by  the  East  Ohio  Gas 
Company,  natural  gas  distributors;  the  Central  Union  and  Ohio  State 
telephone  companies;  Western  Union  and  Postal  Telegraph  companies 
and  by  the  Erie,  Baltimore  and  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  New  York 
Central  Railroad  systems  but  these  are  not  locally  operated  utilities. 


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CHAPTER  XX 
PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  OF  YOUNGSTOWN 

Organizations  that  Exercise  a  Profound  Influence  for  Higher 
Community  Life — Fraternal  and  Beneficial  Organizations — 
Historical  and  Old  Fair  Societies — Public  Parks  and  Play- 
grounds. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  give  within  the  space  available  in  this 
work  complete  credit  to  all  the  institutions  and  organizations  that  exert 
an  uplifting  influence  on  Youngstown  and  its  people.  In  numbers  these 
run  above  ioo,  and  in  their  aims  they  are  educational,  charitable,  helpful 
in  assisting  those  who  are  ambitious  to  rise  in  the  world,  fraternal  and 
protective.  Many  of  them  have  a  distinct  religious  influence.  All  of  them 
have  been  put  to  a  severe  test  and  it  is  only  the  worthy  that  have  survived. 

Reuben  McMillan  Free  Library  and  Youngstown  Public 
Library  System 

The  story  of  library  service  in  Youngstown  forms  a  unique  chapter  in 
the  history  of  the  American  public  library  movement,  but  one  familiar 
to  only  a  few  of  the  men  and  women,  and  even  fewer  of  the  children, 
who  are  now  borrowing  hundreds  of  thousands  of  library  books  in 
Youngstown  each  year.  It  is  a  stoiy  of  the  devotion  of  a  few  zealous 
workers  in  the  early  days,  and  of  how  the  little  lamp^of  learning  which 
they  lighted  and  tended  so  faithfully -has  grown  to  be  a  great  light  that 
sheds  its  beams  into  shops  and  offices,  mills  and  stores,  and  brings  knowl- 
edge and  happiness  into  countless  lives. 

As  early  as  1853,  the  General  Assembly  of  Ohio,  recognizing  the 
value  of  books  as  a  part  of  the  system  of  public  education,  passed  a  law 
by  which  the  state  purchased  good  books  and  supplied  them  to  every 
school  district  in  Ohio,  the  books  being  sent  to  the  various  boards  of 
education  and,  through  them,  loaned  to  the  people,  each  family  being 
permitted  one  book  at  a  time.  In  i860  this  statute  was  suspended,  and 
it  was  never  revived.  The  books  that  had  been  given  to  Youngstown 
had  no  doubt  been  partly  scattered  and  lost  when,  in  1870,  Miss  Sarah 
E.  Pearson  and  Miss  Julia  A.  Hitchcock  took  charge  of  the  168  volumes 
that  remained  of  the  "Ohio  School  Library,"  these  books  being  locked 
up  at  that  time  in  a  case  in  the  superintendent's  office  at  the  old  Wood 
Street  School.  This  case  was  opened  once  or  twice  a  year  to  a  class 
that  exhausted  the  readable  contents  in  a  few  visits. 

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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       375 

For  a  number  of  years,  during  the  '70s  and  the  '8os,  Richard  Brown 
gave  the  use  of  a  reading  room  in  East  Federal  Street,  just  east  of  the 
property  on  which  the  old  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  building 
was  located.  This  was  discontinued  about  the  time  the  Young  Mens 
Christian  Association  was  established. 

The  school  superintendent,  Reuben  McMillan,  took  a  deep  interest 
in  the  little  library,  the  possibilities  of  which  he  so  clearly  saw.  Under 
his  guidance,  Miss  Pearson  and  Miss  Hitchcock,  with  several  teachers 
and  their  friends,  notably  Miss  Robbins,  Prof.  H.  C.  Muckley, 
Mrs.  C.  F.  Walker,  Miss  Etta  Walker,  Mrs.  W.  J.  Hitchcock  and 
Mrs.  C.  H.  Andrews,  began  in  1872  a  series  of  annual  entertainments, 
or  festivals,  which  even  now  are  remembered  happily  by  many  of  the 
older  residents  of  Youngstown.  This  provided  a  fund  for  books  that 
were  especially  adapted  to  the  needs  of  children  and  which  were  made 
available  to  the  children  after  school  hours.  In  the  early  days  the 
Board  of  Education  supplied  the  library  room  and  the  librarian,  but  in 
1875,  when  books  to  the  value  of  $1,000  had  been  acquired,  an  associa- 
tion was  formed  which  loaned  these  books  to  the  school  library.  In 
1876  the  school  board  voted  a  salary  of  $50  a  year  for  the  librarian, 
this  appropriation  happily  increasing  as  time  went  on. 

Miss  Sarah  E.  Pearson,  to  whom  Mr.  McMillan  handed  the  book- 
case keys  in  1872  and  who  became  Youngstown's  first  librarian,  came 
to  Youngstown  from  Nantucket,  Massachusetts,  when  a  young  girl.  She 
was  a  high  school  pupil  in  1862,  and  after  graduation  taught  at  Front 
Street  School  and  later  acted  as  assistant  to  Miss  Hitchcock  at  Wood 
Street.  In  1872  she  resigned  as  a  teacher  but  gave  part  of  her  time  to 
library  work  until  1883.  She  married  in  1885  and  lived  in  Brier  Hill 
and  Haselton,  serving  as  secretary  of  the  library  board  until  1886.  Later 
she  removed  to  Portland,  Oregon,  but  maintained  her  interest  in 
Youngstown  library  work  until  her  death.  Miss  Julia  A.  Hitchcock, 
librarian  from  1890  to  1898,  another  of  the  beloved  teachers  of  the  older 
generation,  taught  for  many  years  at  Wood  Street  School,  and  her  ideals 
and  zeal  endeared  her  to  parents  and  pupils  alike.  In  1899  she  removed 
to  San  Diego  and  died  there  in  May,  1906. 

Reuben  McMillan,  Sarah  Pearson  Adams  and  Julia  A.  Hitchcock 
worked  together,  year  by  year,  to  provide  more  and  more  good  books 
for  the  growing  population.  In  1878  the  Association,  which  was  then 
a  somewhat  informal  group  of  teachers  and  citizens,  moved  the  library 
to  the  Board  of  Education  rooms  in  the  First  National  Bank  Building, 
and  for  the  first  time  opened  its  books  to  the  public,  on  Saturday  eve- 
nings. Two  years  later,  October  27,  1880,  the  Youngstown  Library 
Association  was  incorporated,  the  articles  being  drawn  by  Sidney  Strong 
and  signed  by  R.  McMillan,  J.  A.  Hitchcock,  Sarah  E.  Pearson,  Drs.  F. 
S.  Whitslar  and  J.  S.  Cunningham  (the  latter  two  being  also  members  of 
the  School  Board),  and  witnessed  by  Volney  Rogers.  By-laws  were 
adopted  at  the  first  meeting,  April  22,  1881,  and  Reuben  McMillan  was 
elected  president,  F.  S.  Whitslar  vice-president,  and  S.  E.  Pearson  sec- 
retary-treasurer. For  the  next  ten  years  the  library  struggled  along 
with  its  yearly  income  of  $300  appropriated  by  the  Board  of  Education, 


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376       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

and  the  annual  dues  of  members,  together  with  the  proceeds  of  an  occa- 
sional concert  or  entertainment. 

An  act  that  was  of  such  distinct  importance  to  the  library  that  it 
might  be  said  to  have  been  the  most  important  event  in  its  history  up  to 
that  time,  was  the  passage  on  March  25,  1890,  of  the  Ohio  statute  pro- 
viding for  a  public  tax  for  library  service  to  all  the  people.  This  measure 
originated  with  John  H.  Clarke,  then  a  practicing  lawyer  in  Youngs- 
town,  now  associate  justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court.  He 
became  a  member  of  the  library  board  in  May,  1883,  and  was  its  vice- 
president  from  1896  to  1890  arid  president  from  1890  to  1897.  His 
interest  in  the  Youngstown  library  and  his  belief  that  a  library  was  part 
of  the  educational  system  of  a  city  inspired  him  to  draft  the  library 
bill  that  was  introduced  and  piloted  through  the  Legislature  by  John 
R.  Davis,  then  assemblyman  from  Mahoning  County.  The  library  at 
that  time  contained  3,259  volumes,  with  a  circulation  of  11,880,  and  steps 
were  taken  to  find  better  quarters.  In  March,  1891,  the  library  was 
moved  to  the  Reel  and  Moyer  Block,  the  Board  of  Education  turning 
over  its  control  of  the  library  to  the  Association,  but  continuing  its 
annual  support  for  the  work  done  by  the  library  for  the  schools.  Miss 
Hitchcock  was  appointed  librarian,  with  Miss  Lelia  McKay  and  Miss 
Minnie  E.  Gibson  assistants.  This  move  gave  only,  temporary  relief, 
for  in  1897  4>cco  persons  borrowed  more  than  50,000  books  from  a  col- 
lection of  12,408  volumes. 

Early  in  1897  some  of  the  pupils  and  friends  of  Reuben  McMillan 
held  a  social  gathering,  at  which  Mrs.  McMillan  was  also  present.  The 
aged  schoolmaster  was  then  in  his  seventy-seventh  year,  and  the  subject 
of  memorials  was  discussed  by  the  group.  Mrs.  McMillan  expressed 
the  thought  that  they  would  be  happiest  to  be  remembered  in  the  hearts 
of  their  friends.  The  idea  of  dedicating  the  library  to  the  memory  of 
Mr.  McMillan  was  conceived  on  this  occasion  by  Mrs.  Sarah  McElevey. 
It  was  discussed  afterward  by  a  number  of  citizens,  and  largely  through 
the  efforts  of  Robert  McCurdy,  who  in  those  days  was  considered  the 
great  "money-raiser"  of  the  city,  and  who  was  a  deeply  interested  trustee 
of  the  library,  public  interest  was  aroused  and  funds  generally  sub- 
scribed by  citizens,  so  that  on  October  27th  Mr.  McCurdy,  John  C.  Wick 
and  others  agreed  to  purchase  and  present  to  the  library  the  Richard 
Brown  property  at  Front  and  Market  streets,  on  condition  that  the  name 
of  the  Youngstown  Library  Association  be  changed  to  "Reuben  McMil- 
lan Free  Library  Association."  The  owners,  Richard  and  Henrietta 
A.  Brown,  were  interested  in  the  development  of  the  library  and  sold  for 
$17,000,  considerably  less  than  their  value,  the  house  and  96-foot  lot  at 
Front  and  Market  streets.  In  March,  1898,  the  court  decree  was. signed 
for  the  change  of  the  name  and  the  property  transferred  to  the  Reuben 
McMillan  Free  Library  Association.  In  1901  a  second  lot  twenty-six 
feet  wide  was  purchased  from  funds  raised  by  Mr.  McCurdy,  $36,652 
in  all  having  been  raised  by  popular  subscription.  In  1904  Mrs.  Brown 
gave  the  adjoining  lot,  twenty-eight  feet  wide.  As  W.  T.  Gibson,  former 
mayor  and  for  many  years  secretary  of  the  Library  Board,  has  said,  "It 
was. one  of  the  movements  here  to  which  the  people  of  all  creeds  and 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       377 

politics  contributed  liberally,  and  which  represented  in  a  peculiar  sense 
all  the  people  without  distinction  of  race,  religion,  politics,  or  wealth." 

Thus  it  was  that  a  library  which  belongs  to  the  people  and  was  paid 
for  by  the  contributions  of  a  wide  circle  of  citizens,  bears  the  name  of 
one  whom  his  townspeople  delighted  to  honor  for  his  devoted  service, 
rather  than  the  name  of  some  wealthy  benefactor.  So  far  as  is  known, 
Youngstown,  this  city  of  smoke,  steel  and  money,  is  unique  in  having 
a  library  building  thus  named. 

The  growth  of  the  city  was  reflected  in  the  increased  service  of  the 
library.  Miss  Minnie  Gibson  succeeded  Miss  Hitchcock  as  librarian, 
and  completely  catalogued  the  books.  In  December,  1902,  Miss  Anna 
L.  Morse,  a  graduate  of  the  New  York  State  Library  School,  was  ap- 
pointed librarian,  her  first  report  showing  a  collection  of  20,548  books 
and  a  circulation  of  59,837.  In  1907  the  city  tax  appropriation  was 
$10,293,  the  school  board's  appropriation  $2,000,  books  28,601,  circula- 
tion 82,726. 

But  the  city's  growth  called  for  a  new  county  courthouse,  and  the 
county  officials  agreed,  in  May,  1907,  to  purchase  the  library  property 
for  $141,255,  allowing  the  library  to  occupy  its  quarters  until  April, 
1908.  On  x\Tovember  20,  1907,  the  library  board  authorized  the  pur- 
chase of  the  W.  S.  Bonnell  property  at  Wick  and  Rayen  avenues,  for 
$50,000,  of  which  $5,000  was  given  by  the  owners.  A  building  fund  of 
$96,000  was  thus  available  through  the  donations  of  1898  and  the  in- 
crease in  the  value  of  the  library's  property.  Joseph  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  and 
the  librarian,  Miss  Morse,  then  presented  the  local  situation  to  Andrew 
Carnegie,  with  the  result  that  Youngstown  received  a  donation  of  $50,000 
toward  the  cost  of  the  building. 

While  the  plans  for  the  new  building  were  being  prepared  the  library 
was  transferred  from  the  Market  Street  Building  to  the  Bonnell  House, 
which  had  been  moved  to  the  rear  of  the  new  property,  where  it  re- 
mained during  the  construction.  At  this  time  the  library  had  reached  a 
usefulness  greater  than  that  attained  again  for  several  years,  the  reports 
showing  a  collection  of  35,040  volumes  and  a  circulation  of  102,656  in 

1908,  while  that  for  1909  decreased  to  86,253,  owing  to  the  greater  dis- 
tance of  the  new  location  from  the  Public  Square. 

The  building  committee  consisted  of  Mason  Evans,  George  L.  For- 
dyce  and  Bernard  Hirshberg.     The  cornerstone  was  laid  on  June  26, 

1909.  When  the  opening  exercises  were  held  on  December  3,  1910,  the 
3,500  visitors  found  that  their  city  had,  at  a  cost  of  $145,000,  but  entirely 
free  of  debt,  what  was  then  undoubtedly  the  most  adequate  and  efficiently 
planned  library  building  of  any  city  of  this  size  in  the  country.  Besides 
spacious  delivery,  reference  and  children's  rooms  on  the  main  floor,  and 
a  large  auditorium  on  the  second  floor,  the  building  contains  smaller 
rooms  for  the  office  and  staff,  a  teachers'  room,  conversation,  study  and 
music  rooms,  and  other  rooms  that  are  now  occupied  by  the  Mahoning 
County  Medical  Society  and  Mahoning  Valley  Historical  Society,  since 
1910;  the  Youngstown  Playground  Association  and  Boy  Scouts  Head- 
quarters, since  June,  1917;  and  Community  Service  Society,  since  De- 
cember, 1917.    All  the  books  in  the  library  are  on  "open  shelves";  and 


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378       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

the  reading  tables,  located  between  the  expansive  Windows  and  the  book 
stacks  give  to  the  thousands  of  readers  who  come  here  for  study  a  most 
attractive  impression  of  welcome.  Among  the  decorations  of  the  build- 
ing is  the  notable  replica  of  the  Parthenon  frieze,  above  the  Loan  Room, 
a  gift  of  Dr.  Ida  Clarke,  who  since  1901  has  been  president  of  the  Library 
Board,  and  the  bronze  bust  of  Mr.  Carnegie  made  by  J.  Massey  Rhind 
and  presented  by  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  who  became  a  trustee  in  January,  1915. 
The  list  of  trustees  in  1910  contains  the  names  of  citizens  who  had  already 
served  for  some  time,  but  are  no  longer  members,  among  them  Dr.  N.  H. 
Chaney,  David  Tod,  Mrs.  Annie  Bonnell,  and  J.  Harris  McEwen,  who 
served  continuously  from  1891  to  1919.  The  remaining  trustees — 
Mrs.  Susanna  Felton,  Mrs.  S.  J.  Peterson,  M.  I.  Arms,  Mason  Evans, 
George  L.  Fordyce,  Wells  L.  Griswold,  Bernard  Hirshberg,  W.  A.  Ma- 
line,  J.  P.  Wilson,  and  the  successive  mayors — have  continued  to  con- 
tribute their  time  and  counsels  to  the  city  to  the  present  time. 

Since  1910  the  library  has  made  notable  progress  in  many  ways, 
though  it  has  not  thus  far  been  given  adequate  city  support.  While  the 
circulation  of  books  at  the  main  library  has  steadily  increased  both  as  to 
amount  and  quality,  the  people  of  Youngstown  patronize  more  and  more 
the  various  distributing  points  about  the  city.  Of  these  the  oldest  was 
Haselton  branch,  originally  established  January  15,  1900,  and  main- 
tained by  citizens  of  that  district,  but  later — since  February,  1906 — oper- 
ated by  the  library  and  temporarily  discontinued  in  19 19,  on  account  of 
the  sale  of  the  property  on  which  the  little  building  stood.  South  Side 
branch  was  opened  in  the  fall  of  1912  in  the  South  High  School  Building 
and  has  rendered  service  to  thousands  of  adult  citizens  as  well  as 
served  increasingly  as  a  high  school  reference  library.  The  library 
trustees  look  forward  to  the  time  when  the  Carnegie  Corporation  will 
make  further  donations  of  branch  library  buildings  to  Ohio  cities,  as 
the  City  Council  in  November,  1916,  agreed  to  make  the  annual  appropria- 
tion to  support  the  work  in  four  branch  buildings. 

A  word  should  be  said  for  the  work  which  the  library  does  in  the 
schools.  The  service  which  Miss  Morse  so  notably  forwarded  during 
her  librarianship.now  reaches  into  every  schoolhouse  in  the  city.  The 
circulation  of  juvenile  books  reached  a  total  of  169,477  in  1919,  made  up 
as  follows:  Central  children's  room  collection,  52,271;  Branches — Brier 
Hill,  6,999;  Haselton,  6,221;  South  Side,  15,800;  Washington,  8,352; 
total,  37,372;  school  sets  (30  copies  of  the  same  set  sent  to  schoolrooms 
on  teachers'  request  and  used  for  classroom  reading),  9,811;  Miscel- 
laneous sets — assorted  titles  sent  on  teachers'  request  to  schoolrooms  for 
classroom  or  home  use — 24,322;  "Home  reading  with  school  credit" 
(books  owned  by  school  board  but  handled  by  the  library.  Used  only 
for  home  reading),  33,635. 

But  the  work  with  the  adult  population  in  a  city  like  Youngstown 
is  even  more  essential,  in  many  respects,  than  that  of  lending  books  to 
the  children.  In  1919  the  circulation  of  books  to  adults  had  reached 
154,823,  which  with  the  juvenile  circulation  made  a  total  of  324,300. 
The  demand  for  technical  and  business  literature  has  grown  rapidly  in 
the  last  few  years.    Publicity  has  been  given  much  attention,  for  "adver- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       379 

tising  lowers  the  cost  of  distribution,"  and  the  library's  work  is  that  of 
distributing  more  and  better  books  to  a  constantly  enlarging  circle. 

Miss  Morse  resigned  as  librarian  in  June,  1914.  Miss  Fannie  Smith, 
assistant  librarian,  was  acting  librarian  until  November,  191 5,  when 
Joseph  L.  Wheeler  was  appointed.  Miss  Morse,  Miss  Smith  and  Mr. 
Wheeler  were  graduates  of  the  New  York  State  Library  School  at  Albany. 
The  present  staff  numbers  eighteen  persons,  of  whom  four  are  graduates 
of  library  schools. 

Beginning  with  the  first  Library  War  Service  financial  campaign  in 
September,  1917,  when  Youngstown  contributed  $8,000  instead  of  its 
quota  of  $6,000,  the  library  rendered  every  assistance  in  war  work.  Its  li- 
brarian was  absent  from  October  1,  1917,  to  July  1,  1918,  as  assistant  to 
the  general  director  of  the  Library  War  Service,  in  charge  of  the  forty- 
two  large  camp  libraries  in  the  United  States  and  of  the  selection  of  pur- 
chased books.  Its  assistant  librarian,  Miss  Viola  B.  Phillips,  was  absent 
from  March  27  to  November  1,  1919,  and  earned  notable  praise  for  her 
work  in  organizing  and  supervising  library  service  in  France.  Miss  Anna 
B.  Thomas,  cataloguer,  served  at  Washington  headquarters  on  book  selec- 
tion from  July  8  to  October  1,  1918.  Miss  Edna  Foley,  librarian  of  the 
Public  Square  Branch,  was  in  hospital  library  service  at  Camp  Custer, 
Fort  Oglethorpe  and  Fort  McHenry,  from  June,  191 8,  to  November  I, 
1919.  The  second  fund  for  the  Library  War  Service,  $12,000,  was  paid 
from  the  Youngstown  War  Chest  to  the  United  War  Work  -Fund.  More 
than  10,000  carefully  selected  books  were  prepared  and  sent  from  Youngs- 
town, most  of  them  going  direct  to  France. 

In  1919  nearly  50,000  persons  were  using  library  books.  Public  in- 
terest in  the  library  has  brought  several  bequests,  the  first  from  D.  Theo- 
bald, followed  by  one  from  his  wife.  Mrs.  C.  D.  Arms  left  $5,000  for 
the  purchase  of  books.  Mrs.  C.  H.  Andrews  in  191 7  and  Henry  H.  Stam- 
baugh  in  1919  also  left  sums  of  $5,000  each,  while  Mrs.  John  C.  Wick 
bequeathed  $2,000  in  1920. 

The  Mahoning  Institute  of  Art  is  another  organization  whose  early 
history  is  bound  up  with  that  of  the  Reuben  McMillan  Library.  Founded 
five  years  ago  to  promote  love  of  art  and  to  give  admirers  of  paintings 
and  statuary  an  opportunity  to  gratify  their  tastes,  the  institute  brought 
to  Youngstown  works  of  the  best  American  masters  for  free  exhibits  the 
people  of  this  city.  The  use  of  the  auditorium,  on  the  second  floor  of 
the  library  building,  was  tendered  for  these  exhibitions  and  during  191 5- 
16-17-18-19  several  such  exhibits  were  held  each  year.  In  1919  the  Butler 
Art  Institute  was  made  available  for  this  purpose,  and  it  can  be  truth- 
fully said  that  the  early  exhibits  at  the  library  building  had  much  to  do 
with  the  initial  success  of  the  permanent  art  building. 

Butler  Art  Institute 

This  institution,  the  gift  of  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  to  the  City  of  Youngstown, 
is  not  only  a  realization  of  the  ambition  of  its  founder  but  fulfills  the 
fond  hope  of  the  many  residents  of  this  community  who  are  lovers  of 
art.     In  the  words  of  one  of  its  admirers  this  art  institute  has  an  en- 


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380       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

nobling  influence  "not  only  because  it  provides  a  profitable  recreational 
interest  for  leisure  hours  but  because  the  contemplation  of  beautiful 
works  of  art  exalts  the  spirit  and  awakens  in  the  beholder  a  civic  pride 
— a  desire  to  have  the  city  a  fitting  environment  for  its  people." 

Mr.  Butler  has  been  a  collector  of  fine  paintings  for  many  years, 
and  even  before  the  establishment  of  the  present  institution  made  every 
effort  to  permit  the  people  of  Youngstown  to  share  in  the  enjoyment  of 
these  works  of  art.  When  the  Mahoning  Institute  of  Art  was  incor- 
porated on  February  27,  1915,  he  was  elected  its  president,  this  organiza- 
tion being  the  outgrowth  of  a  movement  started  by  the  Ohio  Federation 
of  Women's  Clubs.  Under  the  patronage  of  the  Mahoning  Institute  of 
Art  many  exhibits  of  paintings  were  brought  to  Youngstown  and  these 
aroused  great  interest,  although  the  exhibits  were  made  with  difficulty, 
as  Youngstown  had  no  appropriate  place  in  which  they  could  be  held. 

In  the  erection  of  the  Butler  Art  Institute  this  handicap  has  been 
overcome.  The  institute  now  has  a  permanent  collection  of  seventy- 
five  paintings  of  high  artistic  quality,  suitably  housed  on  the  first  floor 
of  the  art  buildings,  and  to  this  collection  will  be  added  more  paintings 
from  time  to  time.  This  is  only  part  of  the  opportunity  afforded  by  the 
institution,  however.  It  is  the  policy  of  the  institute  to  invite  outside 
exhibits  in  order  to  give  the  people  opportunity  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  works  of  great  artists  who  are  not  yet  included  in  the  per- 
manent collection.  To  give  art  a  vital  interest  in  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity, lectures  are  also  arranged  and  given  to  the  public  free  of  charge. 

The  educational  department  has  now  four  well-organized  classes — 
the  local  artists,  who  are  allied  under  the  name  of  the  Mahoning  Society 
of  Painters,  the  Youngstown  Art  League,  under  the  direction  of  Ceylon 
Hollingsworth,  a  picture  study  class  for  young  children,  and  a  class  in 
drawing  and  painting  for  the  upper  grade  students  with  special  talent. 

The  first  exhibit  of  paintings  done  by  local  artists  was  held  in  the 
winter  of  1919-20,  with  results  that  were  gratifyingly  surprising  to  pro- 
moters, exhibitors  and  the  public  alike.  The  attendance  was  far  beyond 
expectations,  and  those  who  attended  were  in  turn  astonished  to  find 
that  Youngstown  had  so  many  talented  artists.  It  was  this  showing 
that  inspired  the  organization  of  the  Mahoning  Society  of  Painters,  a 
body  of  men  and  women  who  have  banded  together  to  exchange  ideas 
and  to  develop  the  talent  given  them.  It  is  more  than  likely  that,  as  a 
result  of  this  movement,  an  exhibit  by  local  artists  will  be  an  annual 
feature  of  the  Art  Institute. 

The  Institute  is  given  over  wholly  to  American  art.  It  is  unique  in 
the  United  States  in  this  respect,  and  it  is  certain  that  this  will  have  a 
great  influence  in  encouraging  American  artists  and  in  leading  them  to 
greater  efforts. 

The  Butler  Art  Institute  itself  is  an  unusually  beautiful  building  of 
Georgia  marble.  The  main  facade  is  120  feet  long  and  34  feet  11  inches  in 
height.  The  central  feature  is  a  portico  of  three  arches,  and  on  either  side 
are  niches  containing  statues  of  Apollo  and  Minerva,  the  work  of  the 
great  American  sculptor,  J.  Massey  Rhind.    The  portico  gives  access  to 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       381 

the  central  hall,  designed  to  receive  sculpture  and  objects  of  art  other  than 
paintings. 

The  doorway  opposite  the  entrance  gives  access  to  the  staircase  lead- 
ing to  the  second  floor,  and  also  leads  out  of  the  gallery  to  the  open  court 
that  will  lie  between  the  two  proposed  projecting  wings  of  the  building. 
It  is  proposed  to  arrange  this  court  as  a  formal  Italian  garden,  with 
fountains  and  with  a  loggia  at  the  extreme  end  corresponding  to  the 
entrance  portico.  The  doorways  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  central  hall 
lead  to  the  two  principal  galleries  for  paintings.  The  wings  to  be  added 
will  be  entered  through  these  rooms,  the  entrance  being  indicated  now 


Butler  Art  Institute 

by  doorway  outlines  that  are  temporarily  housing  paintings.  The  gen- 
eral style  of  the  building  throughout  is  of  the  Early  Italian  Renaissance. 
The  park-like  Institute  grounds  will  extend  from  Wick  Avenue  through 
to  Bryson  Street,  all  the  property  for  this  purpose  having  been  pur- 
chased by  Mr.  Butler.  The  structure  was  designed  by  McKim,  Meade 
&  White. 

The  building  was  formally  opened  on  October  15,  1919,  and  on  Octo- 
ber 16,  1919,  was  opened  to  the  public.  The  patronage  since  the  opening 
day  has  been  surprisingly  large.  It  has  not  only  been  a  gathering  place 
for  Youngstown  lovers  of  the  beautiful,  but  the  Institute  register  daily 
records  the  names  of  art  lovers  from  all  sections  of  the  country  from 
the  Atlantic  Coast   to  California. 


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382       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  Institute  represents  thus  far  an  investment  of  approximately 
$500,000  in  lands,  building  and  paintings  given  by  Mr.  Butler  from  the 
private  collection  that  he  has  been  years  in  accumulating.  In  addition 
the  founder  has  provided  an  endowment  fund  of  $200,000  to  insure  the 
permanency  of  this  great  work.  To  enable  this  to  be  carried  on  the  But- 
ler Art  Institute  was  regularly  incorporated  on  December  27,  1919,  by 
J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  John  Stambaugh,  John  W.  Ford,  Jonathan  Warner  and 
Henry  A.  Butler. 

Social  and  Sociological  Organizations 

The  Community  Corporation,  Youngstown's  clearing  house  for 
charitable  work  and  welfare  work,  came  into  existence  as  a  result  of 
the  striking  demonstration  of  the  value  of  team  work  that  was  brought 
out  during  the  World  war.  It  was  co-operation  that  made  America's 
magnificent  showing  possible,  and  with  the  close  of  the  war  there  was 
a  general  feeling  that  this  great  advantage  should  not  be  lost.  The  War 
Chest  had  done  its  work  well;  it  was  believed  a  Peace  Chest  would 
accomplish  similarly  great  results  and  time  has  shown  that  this  belief 
was  justified. 

Under  the  old  disorganized  system  contributors  became  more  and 
more  perplexed  each  year  by  the  multitude  of  organizations  that  sought 
financial  aid.  Most  of  these  were  good,  but  there  was  no  way  to  sep- 
arate the  wheat  from  the  chaff.  Few  persons  have  the  time  to  make 
personal  investigation  of  each  request  for  aid.  Giving  was  unequal. 
Some  gave  more  than  their  share;  some  gave  nothing.  Much  that  was 
given  was  wasted  in  inefficient  administration.  The  Community  Cor- 
poration was  formed,  according  to  its  own  declaration  of  ^principles : 

To  secure  adequate  financial  support  from  the  largest  possible  number 
of  contributors. 

To  fix  a  definite  responsibility  for  service  from  affiliated  agencies. 

To  stimulate  interest  in,  and  understanding  of,  the  city's  social  organ- 
izations. 

To  promote  cordial  co-operation  between  all  benevolent  and  philan- 
thropic societies  of  Youngstown. 

The  Community  Corporation  was  incorporated  on  February  10,  1919, 
by  A.  E.  Adams,  H.  L.  Rownd,  W.  A.  Thomas,  J,  A.  Campbell,  L.  B. 
McKelvey,  P.  J.  Thompson,  W.  B.  Hall,  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  C.  S.  Robin- 
son, L.  A.  Manchester  and  Ode  J.  Grubb.  The  incorporators  met  in  the 
music  room  of  the  public  library  on  March  21,  1919,  and  elected  H.  M. 
Garlick,  president ;  Robert  Bentley,  first  vice  president ;  L.  A.  Manchester, 
second  vice  president;  Wells  L.  Griswold,  treasurer;  A.  O.  Fleming, 
secretary  and  managing  agent.  These  officers  have  since  continued  in 
office  and  in  addition  there  is  an  executive  committee  of  twenty-one  and 
a  board  of  trustees  of  100  members. 

The  agencies  affiliated  with  the  Community  Corporation  are,  the  Anti- 
Tuberculosis  League,  Baby  Welfare  Committee,  Booker  T.  Washington 
Association,  Boy  Scout  Association,  Camp  Fire  Girls,  Children's  Service 
Bureau,  Christ  Mission  Settlement,  Community  Service  Society,  Corn- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       383 

munity  Social  Clinic,  Florence  Crittenton  Home,  Free  Kindergarten  Asso- 
ciation, Fresh  Air  Camp  Association,  Joint  Committee  on  Boys  and  Girls, 
Salvation  Army,  Society  for  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals,  St.  Eliza- 
beth's Hospital,  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society,  United  Jewish  Charities, 
Visiting  Nurse  Association,  Wesley  Brown  Personal  Mission  Work, 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  Youngstown  Hospital,  Youngstown 
Humane  Society,  Youngstown  Playground  Society,  Young  Women's 
Christian  Association,  Neilson  House,  Colored  Community  Center. 

Funds  to  maintain  the  various  Community  Corporation  activities  are 
raised  by  annual  "campaigns,"  conducted  in  April.  The  1920  campaign 
had  $400,000  for  its  goal,  and  despite  unfavorable  business  conditions  at 
that  time  this  mark  was  exceeded.  The  number  of  individual  subscribers 
was  17,839. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association 

The  Youngstown  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  was  organized 
in  1882  in  the  old  Reading  Room  Hall,  located  over  Ward's  gun  store 
in  a  building  in  East  Federal  Street  next  door  to  the  old  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  the  organizers  being  an  earnest  group  of  Christian 
men,  who  recognized  the  need  of  a  movement  of  this  character. 

In  1883  the  association  removed  to  the  Bushnell,  Reel  and  Moyer 
block  at  127  West  Federal  Street,  and  in  1884  was  incorporated.  At 
this  new  location  C.  A.  Kimmel  was  placed  in  charge  as  general  secre- 
tary, and  for  a  long  time  he  was  the  only  employed  officer  of  the  or- 
ganization. With  the  growth  of  the  movement  the  need  of  a  more  fit- 
ting home  for  the  association  was  recognized  and  a  site  was  purchased 
at  Federal  and  Champion  streets.  The  cornerstone  of  the  new  build- 
ing at  this  location  was  laid  on  September  30,  1890,  the  building  was 
occupied  on  September  1,  1892,  and  dedicated  on  September  11,  1892, 
by  William  McKinley,  then  governor  of  Ohio.  By  this  time  the  associa- 
tion had  a  membership  of  1,057  and  employed  three  officers,  Herbert  K. 
Caskey,  general  secretary,  an  assistant  secretary  and  a  physical  director. 

From  the  beginning  the  work  of  the  association  has  been  primarily 
religious, — supplementary  to  the  church.  In  the  first  year  of  its  existence 
many  religious  meetings  were  held — young  men's  Sunday  afternoon 
gatherings,  Bible  classes,  railroad  men's  cottage  meetings  and  Sunday 
school  teachers'  meetings.  This  religious  work  has  expanded  and  ex- 
tended as  the  years  have  passed,  to  the  great  moral  advantage  of  the 
city. 

The  physical  department  had  a  small  beginning,  but  by  1892  was 
well  organized  under  Director  George  M.  Martin.  It  has  steadily  in- 
creased in  scope,  giving  opportunity  for  indoor  athletics  and  keeping 
in  touch  with  the  athletic  valley  of  the  community  by  means  of  outing 
clubs.  Social  activities  have  been  fostered  and  intellectual  opportunities 
developed.  The  earliest  movement  along  the  latter  line  was  the  "People's 
Lecture  Course"  during  the  '90s.  In  1896  the  Up-To-Date  Club  was 
organized  for  the  discussion  of  current  questions. 

As  early  as  1893  an  educational  department  was  in  existence,  with 


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384       YOUNGSTCWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

classes  in  mechanical  drawing  and  chemistry.  In  1894  there  were  eighty 
men  enrolled.  In  1920  there  were  1,220  students  enrolled  in  the  eight 
administrative  divisions  of  this  department,  offering  the  standardized 
courses  of  the  United  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  schools. 

Railroad  work  was  begun  in  1884  with  college  meetings,  and  on 
February  3,  1896,  a  railroad  branch  was  inaugurated.  On  August  1, 
191 1,  this  was  organized  as  a  separate  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

Boys'  work  also  was  emphasized  from  the  beginning.  By  1894-95 
there  were  four  special  gymnasium  classes  in  this  division  and  religious 
meetings  were  held  each  Sunday.  On  October  1,  1900,  a  special  junior 
department  was. organized  with  separate  reading  and  game  rooms.  This 
work  developed  to  such  an  extent  that  there  is  now  a  complete  program 
for  boys. 

The  Youngstown  association  has  cooperated  in  foreign  work  since* 
1897  when  John  T.  Seift  was  sent  to  Tokio,  Japan,  with  his  salary 
guaranteed.  Robert  Gailey,  at  Tien  Tsin,  China,  and  J.  C.  Clark,  at 
Shanghai,  China,  have  since  been  supported  in  like  manner  and  during 
the  World  war  the  local  association  loaned  its  general  secretary  for 
work  in  India.  At  home  during  the  war  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  was  active  in  securing  war  contributions,  loaning  secretaries 
tor  war  work  and  recruiting  laymen.  Eight  hundred  returned  soldiers 
have  identified  themselves  with  the  organization. 

Employment  work  has  been  carried  on  since  the  organization  of  the 
local  association  but  is  now  highly  specialized.  The  dormitory  depart- 
ment furnishes  rooms  for  more  than  two  hundred  men. 

On  November  12,  1915,  the  present  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion Building  at  15-21  North  Champion  Street  was  opened,  giving  facili- 
ties of  which  the  association  stood  much  in  need.  Its  membership  is 
now  in  excess  of  three  thousand.  The  Youngstown  association  has 
always  been  fortunate  in  its  lay  leadership.  The  presidents,  from  W.  H. 
Baldwin,  the  first  to  hold  this  office,  to  W.  E.  Manning,  the  present 
chief,  have  always  been  active  in  association  work.  Close  connection 
has  always  been  maintained  with  the  churches,  for  from  1884  to  the 
present  the  Ministerial  Association  has  met  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  Building  and  the  office  of  the  Federated  Churches  is  located 
there  now. 

Knights  of  Columbus 

Youngstown  Council,  Knights  of  Columbus,  the  oldest  council  of  this 
organization  in  Ohio,  was  instituted  on  October  24,  1897,  with  a  charter 
membership  of  fifty-three,  William  A.  Maline  being  the  first  grand  knight 
of  this  body. 

For  twenty  years  after  its  organization  Youngstown  Council  was 
governed  along  fraternal  organization  lines,  but  with  the  creation  of  the 
war  organization  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  in  191 7,  its  transformation 
to  a  welfare  body  began.  Aside  from  those  in  strictly  military  service  the 
council  gave  nine  of  its  members  to  war  welfare  work,  and  following  the 
termination  of  the  war  began  the  building  of  a  peace-time  welfare  organ- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       385 

ization  under  the  auspices  of  the  National  Catholic  Welfare  Council, 
successor  to  the  National  Catholic  War  Council. 

In  1902  the  local  council  had  purchased  a  building  site  in  South  Hazel 
Street  and  in  1908  dedicated  its  own  five-story  building,  an  event  for 
which  the  greatest  measure  of  credit  must  go  to  the  late  Thomas  C. 
Reilly.  In  1919  two  floors  of  the  building  that  had  previously  been  leased 
for  office  purposes  were  remodeled  to  provide  working  space  for  new 
activities,  and  on  October  22,  1919,  the  Catholic  Service  League  was 
formed,  with  Judge  George  J.  Carew  as  president,  Bert  J.  Ullman,  vice 
president;  Albert  M.  Grant,  secretary,  and  A.  N.  P.  Lehnerd,  treasurer. 
The  entire  activities  of  this  league  are  carried  out  through  the  Knights 
of  Columbus  Council,  the  secretary's  office,  in  charge  of  Executive  Secre- 
tary A.  M.  Grant,  being  the  clearing  house  for  all  branches  of  work. 

The  Americanization  work  program  is  carried  but  through  the  me- 
dium of  parish  organizations  and  under  the  guidance  of  parish  priests. 
The  Knights  of  Columbus  night  schools  are  the  most  ambitious  welfare 
undertakings  thus  far.  These  are  free  to  all  persons  without  distinction 
as  to  creed.  The  courses  include,  business  and  correspondence,  public 
speaking,  advertising,  history,  civics,  arithmetic,  higher  mathematics, 
English  (advanced  classes  for  English-speaking),  penmanship,  study  of 
the  Constitution,  mechanical  drawing,  metallurgy  and  bookkeeping.  In 
conjunction  with  the  Electrical  Workers  Union  classes  in  electricity  are 
also  held.  In  addition  open  forums  are  held,  and  under  Knights  of  Co- 
lumbus auspices  the  free  dispensary  at  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital  has  been 
opened  and  ten  troops  of  Boy  Scouts  organized. 

Young  Women's  Christian-Association 

•         _         >    "       . 

The  Youngstown  organization  of  this  association  dates  back  to  No- 
vember 1,  1904,  when  the  first  Young  Woifteri'^  Christian  Association 
rooms  were  opened,  including  a  general  office,  ea%^ria,  and  kitchen,  liv- 
ing room,  rest  room  and  gymnasium.    ••-•—*- 

It  was  a  modest  beginning,  yet  its  rooms  were  well-equipped  and  at- 
tracted such  immediate  attention  that  at  the  first  annual  gymnasium  ex- 
hibit, in  April,  1905,  there  were  278  participants,  and  in  the  summer  of 
the  same  year  an  assistant  physical  director  was  engaged  to  take  care  of 
the  large  classes.  With  continued  growth  two  new  secretaries  were  added 
to  the  staff  in  1908. 

By  this  time  the  need  of  a  permanent  home  of  the  organization  was 
becoming  apparent,  and  in  19 10  a  "campaign*  was  launched  to  raise  a 
building  fund  of  $150,000.  The  goal  was  surpassed  with  subscriptions 
of  $183,000,  a  site  purchased  in  Rayen  Avenue,  and  on  June  5,  191 1,  the 
cornerstone  of  a  five-story  building  was  laid.  On  April  11,  1912,  the 
building  was  opened  and  on  April  15,  1912,  the  dedicatory  service  was 
held,  Mrs.  Harriett  Wick  Ford,  president,  presiding  at  this  ceremony 
while  Miss  Florence  Sims  delivered  the  religious  message.  In  this  year, 
too.  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  summer  camp  at  Dry 
Run  was  secured  through  the  kindness  of  the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Corn- 


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386       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

pany,  and  this  place,  with  its  croquet,  tennis,  basketball,  cross  country 
runs,  tramps  and  picnics  has  proved  a  valuable  asset  to  the  organization. 
In  1914  relief  work  was  begun  for  Belgian  refugees  and  the  employ- 
ment department  became  a  most  valuable  adjunct,  this  bureau  growing 
to  such  an  extent  that  two  years  later  a  secretary  was  employed  to 
give  one-half  her  time  to  this  work.  In  191 5  the  Neilson  House,  the  first 
settlement  house  under  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  auspices, 
was  opened  in  Brier  Hill,  the  site  being  donated  by  Dr.  R.  D.  Gibson. 
In  191 5  also  classes  in  social  leadership  and  instruction  in  handling  social 
groups  and  directing  church  and  parlor  games  were  instituted  by  Miss 
Vera  Barger,  and  the  organization  was  enriched  by  the  gift  of  Robert 


Young  Women's  Christian  Association  Building 

Bentley,  who  offered  to  erect,  as  a  memorial  to  his  mother,  an  addition  to 
the  building  of  forty  rooms,  also  parlor,  kitchenette  and  .suite  for  the 
matron. 

In  September,  1916,  Miss  Susan  M.  Rebhan,  general  secretary,  came 
to  the  association,  and  under  her  guidance  the  organization  has  greatly 
expanded  its  work.  In  1917  there  was  another  campaign  for  funds  to 
furnish  the  new  dormitory,  Bentley  Hall,  and,  as  this  was  a  war  year, 
this  building  was  used  as  headquarters  for  the  motor  corps  girls,  Red 
Cross  work  rooms,  and  instruction  rooms  and  headquarters  for  the  Na- 
tional League  for  Women's  Service. 

In  1918  the  association  rose  magnificently  to  the  occasion  during  the 
influenza  epidemic  by  aid  given  to  the  nurses  and  by  furnishing  meals 
from  the  cafeteria  to  families  throughout  the  city.     In  January,  1919,  a 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       387 

traveler's  aid  secretary  was  added  to  the  staff  and  in  the  same  month  the 
international  institute  was  opened.  In  February  the  Blue  Triangle  Cafe- 
teria was  opened.  The  colored  community  center,  the  present  Belmont 
Avenue  branch,  was  opened  in  May,  1919. 

The  association  now  has  approximately  2,000  members,  with  150 
girls  living  and  boarding  in  the  residence  hall.  It  provides  recreational 
activities  in  the  gymnasium  and  swimming  pool  for  several  thousand  girls, 
operates  a  summer  camp,  cares  for  girls  and  women  without  friends  or 
money,  assists  travelers  through  the  aid  department,  arranges  for  an 
average  of  eighty-five  meetings  a  month  in  the  building  by  outside  organ- 
izations, provides  night  classes,  holds  religious  meetings  and  Bible  classes, 
provides  legal  and  medical  translation  and  home  visiting.  The  Neilson 
House  renders  invaluable  aid  in  a  foreign  district  and  similar  work  is 
conducted  in  three  other  centers.  The  Belmont  branch  houses  twenty- 
seven  girls,  operates  a  cafeteria  for  men  and  women  and  provides  educa- 
tional classes,  employment  service,  room  registry,  clubs  and  other  activi- 
ties for  colored  girls  and  women. 

On  January  30,  1920,  the  association  suffered  a  great  loss  in  the  death 
of  its  president,  Mrs.  George  D.  Wick,  a  woman  whose  great  worth  was 
recognized  even  outside  the  organization.  Her  place  has  not  yet  been 
filled.  The  other  officers  include,  Mrs.  John  S.  Ford,  first  vice  president ; 
Mrs.  M.  E.  Dennison,  second  vice  president ;  Mrs.  Robert  Bentley,  treas- 
urer, and  Miss  Susan  Rebhan,  general  secretary. 

The  Jewish  Social  Service  Bureau  of  Youngstown 

This  organization,  formerly  the  Federation  of  Jewish  Charities,  was 
organized  in  1907  under  the  leadership  of  Mrs.  Morris  Moyer,  president 
of  the  Youngstown  Section,  Council  of  Jewish  Women.  Other  organ- 
izers included,  Emanuel  Hartzell,  president  of  the  B'nai  B'rith  Lodge; 
Mrs.  M.  U.  Guggenheim,  president  of  the  Ladies'  Behevolent  Society  of 
Rodef  Sholem  Temple;  Mrs.  A.  M.  Frankle,  president  of  the  Ladies'  Aid 
Society  of  the  Summit  Avenue  Temple,  and  Mrs.  Morris  Moyer. 

On  May  2,  1907,  a  permanent  organization  was  effected  by  these  so- 
cieties and  the  Ladies'  Sheltering  Society,  with  the  election  of  Emanuel 
Hartzell  as  president;  Mrs.  Morris  Moyer,  vice  president;  Mrs.  M.  U. 
Guggenheim,  secretary,  and  Mrs.  Bernard  Hirshberg,  treasurer.  Early 
in  the  year  1912,  the  B'nai  B'rith  Lodge  having  withdrawn  from  the 
federation,  a  meeting  was  called  by  Mrs.  L.  H.  Cahn,  then  president  of 
the  Sisterhood  of  the  Rodef  Sholem  Temple,  to  form  a  Men's  Benevolent 
League,  which  should  act  as  a  constituent  part  of  the  federation,  and  on 
May  24,  19 1 2.  the  federation  was  reorganized  with  L.  H.  Cahn  as  presi- 
dent ;  Mrs.  Nathan  Ozersky,  first  vice  president ;  Mrs.  H.  Lebowitz,  sec- 
ond vice  president ;  Mrs.  Morris  Moyer,  secretary,  and  I.  Schwartz,  treas- 
urer. Emanuel  Hartzell  served  as  president  from  the  time  of  the  original 
organization  in  1907  to  191 1,  Max  Brunswick,  1911-12;  L.  H.  Cahn,  dur- 
ing 191 2,  and  M.  U.  Guggenheim,  191 2  to  1920. 

The  work  of  the  Jewish  Social  Service  Bureau  is  similar  to  that  of 
other  social  welfare  agencies,  caring  for  the  sick  and  needy,  securing 


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388       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

employment  and  making  special  effort  to  care  for  the  problem  of  home- 
less men.  In  addition  to  its  local  work  the  Youngstown  bureau  contrib- 
utes to  the  Jewish  Infants'  Home  at  Columbus,  a  non-sectarian  institu- 
tion, and  works  in  conjunction  with  the  Hebrew  Sheltering  and  Immi- 
grant Aid  Society,  its  duties  in  this  respect  being  to  visit  all  foreign-born 
Jewish  people  locating  here  and  to  give  them  advice  and  aid  when  neces- 
sary. This  is  probably  the  pioneer  Americanization  organization  of  the 
United  States.  The  bureau  is  also  affiliated  with  the  National  Desertion 
Bureau,  an  organization  for  the  reuniting  of  families  that  have  become 
separated  and  renders  great  aid  in  sending  tuberculosis  victims  to  the 
National  Jewish  Hospital  for  Consumptives  at  Denver  and  the  Jewish 
Consumptive  Relief  Society,  also  at  Denver. 

Miss  Lena  Ozersky  is  a  paid  worker  in  charge  of  welfare  work.  In 
addition  to  President  Guggenheim  the  present  officers  of  the  local  bureau 
include,  Otto  Kaufman,  vice  president;  Sol  Hartzell,  corresponding  secre- 
tary; Jacob  Oppenheimer,  financial  secretary,  and  Emanuel  Wolf,  treas- 
urer. The  project  for  the  building  of  a  great  Jewish  community  house 
in  Youngstown  is  now  under  consideration. 

Visiting  Nurse  Association 

The  Visiting  Nurse  Association  of  Youngstown  was  organized  in 
October,  1904,  its  object  being  to  give  skilled  nursing  service  to  the 
sick  in  their  homes,  to  teach  personal  hygiene,  cleanliness  and  the  pre- 
vention of  disease. 

The  association  furnishes  nurses  to  all  unable  to  pay  for  such  service, 
and  also  to  those  who  desire  hourly  service  and  are  able  to  pay  for  the 
same.  The  work  of  the  organization  began  with  one  nurse,  who  cared 
for  212  patients  and  made-  1,536  calls  the  first  year.  Last  year  the 
staff  consisted  of  eight  nurses,  a  superintendent  and  an  assistant  super- 
intendent, 25,612  visits  being  made  by  this  staff.  The  association  has 
been  doing  baby  welfare  work  for  some  years,  and  now  has  six  stations, 
two  of  which  are  kept  open  throughout  the  year.  The  total  attendance 
of  babies  at  these  stations  last  year  was  2,428,  1,105  first-aid  cases  were 
cared  for  and  17,184  visits  were  made  to  mothers  in  their  homes  for 
instructions  and  general  welfare  work.  In  June,  1920,  two  baby  nurses 
were  added  to  the  staff  of  ten.  During  the  summer  months  there  are 
four  additional  baby  nurses.  Only  graduates  are  recognized ;  general 
training  schools  are  eligible  to  the  staff. 

Mrs.  Augusta  Zug  Bentley  is  president  of  the  Visiting  Nurse  Asso- 
ciation and  Emma  S.  Modeland,  superintendent.  For  a  number  of  years 
the  work  was  financed  almost  entirely  by  women  of  Youngstown,  but 
as  the  work  and  expenses  expanded  the  men  became  contributors,  the 
corporations  giving  generous  assistance.  The  organization  is  now  iden- 
tified with  the  Community  Corporation. 

Institutions  for  the  Homeless 

The  Glenwood  Children's  Home,  an  institution  for  neglected  children 
under  sixteen  years  of  age,  was  built  and  opened  in  1900  and  is  located 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       389 

on  an  exceptionally  pleasing  spot  in  Glenwood  Avenue,  overlooking  Mill 
Creek  Park.  The  grounds  consist  of  about  a  dozen  acres,  on  which  is 
located  a  fine  brick  home,  with  smaller  buildings  adjoining.  The  institu- 
tion has  been  a  great  power  for  good  under  the  guidance  of  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Harlow,  the  capable  superintendent. 

The  Home  for  Aged  Women,  located  in  Mahoning  Avenue,  is  a  most 
useful  institution  supported  by  charitable  women  of  Youngstown. 

Fraternal  Societies 

Western  Star  Lodge  No.  21,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the  oldest 
of  Youngstown  fraternal  organization,  had  its  actual  inception  at  Can- 
field  rather  than  Youngstown. 


Above — Home  for  Aged  Women.  Below — Glenwood  Children's  Home 

As  early  as  1803  Erie  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  was  organ- 
ized at  Warren  with  several  Youngstown  members,  including  Judge 
George  Tod,  William  Raven  and  Dr.  Charles  Dutton.  From  Erie  Lodge 
came  the  movement  that  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Ohio,  and  at  Canfield,  on  July  23,  1812,  a  petition  was  drawn  up  and  pre- 
sented to  the  Grand  Lodge  asking  a  dispensation  preliminary  to  the 
granting  of  a  charter  to  a  Masonic  Lodge  to  be  known  as  Western  Star 
Lodge  of  the  order.  This  petition  was  signed  by  Charles  A.  Boardman, 
Elisha  Whittlesey,  George  Stilson,  Francis  Dowler,  Arad  Way,  Tryal 
Tanner,  Isaac  Xewton,  Henry  Ripley,  Charles  B.  Fitch,  Richard  Fitch, 


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390       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

William  Logan,  Archibald  Tanner,  Lewis  Hoyt  and  John  Northrop,  resi- 
dents of  several  townships  and  members  of  Erie  and  other  lodges. 

The  dispensation  was  granted  on  January  17,  1813,  and  John  Leavitt, 
master  of  Erie  Lodge,  was  authorized  to  institute  the  new  lodge.  On 
account  of  sickness  he  named  Judge  George  Tod  as  his  deputy,  and  on 
June  8,  1813,  Judge  Tod  consecrated  the  lodge  and  installed  the  follow- 
ing officers :  Elijah  Wadsworth,  master ;  Tryal  Tanner,  senior  warden ; 
Isaac  Newton,  junior  warden;  Elisha  Whittlesey,  treasurer;  John  H. 
Patch,  secretary;  John  Northrop,  senior  deacon;  Richard  Fitch,  junior 
deacon;  George  Stilson  and  Archibald  Tanner,  stewards;  Charles  B. 
Fitch  and  Charles  A.  Boardman,  tylers.  The  lodge  became  Western  Star 
Lodge  No.  21. 

In  1828  Western  Star  succumbed  to  the  anti-Masonic  wave  that  began 
to  sweep  over  the  country  at  that  time,  and  on  November  19,  1828,  held 
a  meeting  that  was  the  last  for  twenty  years.  In  May,  1848,  however, 
it  was  revived  and  continued  to  hold  meetings  at  Canfield  until  1852. 

In  1 85 1  a  movement  was  started  for  a  lodge  at  Youngstown,  and  on 
March  18,  1852,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  Mahoning  Lodge,  with 
Theodatus  Garlick,  John  M.  Webb,  Thomas  H.  Wells,  P.  M.  Kelley,.  W. 
H.  Ross,  William  Braden,  D.  B.  King,  B.  E.  Betts,  Abram  A.  DeHoff, 
Isaac  Heaton,  B.  H.  Lake,  Samuel  Cooper,  A.  J.  Gardner,  John  Stam- 
baugh,  J.  H.  Ford,  James  M.  Laughridge,  R.  J.  Price,  Thomas  Jones, 
William  G.  Moore,  Reuben  Carroll,  Franklin  Thorn,  John  Cramer  and 
I.  C.  Allison  as  dispensation  members,  Mr.  Garlick  being  designated  grand 
master,  John  M.  Webb,  senior  warden,  and  Thomas  H.  Wells,  junior 
warden. 

A  charter  was  never  granted  Mahoning  Lodge,  however,  for  in  Oc- 
tober, 1852,  on  petition  of  Western  Star  Lodge,  that  organization  was 
transferred  to  Youngstown  and  its  membership  consolidated  with  Mahcpi- 
ing  Lodge,  the  name  Western  Star  being  retained. 

For  almost  108  years  Western  Star  Lodge  has  been  in  existence  and 
for  sixty-eight  years  it  has  been  located  at  Youngstown.  In  this  time  it 
has  seen  the  number  of  Masonic  organizations  grow  from  one  to  fifteen. 
The  remaining  Masonic  fraternities  here  include,  Hillman  Lodge  No.  481, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Youngstown  Lodge  No.  615,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons ;  Youngstown  Chapter  No.  93,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  Ash- 
lar Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  Buechner  Council  No.  107,  Royal  and 
Select  Masters ;  St.  John's  Commandery  No.  20,  Knights  Templar ;  Hiram 
Lodge  of  Perfection,  fourteenth  degree ;  Youngstown  Council,  Princes  of 
Jerusalem,  sixteenth  degree,  and  Youngstown  Chapter,  Rose  Croix, 
eighteenth  degree,  Ancient  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  Ancient  Arabic  Order 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine ;  Bethlehem  Shrine  No.  9,  White  Shrine  of 
Jerusalem ;  Miriam  Chapter  No.  278,  Order  of  Eastern  Star. 

Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 

Hebron  Lodge  No.  55,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  was  in- 
stituted in  Youngstown  on  December  2,  1845,  with  several  Youngstown 
members  of  the  Warren  Lodge  as  the  founders.     The  ceremony  took 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       391 

place  at  the  old  Mansion  House,  with  William  Braden  as  the  first  noble 
grand.  Other  charter  members  were,  Theodatus  Garlick,  John  C.  Grier- 
son,  R.  G.  Garlick,  Frederick  S.  Smith  and  Daniel  J.  Wick. 

Meetings  were  first  held  at  the  Mansion  House,  in  the  Porter  Block, 
where  all  the  property  of  the  lodge  including  charter  and  records  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  later  in  the  Chapman  Hall.  In  1868  Youngstown 
Lodge  was  formed.  Both  these  lodges  are  still  thriving,  also  Phoenix 
Encampment  No.  235,  Canton  Royal  No.  61,  Past  Masters,  and  Fern  Leaf 
Rebekah  Lodge  No.  564. 

Knights  of  Pythias 

Mahoning  Lodge  No.  52,  Knights  of  Pythias,  was  organized  on  May 
i>  x873,  with  John  T.  Gray,  J.  C.  Brenneman,  William  H.  Gault,  John  L. 
Alexander.  L.  J.  Jacobs,  Asa  W.  Jones,  Henry  Onions,  R.  Shurtleff,  J. 
M.  Silliman,  C.  T.  Metzger,  Philip  Eberhardt,  A.  Kingsbacher,  D.  C. 
Daniels,  David  Baker,  A.  H.  Rice  and  A.  D.  Fassett  as  charter  members. 

Mahoning  Lodge  is  the  parent  organization  of  the  other  Knights  of 
Pythias  lodges  in  Youngstown  that  include,  Youngstown  Lodge  No.  154, 
Haselton  Lodge  No.  456,  Robert  E.  Johnson  Lodge  No.  614,  Youngstown 
Company  No.  42,  Uniform  Rank,  Progress  Temple  No.  415,  Pythian 
Sisters,  and  Delphi  Temple,  Pythian  Sisters. 

Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks 

Youngstown  Lodge  No.  55,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
was  instituted  on  October  23,  1886,  with  Clate  A.  Smith  as  exalted  ruler; 
A.  J.  Woolf,  esteemed  leading  knight;  Eugene  Rook,  esteemed  loyal 
knight ;  J.  P.  Wilson,  esteemed  lecturing  knight ;  Charles  J.  Smith,  secre- 
tary; Samuel  Cornell,  treasurer;  Daniel  H.  Arnold,  tyler.  Daniel  A. 
Kelly,  then  grand  exalted  ruler,  was  in  charge  of  the  installation  cere- 
monies. 

Early  meetings  were  held  in  the  Union  Veteran  Legion  Hall.  The 
Weil-Hartzell  Building  was  then  occupied,  later  the  two  top  floors  of  the 
Gallagher  Block  in  West  Federal  Street  and  twenty  years  ago  the  present 
Elks'  Club  Building  was  erected.  The  Elks  Lodge  is  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  flourishing  in  the  city. 

Other  Fraternal  Organizations 

Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle — Governor  Tod  Castle  No.  7,  Coeur  de 
Lion  Commandery  No.  7,  Garfield  Temple  No.  5,  Ladies  of  the  Golden 
Eagle. 

Knights  of  the  Maccabees — Youngstown  Tent  No.  34,  Mahoning  Tent 
No.  279,  Campbell  Tent  No.  1173. 

Women's  Beneficial  Association  of  the  Maccabees — Mahoning  Re- 
view No.  99,  Youngstown  Review  No.  335,  Diamond  Review  No.  471. 

Ladies  of  the  Maccabees — Idora  Review  No.  986. 

Ladies'   Catholic  Benevolent  Association — Branch   No.   279,   Branch 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       393 

No.  336,  Immaculate  Conception  parish;  St.  Joseph's  Church  branch, 
Advisory  Council. 

Protected  Home  Circle — Mahoning  Circle  .No.  2,  Haselton  Circle 
No.  60. 

Junior  Order  United  American  Mechanics — Youngstown  Council 
No.  51,  Samuel  J.  Randall  Council  No.  96. 

Foresters"  of  America — Court  Flower  of  the  Forest  No.  n,  Court 
Mahoning  No.  63,  Court  Climbing  Rose  No.  17. 

Independent  Order  of  Foresters — Court  Tod  No.  688,  Court  Hick- 
man No.  169. 

Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians — Division  No.  2,  Division  No.  5,  Im- 
maculate Conception  parish;  Ladies'  Auxiliary  No.  1,  Ladies'  Auxiliary 
No.  2,  Ladies'  Auxiliary  No.  3,  Ladies'  Auxiliary  No.  4. 

Order  of  Scottish  Clans — Clan  McDonald  No.  39,  Flora  McDonald 
Auxiliary. 

Knights  of  St.  George — Youngstown  Branch  No.  216,  Cadets,  Co.  C, 
Third  Regiment. 

American  Insurance  Union — Mahoning  Chapter  No.  336,  Fidelity 
Chapter  No.  721,  Mahoning  Chapter  No.  266,  Pocahontas  Chapter  No. 

True  Ivorites  of  America — Star  of  the  West  Lodge  No.  40,  Naomi 
Lodge  No.  1. 

Orangemen — Sons  of  William  Lodge  No.  155,  Ladies'  Loyal  Orange 
Lodge  No.  84. 

Other  organizations  include,  Youngstown  Lodge  No.  79,  Loyal  Order 
of  Moose;  Lodge  No.  554,  Reindeer;  Buckeye  Lodge  No.  3150,  Knights 
and  Ladies  of  Honor;  Youngstown  Council  No.  387,  Royal  Arcanum; 
Mahoning  Council  No.  233,  United  Commercial  Travelers;  Mahoning 
Camp  No.  4,  Woodmen  of  the  World;  Buckeye  Camp  No.  3513,  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America ;  Youngstown  Camp  No.  5,  American  Woodmen ; 
Cohassett  Tribe  No.  272,  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men ;  Hearts  of  Oak 
Lodge  No.  245,  Sons  of  St.  George ;  Lady  Brown  Lodge  No.  98,  Daugh- 
ters of  St.  George;  Daughters  of  Isabella;  Youngstown  Nest  No.  1636, 
Order  of  Owls ;  Youngstown  Council  No.  584,  Young  Men's  Institute ; 
Mahoning  Lodge  No.  339,  Independent  Order  B'nai  Brith;  Federal 
Lodge  No.  170,  Independent  Order  of  B'rith  Sholem;  Bne  Moses  Lodge 
No.  209,  Order  B'rith  Abraham;  Youngstown  Aerie  No.  213,  Fraternal 
Order  of  Eagles;  Forget-Me-Not  Lodge  No.  108,  Good  Templars; 
Chauncey  Andrews  Ruling  Circle  No.  880,  Fraternal  Mystic  Circle; 
Lodge  No.  505,  Fraternal  Order  of  Oaks;  Oriental  Council  No.  212, 
The  National  Union;  Heather  Belle  Lodge  No.  2,  Daughters  of  Scot- 
land; Youngstown  Council  No.  1228,  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Security; 
Buckeye  Commandery  No.  410,  Knights  of  Malta;  Youngstown  Con- 
clave No.  188,  United  Order  of  Heptasophs;  Lily  Camp  No.  6000,  Royal 
Neighbors;  Youngstown  Lodge  No.  136,  Independent  Order  of  the  West- 
ern Star;  Enterprise  Homestead  No.  1963,  Brotherhood  of  American 
Yeomen;  St.  Joseph's  Commandery,  Knights  of  St.  John;  Council  No. 
60,  Catholic  Relief  and  Benefit  Association ;  Independence  Lodge  No.  34, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Hungarian  Reformed  Sick  Benefit 


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394       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Association;  Progress  Lodge  No.  284,  Progressive  Order  of  the  West; 
Verhovay  Aid  Association,  Free  Polish  Krakusy  Society,  Duke  d'Abruz- 
zi  Society,  Mahoning  Legion  No.  1105,  National  Protective  Legion; 
Mahoning  Valley  Lodge  No.  8082  and  Household  of  Ruth  No.  3780, 
Grand  United  Order  of  Odd  Fellows ;  Covenant  Lodge  No.  59,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons;  Logan  Lodge  No.  4,  Golden  Leaf  Company  D, 
Uniform  Rank  and  Steel  City  Lodge,  Colored  Knights  of  Pythias ;  Louisa 
Edwards  Court  No.  30  and  Consuelo  Stewart  Court  No.  53,  Independent 
Order  Calanthe ;  Buckeye  Lodge  No.  73,  Improved  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks  of  the  World ;  King  Solomon  Lodge  No.  2,  Ancient 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  King  Solomon  Chapter  No.  8,  Royal  Arch 
Masons. 

Youngstown  fraternal  societies  that  have  their  own  buildings  include 
the  Masons,  Odd  Fellows,  Knights  of  Columbus,  Knights  of  Pythias, 
Elks,  Eagles  and  Moose. 

Patriotic  Societies 

Tod  Post  No.  29,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  Youngstown's  organ- 
ization of  men  who  served  in  the  Union  army  in  the  Civil  war,  was 
organized  in  November,  1879.  The  organization  is  still  a  flourishing 
one,  and  while  the  membership  is  naturally  decreasing  within  the  last 
few  years,  the  post  has.  some  years  of  life  ahead  of  it  yet. 

Tod  Corps  No.  2,  Women's  Relief  Corps,  is  also  an  active  organiza- 
tion. There  is  a  second  women's  organization  in  connection  with  G.  A.  R. 
activities  in  Major  Woodworth  Circle  No.  15,  Ladies  of  the  G.  A.  R. 

Major  Logan  Camp  No.  26,  United  Spanish  War  Veterans,  was 
organized  in  1899  as  Major  Logan  Camp,  Spanish- American  War  Veter- 
ans, and  became  identified  with  the  United  Spanish  War  Veterans  in 
1904.  James  A.  Freed,  captain  of  the  Logan  Rifles  in  the  Spanish- 
American  war,  was  the  first  commander. 

Captain  Freed  Camp,  Ladies'  Auxiliary  to  the  United  Spanish  War 
Veterans,  is  the  accompanying  organization  of  women.  Like  Major 
Logan  Camp,  it  has  a  large  membership. 

Youngstown  Post  No.  15,  American  Legion,  is  the  local  organization 
of  men  who  served  in  the  World  war.  Further  details  concerning  this 
organization  are  given  in  the  chapter  of  this  work  dealing  with  the 
World  war.  A  woman's  auxiliary  to  Youngstown  Post  has  also  been 
organized. 

Baldwin  Camp  No.  2,  Sons  of  Veterans,  an  organization  of  sons  of 
Civil  war  soldiers,  was  formed  on  February  7,  1894,  with  Fred  A.  Simp- 
kins  as  the  first  commander.  Prior  to  this  there  was  another  camp  of 
this  organization,  Hillman  Camp  No.  10,  Sons  of  Veterans.  There  is 
also  a  camp  of  the  Daughters  of  Veterans.  Descendants  of  Revolution- 
ary war  soldiers  are  represented  by  Nathan  Hale  Chapter,  Sons  of  the 
American  Revolution,  and  Mahoning  Chapter,  Daughters  of  the  Amer- 
ican Revolution. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       395 
Mahoning  Valley  Historical  Society 

At  a  casual  meeting  of  three  old-time  residents  of  Youngstown  early 
in  May,  1874,  a  reunion  of  pioneers  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  was  sug- 
gested. The  proposal  was  agreeable,  and  a  few  days  later  a  call  was  sent 
out,  signed  by  Dr.  Timothy  Woodbridge,  H.  B.  Wick,  William  Powers, 
G.  King,  John  M.  Edwards,  Madison  Powers,  Alex  McKinnie,  John 
Manning,  J.  Van  Fleet,  Joseph  Barclay  and  Henry  Tod,  for  a  meeting  to 
be  held  at  the  Tod  House  on  May  30,  1874,  when  arrangements  for  the 
gathering  would  be  made. 

The  plan  met  with  instant  response,  and  at  the  May  30th  gathering 
it  was  decided  to  hold  a  reunion  at  the  Opera  House  on  September  10th. 
Doctor  Woodbridge  was  chairman  of  this  arrangements  meeting  and 
C.  B.  Wick  and  W.  G.  Moore,  secretaries,  while  a  committee  consisting 
of  Doctor  Woodbridge,  J.  R.  Squire,  John  M.  Edwards,  R.  Holland  and 
Asahel  Medbury  was  named  to  collect  historical  data  to  be  presented  at 
the  reunion. 

The  reunion  was  held  as  scheduled  and  attracted  residents  from  all 
parts  of  Mahoning  and  Trumbull  counties,  bringing  also  acknowledgments 
from  former  residents  who  had  removed  to  scattered  parts  of  the  country. 
The  initial  gathering  was  held  in  the  afternoon  of  September  10th,  when 
John  M.  Edwards  made  the  address  of  welcome,  and  the  affair  concluded 
with  a  grand  ball  in  the  Operahouse  in  the  evening,  a  platform  being  built 
to  extend  out  over  the  lower  floor  of  the  theater  for  the  occasion.  Officers 
were  also  elected  for  the  year  1874-75,  those  named  being,  William  Pow- 
ers, president;  Dr.  Timothy  Woodbridge,  vice  president;  John  M.  Ed- 
wards and  A.  B.  Cornell,  corresponding  secretaries;  W.  A.  Beecher, 
recording  secretary;  H.  K.  Wick,  treasurer;  H.  B.  Wick,  Asa  W.  Jones, 
Reuben  McMillan,  A.  J.  Packard  and  Henry  Tod,  directors. 

The  reunion  of  1875  was  even  more  successful  than  the  first  one,  and 
at  this  gathering  a  great  volume  of  historical  data  was  presented.  These 
records,  with  additional  information  gathered  later,  were  incorporated 
in  the  "Historical  Collections  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,"  published  in  1876. 

Thenceforth  the  "Pioneer  Reunions,"  held  each  year  on  September 
10th,  the  anniversary  of  Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie,  ranked  among  the 
great  social  events  of  Youngstown.  They  flourished  for  fifteen  years,  but 
finally  lapsed  with  the  passing  of  the  men  and  women  who  were  identified 
with  the  Mahoning  Valley  in  its  earliest  days. 

The  Mahoning  Valley  Historical  Society  itself  also  became  inactive 
for  some  time,  but  on  February  5,  1909,  was  reorganized  and  incor- 
porated by  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  H.  H.  Stambaugh,  David  Tod,  C.  D.  Hine, 
J.  H.  McEwen,  James  L.  Wick,  Jr.,  and  Homer  E.  Stewart,  and  has 
remained  an  active  organization  since  that  time.  At  an  organization 
meeting,  held  on  November  19,  1909,  the  above  incorporators,  with  Anna 
L.  Morse,  Mary  E.  Logan,  E.  Ella  Hosmer,  Maria  G.  Wells,  Ella  Brown, 
J.  Craig  Smith,  Rev.  J.  P.  Barry,  Rev.  A.  L.  Fraser,  W.  E.  Manning, 
David  T.  Arrel,  Herman  Brandmiller,  Jr.,  Frank  L.  Baldwin,  Rev.  W.  H. 
Hudnut,  Wells  L.  Griswold,  L.  T.  Foster  and  C.  N.  Crandall  enrolled  as 
charter  members. 


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396       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

A  board  of  trustees  was  elected  on  this  occasion  and  the  trustees 
named  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  president;  Homer  E.  Stewart,  vice  president; 
Mary  E.  Logan,  recording  secretary;  W.  E.  Manning,  treasurer,  and 
Anna  L.  Morse,  corresponding  secretary.  Mr.  Butler  is  still  president 
of  the  society  and  Miss  Logan,  recording  secretary;  Mrs.  Franklin  Pow- 
ers is  now  corresponding  secretary  and  Joseph  L.  Wheeler,  librarian. 

The  society  has  quarters  in  the  Reuben  McMillan  Library  Building 
and  has  gathered  many  valued  mementoes  of  early  days  in  Youngstown. 
It  is  hoped  that  before  long  a  museum  that  will  be  in  keeping  with  the 
traditions  of  the  historic  Mahoning  Valley  can  be  opened  and  maintained. 

Mahoning  and  Shenango  Fair  Association 

Many  years  have  rolled  by  since  the  days  when  the  annual  "fair '  was 
an  event  looked  to  for  months  ahead  in  Youngstown,  but  this  institution 
deserves  mention  in  a  history  of  Youngstown. 

The  real  Mahoning  County  fairs  are  held  at  Canfield,  and  have  been 
held  there  for  more  than  seventy  years.  Youngstown  has  always  taken 
part  in  these,  but  in  the  '70s  a  movement  was  begun  for  a  Youngstown 
fair,  and  in  September,  1878,  the  first  of  these  gatherings  was  held  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Mahoning  and  Shenango  Fair  Association. 

The  fair  grounds,  located  north  of  the  city,  but  on  ground  now  within 
the  city  and  even  closely  built  up  with  residences,  passed  away  such  a 
short  time  ago  that  it  seems  hardly  necessary  to  recall  it.  Marks  of  the 
old  race  track  may  be  seen  even  yet. 

The  fairs  were  a  success  from  the  beginning.  They  grew  to  be  great 
stock  exhibits  and  furnished  other  entertainment  as  well.  In  1884, 
Buffalo  Bill,  then  new  in  the  business,  came  with  his  show,  and  so  well 
advertised  had  this  been  that  on  the  opening  day  the  attendance  reached 
44,000,  double  the  population  of  Youngstown  at  that  time.  This  record 
was  never  broken.  Later  the  race  track  was  featured  at  the  fairs  and 
the  stock  exhibits  waned.  The  fair  grounds  track  was  made  one  of  the 
best  half-mile  courses  in  the  country,  and  the  greatest  trotting  and  pacing 
horses  in  the  country  were  entered  at  the  Youngstown  races. 

Later  public  sentiment  turned  against  pool-selling,  and  about  1894 
the  fairs  began  to  decline,  as  they  had  become  largely  racing  exhibitions 
by  this  time.  The  last  fair,  held  about  1901,  was  a  stock  exhibit  only, 
and  not  a  large  one.  The  race  track  came  into  favor  again  later  and 
July  meetings  were  held  until  about  1903  or  1904,  but  the  fair  grounds 
finally  succumbed  to  the  growth  of  the  city  northward. 

Counxry  Clubs 

The  Youngstown  Country  Club  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  old  Mahon- 
ing Golf  Club,  organized  in  1898  largely  as  a  result  of  the  interest  taken 
in  the  proposition  by  Wm.  F.  Bonnell.  That  organization  was  incor- 
porated in  1  go  1  and  erected  a  modest  club  house  on  the  links  then  in 
use,  this  building  having  been  located  on  what  is  now  North  Heights 
Avenue,  between  Ohio  and  Fifth  avenues.     The  first  golf  course  con- 


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398       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

sisted  of  nine  holes.  In  1905  the  building  now  occupied  by  Yale  School, 
at  Ohio  Avenue  and  Redondo  Road,  was  erected  and  a  new  nine-hole 
course  laid  out,  dining  facilities  provided  and  some  other  extensions 
made.  In  1912  the  present  links  were  acquired,  on  which  a  splendid 
eighteen-hole  course  was  laid  out,  a  handsome  and  commodious  club  house 
erected  and  one  of  the  finest  country  clubs  in  Ohio  established.  At  the 
same  time  the  name  of  the  organization  was  changed  to  that  of  The 
Youngstown  Country  Club,  and  an  interlocking  corporation  known  as 
The  Holland  Land  Company  formed  among  the  members  as  a  holding 
corporation  for  the  property,  which  represents  an  investment  of  about 
$200,000.  During  the  history  of  the  two  organizations  the  following 
gentlemen  haveJ  occupied  the  position  of  president :  Wm.  F.  Bonnell, 
John  Tod,  Cecil  D.  Hine,  Robert  Bentley,  Myron  I.  Arms,  Thaddeus  F. 
Woodman,  Walter  L.  Kauffman  and  Mason  Evans.  The  present  officers 
are:  W.  A.  Thomas,  president;  Richard  Garlick,  John  Tod,  H.  L. 
Rownd,  R.  R.  Sharman,  W.  H.  Foster,  Chas.  H.  Booth,  Jas.  £.  Kennedy 
and  R.  P.  Hartshorn,  board  of  governors. 

The  Poland  Country  Club  was  organized  in  June,  1913,  its  object 
being  the  promotion  of  closer  social  acquaintance  and  the  betterment  of 
the  physical  being  of  its  members  through  pleasure  and  recreation.  A 
tract  of  seventy  acres  was  rented  from  the  Realty  Security  Company  at 
the  time  of  organization,  this  land  being  located  five  miles  south  of  the 
business  center  of  Youngstown  on  the  Poland  car  line.  The  club  sprang 
into  such  immediate  popularity  that  the  membership  was  limited  to  300. 

In  October,  191 6,  the  Poland  Club  Realty  Company,  a  stock  company 
of  members,  was  incorporated. and  the  ground  that  had  been  held  under 
lease  was  purchased.  A  few  weeks  later,  on  February  13,  191 7,  the 
original  club  house  was  destroyed  by  fire,  but  construction  of  a  new 
building  was  begun  immediately  and  this  structure  was  opened  in  March, 
1918.  *      V- 

The  club  has  a  nine-hole  golf  course,  four  tenn!?  courts,  volley  ball, 
croquet  and  clock  golf  grounds  and  other  entertainment-gf  various  nature. 
The  membership  is  now  limited  to  200  and  consists  ofWusiness  and  pro- 
fessional men  who  are  democratic  enough  to  co-operate  for  the  welfare 
of  the  entire  club. 


Parks  and  Playgrounds 

Youngstown  has  six  parks  that  range  in  area  from  twenty-two  acres 
upwards,  but  among  these  Mill  Creek  Park  takes  precedence. 

Back  in  the  summer  of  1797,  but  a  few  weeks  after  the  settlement 
that  was  to  become  the  City  of  Youngstown  was  first  located,  two  youth- 
ful members  of  the  pioneer  Youngstown  party  threaded  their  way  up  the 
valley  of  a  creek  and  through  a  magnificent  gorge  to  the  beautiful  water- 
fall that  was  later  to  become  known  as  Lanterman's  Falls.  Probably 
venturesome  white  men  had  visited  the  valley  even  before  that  summer, 
but  it  was  almost  a  century  after  Youngstown's  founding  before  there 
was  any  movement  to  dedicate  this  spot  for  park  purposes. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       399 

The  originator  of  this  movement,  the  'Father  of  Mill  Creek  Park/' 
was  Volney  Rogers,  attorney,  but  recently  deceased.  Struck  by  the  ap- 
parent beauty  of  this  place,  Mr.  Rogers  decided  to  become  better  ac- 
quainted with  it,  and  on  a  summer  day  in  1890,  explored  the  valley  on 
horseback.  As  there  was  neither  road,  trail  or  even  footpath  he  was 
forced  to  ride  much  of  the  way  in  the  bed  of  Mill  Creek,  but  made  the 
journey  from  the  mouth  of  the  creek  to  Lanterman's  Falls.  Later,  while 
engaged  in  professional  work  for  the  public  Mr.  Rogers  spent  two  months 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  park  and  in  morning  and  evening  walks  through  the 
gorge  and  along  the  hills  became  more  enamored  with  the  spot  and  con- 
ceived the  project  of  preserving  this  spot  for  all  time  for  the  public  as  a 
great  breathing  place.  It  was  a  work  that  had  to  be  done  at  time  as  the 
trees  were  rapidly  being  stripped  from  Mahoning  County  lands  and 
the  hillsides  blasted  away  by  quarrymen. 


Youngstown  Country  Club 

On  his  own  initiative  Mr.  Rogers  secured  private  contracts  with  154 
of  the  196  persons  interested  in  the  ownership  of  this  property.  He 
then  prepared,  and  presented  to  the  State  Legislature,  a  bill  providing 
for  a  township  park  commission  of  three  members  and,  by  personal  calls 
on  influential  citizens  created  sentiment  that  resulted  in  the  passage  of 
the  "Township  Park  Improvement  Act.''  The  Mill  Creek  Valley  lay 
some  distance  outside  the  city  limits  of  Youngstown  as  fixed  at  that 
time. 

In  the  movement  to  issue  bonds  for  park  improvement  Mr.  Rogers 
again  assumed  the  leadership,  setting  an  example  by  taking  $25,000  worth 
of  these  bonds  himself.  The  options  that  Mr.  Rogers  had  obtained  were 
then  turned  over  to  the  park  board,  and  land  that  could  not  be  pur- 
chased outright  was  appropriated.  For  Mr.  Rogers  there  was  much 
voluntary  expense  and  no  remuneration,  nor  would  he  have  considered 
any. 


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400       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Improvement  of  the  park  property  was  begun  in  1892,  the  park  bill 
having  been  passed  early  in  1891,  and  in  1893-94  tms  work  received  con- 
siderable impetus.  Work  for  betterment  has  gone  on  since,  and  not 
always  without  opposition,  for  there  have  been  proposals  for  "improve- 
ments" that  would  mean  actual  ruin  to  the  park.  In  fact  Mr.  Rogers 
was  forced  to  defend  the  park  to  his  death  from  encroachments  of  ma- 
terial-minded persons. 

Mill  Creek  Park  now  has  an  area  of  485  acres  and  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  natural  parks  in  America.  It  is  three  miles  long,  winding 
through  the  great  gorge,  has  14  miles  of  drives,  7  miles  of  walks,  2  large 
artificial  lakes,  3  bathing  beaches,  the  picturesque  Lanterman  Falls  and 
innumerable  picnic  spots. 


Bridge  and  Falls,  Mill  Creek  Park 


The  park  is  still  managed  by  a  special  board  of  commissioners,  al- 
though it  is  now  wholly  within  the  city,  the  present  board  members  being 
C.  S.  Robinson,  W.  C.  Stitt  and  Dr.  H.  D.  Morgan.  Mr.  Rogers'  great 
work  was  recognized  by  the  movement  that  began  before  his  death  for  a 
Rogers'  memorial  statue  to  be  placed  near  the  Falls  Avenue  entrance,  a 
project  that  will  soon  be  realized. 

Lincoln  Park 

This  park,  the  second  in  size,  is  located  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
city  and  has  an  area  of  sixty  acres,  comprising  the  Dry  Run  gorge  and 
hill  top  land.  Within  it  rests  the  great  boulder  that  the  Indians  called 
Ne-A-To-Ka,  or  Council  Rock,  around  which  a  famous  legend  rests. 
This  story  is  given  in  the  chapter  of  this  work  that  deals  with  the  found- 
ing of  Youngstown.  This  park  has  a  bathing  pool,  il/2  miles  of  drives, 
well-forested  hillsides,  baseball  grounds,  tennis  courts  and  playgrounds. 


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402       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Crandall  Park 

Crandall  Park,  once  known  as  Andrews'  Hollow,  is  located  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  city  and  has  an  area  of  fifty  acres.  This  park,  too, 
is  located  in  a  deep  and  picturesque  gorge  and  is  the  newest  of  Youngs- 
town  parks. 

Wick  Park 

Wick  Park,  located  on  the  North  Side  and  well  within  the  city,  has 
thirty-four  acres,  the  land  having  been  donated  to  the  city  by  members 
of  the  Wick  family  in  1890.  Unlike  other  Youngstown  parks  it  is  located 
on  level  ground.  The  park  has  been  beautified  greatly  in  recent  years, 
having  flower  beds  that  are  especially  attractive,  a  band  stand,  tennis 
courts  and  playgrounds. 

South  Side  Park 

South  Side  Park,  twenty-two  acres  in  extent,  is,  as  its  name  implies, 
located  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city.  It  has  a  large  bathing  pool,  a 
miniature  lakq  in  size,  a  modern  bath  house,  tennis  court  and  children's 
playgrounds. 

Pine  Hollow  Park 

Located  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  city,  Pine  Hollow  Park 
occupies  a  deep  gorge  that  is  heavily  timbered.  This  is  a  new  park  and 
is  not  fully  developed  but  has  great  possibilities.  Pine  Hollow  Park  is 
twenty-two  acres  in  extent.  ,  . 

The  board  of  city  park  commissioners  includes  Harmon  T.  McCart- 
ney, Alfred  Liebman  and  Paul  McElevey.  ' 

In  addition  to  the  parks  Youngstown  has  a  fine  system  of  playgrounds. 
The  sale  of  $200,000  in  bonds  has  also  been  authorized  by  city  council, 
the  funds  to  be  used  in  acquiring  additional  playgrounds  and  athletic 
fields  for  the  benefit  of  children  and  adults  of  the  city  alike. 


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CHAPTER  XXI 

WARREN 

Founding  of  this  Historic  Western  Reserve  Settlement  in  the 
Closing  Years  of  the  Eighteenth  Century — Winning  of  the 
County  Seat  and  Battle  and  Fight  to  Retain  It — Warren  in 
Civil  War  Days — Warren  in  Modern  Times. 

Like  all  other  Western  Reserve  townships,  with  a  half  dozen  excep- 
tions, township  four,  range  four,  of  this  great  tract  was  included  in  the 
partition  of  January,  1798,  when  Western.  Reserve  lands  were  appor- 
tioned among  stockholders  in  the  Connecticut  Land  Company.  This 
township,  that  later  became  known  as  Warren,  fell  to  the  ownership  of 
Ebenezer  King,  Jr.,  Reuben  Bardwell,  Andrew  Bardwell,  David  King, 
Fidelia  King,  Joseph  Pratt,  Luther  Loomis,  John  Leavitt,  Jr.,  Timothy 
Phelps,  Martin  Sheldon,  Asahel  King,  Simon  Kendall,  Erastus  Granger, 
Oliver  Sheldon,  Sylvester  G.  Griswold  and  Matthew  Thompson.  It' 
might  be  more  proper  to  say  that  township  four,  range  four,  was  one  of 
four  townships  that  fell  to  the  ownership  of  these  stockholders,  their 
joint  interests  being  divided  later. 

Necessarily  there  could  be  no  settlement  until  after  this  apportion- 
ment had  been  made,  nor  was  there  any  attempt  at  settlement  until  late 
in  the  year  1798.  There  was  a  large  tract  of  cleared  ground  in  township 
four  that  had  apparently  been  used  by  the  Indians  for  corn  growing,  and 
John  Young,  who  had  located  at  Youngstown  in  1797,  planted  grain  there 
in  the  summer  of  1798  and  built  a  cabin  in  which  to  store  his  crop  and 
in  which  he  may  have  lived  while  tilling  the  land.  Young's  interest  did 
not  go  beyond  this,  however,  and  he  could  not  be  called  a  settler.  Joseph 
McMahon,  a  "squatter/'  also  occupied  a  cabin  on  the  present  site  of 
Warren  in  1798  and  had  been  here  for  a  year  or  two  before  that,  but 
had  no  title  to  the  land,  and  subsequently  left. 

It  was  in  the  fall  of  1798  that  Ephraim  Quinby  and  Richard  Storer 
came  by  horseback  from  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania,  to  view  lands 
in  township  four  with  the  intention  of  settling  thereon.  Their  trip  was 
made  by  way  of  Poland,  Youngstown,  the  Salt  Springs  Road  and  thence 
through  the  woods  to  their  prospective  new  home,  Although  it  was  a 
wilderness  land  the  prospect  was  pleasing  to  them  for  Quinby  selected 
441  acres  of  land  within  the  present  City  of  Warren  while  Storer  chose 
land  on  both  sides  of  the  river  that  was  later  known  as  the  Fusselman 
Farm  and  that  included  sixty  acres  of  Indian  clearings.  Cleared  ground 
was  a  God-send  in  that  day  when  the  Western  Reserve  was  generally 

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404       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

covered  with  heavy  timber  and  thick  underbrush  and  the  lands  in  addition 
included  mill  sites  on  the  splendid  river. 

Quinby  and  Storer  returned  to  Washington  County  for  the  winter 
and  contracted  for  the  lands  they  had  selected,  the  negotiations  being  con- 
ducted with  Ebenezer  King,  Jr.,  who  had  drawn  the  land  in  the  eastern 
part  of  township  four.  Early  in  the  following  spring  they  started  for 
their  new  possessions.  Their  stories  of  the  advantages  of  this  new  coun- 
try and  exhibits  of  soil  specimens  they  had  brought  back  to  Pennsylvania 
inspired  in  others  the  desire  to  emigrate  to  the  Reserve,  for  the  party 
that  reached  the  present  site  of  Warren  on  April  17,  1799,  numbered  not 
only  Quinby  and  Storer,  but  also  William  Fenton,  wife  and  two  children 
and  Francis  Carlton  and  four  children.  With  the  Quinby  and  Storer 
families,  who  were  to  come  later  on,  there  was  the  nucleus  here  for  a 
fair-sized  settlement.  Youngstown,  the  largest  settlement  on  the  Reserve, 
had  probably  not  more  than  a  dozen  or  fifteen  families  at  that  time. 

The  first  habitation  of  the  newcomers  was  the  cabin  of  McMahon,  the 
"squatter/'  who  had  left  during  the  winter  of  1798-99  and  was  living 
across  the  line  in  southwestern  Howland  Township.  This  cabin  was 
described  in  later  years  as  standing  near  the  river  in  the  vicinity  of  what 
is  now  the  corner  of  Main  and  Market  streets.  From  the  fact  that  one  of 
this  party,  William  Fenton,  lived  in  it  for  a  number  of  years  it  became 
known  as  "Fenton's  Cabin."  It  has  been  confused  sometimes  with  the 
Quinby  cabin,  the  first  house  erected  in  Warren  after  the  arrival  of  the 
permanent  settlers.  Quinby  began  work  on  this  immediately  after  his 
arrival,  designing  a  house  of  three  rooms,  two  rooms  of  which  were 
finished  in  the  summer  of  1799.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  this 
was  a  log  structure. 

All  the  settlers  set  to  work  at  once  planting  corn  on  the  cleared 
meadows.  Within  a  short  time  after  the  arrival  of  the  Quinby  and  Storer 
party,  perhaps  also  in  the  month  of  April,  another  party  from  Washing- 
ton County  came  to  look  over  the  ground.  This  party  included  Meshach 
Case,  Henry  Lane,  his  son,  John  Lane,  and  his  step-son,  Edward  Jones. 
Lane  selected  140  acres  of  land  and,  leaving  the  younger  men  to  till  the 
ground,  returned  to  Pennsylvania.  Case  prospected  a  little  further 
but  returned  in  August  and  took  up  198  acres  of  land,  cleared  an  acre  or 
two,  put  up  a  light  cabin  and  returned  to  Pennsylvania  for  his  family. 
During  the  summer  Ebenezer  King,  Jr.,  and  John  Leavitt,  owners  of 
township  four,  made  their  first  trip  to  their  possessions.  They  did  not 
remain,  but  William  Crooks  and  wife,  who  came  with  them,  stayed  on. 
Crooks  cleared  about  eighteen  acres  of  land  and  planted  the  first  wheat 
sown.  It  is  probable  that  during  the  visit  of  King  and  Leavitt  the  town- 
ship was  laid  out  in  lots  and  received  the  name  of  Warren,  as  a  compli- 
ment to  Moses  Warren,  one  of  the  members  of  the  original  Connecticut 
Land  Company  surveying  party  of  1796.  "Lots''  in  that  day  were  vir- 
tually equivalent  in  size  to  farms  of  today. 

In  the  fall  of  1799  Benjamin  Davidson  of  Huntington  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, came  to  Warren  and  purchased  land,  and  Mrs.  Edward  Jones 
joined  her  husband.  They  occupied  the  old  John  Young  cabin  that 
winter.    Henry  Lane  had  made  a  second  trip,  bringing  back  his  son  Ben- 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       405 

jamin,  a  lad  of  fourteen,  and  bringing  also  ioo  apple  trees  that  were  set 
out.  Lane  and  his  sons  went  back  to  Washington  County  before  winter 
and  Quinby  and  Storer  also  returned,  but  before  the  close  of  the  year 
the  two  latter  were  again  in  Warren,  Quinby  being  accompanied  by  his 
wife  and  three  children  and  Storer  by  his  wife  and  four  children.  Jona- 
than Church  and  Josiah  Church  also  reached  Warren  in  1799,  while 
John  H.  Adgate,  his  wife,  and  family  of  nine  or  ten  children,  located  in 
the  southwest  corner  of  Howland  Township,  nearby.  Caleb  Jones  and 
wife  also  located  there,  and  in  addition  there  were  several  unmarried  men 
who  came  to  Warren  with  the  1799  settlers. 

In  June,  1799,  there  arrived  in  Warren  a  man  who  was  destined  to 
become  one  of  its  foremost  citizens  in  the  few  years  of  life  that  were 
allotted  him.  This  was  John  S.  Edwards,  first  lawyer  on  the  Western 
Reserve  and  first  resident  of  the  Reserve  elected  to  Congress.  Edwards 
was  but  twenty-two  years  old  at  that  time,  and  for  the  first  five  years  of 
his  residence  in  New  Connecticut  spent  much  of  his  time  in  Mesopotamia 
Township,  his  father,  Pierpont  Edwards,  member  of  the  Connecticut 
Land  Company,  being  proprietor  of  that  entire  township.  John  S.  Ed- 
wards devoted  considerable  of  his  time  to  the  practice  of  law  in  Warren 
even  before  coming  there  to  reside  in  1804,  and  in  1800  was  commissioned 
the  first  recorder  of  Trumbull  County.  Simon  Perkins,  long  one  of  the 
most  prominent  men  of  Trumbull  County,  was  an  even  earlier  arrival  on 
the  Reserve,  coming  here  in  1798.  In  1804  he  located  permanently  at 
Warren. 

The  year  1800  was  a  momentous  one  at  Warren.  When  it  opened  the 
village  numbered  hardly  more  than  thirty  inhabitants  living  in  several 
log  cabins;  when  it  closed. Warren  was  the  seat  of  justice  of  a  territory 
as  large  as  some  eastern  states  and  was  the  ranking  settlement  of  the 
Western  Reserve. 

The  first  new  Warrenite  of  that  year  was  a  daughter  born  in  Febru- 
ary to  Edward  Jones  and  wife,  undoubtedly  the  first  native  white  child  of 
Warren.  This  little  girl  grew  to  womanhood  and  became  Mrs.  William 
Dutchin. 

On  February  22,  1800,  Ebenezer  King,  Jr.,  deeded  to  Ephraim  Quin- 
by. Benjamin  Davidson  and  Henry  Lane,  Sr.,  the  lands  they  had  con- 
tracted to  purchase  from  him,  Quinby's  purchase  of  441  acres  being  made 
for  $1,625,  or  at  the  rate  of  about  $3.68j4  an  acre.  This  was  a  some- 
what higher  rate  than  Western  Reserve  lands  usually  commanded  at  that 
day,  perhaps  from  the  fact  that  part  of  the  land  was  already  cleared 
when  settled. 

On  April  18,  1800,  there  arrived  a  large  party  of  Washington  County, 
Pennsylvania,  settlers,  some  of  whom  had  already  visited  Warren.  In- 
cluded in  this  group  were,  Henry  Lane,  Sr.,  wife  and  five  children ;  Mes- 
hach  Case,  wife  and  six  children;  Henry  Lane,  Jr.,  and  wife,  Charles 
Dally,  wife  and  children;  Isaac  Dally,  wife  and  children;  John  Dally, 
wife  and  one  child.  Late  in  April  Benjamin  Davidson  returned,  bring- 
ing his  wife  and  eleven  children  to  the  new  settlement.  In  May  John 
Leavitt,  his  wife  and  seven  children  arrived,  and  Phineas  Leffingwell 
and  family  came  about  the  same  time.    Calvin  Austin  came  later  in  1800,. 


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406       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

and  in  the  same  year  Asahel  Adams,  Sr.,  of  Canterbury,  Connecticut, 
came  to  Trumbull  County  with  his  family.  One  of  his  descendants,  the 
late  Whittlesey  Adams,  ranks  with  Frederick  Kinsman  and  Leonard 
Case  among  the  men  to  whom  Warren  owes  much  for  the  preservation 
of  the  story  of  its  early  history. 

Crops  were  planted  with  the  arrival  of  the  spring  settlers,  additional 
ground  was  cleared  and  more  cabins  were  built.  In  June,  1800,  Henry 
Lane,  Jr.,  and  Charles  Dally  undertook  the  construction  of  the  first  grist 
mill  at  Warren.  In  throwing  a  dam  across  the  river  they  had  the  assist- 
ance of  other  settlers,  but  the  work  was  uncompleted  in  the  fall  and  the 
winter  and  spring  floods  tore  the  structure  away.  The  work  was  re- 
sumed in  the  spring  of  1801,  but  it  was  1802  before  the  mill  was  in  readi- 
ness, and  in  the  meantime  Warren  settlers  were  forced  to  depend  upon 
hand  mills  and  mortar  blocks  or  to  make  the  long  trip  through  the  woods 
to  the  mill  at  the  falls  of  Mill  Creek  in  Youngstown  Township. 

Dally  and  Smith  subsequently  sold  out  to  Royal  Peace  and  the  mill 
had  successive  owners.  Eventually  the  mill  and  dam  became  the  prop- 
erty of  James  L.  Van  Gorder  who  operated  the  works  for  many  years. 
The  mill  was  several  times  destroyed  but  remained  in  operation  until 
1881. 

The  "lower"  dam  was  built  about  1804  by  George  Lovelace,  who 
came  to  Warren  in  May,  1800.  This  dam  stood  just  below  the  Market 
Street  bridge.  Ephraim  Quinby  was  interested  with  Lovelace  in  the  mill, 
which  stood  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  A  woollen  mill,  operated  in 
connection  with  this  grist  mill,  was  owned  by  Levi  Hadley. 

James  L.  Van  Gorder  also  came  into  the  possession  of  this  lower  grist 
mill,  and  when  the  canal  was  put  through  in  .1839-40  built  a  new  dam 
still  farther  down  the  river.  Van  Gorder  also  operated  two  sawmills  and 
was  active  in  other  business  p/ojects.  This  second  "lower"  dam  and  mill 
remained  in  service  for  more  than  seventy  years,  or  until  the  great  flood 
of  March,  19 13,  when  the  dam  was  carried  away  and  the  mill  wrecked. 
Miller  and  Neal  were  the  operators  of  the  grist  mill  at  that  time. 

Most  notable,  however,  among  Warren  events  in  1800  was  the  crea- 
tion of  Trumbull  County.  Up  to  this  time  the  Western  Reserve  was  sort 
of  a  "No  Man's  Land,"  both  ownership  and  jurisdiction  being  claimed  by 
the  State  of  Connecticut  and  by  the  Federal  Government  through  the 
medium  of  the  Northwest  Territory.  It  was  a  most  troublesome  situation, 
since  the  many  newcomers  did  not  know  to  whom  they  owed  allegiance, 
there  was  no  law  except  the  home-made  law  of  the  settlers  themselves  and 
land  transfers  could  not  be  recorded,  or  could  be  recorded  only  at  a  risk. 
On  May  30,  1800,  an  agreement  was  reached  between  Connecticut  and  the 
Federal  Government  by  which  ownership  of  the  Reserve  was  conceded  to 
Connecticut  while  legal  jurisdiction  was  granted  the  Northwest  Territory 
on  behalf  of  the  government  at  Washington.  On  July  10,  1800,  the  Coun- 
ty of  Trumbull,  named  after  Jonathan  Trumbull,  soldier,  statesman  and 
governor  of  Connecticut,  was  organized  by  proclamation  of  Governor 
St.  Clair  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  Warren  being  designated  as  the 
county  seat.  It  was  a  distinct  triumph  for  Warren,  as  the  prize  of  the 
county  seat  was  one  eagerly  sought  by  Youngstown  and  other  settle- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       407 

ments,  being  all  the  more  valued  because  Trumbull  County,  as  organ- 
ized, comprised  the  entire  Western  Reserve. 

Within  a  few  weeks,  perhaps  even  before  this  good  news  had  reached 
Warren,  the  village  passed  through  one  of  the  darkest  periods  in  its 
existence — the  one  occasion  when  war  with  the  Indians  threatened. 

The  Red  Men  hereabouts  were  spiritless  and  peaceably  inclined. 
They  had  seen  their  lands  taken  up  and  settled  with  scarcely  a  protest, 
but  an  unfortunate  quarrel — and  apparently  a  needless  one — threatened 
for  once  to  turn  them  into  the  vengeful  warriors  that  they  are  often 
credited  with  having  been. 

The  killings  that  aroused  the  Indians  had  their  inception  in  a  series 
of  annoyances  to  which  the  family  of  Joseph  McMahon  had  been  sub- 
jected by  the  Red  Men.  According  to  the  Indians,  however,  the  quarrel 
went  back  even  farther  than  this  and  was  due  to  unfair  treatment  on  the 
part  of  the  whites. 

McMahon  had  removed  in  the  spring  of  1800  from  Howland  Town- 
ship to  a  cabin  near  the  "Salt  Springs/'  in  Weathersfield  Township, 
located  on  lands  owned  by  Richard  Storer.  In  July,  1800,  a  party  of 
Indians  encamped  at  an  old  camping  grounds  at  the  Salt  Springs  ravine 
and  in  a  drinking  frolic  that  followed  were  joined  by  McMahon  and 
other  white  men.  When  the  Indians'  whisky  was  exhausted,  the  red 
men  afterwards  said,  the  whites  sent  to  Warren  for  an  additional  sup- 
ply, and  this  they  refused  to  share  with  the  Indians.  This  ill-treatment 
was  naturally  resented  by  the  Indians. 

A  few  days  after  this  happening  several  Indians  appeared  at  Mc- 
Mahon's  cabin  during  his  absence  and  threatened  his  family,  even  going 
to  the  extreme  of  declaring  they  would  kill  Mrs.  McMahon  and  her 
children.  McMahon  was  working  at  Storer's  at  this  time,  and,  in  her 
fright,  the  mother  took  her  youngest  child  in  her  arms  and,  leading  the 
others,  fled  to  the  Storer  cabin.  Thursday  McMahon*  returned  with 
his  family  and  held  a  conference  with  the  Indians  at  which  they  agreed 
to  molest  his  family  no  further.  The  promise  was  not  kept.  The  In- 
dians repeated  their  indignities  and  finally  struck  one  of  the  children  on 
the  head  with  a  tomahawk.  Saturday  Mrs.  McMahon  started  for 
Storer's  once  more  and  on  her  way  met  her  husband  to  whom  she  told 
the  story  of  the  repeated  threats. 

The  McMahon  family  remained  at  Storer's  Saturday  night,  and  on 
Sunday,  July  20,  McMahon  appealed  to  other  settlers  for  help.  It  was 
decided  to  lay  the  matter  before  Ephraim  Quinby,  whose  counsel  was 
held  in  high  esteem.  Quinby  advised  a  meeting  with  the  Indians,  and 
a  party  consisting  of  Quinby,  McMahon,  Storer,  Henry  Lane,  Jr.,  Joftn 
Lane,  Asa  Lane,  William  Carlton,  William  Fenton,  Charles  Dally,  John 
Bentley,  Jonathan  Church,  Benjamin  Lane  and  others,  including  two 
small  boys,  Thomas  Fenton  and  Peter  Carlton,  started  for  the  Indians' 
camping  ground.  Everyone  in  the  party  was  armed  except  the  boys, 
but  this  was  a  customary  procedure  at  that  day  and  did  not  necessarily 
mean  that  trouble  was  feared. 

Leaving  Warren,  the  party  passed  along  the  winding  trail  to  the 
Salt  Springs  and   reached  the   ravine  below   the  Indian  camp.     Here 


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408       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Captain  Quinby  called  a  halt  and  counseled  the  other  members  to  re- 
main behind  while  he  met  the  Indians.  Quinby  found  the  Indians  rest- 
ing. Captain  George,  one  of  the  red  men,  spoke  English  and,  address- 
ing him,  Quinby  asked  the  cause  of  the  difficulty  with  McMahon. 

"Oh,  Joe  damn  fool, '  Captain  George  is  quoted  as  saying.  "The 
Indians  don't  want  to  hurt  him  or  his  family.  They  (the  white  men) 
drank  up  all  the  Indians'  whisky  and  then  wouldn't  let  the  Indians  have 
any  of  theirs.  They  were  a  little  mad  but  don't  care  any  more  about  it. 
They  (the  McMahons)  can  come  back  and  live  as  long  as  they  like. 
The  Indians  won't  hurt  them." 

Captain  Quinby  felt  satisfied  with  this  promise  and  display  of  good 
feeling  and  turned  to  rejoin  his  companions.  In  the  meantime,  however, 
his  followers  had  moved  up  the  ravine  and  were  ascending  the  plain 
where  the  Indian  camp  was  located. 

There  are  contradictory  versions  of  what  happened  at  this  time. 
According  to  Leonard  Case,  a  thoroughly  creditable  authority,  Quinby 
met  his  comrades  and  had  stopped  to  explain  the  result  of  his  confer- 
ence, when  McMahon  passed  on  toward  the  Indian  camp.  The  remain- 
ing members  of  the  party  strolled  leisurely  toward  the  Indians,  not 
anticipating  an  outbreak.  McMahon,  however,  on  his  arrival  advanced 
on  Captain  George  who  was  lolling  at  the  foot  of  a  tree  and  accosted 
him  with,  "Are  you  for  peace?  Yesterday  you  had  your  men,  now  1 
have  mine.''  Captain  George  sprang  to  his  feet,  grasped  a  tomahawk 
that  was  sticking  in  a  tree  and  was  swinging  it  on  McMahon  when  the 
latter  fired.  Captain  George  fell  and  McMahon  turned  to  his  comrades 
with  the  command  "Shoot,  Shoot."  The  Indians  had  dodged  behind  trees 
and  both  sides  fired,  but  their  guns  missed.  Then  Storer,  seeing  Spotted 
John  aiming  at  him,  trained  his  rifle  on  the  Indian  and  shot.  Storeys 
shot  passed  through  Spotted  John's  hip,  broke  an  Indian  boy's  arm, 
passed  under  the  cord  of  the  neck  of  the  Indian's  little  girl  and  grazed 
his  squaw  who  was  attempting  to  shield  her  children  and  had  gotten  in 
line  of  the  ball. 

According  to  the  version  given  by  McMahon's  descendants  Quinby 
had  left  his  comrades  in  the  ravine  with  instructions  to  Lane  to  follow 
with  the  party  if  lie  (Quinby)  did  not  return  in  a  half  hour.  When 
Quinby  failed  to  return  in  the  allotted  time  Lane  followed  directions. 
McMahon  and  Storer  were  in  the  lead  when  the  white  men  reached  the 
camp  and  Captain  George  seized  his  tomahawk  and  advanced  on 
McMahon,  saying,  "If  you  kill  me,  I  will  lie  here.  If  I  kill  you,  you 
shall  lie  there, '  meaning  that  the  affair  would  be  ended  with  the  death 
of  one  or  the  other  and  that  the  friends  of  neither  would  attempt  to 
seek  redress.     Whereupon  McMahon   fired  in  self-defense. 

Thereafter  the  two  versions  of  the  clash  agree.  The  Indians  fled  in 
haste  without  further  attempts  to  fire  while  the  white  men  hastened  to 
Warren.  Spotted  John's  widow  is  said  to  have  taken  her  wounded 
children  in  her  arms  and  hurried  to  the  home  of  Col.  James  Hillman 
at  Youngstown. 

Back  in  Warren  the  white  men  censured  McMahon  for  his  act  and 
p'aced  him  under  arrest,  hurrying  him  to  Fort  Macintosh  (Beaver  town) 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       409 

for  safekeeping.  The  arrest  of  Storer  was  also  discussed,  but  hearing 
of  this  Storer  disappeared  and  the  following  day  Mrs.  Storer  with  her 
children  started  for  their  former  home  in  Washington  County.  Storer 
returned  several  months  later,  when  feeling  over  the  affair  had  sub- 
sided, and  it  might  be  said  that  at  no  time  was  there  any  such  resent- 
ment against  him  as  was  expressed  against  McMahon. 

The  report  of  the  tragedy  traveled  rapidly  down  the  Mahoning  Val- 
ley and  before  many  hours  John  Young  and  Col.  James  Hillman,  the 
veteran  Indian  trader,  reached  Warren  from  Youngstown.  It  was  be- 
lieved best  to  placate  the  Indians  and  Hillman  was  selected  to  find  them 
and  bring  them  back,  as  he  possessed  great  influence  among  the  Red  Men 
and  was  thoroughly  trusted  by  them.  Hillman  started  Monday  evening, 
and  on  Wednesday  overtook  the  Indians.  His  pleas  and  arguments  were 
only  partly  successful,  the  Indians  agreeing  to  return  only  after  they 
had  journeyed  to  Sandusky  and  held  a  council  with  their  chiefs,  promis- 
ing to  send  a  delegation  within  fourteen  days  bearing  their  answer. 

This  news,  brought  back  by  Hillman,  was  disquieting,  and  the  set- 
tlers from  Warren  and  the  surrounding  territory  entrenched  themselves 
in  Captain  Quinby's  cabin,  opening  port  holes  through  the  logs  and 
keeping  guard  day  and  night.  This  vigil  was  maintained  for  a  week,  but 
on  Wednesday,  July  30th,  ten  Indians  returned  and  met  with  the  white 
men  at  Youngstown.  The  Indians  at  first  demanded  that  McMahon  be 
turned  over  to  them  to  be  tried  by  tribal  laws,  but  when  this  demand 
was  refused  agreed  to  a  trial  by  white  man's  court. 

Meanwhile  the  announcement  of  the  creation  of  Trumbull  County 
had  been  made  and  at  the  first  term  of  court,  on  August  25,  1800, 
McMahon  and  Storer  were  indicted  for  murder.  McMahon  was  brought 
back  from  Fort  Macintosh  under  guard  and  placed  on  trial  at  Warren 
on  Thursday,  September  18th,  with  George  Tod  as  prosecutor  and  Steel 
Sample  of  Pittsburg,  John  S.  Edwards  and  Benjamin  Tappan  as  counsel 
for  McMahon.  The  prisoner  was  acquitted,  largely  on  the  evidence  of 
one  witness  who  swore  that  McMahon  had  retreated  a  step  before  firing. 
The  Indians  kept  their  pledge  to  accept  the  verdict  and  the  affair  was 
closed. 

The  story  of  the  assembling  of  the  first  court  of  Trumbull  County 
has  been  fully  told  in  Chapter  V  of  this  volume,  dealing  with  the  origin 
and  settlement  of  the  Western  Reserve.  The  civil  township  of  Warren 
laid  out  on  this  occasion  embraced  all  the  present  townships  of  Warren, 
Lordstown,  Weathersfield,  Howland,  Braceville,  Bazetta,  Champion  and 
Southington,  in  Trumbull  County ;  Berlin  and  Milton  in  Mahoning  Coun- 
ty; Nelson,  Windham,  Paris,  Palmyra  and  Deerfield  in  Portage  County. 
Jonathan  Church  was  named  constable  for  this  great  district.  A  commit- 
tee consisting  of  Turhand  Kirtland,  John  Kinsman,  Calvin  Austin  and 
Amos  Spafford  was  named  to  lay  out  boundaries  for  a  county  jail,  and 
reported  that 

"The  boundaries  of  the  liberties  of  the  prison  in  this  county  shall  begin 
at  a  soft  maple  tree  marked,  standing  about  ten  rods  northeast  of  the 
prison-house;  thence  running  north  forty-four  degrees  west  twenty  rods 
to  an  elm  tree,  marked ;  thence  south  four  degrees  east  twenty-six  rods  to 


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410       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

a  large  white  oak  tree,  marked ;  thence  east  twenty  rods  to  a  stake  standing 
on  the  west  side  of  the  road ;  thence  south  by  said  road  twelve  rods  to  a 
soft  maple  tree ;  thence  east  to  a  white  oak  sapling  standing  on  the  east 
side  of  the  road ;  thence  north  on  the  east  side  of  the  road  sixty-six  rods 
to  a  stake ;  thence,  west  to  a  white  oak  sapling  standing  on  the  west  side 
of  the  road  near  the  northeast  corner  of  James  Fenton's  house;  from 
thence  to  the  place  of  beginning." 

The  boundaries  covered  much  of  the  ground  between  Main  Street  and 
Park  Avenue,  as  now  constituted,  extending  from  just  below  Market 
Street  to  William  Street  and  embracing  land  about  the  jail  house.  The 
third  room  in  the  cabin;  built  by  Ephraim  Quinby  was  the  actual  "jail 
house."  Daniel  Sheehy  of  Youngstown,  arrested  for  threatening  the 
life  of  John  Young,  was  the  only  prisoner  ever  confined  therein  and  he 
was  permitted  the  full  liberty  of  the  jail  yard  above  described  and  was 
accepted  as  a  visitor  rather  than  a  prisoner. 

The  year  1800  was  a  stirring  one  otherwise.  On  July  4th  Independ- 
ence Day  was  fittingly  celebrated  with  a  great  assemblage  at  Captain 
Quinby's.  Music  was  furnished  by  a  fife  and  drum  with  Elam  Blair 
and  Eli  Blair  as  the  musicians,  the  fife  being  fashioned  from  an  elder 
while  a  home-made  drum  was  constructed,  from  a  tree  trunk  on  which  a 
fawn's  hide  was  stretched,  a  pair  of  plow  lines  being  requisitioned  for 
drum  cords.  A  parade  was  organized  with  John  Leavitt  as  militia 
captain,  salutes  were  fired  and  there  was  feasting,  drinking,  songs  and 
speech-making.  Visitors  came  from  Youngstown  and  from  even  the 
snores  of  Lake  Erie.  These  Independence  Day  celebrations  became  an- 
nual affairs  in  Warren  from  that  day  forward.  Writing  to  his  old  home 
in  Connecticut  in  July,  1803,  John  S.  Edwards  said  of  the  celebration 
of  that  year: 

"I  was  at  Warren  on  the  4th  of  July  where  I  attended  a  ball.  You 
may  judge  of  my  surprise  at  meeting  a  very  considerable  company,  all 
of  whom  were  dressed  with  neatness  and  in  fashion,  some  of  them  ele- 
gantly. The  ladies  generally  dressed  well.  Some  of  them  would  have 
been  admired  for  their  ease  and  grace  in  a  New  Haven  ball  room.  It 
was  held  on  the  same  spot  where  four  years  since  there  was  scarcely 
the  trace  of  a  human  hand  or  anywhere  within  fifteen  miles  of  it.  We 
improved  well  the  occasion ;  began  at  two  in  the  afternoon  of  Monday, 
and  left  the  room  a  little  before  sunrise  in  Tuesday  morning.  We 
dance  but  seldom,  which  is  our  apology." 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  dances  did  not  need  to  be  fre- 
quent when  continued  for  more  than  twelve  hours  without  cessation. 

In  June,  1800,  Rev.  Henry  Speers,  a  visiting  Baptist  minister,  held 
the  first  religious  ceremonies  at  Warren.  No  attempt  was  made  at  this 
time  to  organize  a  religious  society,  almost  three  years  elapsing  before 
this  was  brought  about. 

On  December  10,  1800,  Captain  Quinby  caused  a  survey  to  be  made 
of  his  property  lying  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  and  laid  out  the  town, 
Caleb  Palmer  being  the  surveyor.  Quinby,  in  keeping  with  New  Eng- 
land custom,  provided  for  a  public  square  for  the  town,  donating  the 
land  for  this  purpose.     The  streets  were  merely  numbered,  Main  Street 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       411 

being  indicated  as  No.  i,  High  Street  as  No.  2,  Market  Street  as  No.  3, 
South  Street  as  No.  4  and  Park  Avenue  as  No.  5. 

The  year  1801  opened  auspiciously,  although  Warren  was  yet  but 
a  frontier  village,  much  of  the  ground  being  heavily  timbered  and 
swampy.  New  settlers  came  in  with  fair  rapidity,  among  those  who 
arrived  in  this  and  preceding  years,  or  who  purchased  lands  at  Warren, 
being  James  Scott,  Samuel  Daniels,  William  Hall,  Enoch  Leavitt,  Thomas 
Prior,  Eleazor  Sheldon.  On  October  30th  of  the  year  1801  the  first 
mail  was  delivered  at  Warren  by  government  mail  route,  the  route  from 
Pittsburgh  to  Warren  having  been  established  that  year  on  application  of 
Gen.  Elijah  Wadsworth  of  Canfield.  Simon  Perkins  was  the  first  post- 
master. Originally  the  mail  was  merely  brought  to  the  village  and  dis- 
tributed without  resort  to  the  formality  of  a  postoflfice.  In  that  year,  too, 
the  first  merchant  appeared  in  the  person  of  James  E.  Caldwell,  who  re- 
tailed from  a  canoe,  and  Dr.  John  W.  Seeley,  located  in  Howland  Town- 
ship, but  began  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Warren.  Later  in  the  year 
George  Lovelace  opened  a  small  store  and  a  little  later  Robert  Erwin 
blossomed,  forth  as  a  merchant. 

At  its  session  in  February,  1802,  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  of 
Trumbull  County  ordered  that  the  civil  townships  created  in  1800  effect 
township  organizations,  and  in  compliance  with  this  instruction  the  civil 
township  of  Warren  (embracing  all  the  territory  described  before)  was 
formally  organized  on  April  6,  1802,  when  a  "town*  election  was  held 
at  the  home  of  Capt.  Ephraim  Quinby,  with  John  Leavitt  as  chairman 
and  Quinby  as  clerk.  The  settlement,  in  the  meanwhile,  continued  to 
grow  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  among  those  coming  to  Warren  to  locate 
being  George  Parsons,  Sr.,  Samuel  Chesney,  Jacob  Harsh,  members  of 
the  Fusselman  family,  Zebina  Weatherby  and  John  Eckman,  in  1803,  and 
Richard  Iddings,  of  Berks  County/  Pennsylvania,  Francis  Freeman  and 
James  L.  Van  Gorder,  miller,  hotel  keeper  and  prominent  citizen,  in  1805. 
Freeman  had  visited  Warren  two  years  before  and  had  decided  then  on 
settlement  there. 

In  1803,  is  found  the  record  of  the  first  school  in  Warren,  this  being 
a  log  building  on  the  river  bank  west  of  the  park.  It  is  probable  this 
school  was  in  existence  at  least  a  year  earlier.  In  this  year  too  the  first 
religious  body  in  the  village  was;  organized.  Although  the  Presbyterian 
Church  was  the  pioneer  body  in  most  Western  Reserve  townships,  in 
Warren  the  Baptists  were  the  first  in  the  field.  Rev.  Henry  Speers,  as 
mentioned  before,  preached  here  on  June  8,  1800,  and  a  year  or  two  later 
Rev.  Thomas  Jones,  also  a*  Baptist  minister,  came  from  his  charge  on 
the  Shenango  River  and  began  holding  services.  On  September  3,  1803, 
the  present  First  Baptist  Church  was  organized,,  under  the  name  of  the 
"Concord  Baptist  Church."  It  was  almost  twenty  years  later  before  this 
congregation  had  a  meeting  housed  of"  its  own,  but  services  were  con- 
tinued without  intermission,  led  at  times  by  lay  members,  although  Rev- 
erend Jones  continued  to  minister  at  intervals  until  1810.  In  1803  a^s0 
the  first  hotel,  or  regulation  "tavern/'  was  opened.  At  the  first  session 
of  the  Trumbull  County  court,  in  August,  1800,  Ephraim  Quinby  had 
been  recommended  to  Governor  St.  Clair  as  a  "fit  person  to  keep  a  publick 


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412        YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

house  of  entertainment  in  the  town  of  Warren/1  and  Captain  Quinby  was 
granted  a  tavern  license.  In  1801  James  Scott  also  was  granted  a  license 
to  keep  a  public  house,  but  neither  Quinby  nor  Scott  attempted  a  regular 
hotel  business.  In  1803  John  Leavitt  received  a  license  and  opened  a 
pioneer  hotel,  this  being  located  at  his  place  of  residence,  now  the  site  of 
the  Second  National  Bank  Building  at  Main  and  Market  streets.  For 
many  years  this  was  the  principal  stopping  place  in  the  village  and  was 
considered  a  rather  pretentious  institution,  attracting  much  attention 
from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  first  building  to  boast  a  brick  chimney. 
Leavitt  later  sold  to  Jesse  Holliday  and  the  hotel  had  many  subsequent 
owners. 

Meanwhile  Warren  had  been  four  years  the  county  seat  of  the  great 
County  of  Trumbull,  but  it  had  not  held  this  honor  by  grace  of  any  of 


One  of  the  Famous  Old  Hotels  at  Warren 


its  rival  towns.  In  Youngstown  especially  the  loss  of  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment rankled.  There  was  a  feeling  that  Youngstown  had  not  been  given 
a  fair  hearing  before  the  award  was  made.  It  is  not  likely  that  con- 
tinued negotiations  would  have  had  any  other  result,  however,  since 
Warren  had  an  influence  that  Youngstown  could  not  command,  Y'oungs- 
town  Township  having  been  purchased  outright  by  non-members  of  the 
Connecticut  Land  Company  while  the  draft  that  included  Wrarren  had 
fallen  to  some  of  the  leading  members  of  that  great  partnership.  Judge 
Calvin  Pease  was  a  most  influential  man  on  the  Reserve  in  1800  and,, 
although  then  a  resident  of  Yroungstown,  was  interested  in  Wrarren  lands. 
He  was  also  a  brother-in-law  to  Gideon  Granger,  postmaster-general  of 
the  United  States  under  a  succeeding  administration,  influential  in  na- 
tional politics  and  a  reputed  holder  of  lands  that  would  profit  by  the 
location  of  the  county  seat  at  Warren.  Warren  men,  too,  had  anticipated 
the  creation  of  the  new  county  and  had  moved  to  get  the  county  seat 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       413 

probably  before  Youngstown  people  were  thoroughly  alive  to  the  situa- 
tion. 

The  first  county  court  had  appointed  not  only  a  committee  on  a 
temporary  jail  location  but  had  named  David  Abbott,  Samuel  Woodruff, 
Uriel  Holmes,  Jr.,  and  Simon  Perkins  a  committee  to  draft  a  plan  for 
a  permanent  county  building.  This  committee  made  its  report  to  the  court 
on  May  2j,  1801,  having  drafted  most  exacting  specification  for  the  kind 
of  building  wanted — one  of  hewn  timbers,  to  consist  of  two  rooms  on  the 
ground  floor  and  a  court  room  on  the  second  floor.  In  1802  construction 
of  this  building  was  begun,  and  the  work  was  almost  completed  when  the 
structure  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  February  28,  1804.  A  Youngstown 
prisoner  was  suspected  of  starting  the  conflagration. 

With  the  burning  of  the  county  building  the  county  seat  war  broke 
out  afresh.  A  clamor  for  removal  of  the  seat  of  justice  from  Warren 
was  begun  and  several  "towns '  put  in  claims,  Youngstown  being  the 
most  persistent. 

The  Youngstown  proposal  is  said  to  have  been  for  the  creation  of 
three  counties  out  of  Trumbull  territory,  Youngstown  to  be  the  county 
seat  of  the  south  county.  Thereafter,  for  five  years  or  more,  every  elec- 
tion was  waged  on  this  issue  and  the  quarrel  became  intensely  bitter.  In 
1805  Youngstown's  claim  was  strengthened  by  the  creation  of  Geauga 
County.  Later  Ashtabula  County  was  ordered  organized,  but  Warren 
won  a  temporary  advantage  by  having  some  of  the  southerly  townships 
of  Ashtabula  County  returned  to  Trumbull,  making  Warren  a  more 
central  point  than  Youngstown. 

In  1809  the  quarrel  reached  its  height.  In  the  session  of  1808-09 
Trumbull  County  was  represented  in  the  Lower  House  of  the  State  Legis- 
lature by  Richard  J.  Elliott  and  Robert  Hughes,  Youngstown  partisans. 
At  the  election  in  October,  1809,  they  were  again  advanced  for  election, 
while  Warren  concentrated  its  strength  on  Thomas  G.  Jones  of  Brook- 
field.  Elliott  and  Hughes  were  re-elected  and  county  commissioners  were 
named  who  were  favorable  to  Youngstown,  but  Warren  contested 
Hughes'  seat  on  Jones'  behalf,  asserting  that  aliens  had  voted  at  the  elec- 
tion, and  without  their  votes  Jones  would  have  won.  A  traveling  court, 
consisting  of  Leonard  Case  of  Warren  and  William  Chidester  of  Can- 
field,  was  named  to  take  testimony  in  this  contest.  This  court  sat  in 
various  townships,  amid  stormy  scenes  on  the  part  of  Youngstown  sym- 
pathizers. The  contest  was  carried  to  the  Legislature  but  the  seat  was 
awarded  to  Hughes. 

In  spite  of  this  advantage  Youngstown  lost  its  fight.  Unrepresented 
officially,  Warren  sent  unofficial  representatives,  or  "lobbyists,"  to  Colum- 
bus and  outwitted  the  Youngstown  partisans.  It  was  sixty-five  years 
later  before  Youngstown  gained  the  county  seat  honor,  and  while  it  kept 
the  war  smoldering  all  these  years  the  failure  of  1809-10  ended  the  con- 
test at  that  time. 

There  were  several  reasons  for  this.  By  1810  the  people  of  Trumbull 
County,  like  all  Americans,  were  beginning  to  foresee  a  second  war  with 
Great  Britain,  a  more  grave  issue  than  the  location  of  a  county  seat,  and 
there  was  a  movement  for  union,  rather  than  disunion,  of  forces.     Many 


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414       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Youngstown  sympathizers  had  also  become  weary  of  the  continued  strife. 
Although  a  Youngstown  man,  Judge  George  Tod,  was  one  of  these. 
Aaron  Collar  of  Canfield  was  another.  In  the  election  of  1810  Warren 
threw  its  strength  to  Tod  for  the  Senate  and  to  Collar  and  Thomas  G. 
Jones  for  membership  in  the  Lower  House  and  they  were  elected. 

The  county  seat  war,  however,  had  succeeded  in  preventing  the  con- 
struction of  county  buildings  at  Warren  during  the  years  that  it  raged, 
and  in  fact  for  several  additional  years.  Court  had  first  been  held  in  the 
original  meeting  place  between  two  corn  cribs,  next  in  a  log  house  built 
about  1805  by  James  Scott  at  Mahoning  Avenue  and  High  Street,  and 
later  in  a  building  erected  by  William  Cotgreave. 

The  Cotgreave  building  was  a  three-story  structure.  The  nucleus  of 
this  building  was  a  log  house  built  by  Henry  Harsh  about  18C2.  Cot- 
greave purchased  it  in  1807  and  expanded  this  into  a  three-story  struc- 
ture, the  lower  story  being  of  logs  while  the  upper  floors  were  of  frame, 
with  a  gable  roof.  The  first  floor  was  used  as  a  jail  while  court  was  held 
on  an  upper  floor.  While  used  as  a  county  building  this  structure  also 
did  service  as  a  religious  gathering  place  on  Sundays,  as  a  school  during 
the  week,  as  a  ballroom  and  a  public  meeting  place.  From  its.  ownership 
the  building  received  the  name  of  "Castle  William.'' 

Although  far  from  beautiful  it  was  a  most  notable  structure  in  War- 
ren of  the  early  days.  Its  dances  began  early  in  the  afternoon  and  lasted 
until  sunrise  the  following  morning.  "At  the  west  end  of  the  ballroom," 
says  an  authority  on  Warren  of  more  than  100  years  ago,  "was  a  door 
leading  up  an  attic,  whither  the  gentlemen  sometimes  resorted,  between 
the  giddy  mazes  of  the  contra-dances,  to  take  a  glass  of  whisky,  served 
by  Isaac  Ladd." 

"Castle  William"  also  served  as  a  hotel  at  a  later  date,  coming  into  the 
possession  of  Benjamin  Towne.  Probably  from  the  fact  that  it  had 
used  for  school  and  church  purposes  there  was  a  bell  on  the  roof,  and 
when  James  L.  Van  Gorder  purchased  the  building  in  1828  he  converted 
it  into  a  regular  tavern,  under  the  name  of  the  "Pavilion  Hotel/'  but  left 
the  bell  remain.  The  "Pavilion  Hotel,"  or  old  "Castle  William,"  was 
destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  June  1,  1846. 

By  1810  Warren  led  all  Western  Reserve  villages  in  size  and  im- 
portance. The  population  of  the  village  cannot  well  be  estimated,  since 
it  was  not  enumerated  separately,  but)  Warren  Township  had  875  in- 
habitants to  837  for  Poland  and  773  for  Youngstown.  Cleveland  was 
seventh  with  but  547.  Warren's  population  numbered  men  and  women 
from  scattered  parts  of  the  country.  Among  those  who  came  were  David 
Bell,  about  1807,  William  Cotgreave,  in  1806  or  1807,  James  Quigley,  in 
1809  and  Adamson  Bentley  and  Justus  Smith  in  1810,  to  mention  but  a 
few  of  the  new  settlers  in  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Assured  definitely  of  the  county  seat,  Warren  also  began  to  take 
precedence  in  other  respects.  In  the  winter  of  1811-12  the  Western  Re- 
serve Bank,  the  first  financial  institution  of  this  character  on  the  Western 
Reserve,  was  incorporated  with  $100,000  capital  by  Simon  Perkins,  Tur- 
hand  Kirtland,  Robert  D.  Parkman,  George  Tod,  John  Ford,  C.  S.  My- 
gatt,  Calvin  Austin,  William  Rayen  and  John  Kinsman.     The  banking 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       415 

company  was  granted  a  charter  and  began  business  in  a  house  that  was 
at  one  time  used  as  a  store  room  by  Robert  Erwin.  On  June  9,  1812, 
on  the  very  eve  of  war,  the  "Trump  of  Fame,"  the  first  newspaper 
published  on  the  Western  Reserve,  was  launched  at  Warren  by  Thomas 
D.  Webb.  Today,  after  almost  no  years,  this  pioneer  of  the  press  in 
Northern  Ohio  is  the  Warren  Chronicle,  a  flourishing  daily  in  a  busy 
twentieth  century  city. 

It  was  just  when  Warren  was  rounding  into  a  period  of  prosperity 
that  the  War  of  181 2  burst  on  the  country.    That  it  was  inevitable  had 


'Castle  William/ 


One  of  the  Most  Celebrated  Buildings  of  the 
Olden  Time  in  Warren 


This  structure  was  used  as  a  courthouse,  for  religious  services,  for 
school  purposes,  as  a  stage  station,  a  store  and  a  ballroom.  Its  chief  fame 
was  acquired  as  a  tavern.  In  later  days  this  building  was  known  as 
"Pavilion  Hotel.''    It  was  destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  June  1,  1846. 

been  foreseen  for  some  time,  nor  was  Ohio  unprepared.  At  the  legisla- 
tive session  of  1803-04  laws  had  been  passed  providing  for  an  effective 
state  militia  and  in  the  division  of  the  state  into  four  districts,  Trumbull, 
Columbiana  and  Jefferson  counties  had  been  placed  in  the  fourth  division 
under  Maj.  Gen.  Elijah  Wadsworth  of  Canfield.  The  fourth  division 
was  further  subdivided  into  two  brigades,  the  first  brigade  to  include 
Trumbull  County.  The  first  general  order  creating  this  organization  was 
issued  by  General  Wadsworth  on  April  6,  1804.  The  first  brigade  was 
made  up  of  two  regiments.  Subsequently  the  fourth  division  was  sub- 
divided into  four  brigades  instead  of  two,  Brig.-Gen.  Simon  Perkins  be- 


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416       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ing  placed  in  charge  of  the  third  brigade,  including  Trumbull  and  Ashta- 
bula counties.  In  1812  General  Perkins*  brigade  numbered  three  regi- 
ments, commanded  by  Lieut.-Cols.  William  Rayen  of  Youngstown,  John 
S.  Edwards  of  Warren  and  Richard  Hayes  of  Hartford.  Actually  these 
commanding  officers  were  regimental  colonels,  although  this  title  did  not 
exist  at  that  time.  George  Tod  was  brigade  major  and  inspector  of  the 
Third  Brigade. 

On  April  27,  1812,  almost  two  months  before  the  declaration  of  war, 
Governor  Return  J.  Meigs  of  Ohio  had  issued  an  order  calling  for  one 
company  from  each  brigade  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  war  department 
at  Washington  that  one  full  regiment  be  furnished  by  Ohio  for  service  in 
the  United  States  regular  army,  and  on  the  following  day  this  order  was 
transmitted  to  his  lieutenant  colonels  by  General  Perkins.  This,  in  itself, 
was  significant  of  the  approach  of  war,  and  on  June  12,  1812,  General 
Perkins  announced  that  the  quota  of  the  Third  Brigade  had  been  filled. 

News  of  the  declaration  of  war  came  to  Warren  through  the  medium 
of  the  Trump  of  Fame.  A  letter  from  Washington  to  a  Warren  man  and 
published  in  the  newspaper  announced  that: 

"I  embrace  the  first  opportunity  to  inform  you  that  war  has  been 
declared,  and  the  injunction  of  secrecy  taken  off.  This  measure  passed 
in  the  house  of  representatives  by  a  majority  of  30  and  in  the  Senate  19 
to  13.  This  is  an  unqualified,  unconditional  war,  by  land  and  sea,  against 
the  United  Kingdoms  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland." 

In  August,  1812,  Northern  Ohio  was  stunned  by  news  of  the  sur- 
render of  General  Hull  at  Detroit,  a  move  that  exposed  the  entire  Ohio 
frontier  to  danger  of  invasion  by  the  British  and  their  Indian  allies.  The 
news  reached  General  Wadsworth  at  Canfield  on  August  22d,  and  the 
general's  messengers  were  almost  immediately  at  work  summoning  men 
to  arms.  This  movement  was  expedited  by  the  rumor  that  British  and 
Indian  invaders  were  approaching  Cleveland  by  boat.  This  fear  was 
soon  dispelled,  but  the  feeling  that  there  might  actually  be  such  an  in- 
vasion remained.  By  the  latter  part  of  August,  General  Wadsworth  had 
assembled  all  four  brigades  in  his  division  at  Cleveland  and  by  September 
1,  1812,  had  sent  forth  a  body  of  troops  under  General  Perkins  to  Huron, 
where  a  blockhouse,  known  as  Camp  Avery,  had  been  erected.  General 
Perkins  was  given  command  here  of  the  400  men.  The  number  of  ef- 
fectives was  reduced  by  disease,  due  to  the  swampy  nature  of  the  ground 
on  which  the  camp  was  located,  but  on  September  29th  a  detachment  met 
and  defeated  a  body  of  Indians  in  the  Battle  of  the  Peninsula.  The  news 
of  this  engagement  reached  General  Wadsworth  a  few  days  later  in  a 
message  from  General  Perkins,  reading: 

"I  arrived  at  camp  last  evening  and  found  that  the  engagement  on 
the  peninsula  proved  less  unfortunate  than  we  at  first  apprehended.  Our 
loss  is  six  killed  and  ten  wounded.  The  wounded  are  very  slight  and 
none  I  think  mortal. 

'The  names  of  the  killed  are  James  S.  Bills,  Simon  Blackman,  Daniel 
Mingus,  Abraham  Simon,  Ramsdale,  Mason.  Wounded  are  Samuel 
Mann.  Moses  Eldridge,  Jacob  French,  Samuel  B.  Tanner,  John  Carlton, 
John  McMahon,  Elias  Sperry,  James  Jack,  a  Mr.  Lee,  an  inhabitant  of 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       417 

this  neighborhood,  etc.  Mr.  Ramsdale  also  of  this  vicinity.  Knowing  the 
anxiety  of  the  inhabitants  at  the  eastward,  I  detain  the  messenger  no 
longer  than  to  write  the  above. 

"Simon  Perkins. 

"P.  S. — Our  men  fought  well  and  the  Indians  suffered  very  con- 
siderably. 

"Camp  at  Avery,  Huron  County,  October  3,  1812/' 

The  original  enlistment  of  Trumbull  County  troops  expired  in  Febru- 
ary, 1813,  but  many  of  them  remained  in  the  service  until  the  close  of 
the  war.  In  the  fall  of  181 2  the  Trumbull  County  men  were  placed  under 
the  command  of  Gen.  William  Henry  Harrison  and  some  of  them  par- 
ticipated with  him  in  the  Battle  of  the  Thames  in  the  following  year.  In 
the  Trump  of  Fame,  under  date  of  November  11,  1812,  we  find  that: 

"Brigadier-General  Perkins  has  returned  from  a  journey  to  the  head- 
quarters of  General  Harrison.  He  was  accompanied  on  his  return  by 
General  Harrison.  General  Perkins  is  to  take  command  of  1,500  men  and 
proceed  to  join  the  army  under  General  Harrison." 

Brig.-Gen.  Simon  Perkins  was  not  merely  a  military  leader,  however, 
but  one  of  the  great  men  of  the  Western  Reserve.  Born  at  Norwich, 
Connecticut,  on  September  1,  1771,  the  son  of  Captain  Perkins  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  he  located  at  Oswego,  New  York,  in  1795,  and  in 
1798  came  to  the  Western  Reserve  as  a  representative  of  members  of 
the  Connecticut  Land  Company  who  had  just  been  awarded  their  lands. 
He  remained  here  for  the  summer,  and,  although  he  returned  to  Con- 
necticut in  the  fall,  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  succeeding  years  in  Ohio 
and  in  1804  married  and  located  permanently  at  Warren.  In  1807  he 
established  expresses  to  Detroit  on  behalf  of  the  government,  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Western  Reserve  Bank,  military  leader,  member  of 
the  board  of  Canal  Fund  Commissioners  of  Ohio  from  1826  to  1838,  and 
leader  in  public  movements  in  Warren  and  Trumbull  County  for  almost 
half  a  century.  He  died  at  Warren  on  November  19,  1844,  leaving  an 
honored  name  as  a  citizen  and  business  man. 

Unfortunately  there  appears  to  exist  no  complete  list  of  Trumbull 
County  enlistments  in  the  War  of  1812.  That  recruiting  was  carried  on, 
however,  after  the  danger  of  invasion  of  the  Northwest  was  past  is  ap- 
parent from  the  call  issued  through  the  columns  of  the  Trump  of  Fame 
on  August  17,  1813,  reading: 

"Attention 

"Trooper  and  Fellow  Citizens,  the  governor  has  made  a  request  of 
as  many  companies  of  volunteers  as  the  state  of  Ohio  would  furnish  to 
volunteer  their  services  for  the  term  of  35  or  40  days — The  officers  of 
the  Warren  Troop  of  Horse  have  thought  proper  to  call  upon  the  mem- 
bers of  the  troop,  for  to  meet  at  the  house  of  John  Reed,  in  Warren 
on  Saturday  the  21st  inst,  in  complete  uniform,  for  the  purpose  of  volun- 
teering their  services;  and  as  a  number  of  citizens  have  expressed  a 
desire  to  join  with  us  if  the  like  should  take  place,  we  request  every 
Vol.  1—27 


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418       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

patriotic  citizen,  who  should  be  willing  for  to  render  their  assistance  in 
expelling  from  our  frontiers  the  savage  enemy  and  their  allies,  for  to 
meet  with  us  on  that  day,  so  that  we  may  know  whether  we  may  have  a 
sufficient  number  for  to  make  a  report  to  his  excellency. 

"James  Quigley. 
"Warren,  Aug.  10,   1813." 

Just  one  month  later,  on  September  10,  1813,  Commodore  Oliver 
Hazard  Perry  won  the  great  Battle  of  Lake  Erie  that  safeguarded  the 
Ohio  frontier  from  invasion.  This  and  General  Harrison's  victory  at  the 
Thames  broke  the  power  of  the  British  and  the  Indians  in  the  Northwest. 

Even  before  the  close  of  the  war  Warren  returned  to  the  arts  of 
peace.  The  chief  necessity  at  this  time  was  county  buildings.  A  series 
of  circumstances — fire,  the  county  seat  quarrel  and  the  war — had  made 
construction  of  these  buildings  impossible  for  a  dozen  years  or  more,  but 
with  the  strife  at  home  ended  and  success  for  American  arms  in  the 
war  foreseen,  contracts  were  let  for  a  courthouse  and  jail  building. 

The  courthouse,  erected  by  James  Scott  in  1815-16,  was  a  square- 
looking  frame  building  that  had  to  suffice  for  more  than  thirty-five  years, 
or  until  long  after  it  had  passed  its  stage  of  usefulness.  The  jail  was  a 
log  structure  that  was  replaced  by  a  brick  jail,  built  by  Seth  Thompson 
in  1823-24. 

The  courthouse  stood  on  the  location  of  the  present  county  building, 
or  on  the  public  square  that  had  been  provided  when  the  town  survey 
was  made  by  Captain  Quinby  in  1800.  The  jail  was  immediately  back  of 
it.  With  a  peculiar  shortsightedness,  the  trees  that  had  covered  this  spot 
had  been  chopped  down  after  the  settlement  of  the  village,  and  what 
should  have  been  a  beauty  spot  was  a  place  of  stumps,  mud  holes  and 
rough  knolls.  About  1820  public  spirited  residents  under  the  leadership 
of  Simon  Perkins,  Jr.,  set  about  to  correct  this  blunder  by  grading  the 
land  and  setting  out  trees,  making  the  square  eventually  the  park  that  it 
was  intended  to  be.  l 

A  map  of  Warren  as  it  appeared  about  this  time,  or  in  1816,  drawn 
many  years  later  from  old  records  by  Louis  M.  Iddings,  gives  an  idea  of 
Warren  at  this  period  and  shows  the  location  of  fifty-two  buildings.  The 
old  courthouse  was  then  nearing  completion  and  the  foundation  was  be- 
ing laid  for  the  Western  Reserve  Bank  Building,  on  the  site  of  the  home 
of  its  successor  of  today,  the  Union  Savings  and  Trust  Company.  The 
map  shows  only  the  public  square  and  the  five  streets  provided  in  Captain 
Quinby's-^urvey  of  1800.  Mahoning  Avenue  is  shown  as  a  country  road, 
being  considered  apparently  an  extension  of  Main  Street. 

Warren  experienced  a  gradual  growth  in  population  in  the  next  fifteen 
years.  In  1817-18  and  for  a  few  years  thereafter  there  was  a  wave  of 
emigration  from  New  England  to  the  Western  Reserve,  induced  by  un- 
favorable crops  seasons  in  the  east,  and,  in  common  with  other  settle- 
ments, Warren  profited  by  this.  In  the  decade  between  1830  and  1840, 
however,  the  growth  was  rapid,  this  increase  being  due  primarily  to  the 
construction  of  the  canal  although  there  were  other  contributing  causes. 

The  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  or  "Cross  Cut, '  canal,  so  called  because 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       419 

it  served  as  a  cross-state  connection  between  the  Beaver  River  and  the 
Lake  Erie-Ohio  River  Canal,  was  first  discussed  as  early  as  1817..  The 
first  actual  steps  toward  making  the  canal  a  reality,  however,  were  taken 
on  May  1,  1822,  when  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  home  of  Captain  Bos- 
worth  in  Warren,  when  General  Simon  Perkins  presided  as  chairman, 
with  Thomas  D.  Webb  as  secretary.  A  committee  was  named  at  this 
time  "to  explore  the  sources  of  the  Grand  and  Mahoning  rivers,  thence 


Map  of  Warren  in  1816 


to  Lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio  River  and  report  to  the  chairman  of  the 
meeting  the  practicability  and  probable  expense  of  connecting  the  lake 
and  river  by  means  of  a  canal."  It  was  two  years  later,  on  August  13, 
1824,  that  federal  engineers  arrived  at  Warren  preparatory  to  making  a 
survey  of  possible  canal  routes.  The  engineers  made  surveys  in  the 
Mahoning,  Cuyahoga  and  Grand  River  valleys  and  reported  to  Congress, 
and  at  a  meeting  at  the  courthouse  in  Warren,  on  December  21,  1824, 
Gen.   Simon  Perkins,   Francis   Freeman  and   Simon  Perkins  were  ap- 


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420       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

pointed  a  committee  to  draft  a  memorial  and  present  the  same  to  the 
Ohio  Legislature  setting  forth  the  practicability  of  a  connecting  canal  from 
the  Beaver  River  at  its  junction  with  the  Ohio  to  Lake  Erie, 

February  7,  1825  the  Legislature  passed  the  canal  bill,  constituting 
a  commission  of  seven  men  empowered  to  employ  engineers  and  to  begin 
the  construction  of  the  canal.  The  usual  protests,  of  course,  were  raised 
against  this  improvement.  A  public  remonstrance  meeting  was  held  at 
Warren  on  March  7,  1825,  when  the  canal  bill  was  condemned,  resolutions 
being  adopted  declaring  that  this  legislation  was  premature,  "as  no  op- 
portunity has  been  given  citizens  to  reflect  upon  the  expense  that  the 
work  would  increase  taxes  four  fold."  A  committee  was  named  to  give 
the  objections  publicity  "in  the  Western  Reserve  Chronicle  and  in  at  least 
one  paper  published  in  the  city  of  New  York."  The  latter  step  was 
designed  to  make  New  York  contractors  dubious  of  the  enterprise. 

The  work  dragged,  however,  not  because  of  the  protests  made  against 
it  but  because  of  adverse  business  conditions.  The  route  decided  upon  by 
this  time  provided  for  a  waterway  connecting  with  the  Lake  Erie-©hio 
River  canal  at  Akron,  and  with  the  business  revival  of  1838  work  was 
begun  and  pushed  rapidly  to  completion.  By  the  following  spring  the 
work  was  completed  to  the  Trumbull  County  capital  and  on  May  23, 
1839,  as  the  Western  Reserve  Chronicle  puts  it,  "our  citizens  were  greeted 
with  the  arrival  of  a  boat  from  Beaver,'  the  boat  being  the  packet  On- 
tario, Captain  Bronson. 

It  was  a  gala  day  for  Warren,  this  occasion  when  it  became  a  port. 
The  packet  was  crowded  with  visitors  from  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  atnd 
carried  four  bands.  On  arrival  the  Warren  band  added  its  music  and 
a  procession  formed  and  marched  to  Townes'  Hotel  where  an  appropriate 
address  of  welcome  was  made  by  Mayor  John  Crowell,  the  response  being 
given  by  B.  B.  Chamberlain  of  Brighton,  Pennsylvania.  The  remainder 
of  the  day  was  given  over  to  hilarity,  terminating  with  a  banquet  at  4 
P.  M.,  with  Gen.  J.  W.  Seeley  as  toastmaster,  when  toasts  were  liberally 
drunk  and  oratory  flowed. 

The  canal  was  completed  to  Akron  in  the  fall  of  1839  and  by  1840 
was  in  thorough  working  order.  Its  life  was  comparatively  brief,  for 
fifteen  years  later  the  railroad  had  come,  but  with  the  opening  of  the  coal 
mines  and  the  growth  of  the  iron  industry  it  accomplished  a  noble  work 
in  the  span  of  life  allotted  to  it. 

Warren,  however,  had  anticipated  the  business  growth  that  was  cer- 
tain to  follow  the  opening  of  the  canal.  Early  in  1834  a  petition  was 
presented  to  the  legislature  asking  that  the  municipality  be  incorporated, 
and  on  March  3,  1834,  a  village  charter  was  granted,  the  municipality 
being  a  comparatively  tiny  one  with  an  area  of  approximately  one-half  a 
square  mile.  The  first  election  was  held  on  April  5,  1834,  when  George 
Parsons  was  elected  mayor.  Made  a  full-fledged  "town,"  Warren  began 
to  take  on  municipal  airs.  The  first  street  grades  were  established.  At 
the  above  election  George  Mygatt  was  named  marshal,  and  Warren  thus 
had  a  police  department  independent  of  the  township  constables.  Two 
years  later  steps  were  taken  to  organize  a  fire  department,  a  meeting  for 
this  purpose  being  called  by  the  village  council  on  December  31,   1836. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       421 

At  this  gathering  a  volunteer  company  of  more  than  thirty  men  was 
formed. 

By  1840  Warren  had  attained  a  population  of  1,066,  had  become  a 
business  center  and  was  looking  ahead  to  satisfactory  growth.  With 
other  improvements  being  made,  the  need  of  new  county  buildings  be- 
came apparent.  The  old  courthouse  had  stood  for  approximately  twenty- 
five  years  and  was  becoming  dilapidated  in  appearance  from  without  and 
unserviceable  within.  It  was  not  a  structure  that  Warren  of  1840  was 
proud  of,  although  the  court  building  and  county  jail  alike  had  served 
their  purpose  well  enough.  Crime  was  not  common — lawlessness  coming 
only  with  the  construction  of  the  cana! — yet  the  jail  had  housed  men  ar- 
raigned for  all  offenses  from  misdemeanors  to  murder,  and  these  law- 
breakers had  heard  their  sentences  pronounced  in  the  old  courthouse. 
The  only  hanging  ever  conducted  in  Trumbull  County  was  during  the 
days  of  these  ancient  structures. 


First  Trumbull  County  Courthouse 

The  sacrifice  of  life  en  this  occasion  was  demanded  of  Ira  West 
Gardner,  who  had  brutal  y  murdered  his  step-daughter,  Maria  Buell,  in 
1832.  On  August  26,  1833,  Gardner  was  convicted  of  first  degree  mur- 
der, and  sentenced  to  die  on  October  4,  of  that  year.  Hanging  was  the 
penalty  for  murder  in  that  day,  and,  as  the  law  provided  that  execu- 
tions should  take  place  at  the  county  seat,  a  gallows  was  erected  in  South 
Street  near  Red  Run,  and  Gardner  paid  the  penalty. 

The  movement  for  new  county  buildings  was  formally  launched  by 
public-spirited  residents  of  Warren.  It  met  with  response  enough  at 
the  county  seat,  but  outside  Warren  it  caused  a  fresh  outbreak  of  the 
county  seat  war  of  more  than  thirty  years  before.  Youngstown  had 
never  forgotten,  nor  had  it  forgiven,  its  defeat.  Other  towns  were  am- 
bitious too  to  become  county  capitals  and  there  was  an  immediate  protest 
against  erecting  any  new  buildings  at  Warren. 

Various  schemes  were  launched  for  county  division,  some  of  which 
provided  for  leaving  Warren  still  a  county  saat  while  others  would 
have  taken  away  this  honor  altogether.  Hope  of  early  authorization  of 
new  county  buildings  was  abandoned  and  Warren   found  itself   forced 


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422       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

to  fight  to  retain  the  honor  it  held.  County  division!  again  became  a 
political  issue,  and  Youngstown,  determined  to  force  division,  succeeded 
in  electing  two  Youngstown  partisans  to  the  lower  house  of  the  State 
Legislature  in  1843.  This  was  accomplished  by  taking  advantage  of  the 
clamor  of  other  towns  for  county  seat  honors  and  by  setting  aside  par- 
tisanship and  uniting  on  Dr.  Henry  Manning,  a  Whig,  and  Asahel  Med- 
bury,  a  Democrat,  for  membership  in  the  Assembly. 

In  spite  of  this  advantage  Youngstown  lost  the  fight  in  the  legislative 
session  of  1843-44.  This  was  due  partly  to  the  fact  that  it  played  a 
lone  hand — disregarding  especially  a  plan  for  the  creation  of  three  coun- 
ties, with  one  county  seat  at  Youngstown,  a  second  at  "Newton  Falls  and 
a  third  at  Greene  or  Gustavus  in  northern  Trumbull  County — and  partly 
to  the  exercise  on  Warren's  part  of  the  same  canny  political  wisdom  that 
had  saved  the  county  seat  many  years  before.  Although  without  assem- 
blymen, Warren  sent  unofficial  "commissioners"  to  Columbus  and  Youngs- 
town's  hopes  were  shattered. 

Warren  had  by  this  time,  however,  begun  to  see  that  division  was 
inevitable  and  when  Canfield  came  forward  with  a  proposal  for  erecting 
a  new  county  out  of  the  ten  southerly  townships  of  Trumbull  County 
and  the  five  northerly  townships  of  Columbiana  County  the  offer  was 
accepted  and  on  February  16,  1846,  Mahoning  County  was  created  with 
the  county  seat  at  Canfield.  Youngstown  had  been  defeated  again  and 
Warren  had  won.  By  division  it  had  lost  its  only  serious  rival  for  county 
seat  honors  and  still  remained  the  county  seat  of  one  of  the  largest  coun- 
ties in  Ohio. 

This  war,  however,  had  the  effect  of  demoralizing  the  movement  for 
new  modern  county  buildings,  and  it  was  not  until  1852  that  the  contract 
for  a  new  courthouse  was  let.  In  1854  tne  building  was  completed.  It 
had  cost  $23,658  and  was  considered  one  of  the  finest  public  buildings 
in  Ohio  at  that  time. 

Meanwhile  Warren's  volunteer  fire  department  had  been  given  its 
first  great  test.  This  came  on  June  1,  1846,  when  the  village  was  visited 
by  a  memorable  conflagration  that  began  near  Main  and  Market  streets 
and  spread  eastward  to  Liberty  Street  (now  Park  Avenue),  following 
south  on  Liberty  Street  until  it  reached  an  open  space.  Twenty-two  build- 
ings were  consumed  by  the  flames  in  the  three  blocks  ravaged.  This 
was  a  comparatively  minor  fire,  however,  compared  with  the  one  that 
visited  Warren  on  April  30,  i860. 

This  blaze  started  in  the  furniture  factory  of  Truesdell  and  Town- 
send,  south  of  the  canal,  about  1  :oo  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  above 
date.  While  the  firemen  responded  quickly  there  was  no  hope  of  saving 
this  factory  as  the  contents  as  well  as  the  building  were  highly  combus- 
tible, but  the  large  warehouse  that  stood  near  and  the  carriage  factory 
of  H.  C.  Belden  were  saved. 

A  strong  south  wind  was  blowing  and  this  carried  sparks  north  of 
the  canal.  Here  the  fire  was  checked  after  two  buildings  had  been  con- 
sumed, but  in  a  few  moments  the  fire  broke  out  in  a  new  quarter.  From 
this  time  on  it  was  a  constant  battle.  The  firemen  fought  not  merely 
fire  but  the  treacherous  wind  and  for  a  time  it  seemed  as  though  War- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       423 

ren  was  doomed  to  complete  destruction.  Virtually  the  whole  village 
turned  out  to  head  off  the  destruction,  even  the  women  assisting  by 
carrying  water,  covering  the  roofs  of  threatened  buildings  with  water- 
soaked  carpets  and  providing  food  for  the  men.  At  5  in  the  afternoon 
the  fire  apparently  was  under  control,  but  at  8  o'clock  a  freshened  wind 
renewed  the  alarm  when  sparks  were  sent  hurtling  in  all  directions.  For- 
tunately the  fire  was  controlled  until  the  wind  subsided,  and  a  rain  that 
came  through  the  night  removed  the  danger,  although  the  firemen  re- 
mained on  watch  for  another  twenty-four  hours.  There  were  fully 
seventy-five  financial  sufferers  from  this  disaster,  most  of  these  being 
business  men,  and  the  loss  was  estimated  at  $300,000. 

This  period  too  saw  the  beginning  of  the  Trumbull  County  fairs  and 
the  era  of  railroads.  An  agricultural  exhibit  had  been  held  at  Youngstown 
as  early  as  1818  or  1819,  but  it  was  1846  before  the  Trumbull  County 
Agricultural  Society  was  organized  to  hold  annual  exhibits.  John  F. 
Beaver  was  chosen  president  of  this  organization  for  the  first  year  and 
the  initial  fair  was  held  in  the  courthouse  park  at  Warren  on  October 
23,  1846.  The  highest  premium  paid  on  this  occasion  for  good  stock 
was  $4,  but  the  fair  was  a  notable  event  just  the  same  and  the  Trumbull 
County  fairs  have  remained  among  the  successful  in  Northern  Ohio 
since  that  day. 

The  proposal  for  a  railroad  to  connect  the  Ohio  River  with  Lake 
Erie  had  been  discussed  as  early  as  1827  and  in  the  '30s  two  railroad 
projects  were  advanced,  work  being  actually  begun  on  the  Ashtabula, 
Warren  and  East  Liverpool  line.  This  plan  was  abandoned,  however, 
with  the  building  of  the  canal  and  another  ten  years  elapsed  before  talk 
of  railroad  construction  was  resumed  in  earnest. 

This  first  successful  railroad  was  largely  a  Warren  project.  On 
February  22,  1848,  a  charter  was  granted  to  the  Cleveland  and  Mahon- 
ing Railroad,  and  at  the  first  meeting  Jacob  Perkins,  Frederick  Kinsman 
and  Charles  Smith  of  Warren,  David  Tod  of  Youngstown,  Reuben 
Hitchcock  of  Painesville  and  Dudley  Baldwin,  of  Cleveland  were  named 
directors.  Contracts  were  awarded  for  the  grading  and  masonry  for 
the  fifty-three  miles,  from  Cleveland  to  Warren,  on  March  3,  1853,  and 
on  May  18,  1853,  similar  contracts  were  let  for  the  additional  fourteen 
miles,  from  Warren  through  Youngstown  to  Crab  Creek.  Work  was 
begun  on  March  16,  1853  at  Kingsbury  Run,  near  the  western  end  of 
the  route,  but  the  work  was  delayed  through  inefficiency  on  the  part  of 
the  contractors  and  through  stringency  in  the  money  market,  so  that  it 
was  1855  before  the  road  was  opened  from  Cleveland  through  Warren 
to  Girard.  About  a  year  later,  on  November  24,  1856,  the  road  was 
opened  to  Youngstown.  This  line  is  now  more  familiarly  known  as 
the  Erie,  although  actually  only  under  lease  by  that  company. 

The  decade  that  began  in  1860-61  is  such  a  notable  one  that  it  can 
scarcely  be  treated  locally.  The  Civil  war  involved  not  merely  a  nation ; 
the  fate  of  free  government  throughout  the  world  might  be  said  to  have 
depended  upon  its  outcome.  Yet  even  in  this  great  drama  Trumbull 
County  deserves  especial  mention. 

Ohio  was  one  of  the  most  staunch  of  Union  states.    It  not  only  sup- 


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424       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ported  the  fight  against  secession  from  the  moment  of  its  inception  but 
was  one  of  the  outstanding  states  throughout  the  entire  four  years  of 
the  conflict.  It  ranked  among  the  highest  in  enlistments,  it  gave  to 
the  country  David  Tod,  one  of  the  great  "war  governors,"  and  David 
Tod  was  a  Mahoning  Valley  man,  born  and  bred. 

Yet  Ohio,  and  every  other  state  that  bordered  on  slave  territory,  had 
its  percentage  of  southern  sympathizers,  and  of  others  who,  while  not 
secessionist  in  sympathy,  opposed  the  use  of  arms  in  holding  the  seced- 
ing states  in  line.  The  Western  Reserve  was  notable  for  its  small  per- 
centage of  these,  and  Trumbull  County  was  among  the  most  loyal  of 
Western  Reserve  subdivisions.  It  was  frankly  abolitionist  long  before 
the  war  and  staunchly  Union  in  1861. 

Meetings  for  defense  followed  in  Warren  and  all  other  places  in 
Trumbull  County  almost  immediately  upon  receipt  of  the  news  that 
Fort  Sumter  had  been  fired  upon.  These  gatherings  were  not  merely 
for  recruiting  purposes  but  to  promote  means  for  the  relief  of  the  fami- 
lies of  those  called  into  the  service.  A  committee  for  this  work  was 
named  at  Warren,  numbering,  among  others,  Henry  B.  Perkins,  chair- 
man; Frederick  T.  Kinsman,  secretary;  Matthew  B.  Tayler,  treasurer; 
Edward  Spear,  Charles  Smith  and  Louis  J.  Iddings. 

By  April  20,  1861,  Company  A  of  Trumbull  County  had  enrolled 
more  than  100  volunteers  for  war  service.  A  month  later  Company  A, 
the  "Trumbull  Riflemen/'  was  ordered  into  service  as  Company  C,  Nine- 
teenth Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  Capt.  N.  A.  Barrett  and  Lieut.  H.  G. 
Stratton  and  entrained  for  Camp  Taylor  at  Cleveland,  the  first  Trumbull 
County  company  ordered  into  service. 

Thereafter  Trumbull  County  men  enrolled  continually  for  four  years. 
The  county  became  notable,  too,  not  merely  for  the  numbers  of  men  that 
it  gave  but  for  the  rank  they  attained.  Four  of  its  soldiers,  Emerson 
Opdyke,  A.  R.  Chaffee,  Jacob  Dolson  Cox  and  Robert  W.  Ratliff  attained 
the  rank  of  general.  Gen.  M.  D.  Leggett  was  also  a  Warren  resident 
until  1857. 

The  first  regiment  to  be  organized  from  this  neighborhood  was  the 
Seventh  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  that  became  the  "Bloody  Seventh"  of 
history.  It  assembled  at  Camp  Taylor,  Cleveland,  on  April  30,  1861,  one 
of  its  companies,  Company  H,  being  from  Warren.  E.  B.  Tyler  of  Ra- 
venna, was  colonel,  William  R.  Creighton  of  Cleveland,  lieutenant  colonel, 
and  John  S.  Casement,  major.  This  regiment  got  into  action  in  West 
Virginia  in  June,  1861,  and  was  mustered  out  on  July  8,  1864. 

The  Nineteenth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  followed  closely  on  the 
Seventh,  being  organized  at  Camp  Taylor  early  in  May,  1861.  Com- 
panies B,  C  and  G  were  from  Trumbull  and  Mahoning  counties.  Sam- 
uel Beatty  was  named  colonel,  Elliott  W.  Hoi  lings  worth,  lieutenant 
colonel,  and  Lewis  P.  Buckley,  major.  At  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia, 
the  Nineteenth  was  organized  with  the  Eighth  and  Tenth  into  a  brigade 
under  Gen.  William  S.  Rosecrans.  The  services  of  the  Nineteenth  were 
mostly  with  the  Western  Army  and  it  was  mustered  out  at  Camp  Chase 
on  November  25,  1865,  after  4l/2  years  of  life. 

The   Twentieth    Ohio   Volunteer    Infantry   was   organized   in   May, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       425 

1861,  with  Col.  Charles  Whittlesey  in  command  and  saw  its  first  severe 
service  at  Fort  Donelson.  It  later  became  scattered,  but  subsequently 
seven  of  its  companies  were  united  in  Tennessee.  The  Twentieth  was 
mustered  out  on  June  18,  1864.  Trumbull  County  men  were  included 
in  Company  H. 

The  Twenty-Fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  organized  on  the 
first  call  from  President  Lincoln  and  left  Camp  Chase  for  the  field  on 
July  24,  1 861.  It  saw  service  at  Shiloh,  Stone  River  and  Chickamauga. 
Company  F  was  recruited  in  Trumbull  County  and  the  county  was  also 
represented  in  Companies  A  and  B. 


General  Emerson  Opdyke,  Commander  of  "Opdyke's  Tigers" 

The  Twenty-Ninth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  largely  an  Ashta- 
bula County  regiment  but  included  a  number  of  men  from  northern 
Trumbull  County.  It  saw  service  both  in  Virginia  and  in  the  Western 
Army  and  was  mustered  out  on  July  22,  1865. 

The  Thirty-Eighth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  a  Western  Ohio 
organization,  but  Trumbull  County  was  represented  in  several  of  its 
companies. 

The  Forty-First  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  had  its  origin  in  a  com- 
pany of  volunteers  recruited  in  Trumbull  County  by  Seth  A.  Bushnell 
and  Emerson  Opdyke.  The  regiment  was  formally  organized  on  Sep- 
tember 1,  1 861,  with  Col.  William  B.  Hazen  in  command.  Actual  service 
began  in  the  Cumberland  Valley  in  November,  1861,  and  the  regiment 
participated  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  Perrysville,  Murfreesboro  and  Chick- 


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426       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

amauga,  and  was  with  Sherman  on  the  Atlanta  campaign.  The  Forty- 
First  was  mustered  out  on  November  26,  1865,  more  than  six  months  after 
the  close  of  the  war.  Company  A  was  from  Trumbull  County  and  Com- 
panies B,  F  and  K  were  partly  recruited  here. 

The  Forty- Second  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  Gen.  James  A.  Gar- 
field's regiment  when  Garfield  held  the  rank  of  colonel.  There  were  sev- 
eral Trumbull  County  men  in  this  regiment,  also  in  the  Fiftieth,  Fifty- 
Second  and  Sixty-Fourth. 

The  Eighty-Fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  organized  at  Camp 
Chase  on  June  7,  1862,  with  Col.  William  Lawrence  in  command.  Com- 
pany C  was  enrolled  in  the  townships  of  Trumbull  and  Mahoning  counties. 

The  Eighty-Sixth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  recruited  in  May, 
1862,  for  three  months.  The  regiment  served  in  West  Virginia  under 
the  three  months'  enlistment  and  was  then  reorganized  as  six  months9 
regiment.  Trumbull  County  was  represented  in  several  companies  of 
this  regiment. 

The  Eighty-Seventh  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  another  three 
months'  regiment,  recruited  in  May,  1862.  Company  I  was  recruited 
partly  from  Trumbull  and  Mahoning  counties. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Fifth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was  one  of 
the  famed  regiments  of  this  neighborhood,  being  recruited  wholly  from 
the  eastern  part  of  the  Reserve;  Company  C  was  from  Weathersfield 
Township,  Company  B  from  different  parts  of  Trumbull  County  and 
Company  I  from  northern  Trumbull  County  and  southern  Ashtabula. 
The  regiment  was  organized  complete  on  August  21,  1862,  and  reached 
Covington,  Kentucky,  on  August  22d.  By  October  8th  it  was  .in  the  fight- 
ing at  Perrysville  and  from  that  time  on  was  in  the  bitter  battles  fought 
by  the  Western  Army.  Col.  Albert  S.  Hall,  the  original  commander 
of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifth,  died  at  Murfreesboro  and  in  February, 
1864,  Lieut.-Col.  George  T.  Perkins  became  colonel,  remaining  in  com- 
mand until  the  regiment  was  mustered  out  on  June  3,  1865. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-Fifth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  was 
organized  largely  by  Col.  Emerson  Opdyke  in  November  and  December, 
1862,  and  on  January  3,  1863,  started  for  the  front  under  command  of 
Colonel  Opdyke.  The  regiment  participated  in  the  fighting  that  raged 
*  about  Lookout  Mountain  and  from  the  ferocity  with  which  it  fought 
at  Chickamauga  received  its  name  of  "Opdyke's  Tigers."  It  was  one 
of  the  first  regiments  to  reach  the  summit  of  Mission  Ridge.  It  was 
mustered  out  at  Camp  Chase  on  October  17,  1864.  Companies  A,  B 
and  C  were  from  Trumbull  and  Mahoning  counties. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Seventy-First  Volunteer  Infantry  was  "Trum- 
bull's Own,''  seven  of  the  ten  companies  being  recruited  from  this  county. 
It  was  mustered  in  for  one  hundred  days'  service  on  May  7,  1864, 
saw  service  in  Kentucky,  was  on  guard  duty  at  Johnson's  Island  and 
was  mustered  out  on  August  20,  1864.  Joel  F.  Asper  was  colonel  of 
this  regiment,  Heman  R.  Harmon,  lieutenant  colonel  and  Manning  A. 
Fowler,  major.  The  Trumbull  County  companies  were  A,  B,  C,  D,  G, 
H  and  I. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Ninety-Sixth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  Col. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       427 

Robert  P.  Kennedy  commanding,  was  mustered  in  on  March  25,  1865, 
and  entered  the  service  in  West  Virginia  in  the  closing  days  of  the  war. 
It  was  mustered  out  at  Baltimore  on  September  11,  1865.  Companies 
D  and  E  and  part  of  Company  K  were  from  Trumbull  County. 

The  Second  Ohio  Volunteer  Cavalry  was  organized  in  1861,  recruit- 
ing beginning  under  Benjamin  F.  Wade  of  Jefferson  and  John  Hutchins 
of  Warren.  It  was  mustered  in  on  October  10,  1861,  and  reached  Mis- 
souri in  January,  1862,  its  first  engagement  was  with  Quantrell's  gueril- 
las, who  were  badly  beaten.  After  more  fighting  in  the  southwest  the 
regiment  was  reorganized  at  Camp  Chase,  fought  Morgan's  men  in 
Kentucky,  served  under  Rosecrans  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  and 
was  with  Sheridan  at  Winchester.  The  Second  Ohio  was  one  of  the 
crack  cavalry  regiments  of  the  Union  Army.  It  was  mustered  out  at 
Camp  Chase  on  September  11,  1865,  after  four  years  of  service  in  which 
it  marched  27,000  miles  and  participated  in  ninety-seven  engagements. 
It  was  commanded  successively  by  Cols.  Charles  Doubleday,  August  V. 
Kautz,  A.  B.  Nettleton  and  Dudley  Seward,  Robert  W.  Ratliff  being 
lieutenant-colonel  until  June  25,  1863.  Companies  C,  D  and  E  were  from 
Trumbull  and  Mahoning  counties,  Company  D  being  largely  a  Farming- 
ton  Township  organization,  and  there  were  Trumbull  County  men  in 
Companies  B,  F,  G,  H,  I  and  M. 

The  Sixth  Ohio  Volunteer  Cavalry  was  also  recruited  by  Wade  and 
Hutchins  and  was  organized  at  Camp  Hutchins,  Warren,  in  October, 
1861.  Nearly  one-third  of  its  members  were  Trumbull  County  men.  The 
regiment  reached  West  Virginia  in  May,  1862,  fought  at  Antietam  and 
Gettysburg,  was  reorganized  early  in  1863,  participated  in  the  Wilderness 
battle  and  the  closing  engagements  of  the  war  and  was  mustered  out  in 
August,  1865.  Trumbull  County  men  were  recruited  in  Companies  A, 
B,  C,  D,  E,  F,  G,  H,  I  and  K,  and  more  especially  in  Companies  D,  G, 
I  and  K. 

The  Twelfth  Ohio  Volunteer  Cavalry  was  organized  in  October,  1863, 
and  Col.  Robert  W.  Ratliff  was  placed  in  command.  The  regiment's  early 
engagements  were  with  Morgan's  men  in  Kentucky  and  for  the  remainder 
of  that  year  and  in  1865  participated  in  the  fighting  in  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee.   It  was  mustered  out  on  November  22,  1865. 

The  Second  Ohio  Independent  Battery  was  organized  in  July,  1861, 
for  three  years  and  served  until  July,  1865.  Trumbull  County  was  well 
represented  in  this  detachment. 

The  Ninth  Ohio  Independent  Battery  was  organized  at  Camp  Wood 
in  October,  1861.  There  were  two  or  three  enlistments  from  Trumbull 
County  in  this  battery. 

The  Fourteenth  Ohio  Independent  Battery  was  recruited  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1861,  largely  from  Trumbull,  Lake,  Ashtabula  and  Geauga  coun- 
ties. It  was  mustered  in  on  September  10,  1861,  for  three  years  and 
saw  its  first  fighting  at  Pittsburg  Landing. 

The  Fifteenth  Ohio  Independent  Battery  was  recruited  in  the  fall  of 
1861  by  Capt.  J.  B.  Burrows  and  Lieut.  Edward  Spear  of  the  Fourteenth. 
This  battery  was  attached  to  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  serving  with 
Sherman  on  his  march  to  the  sea. 


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428       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  Twenty-Fifth  Ohio  Independent  Battery  was  a  detachment  from 
the  Second  Ohio  Cavalry  and  was  organized  at  Crane  Creek,  Missouri, 
on  February  17,  1863.  Trumbull  County  was  largely  represented  in 
this  organization. 

The  First  Ohio  Light  Artillery  was  organized  before  the  opening  of 
the  Civil  war  and  was  called  into  service  on  April  22,  1861,  Col.  James 
Barnett  commanding.  It  was  formally  mustered  in  in  September,  1861, 
for  three  years.  Trumbull  and  Mahoning  counties  were  represented  in 
Companies  B,  C,  E  and  F. 

The  Second  Ohio  Heavy  Artillery  was  organized  in  the  summer  of 
1863.  Trumbull  County  was  represented  in  several  companies,  more 
especially  in  Company  G. 

The  closing  of  the  Civil  war  found  Warren  a  mature  municipality, 
but  not  an  especially  pleasing  one  in  appearance.  The  public  square  was 
beginning  to  assume  a  more  attractive  look,  but  the  streets  were  scarcely 
better  than  country  roads,  subject  to  all  the  inconveniences  that  accom- 
pany unimproved  highways.  As  early  as  1837  village  ordinances  had 
been  passed  defining  the  grades  of  more  prominent  streets  and  there  were 
later  additions  to  this  sort  of  legislation  but  there  was  little  actual  im- 
provement in  the  condition  of  the  streets  and  not  a  great  deal  of  civic 
progress  in  any  other  direction. 

The  closing  of  the  war,  however,  saw  the  beginning  of  an  era  of 
progress  throughout  the  entire  United  States.  There  was  a  mighty 
migration  to  the  unsettled  West,  while  in  the  East  municipalities  began 
to  awaken  from  their  lethargy.  The  peaceful,  placid,  unprogressive  ante- 
bellum days  were  gone,  and  Warren  was  affected,  like  its  sister  communi- 
ties, by  the  demand  for  modern  improvements. 

In  the  spring  of  1865  all  previous  grade  ordinances  were  repealed  by 
the  village  council  and  an  ordinance  was  passed  establishing  a  permanent 
base  of  levels,  from  which  all  future  grades  should  be  measured  and  re- 
corded. On  May  25,  1865,  the  first  paving  ordinance  was  passed,  this 
measure  providing  for  the  construction  of  a  "track"  eight  feet  in  width, 
in  Market  Street,  the  materials  to  be  furnace  slag  or  something  equally 
satisfactory.  Nothing  was  done  under  this  act,  and  on  December  4,  1865, 
an  ordinance  was  offered  proposing  the  improvement  of  Market  Street, 
from  Liberty  Street  (Park  Avenue)  west  to  the  river  and  east  to  Elm 
Street;  and  Main  Street  from  Market  Street  south  to  South  Street  and 
north  to  the  town  limits,  this  extension  now  being  Mahoning  Avenue. 
About  the  same  time  an  ordinance  was  offered  providing  for  the  sewer- 
ing of  certain  streets.  The  sewering  ordinance  was  passed  on  May  12, 
1866,  and  the  paving  ordinance  on  May  30,  1866. 

These  improvements,  however,  were  not  authorized  without  protest. 
Throughout  the  winter  of  1865-66  there  was  intense  opposition  to  the 
ordinances,  then  pending  in  council,  and  the  municipal  election  in  the 
spring  of  1866  was  fought  out  between  the  champions  of  progress  and 
the  unprogressive  residents  who  believed  that  these  modern  improvements 
were  extravagant  and  unnecessary.  The  improvement  ordinances  were 
passed  only  after  the  progressives  had  won  the  election. 

Even  this  defeat  did  not  halt  the  conservatives.     With  work  on  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       429 

authorized  improvements  actually  started  a  mass  meeting  of  protest  was 
called.  At  this  gathering,  held  in  Webb's  Hall  on  August  31,  1866,  reso- 
lutions were  adopted  protesting  against  proceeding  with  the  sewer  work, 
the  protest  representing  the  sentiments  of  those  "opposed  to  the  present 
system  of  sewerage,  recognized  by  the  town  council,  with  its  unjust  as 
unequal  assessment  of  some  $40,000  taxes  in  but  one  of  three  sewer  dis- 
tricts.,,  The  resolutions  of  protest  were  received,  the  sewer  committee  of 
council  considered  them  and  made  a  report  to  council  "recognizing  the 
right  of  those  opposed  to  object  and  recommending  that  the  work  go  on." 
This  report  was  adopted  by  council.  It  was  in  1867,  however,  before 
work  was  begun  on  the  first  street  pavements,  in  Main  and  Market  streets, 


An  Old-Time  View  in  Warren 

and  another  year  e!apsed  before  the  first  sewers  were  constructed.  From 
that  time  on  improvements  were  made  consistently.  The  wisdom  of  the 
progressive  citizens  who  favored  advancement  was  soon  demonstrated. 

Up  to  this  time  the  original  corporate  limits  of  the  village  had  been 
maintained,  but  in  1868  council  passed  an  ordinance  authorizing  a  vote 
upon  a  proposal  to  extend  the  boundaries  of  the  municipality  to  give  it 
four  times  its  original  area,  or  two  square  miles.  This  extension  proposal 
carried  on  popular  vote,  288  to  9,  but  the  area  was  reduced  by  the  county 
commissioners.  A  year  later,  in  1869,  Warren  advanced  from  the  status 
of  village  to  the  grade  of  city. 

From  this  period,  or  from  about  1870  onward  to  the  close  of  the 
century,  the  growth  of  Warren  was  gradual,  being  in  fact  slow  when 
considered  from  a  viewpoint  of  population  and  business  importance. 
The  period  that  began  with  the  construction  of  the  canal  saw  some  manu- 
facturing establishments  started,  including  woolen,   wood  working  and 


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430       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

carriage  manufacturing,  machine  shops,  grist  mills  and  the  Packard  and 
Company  iron  works  that  eventually  became  a  rolling  mill  with  puddling 
furnaces,  muck  mill  and  finishing  mills.  With  the  failure  of  this  firm 
in  the  panic  of  1873  the  mill  was  sold  to  William  Richard  and  in  1879 
became  the  property  of  Covington  Westlake,  still  later  becoming  the 
Warren  Rolling  Mill.  Warren,  however,  did  not  profit  to  the  extent 
that  Youngstown  did  in  the  rise  of  the  era  of  iron  making  that  began 
about  Civil  war  times.  It  was  less  favored  in  fact  than  Niles,  although 
it  maintained  its  supremacy  over  this  neighboring  municipality  in  point 
of  size,  and,  it  might  be  added,  in  a  number  of  other  respects. 

While  progressing  in  no  great  measure  in  a  manufacturing  way,  how- 
ever, Warren  was  noted  during  this  period  for  its  culture,  its  municipal 
attractiveness  and  even  more  for  its  political  prestige.  The  traditions 
of  the  early  days  in  this  respect  were  not  only  maintained  but  even  sur- 
passed in  the  closing  days  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Trumbull  County  was  never  politically  neutral.  Its  men  were  men 
of  pronounced  views  in  the  earliest  days  of  statehood.  Eventually  the 
county  became  staunchly  Whig,  then  staunchly  abolitionist  and  finally 
staunchly  Republican.  It  disliked  slavery  and  had  contempt  for  pro- 
slavery  laws. 

As  it  had  entered  the  war  against  disunion  wholeheartedly  and  many 
of  its  men  had  risen  to  places  of  prominence  therein  it  is  not  surprising 
that  Trumbull  County  was  influential  in  the  two  score  years  succeeding 
that  conflict.  With  its  large  neighboring  county  of  Ashtabula  and  its 
smaller  neighboring  counties  of  Geauga  and  Lake  it  formed  a  rock- 
ribbed  Republican  district  to  which  Republicans  of  Ohio  looked  for  the 
majorities  that  would  save  them  from  defeat  in  the  state.  Its  Democratic 
minority  was  as  militant  as  it  was  small ;  perhaps  more  imbued  with  the 
fighting  spirit  because  it  was  small.  At  any  rate,  its  Democratic  rallies 
were  not  surpassed  by  any  in  the  state,  and  Democratic  ardor  was  not 
diminished  by  failure  to  break  down  the  overwhelming  majorities  of 
the  opposition  on  election  day. 

It  was  the  Republican  political  gatherings  of  Trumbull  County,  how- 
ever, that  became  famed  in  history.  There  were  many  of  these,  too 
many  to  enumerate,  but  all  others  were  eclipsed  by  the  famous  rally  of 
September  28,  1880 — the  greatest  political  assemblage  in  the  history  of 
the  Western  Reserve. 

Gen.  James  A.  Garfield  was  the  Republican  nominee  for  President 
in  this  year,  and  Warren  was  selected  as  the  opening  place  of  the  cam- 
paign because  it  was  the  leading  city  in  the  district  that  General  Canfield 
had  represented  for  so  many  years  in  Congress.  Even  apart  from  its 
size  there  were  several  reasons  why  this  great  gathering  should  occupy 
such  a  prominent  place  in  the  political  history  of  our  country. 

The  Republican  party  was  entering  upon  the  campaign  split  with  dis- 
sension and  shaken  in  confidence.  Four  years  before  had  occurred  the 
Hayes-Tilden  contest  that  had  given  the  Republicans  victory  by  a  bare 
majority  of  one  electoral  vote,  and  then  only  after  a  contest  that  raged 
for  months  after  election  day.  The  Republican  convention  of  1880  was 
marked  by  a  feeling  of  bitterness  that  has  never  been  equaled,  except 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       431 

perhaps  in  1912.  Under  the  leadership  of  the  magnetic  Roscoe  Conkling, 
party  leader  and  senator  from  New  York,  a  terrific  effort  had  been  made 
to  name  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant  for  a  third  term  and  Garfield  had  been  nomi- 
nated by  enemies  to  this  movement  whose  slogan  was,  "Anything  to  Beat 
Grant."    The  Grant*  forces  had  left  the  convention  beaten  but  sullen. 

On  top  of  this  General  Garfield  was  under  personal  fire,  not  merely 
for  certain  acts  in  public  life  but  because  he  had  accepted  the  nomination. 
Ohio  Republicans  had  gone  to  the  national  convention  pledged  to  John 
Sherman,  with  General  Garfield  as  leader  of  the  delegation.  There  were 
rumblings  of  treachery  from  the  Sherman  cohorts  after  the  nomination 
had  been  made,  although  in  all  fairness  it  must  be  said  that  these  appear 
to  have  been  unwarranted. 

This  situation  made  necessary  not  merely  a  movement  that  would 
bring  the  Grant  forces  into  line  but  that  would  solidify  Garfield  sentiment 
in  his  home  state.  The  Warren  g*hering  of  September  23,  1880,  was 
designed  to  bring  this  about. 

General  Grant  presided  as  chairman  of  the  meeting  and  Senator 
Conkling  made  the  principal  speech.  The  local  committee,  with  John  M. 
Stull  as  chairman,  had  made  elaborate  preparations,  even  to  erecting  a 
"wigwam"  with  a  capacity  of  12,000.  .  Thousands  flocked  to  Warren  for 
the  day,  and  less  than  half  those  present  were  able  to  gain  admission  to 
the  meeting  place.  In  addition  to  Grant  and  Conkling  there  were  present 
Simon  Cameron,  Senator  John  A.  Logan,  Gen.  M.  D.  Bradley  of  Ken- 
tucky and  other  notables.  The  two  chief  visitors  were  entertained  by 
Henry  B.  Perkins  during  their  stay. 

The  meeting  had  the  desired  result.  The  Republican  ranks  were  never 
entirely  closed  during  the  subsequent  campaign,  but  this  demonstration 
of  unity  helped  General  Canfield  to  win  the  presidency.  That  it  was  a 
necessary  move  is  apparent  from  the  fact  that  his  popular  plurality  was 
but  a  bare  7,000  over  General  Hancock,  while  a  change  of  comparatively 
few^  votes  in  two  or  three  pivotal  states  would  have  cost  the  presidency. 
*  General  Garfield  was  succeeded  in  Congress  by  Judge  E.  B.  Taylor 
of  Warren,  and  in  other  respects  Warren^  and  Trumbull  County,  ranked 
high  politically  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  century.  It  suffered  the  set- 
backs that  came  with  the  panic  of  1893,  although  perhaps  affected  less 
than  some  of  its  neighboring  municipalities  because  it  depended  less  upon 
the  iron  and  steel  industry.  In  fact  Warren  was  considered  a  city  of 
more  than  average  prosperity  in  that  day. 

It  became,  too,  one  of  the  beauty  spots  among  Ohio  municipalities. 
It  has  had  more  than  its  share  of  fires,  and  was  visited  by  another  on 
March  25,  1895,  when  the  courthouse  was  destroyed  by  flames.  Fortu- 
nately this  fire  occurred  during  the  day  when  court  was  in  session  and  the 
county  offices  were  occupied  so  that  most  of  the  records  were  saved. 

The  courthouse  had  seen  forty  years  or  more  of  service,  and,  while 
still  a  serviceable  building,  must  eventually  have  been  replaced,  so  that 
this  misfortune  merely  hastened  the  construction  of  a  new  building.  With 
characteristic  energy  this  work  was  undertaken  immediately  and  the 
result  is  one  of  the  most  pleasing-appearing  public  buildings  in  Ohio.  Its 
setting  is  such  that  it  attracts  the  eye  of  every  visitor,  being  built  on  the 


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432       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

site  of  the  two  previous  buildings  at  the  north  side  of  the  public  square,  or 
City  Park,  a  spot  that  the  years  have  made  really  a  park  with  wide  lawns 
and  magnificent  trees. 

It  was  just  before  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  that  Warren 
and  Trumbull  County  for  the  fourth  time  heard  the  call  to  war.  In  the 
early  days  when  military  training  was  the  rule  the  annual  "muster  day" 
was  one  of  the  great  days  of  the  year  in  the  Trumbull  County  seat,  but  no 
military  company  existed  in  the  days  following  the  Civil  war.  With  the 
advent  of  the  Spanish-American  war,  however,  the  old  spirit  of  the 
Western  Reserve  asserted  itself.  A  public  meeting  to  recruit  a  military 
company  was  held  in  the  City  Hall  on  the  evening  of  April  10,  1898, 
with  Senator  John  J.  Sullivan  as  presiding  officer.     With  the  call  for 


Second  Trumbull  County  Court  House 

volunteers  198  young  men  responded  and  a  company  was  organized  with 
F.  M.  Ritezel  as  captain,  Robert  M.  Paden,  first  lieutenant;  Harry  B. 
Ramley,  second  lieutenant.  The  same  evening  the  services  of  the  com- 
pany were  offered  President  McKinley  by  wire  and  drill  work  began. 

In  June,  1898,  the  company  was  mustered  into  the  Ohio  Volunteer 
Service  by  Adjutant-General  Kingsley  and  designated  as  American  Vol- 
unteers, unattached.  A  later  organization  had  been  effected  that  retained 
Captain  Ritezel  in  command  with  William  C.  Ward  as  first  lieutenant; 
Frank  H.  Waldeck,  second  lieutenant;  F.  S.  Van  Gorder,  third  lieuten- 
ant ;  Harry  Williams  and  John  M.  Craig,  duty  sergeants. 

As  the  war  was  comparatively  brief  and  only  National  Guard  organ- 
izations were  called  upon  for  service  the  efforts  of  the  Warren  organ- 
ization to  get  to  the  front  were  unavailing.  Nevertheless  the  company 
continued  drill  work  and  perfected  itself  for  the  possible  call  to  duty. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       433 

In  June,  1899,  the  Warren  command  was  attached  to  the  Fifth  Ohio 
National  Guard  as  Company  D.  Captain  Ritezel  was  promoted  to  the 
place  of  lieutenant-colonel  on  the  staff  of  General  Dick  and  was  succeeded 
by  F.  S.  Van  Gorder.  The  company  was  ordered  to  New  York  in  Oc- 
tober, 1899,  to  act  as  an  escort  to  Admiral  Dewey  who  was  returning 
from  the  Philippines. 

The  story  of  Company  D's  part  in  the  World  war,  when  Captain  Van 
Gorder  rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel,  is  told  in  another  chapter.  Warren 
upheld  its  military  record,  and  that  record  is  further  perpetuated  in  the 
Ohio  National  Guard  armory  building  that  is  one  of  the  most  notable 
of  Warren  public  structures. 


Vol.  1—28 


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CHAPTER  XXII 

Warren  in  the  Twentieth  Century — A  Story  of  Marvelous  In- 
dustrial Development  Wrought  by  Progressive  Residents — 
Warren's  Business,  Educational,  Religious  and  Political  Life 
— History  of  Warren  Township  Outside  City. 

Writh  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century  Warren  had  completed 
100  years  of  existence.  It  had  started  the  century  as  the  seat  of  justice 
of  a  small  empire,  and  in  the  next  two  decades  had  become  the  com- 
mercial center  of  a  great  part  of  Northeastern  Ohio.  For  many  years 
thereafter  it  maintained  a  relatively  high  standing  in  a  business  way,  but 
gradually  Cleveland  rose  to  undisputed  supremacy  in  Northern  Ohio  and 
Youngstown  and  Akron  drew  ahead,  while  smaller  cities  sprang  up  on 
the  old  Western  Reserve.  At  the  end  of  ioo  years  Warren  had  a  popu- 
lation of  but  8,529,  this  being  the  figure  shown  when  the  census  of  1900 
was  taken. 

This  loss  in  a  commercial  sense  was,  of  course,  partly  offset  by  other 
considerations.  Warren  had  shown  no  great  zeal  in  its  later  years  for 
material  progress  but  it  had  become  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  of 
Ohio.  There  was  a  New  England-like  air  to  the  community.  The  un- 
usually large  public  square  had  become  the  beautiful  City  Park  and  fur- 
nished a  setting  to  the  stately  Trumbull  County  courthouse.  The  resi- 
dence streets  were  lined  with  magnificent  shade  trees.  There  was  more 
cleanliness  than  was  common  in  Mahoning  Valley  municipalities.  War- 
ren had  become  a  seat  of  culture  and  its  people  not  only  had  deep  appre- 
ciation of  the  better  things  of  life  but  a  dignified  respect  for  things  of 
the  past.  There  was  a  marked  conservatism  in  business  and  in  other  re- 
spects. The  population  was  largely  of  American  lineage  and  proud  of 
its  record  in  this  respect. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  new  century,  however,  another  generation 
was  springing  up ;  one  that  wanted  to  restore  Warren's  commercial  pres- 
tige and  make  it  a  city  of  industries  and  swift-flowing  business.  Among 
these  residents  there  was  a  feeling  that  Warren  had  a  surplus  of  con- 
servatism and  not  enough  twentieth  century  energy.  Discussion  of  the 
movement  for  a  greater  Warren  led  to  the  incorporation,  in  December, 
1905,  of  the  Warren  Board  of  Trade,  an  organization  that  started  with 
a  membership  of  about  125  and  with  William  S.  Voit  as  president  and 
Fred  W.  Adams  as  secretary. 

In  its  first  few  years  of  existence  the  Board  of  Trade  formed  merely 
the  groundwork  for  future  activities.  Its  real  mission  as  an  agent  to 
"sell"  Warren  began  on  December  2,  1909,  when  the  board  was  reorgan- 

434 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       435 

ized  with  O.  R.  Grimmesey  as  president  and  George  C.  Braden  as  secre- 
tary. The  need  of  a  more  active  campaign  to  bring  industries  to  Warren 
was  made  apparent  in  1910  when  the  decennial  census  gave  the  £fty  a 
population  of  but  11,081.  This  was  an  increase  of  30  per  cent  in  ten 
years — a  substantial  growth  in  itself,  but  not  great  enough  to  satisfy 
ambitious  Warrenites.  They  set  to  work  to  make  the  next  ten-year  period 
a  record  breaker. 

The  story  of  their  success  is  one  of  the  most  marvelous  in  the  history 
of  American  business.  'Backed  by  business  concerns,  financial  institu- 
tions, manufacturing  concerns  and  private  citizens,  the  Board  of  Trade 
set  to  work  in  1910  advertising  Warren.  For  two  or  three  years  it  con- 
tented itself  largely  with  this;  although  every  agency  possible  was  skil- 
fully used  to  acquaint  the  world  with  the  Trumbull  County  capital.  But 
with  the  field  properly  sown  the  trade  body  went  after  new  industries. 

In  this  work,  as  in  its  advertising  campaign,  the  Board  of  Trade  at- 
tempted nothing  revolutionary.  It  adopted  methods ^hat  Jjad  bfifif  used 
in  other  communities  for  years,  but  Warren  made  a  gf&frmgs&c&s  of  a 
plan  that  had  failed  in  many  other  places.  To  attract  capltar  ttitit  was 
seeking  a  location  the  board  bought  a  large  tract  of  land  that  had  rail- 
road facilities,  and  offered  free  sites  to  prospective  investors.  It  proved 
an  especially  successful  venture  because  plant  locations  were  given  with- 
out too  many  strings  attached.  There  was  also  a  blending  of  the  old  and 
the  new  Warren  spif^lf  in  this  movement.  The  ancient  conservatism  of 
the  city  was  upheld  by  promising  nothing  except  what  "could  be  delivered; 
the  inherent  New  England  thrift  of  Warren  was  shown  by  making  the 
free-sites  venture  pay  for  itself.  Warren  accomplished  this  by  the  simple 
expedient  of  buying  more  land  than  was  needed  and  selling  off  the  sur- 
plus, after  plant  sites  had  been  given  away,  for  other  purposes  and  at  a 
profit  great  enough  to  pay  for  the  donated  land.  This  plan  has  been  con- 
sistently followed  as  new  manufacturing  plats  have  been  purchased  and 
opened. 

There  was  opposition,  of  course,  to  this  movement  to  make  Warren  a 
bustling  business  city.  One  can  readily  understand,  and  sympathize  with, 
those  who  protested,  for  bringing  industries  meant  running  the  risk  of 
destroying  the  city's  beauty,  but  the  progressives  triumphed  and  within 
two  years  their  campaign  began  to  show  results.  Industries  began  to 
come.  The  largest  of  all  Warren  plants,  the  works  of  the  Trumbull 
Steel  Company,  were  built  in  1913,  and  since  that  time  one  plant  has  fol- 
lowed another.  There  has  never  been  a  "boom,"  for  there  was  a  solid 
basis  for  growth.  There  has  been  no  setback,  for  there  was  no  mush- 
room growth  to  collapse.  Natural  advantages,  good  facilities  and  energy 
alone  worked  the  transformation.  Warren  alone  furnished  perhaps  half 
of  the  capital  invested  in  new  business  and  a  great  percentage  of  the  total 
came  from  Mahoning  Valley  investors. 

A  review  of  the  progress  of  the  last  ten  years  in  Warren  reads  like  the 
story  of  the  founding  of  a  new  city.  In  that  short  space  of  time  thirty- 
three  new  industrial  concerns  have  located  in  the  city,  with  employes 
ranging  from  10  to  5,000  in  number.  Warren  was  "sold"  to  most  of  these, 
but  a  few  came  without  solicitation  because  they  had  heard  of  the  re- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       437 

markable  things  Warren  is  doing.  Today  the  city  has  three  score  of 
manufacturing  plants  and  another  twenty  or  more  other  industrial  con- 
cerns.    The  annual  payroll  approaches  $20,000,000. 

Fifteen  business  blocks  have  been  erected,  the  most  notable  being 
the  eight-story  Western  Reserve  Bank  building  and  the  six-story  Second 
National  Bank  structure.  One  large  modern  hotel,  the  Warner,  is  under 
construction  and  another,  the  Warren,  is  projected.  Forty  buildings  have 
.been  remodeled,  or  additions  made  thereto.  Twenty  public  garages  and 
more  than  100  smaller  store  buildings  have  been  put  up.  Approximately 
3,000  homes  have  been  built,  seven  new  churches  have  been  erected,  six 
grade  school  buildings  put  up  and  two  remodeled.  In  the  first  three 
months  of  1920  buildings  valued  at  almost  $200,000  were  contracted  for. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  census  of  1920  gave  Warren  a  population 
of  27,050,  a  gain  of  15,969,  or  144. 1  per  cent,  in  the  preceding  ten  years, 
a  showing  almost  unequaled  in  the  country.  There  was  no  annexation 
connected  with  this,  although  the  city  limits  have  been  extended  since 
1910  to  meet  expansion. 

Conservative  Warrenites  predict  50,000  population  in  1930;  more 
optimistic  ones  see  75,000,  and  the  optimists  exceed  the  conservatives 
in  number.  They  believe  Warren's  status  as  a  manufacturing 
center  is  now  fixed  and  that  industry  will  naturally  flow  there.  They 
expect  an  increased  number  of  smaller  diversified  industries,  for  while 
steel  is  the  backbone  of  business  in  Warren  it  is  not  a  one-industry  city. 
And  in  payroll,  bank  deposits  and  volume  of  business  Warren  is  already 
a  city  of  50,000. 

Warren  needs  more  homes,  grade  crossings  elimination,  extension  of 
its  water  system,  a  more  extensive  retail  business  district  and  more  of 
the  outside  capital  that  is  seeking  an  investment  place.  Warrenites  say 
they  are  going  to  get  all  of  these.  They  are  also  going  to  work  to  have 
the  main  line  of  the  proposed  Lake  Erie-Ohio  River  Canal  pass  through 
their  city  instead  of  being  left  with  only  a  feeder  canal. 

Warren's  financial  institutions  have  had  much  to  do  with  the  growth 
of  the  city.  They  have  been  conducted  conservatively  and  yet  have  co- 
operated liberally  in  financing  new  projects  and  by  giving  aid  whenever 
anything  for  the  betterment  of  the  city  has  been  proposed.  There  are 
five  institutions  of  this  sort,  two  national  banks,  one  state  bank,  or  sav- 
ings and  trust  company  and  two  building  and  loan  companies,  and  in 
addition  to  this  two  foreign  exchange  banks. 

The  Union  Savings  and  Trust  Company  is,  by  lineage,  not  only  the 
oldest  bank  in  Warren  but  the  oldest  on  the  Western  Reserve.  This 
earliest  financial  institution,  formed  long  before  a  bank  was  suggested  for 
Cleveland,  Youngstown  or  Akron,  was  chartered  in  the  winter  of  1811-12 
under  the  name  of  the  Western  Reserve  Bank.  The  incorporators  Were 
Gen.  Simon  Perkins,  Robert  D.  Parkman,  Turhand  Kirtland,  George 
Tod,  John  Ford,  C.  S.  Mygatt,  Calvin  Austin,  John  Kinsman,  Sr.,  and 
William  Rayen.  The  stockholders,  sixty-four  in  number,  came  from  all 
over  the  eastern  part  of  the  Reserve  and  their  holdings  ranged  from  $20,- 
000  in  the  case  of  John  Kinsman,  Sr.,  to  $50  subscriptions  by  two  or  three 


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438       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

stockholders.  The  capital  was  fixed  at  $100,000,  a  great  amount  of 
money  for  that  day. 

At  the  organization  meeting,  held  at  the  home  of  John  Reed,  General 
Perkins,  Kirtland,  Ford,  Rayen,  Austin,  Mygatt,  Calvin  Pease,  Henry 
Wick,  Leonard  Case,  David  Clendennin,  William  Bell,  Sr.,  Richard 
Hayes  and  Francis  Freeman  were  elected  directors.  John  Kinsman,  Sr., 
died  before  the  bank  was  formally  organized.  General  Perkins  was 
elected  president  of  the  bank  and  Zalmon  Fitch  cashier,  Mr.  Fitch  be- 
coming president  on  the  retirement  of  General  Perkins  in  1836. 

The  bank  began  business  on  November  24,  1813,  in  a  house  in  Main 
Street  that  had  been  usechby  Robert  Erwin  as  a  store,  and  in  1816-17 
erected  a  banking  building  that  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  Union 
Savings  and  Trust  Company  Building.  In  1816  the  bank  was  organized 
under  a  new  state  banking  law,  continuing  under  this  law  until  December, 
1843.  ^n  February,  1845,  the  Ohio  Independent  Banking  Act  was  passed 
and  on  April  16,  1845,  the  shareholders  reorganized  under  this  act,  re- 
taining the  name  of  Western  Reserve  Bank  and  fixing  the  capital  at 
$50,000.  George  Parsons  was  named  president  of  the  reorganized  in- 
stitution and  George  Tayler  cashier. 

The  National  Banking  Act  was  passed  early  in  1863,  and  on  July  25, 
1863,  the  stockholders  of  the  Western  Reserve  Bank  voted  to  take  out  a 
charter  under  this  measure,  the  name  being  changed  to  the  First  National 
Bank.  At  this  time  Henry  B.  Perkins  was  elected  president  and  George 
Tayler,  cashier.  Mr.  Perkins  remained  in  this  capacity  until  his 
death  in  March,  1502.  George  Tayler  died  in  1864  and  was  succeeded 
as  cashier  by  Matthew  B.  Tayler,  who  died  in  1880.  John  H.  McCombs 
was  then  named  cashier,  serving  until  his  death  in  1886,  when  William  R. 
Stiles  was  elected  cashier,  remaining  until  1902. 

The  Citizens  Savings  Bank  and  the  Warren  Savings  Bank  Company 
had  been  organized  in  the  meantime.  In  July,  1902,  the  Citizens  and  the 
First  National  banks  were  merged  under  the  name  of  the  Union  National 
Bank,  and  in  July,  1904,  the  Warren  Savings  Bank  Company  was  taken 
over  by  the  Union  National  Bank,  T.  H.  Gillmer  being  president  at  this 
time  and  Capt.  William  Wallace  cashier.  On  November  14,  191 1,  the 
stockholders  of  the  Union  National  Bank  voted  to  apply  for  a  charter 
as  a  state  bank,  and  on  November  21,  191 1,  the  institution  was  chartered 
as  the  Union  Savings  and  Trust  Company. 

The  Union  Savings  and  Trust  Company  has  a  capital  of  $300,000  and 
is  one  of  the  substantial  state  banks  of  Ohio.  Its  present  officers  are, 
F.  W.  Stillwagon,  president ;  R.  A.  Cobb,  vice  president ;  J.  C.  Cratsley, 
secretary  and  treasurer ;  W.  F.  Bowen  and  J.  N.  Butler,  assistants  to  the 
secretary  and  treasurer. 

The  Second  National  Bank  is  the  oldest  of  Warren's  banks  in  the 
sense  of  continuing  without  reorganization  or  change  of  name.  It  was 
organized  on  May  16,  1880,  with  eighty  shareholders  and  a  capital  of 
$100,000.  D.  J.  Adams  was  elected  president;  A.  Wentz,  vice  president; 
K.  M.  Fitch,  cashier.  In  addition  to  these,  Gen.  R.  W.  Ratliff,  C.  A. 
Harrington,  I.  O.  Hart,  L.  F.  Bartlett,  E.  Finney,  I.  N.  Lynn  and  A.  A. 
Drake  were  the  first  board  members. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       439 

The  Second  National  Bank  has  rounded  out  forty  years  of  existence 
and  is  now  housed  in  its  new  six-story  building  at  Main  and  Market 
streets.  It  has  a  capital  of  $200,000  and  resources  in  excess  of  $3,000,- 
000.  The  present  officers  are,  S.  C.  Iddings,  president ;  Fred  W.  Adams, 
vice  president ;  E.  J.  Boyd,  cashier. 

The  Western  Reserve  National  Bank  was  organized  in  1885  with 
some  of  the  most  substantial  business  men  of  Warren  as  its  founders.  It 
has  been  an  unusually  successful  institution  from  its  inception  and  has 
resources  of  more  than  $7,000,000,  a  showing  that  is  perhaps  unexcelled 
by  any  bank  in  the  city  the  size  of  Warren.  The  Western  Reserve  Bank 
Building,  newly  constructed,  is  the  largest  business  block  in  Warren. 
The  bank  has  a  paid-in  capital  of  $400,000.  Its  officers  include,  S.  W. 
Park,  chairman  of  the  board;  Dan  A.  Geiger,  president;  Charles  Fil- 
lius,  vice  president;  S.  R.  Russell,  cashier;  E.  F.  Briscoe  and  P.  D. 
Abbott,  assistants  to  the  cashier. 

The  Trumbull  Savings  and  Loan  Company  is  one  of  the  oldest  insti- 
tutions of  this  kind  in  the  state,  having  been  organized  in  1889  and  opened 
for  business  in  1890.  The  company  has  a  capital  of  $250,000,  and  its 
assets  of  $35,000  in  the  first  year  of  its  existence  have  been  increased 
to  approximately  $4,500,000  to-day.  The  company  is  located  at  High 
Street  and  Park  Avenue,  Warren,  and  has  a  branch  institution  at  Girard. 
The  officers  are,  John  W.  Master,  chairman  of  the  board;  Robert  T. 
Izant,  president;  J.  H.  Ewalt,  vice  president;  James  R.  Izant,  secretary; 
G.  W.  Masters,  treasurer;  William  H.  Zeller,  manager  of  Girard  branch. 

The  People's  Saving  Company  was  organized  in  September,  19 15, 
and  has  had  a  flourishing  existence  of  five  years.  The  original  officers 
were  William  L.  Coale,  president;  S.  C.  Reid,  J.  B.  Estabrook  and  A.  N. 
Flora,  vice  presidents;  L.  B.  Kennedy,  secretary.  The  company  is  now 
located  in  the  Stone  Block  at  High  Street  and  Park  Avenue,  but  will  re- 
model the  Sherwood  Block  in  Market  Street  and  remove  to  this  new 
location  shortly.  Mr.  Coale  is  still  president  of  the  institution;  -S.  C. 
Reid,  first  vice  president ;  F.  C.  March,  second  vice  president,  and  N.  L. 
Pew,  secretary. 

Public  Affairs 

As  part  of  the  Western  Reserve,  whose  ownership  and  jurisdiction 
was  in  dispute,  Warren  was  virtually  without  a  government  during  the 
first  year  of"  its  existence  as  a  settlement.  This  situation  was  remedied  in 
1800  with  the  creation  of  Trumbull  County  and  the  organization  of  a 
county  court. 

At  its  February  session  in  1802  this  court  ordered  that  the  civil  town- 
ships created  in  1800  be  duly  organized.  The  civil  township  of  Warren 
actually  embraced  fifteen  townships,  eight  of  these  being  now  in  Trum- 
bull County,  five  in  Portage  County  and  two  in  Mahoning.  In  conform- 
ity with  the  court  order  an  election  was  held  at  the  house  of  Capt.  Eph- 
raim  Quinby,  on  April  6,  1802,  when  Simon  Perkins,  Benjamin  Davison 
and  John  H.  Adgate  were  elected  trustees;  Zopher  Carnes  and  Thomas 
Ross,  appraisers  of  property;  George  Lovelace,  lister;  Zopher  Carnes, 


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440       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

William  Hall  and  John  Leavitt,  supervisors  of  highways ;  Meshach  Case 
and  Thomas  Prior,  overseers  of  the  poor ;  Charles  Dally,  Benjamin  Davi- 
son and  James  Wilson,  fence  viewers;  Jonathan  Church  and  William 
Crook,  constables. 

Gradually  the  other  townships  that  made  up  the  civil  township  of 
Warren  were  separately  organized  but  the  village  retained  the  township 
form  of  government  for  more  than  thirty  years.  In  the  winter  of  1834, 
however,  residents  of  the  village  applied  for  a  municipal  charter  and 
on  March  3,  1834,  this  petition  was  granted  by  the  Legislature.  Warren 
was  a  pioneer  in  this  respect,  as  Cleveland  was  not  yet  incorporated  and 
it  was  fifteen  years  later  before  Youngstown  achieved  this  honor.  The 
act  creating  the  village  provided  for  municipal  limits — 

"Beginning  at  a  point  one  hundred  and  sixty  rods  due  west  of  the 
center  of  the  public  square,  thence  running  north  one  hundred  and  sixty 
rods,  thence  east  three  hundred  and  twenty  rods,  thence  south  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  rods,  thence  west  three  hundred  and  twenty  rods,  thence 
north  to  the  place  of  beginning." 

It  was  a  diminutive  municipality,  three  hundred  and  twenty  rods 
square,  or  one-half  a  square  mile  in  all.  These  boundaries  stood  until 
1868,  when  council  passed  an  ordinance  extending  the  boundaries  to  give 
the  village  an  area  of  two  square  miles.  Although  this  was  ratified  by  a 
popular  vote  the  county  commissioners  reduced  the  proposed  limits  to 
make  a-  municipality  520  rods  square. 

At  the  first  village  election,  held  at  the  courthouse  on  April  5,  1834, 
Liberty  Raymond  and  Henry  Lane  presided  and  Lyman  Potter  acted  as 
clerk.  George  Parsons  was  elected  mayor;  Edward  Spear,  recorder; 
George  Mygatt,  marshal ;  Samuel  Chesney,  treasurer ;  Charles  White, 
Charles  Smith,  John  Roberts,  A.  W.  Porter,  Walter  King,  Richard  King 
and  Asahel  Adams,  trustees,  or  councilmen, 

In  1869  Warren  was  advanced  to  the  grade  of  city  and  was  divided 
into  three  wards.  At  the  first  city  election  I.  N.  Dawson  was  named 
mayor,  E.  W.  Hoyt,  clerk;  Charles  R.  Hunt,  Alonzo  Truesdell,  C.  C. 
McNutt,  J.  J.  Gillmer,  Henry  J.  Lane  and  Albert  Watson,  members  of 
council. 

In  1899  the  Warren  city  limits  were  extended  for  the  first  time  since 
1868,  but  the  county  commissioners  again  reduced  the  area  petitioned 
for,  the  intent  of  the  council  and  the  voters  being  to  extend  the  boundaries 
1,000  feet  in  each  direction.  In  the  last  twenty  years  there  have  been 
repeated  extensions  until  Warren  covers  a  great  part  of  the  eastern  part 
of  the  township  and  extends  well  over  into  Howland  Township.  The 
elective  city  officers  for  1920-21  include,  J.  D.  McBride,  mayor;  George 
T.  Hecklinger,  auditor;  R.  D.  Leffingwell,  solicitor;  William  Bowen, 
treasurer;  Donald  McCurdy,  president  of  council;  William  L.  Coale, 
W.  G.  Hurlbert,  Herbert  Varley  and  George  Max,  ward  councilmen; 
U.  G.  King,  D.  R.  Gilbert  and  Joseph  Hughes,  councilmen-at-large.  E. 
H.  Braunberns  is  director  of  public  service  and  W.  A.  Lynn  director  of 
public  safety. 

The  law  enforcement  department  of  the  Warren  city  government 
dates  back  to  the  first  term  of  court  of  Trumbull  County  in  August,  1800, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       441 

when  Jonathan  Church  was  named  constable  for  the  civil  township  then 
created.  At  the  first  election,  two  years  later,  Church  was  again  named, 
and  with  him  William  Crooks,  the  two  men  being  expected  to  patrol  an 
area  of  approximately  375  square  miles. 

With  the  election  of  George  Mygatt  as  marshal  in  1834  a  new  form 
of  police  supervision  was  installed.  This  lasted  for  many  years,  or  until 
the  office  of  chief  of  police  was  created.    This  position  is  now  filled  by 

B.  J.  Gillen,  who  has  twenty  men  under  him. 

The  first  step  toward  organizing  a  fire  department  was  taken  on  De- 
cember 1,  1836,  when  the  village  council  called  a  meeting  for  this  pur- 
pose. At  this  meeting  a  volunteer  company  was  formed  that  included 
George  Kiek,  David  Ernest,  William  Johnson,  J.  H.  C.  Johnson,  James 
Madden,  William  Rand,  Charles  Willison,  J.  B.  Canfield,  O.  H.  Gatch, 

C.  M.  Gatch,  Thomas  Cook,  William  Williams,  A.  W.  Parker,  A.  Fuller,. 
Thomas  Moore,  A.  E.  Adams,  C.  Parkman,  Lemuel  Reeves,  E.  H.  Alli- 
son, Alonson  Camp,  C.  W.  Sawyer,  Milton  Sutliff,  J.  Seferheld,  William 
Green,  John  McBride,  Albert  Van  Gorder  and  John  McKee.  George 
Parsons  was  named  senior  fire  warden,  James  Van  Gorder,  Charles  Stev- 
ens, Frederick  Kinsman  and  Benjamin  Robbins,  assistant  fire  wardens. 
It  was  the  duty  of  the  fire  wardens  to  order  men  found  in  the  street  at 
the  time  of  fire  to  work,  the  penalty  being  $10  fine  for  refusal  to  obey 
this  order.  There  was  also  a  $5  penalty  attached  when  a  volunteer  failed 
to  respond  to  an  alarm  and  could  not  give  a  resonable  excuse  for  his 
dereliction.  Fines  were  ordered  for  other  offenses  of  omission  and  com- 
mission on  the  part  of  firemen  and  plain  citizens,  while  there  were  pre- 
miums for  meritorious  service  and  once  a  year  the  village  council  had  to 
furnish  the  firemen  a  grand  dinner. 

Shortly  afterwards  an  engine  house  was  built  on  the  south  side  of  the 
park  and  the  first  piece  of  fire-fighting  equipment,  an  engine  that  was 
warranted  to  throw  100  gallons  of  water  a  minute,  was  installed  there- 
in. This  engine,  the  "Saratoga,"  cost  $225  and  directed  a  stream  that 
would  reach  the  top  of  a  three-story  building. 

The  disastrous  fire  of  1846  taught  the  need  of  better  equipment  and 
another  engine  was  purchased  for  $600,  a  more  commodious  fire  station 
also  being  built.  There  were  additions  in  succeeding  years,  but  after  the 
fire  of  i860  a  new  fire  company  was  organized  to  take  the  place  of  the 
old  one,  which  disbanded.  J.  W.  Brooks  was  elected  foreman  of  the  new 
company;  C.  B.  Darling,  assistant  foreman;  E.  L.  Downs,  secretary;  H. 
G.  Stratton,  treasurer;  R.  C.  Darling,  first  engineer;  J.  D.  Miller,  second 
engineer ;  John  Barnett,  first  hose  director ;  Thomas  Gillmer,  second  hose 
director;  James  Gillmer  and  William  PefTers,  pipe  men;  William  Miller 
and  John  Donovan,  ax  men.  In  1868  there  was  still  another  reorganiza- 
tion, when  the  "I.  N.  Dawson  Company"  was  formed  and  a  Silsby  engine 
purchased.  In  1875-76  the  old  city  hall,  west  of  the  square,  was  built  and' 
fire  headquarters  were  established  on  the  first  floor.  Additional  equip- 
ment was  added  from  time  to  time,  a  hook  and  ladder  truck  was  added  in- 
1887,  a  fire  alarm  system  was  added  in  1894  and  the  present  Central  fire 
station  was  built  in  1896.  In  1898  the  I.  N.  Dawson  Company  was  dis- 
banded and  the  present  fire  department  organized. 


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442       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Warren  now  has  a  modern  motorized  fire  department,  under  Chief 
D.  K.  Moser,  with  a  force  of  twenty-six  men  working  two  platdons.  In 
addition  to  the  Central  station  at  Park  and  Franklin  there  is  a  No.  2  sta- 
tion at  Park  and%  Hall. 

Today  Warren  has  about  thirty-five  miles  of  paved  streets,  and  many 
miles  of  sewers  and  sidewalks,  improvements  of  this  kind  having  been 
made  in  an  unusual  manner  in  the  last  ten  years,  the  tax  duplicate  being  in 
the  neighborhood  of  $50,000,000.  Light  and  water  are  furnished  by  the 
Trumbull  Service  Company,  although  it  is  possible  that  these  utilities 
will  be  taken  over  by  the  city.  Warren  also  needs  a  new  city  hall,  the 
old  one  having  been  abandoned  after  forty  years  of  service.  City  offices 
are  in  now  an  annex  to  the  Central  fire  station. 

Warren  Schools 

Shortly  after  the  founding  of  the  settlement  of  Warren  a  log  school 
house  was  built  on  the  river  bank  just  west  of  the  public  square.  This 
school  was  probably  in  existence  in  1802,  certainly  in  1803,  and  George 
Parsons  was  apparently  the  first  teacher  here.  Shortly  afterwards  a 
second  log  building  was  put  up,  John  Leavitt,  Jr.,  being  the  first  teacher 
here,  and  within  a  comparatively  short  time  a  frame  school  structure  was 
put  up  just  north  of  the  first  schoolhouse. 

About  1816  a  young  lady's  seminary  was  opened  by  a  Miss  Boswick 
in  the  old  "Castle  William,"  and  in  1818  a  movement  was  begun  for  an 
academy,  or  select  school.  The  Warren  School  Association  was  formed 
for  this  purpose  and  a  brick  academy  building  was  erected  on  a  lot  pur- 
chased from  Capt.  Ephraim  Quinby,  the  location  being  now  in  High 
Street.  James  Quigley,  Richard  Iddings,  Samuel  Leavitt,  Francis  Free- 
man and  George  Parsons  were  the  original  board  of  trustees  of  this 
school.  Primary  and  high  school  grades  were  provided  for  and  the 
academy  survived  for  some  years,  the  building  being  used  for  school  pur- 
poses even  after  this  institution  had  been  abandoned. 

In  1837-38  Daniel  Jagger  taught  a  select  school  in  a  large  frame 
building  at  the  corner  of  what  is  now  Park  Avenue  and  South  Street  and 
schools  were  conducted  by  a  Miss  Estabrook,  James  D.  Callender  and 
Junius  Dana,  who  occupied  the  academy  building  and  in  1844  Professor 
Bronson  opened  an  Episcopal  seminary  for  girls  in  a  building  in  South 
Street.  Other  instructors  of  the  '30s  and  '40s  were,  William  G.  Darley, 
Martha  Callender,  Martha  Dickey,  Fanny  Dickey,  Lucy  Clark,  S.  D. 
Harris,  Dr.  J.  R.  Woods  and  Reverend  Brown,  a  Baptist  clergyman. 

In  1844-45  three  frame  district  schools  were  built,  these  being  con- 
ducted, of  course,  by  the  system  then  in  use  that  did  not  provide  for  a 
tax  levy  for  school  purposes.  In  1849  the  Ohio  act  providing  for  school 
districts  was  passed  and  after  the  objects  of  the  law  had  been  explained 
by  John  Hutchins  a  call  was  made  for  an  election  to  decide  whether  War- 
ren should  adopt  the  union  school  system.  This  call  was  signed  by  Mat- 
thew Birchard,  Leicester  King,  John  B.  Harmon,  R.  P.  Ranney,  Milton 
Graham  and  L.  J.  Iddings,  and  at  the  election,  held  on  April  10,  1849, 
the  vote  was  134  for  the  creation  of  the  school  district  and  22  against. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       443 

On  April  23d  a  school  board  consisting  of  R.  P.  Ranney,  George  Tayler, 
Matthew  Birchard,  B.  P.  Jameson,  Joseph  Perkins  and  John  Hutchins 
was  elected  and  at  the  organization  meeting  on  April  30th,  Mr.  Birchard 
was  named  president;  John  Hutchins,  secretary,  and  George  Tayler, 
treasurer.  Julian  Harmon,  Jacob  Perkins  and  Rev.  W-.  C.  Clark  were 
named  school  examiners. 

The  board  proceeded  to  organize  the  schools,  a  high  school  being 
organized  with  Miss  Martha  Dickey  in  charge  while  six  primary  and 
secondary  rooms  were  arranged  and  opened  during  the  summer  with 
Fanny  Dickey,  Mary  Brown,  Amanda  Brown,  Elizabeth  A.  Tuttle,  Mary 
Tillotson  and  Frances  Janes  as  teachers.  On  September  10,  1849,  tne 
schools  were  formally  opened  with  M.  D.  Leggett  as  superintendent  and 
principal  of  the  high  school,  Miss  Lucretia  Wolcott,  assistant  in  the  high 
school;  Miss  Lucretia  Pomeroy,  principal  of  the  grammar  school;  Martha 


Dana's  Musical  Institute 

Dickey,  M.  A.  Booth,  Lucia  Cotton,  Frances  Janes,  Amanda  Brown  and 
Marietta  Leggett,  teachers  in  the  primary  and  secondary  schools. 

On  May  9,  1854,  it  was  voted  to  expend  $6,000  for  purchasing  sites 
and  building  schools,  a  work  that  was  carried  out,  and  on  June  8,  1855, 
the  expenditure  of  $8,000  for  a  high  school  building  was  authorized. 
This  building  was  erected  in  1856. 

In  1857  a  petition  was  presented  asking  a  school  building  on  the  west 
side  of  Mahoning  Avenue.  This  petition  was  granted  and  $3,500  voted 
for  the  building,  this  structure,  a  two-story  frame  one,  being  completed 
in  1864. 

In  1865  the  intermediate  grade  of  school  was  established.  By  this 
time  the  school  buildings,  except  on  the  West  Side,  were  in  poor  shape, 
and  on  January  18,  1867,  the  electors  voted  to  expend  $5,000  a  year  for  a 
period  of  four  years  in  purchasing  sites  and  erecting  buildings.  More 
than  two  years  elapsed  and  there  was  $7,279  in  the  building  fund  but  not 


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444       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

even  a  school  site  had  been  purchased.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  natural 
dissatisfaction  over  this  neglect  and  at  a  spirited  election  on  July  21,  1869,. 
a  new  school  board  majority  was  named  with  instruction  to  proceed  with 
the  work. 

This  marked  a  new  era  in  Warren  public  school  affairs.  New  schools 
were  built  with  the  tax  moneys  authorized,  and  in  1871  still  another 
$10,000  was  voted  for  schools.  The  school  system  was  gradually  im- 
proved until  by  1910  Warren  had  eight  buildings,  giving  ample  accommo- 
dations for  all  pupils. 

In  the  last  ten  years  Warren's  schools  have  almost  doubled  in  number, 
six  new  ones  being  built,  but  accommodations  now  are  scarcely  sufficient 
and  portable  buildings  are  being  used.  The  school  enrollment  has  in- 
creased from  2,400  in  1910  to  5,000,  the  number  of  teachers  from  55  to 
250  and  expenditures  for  school  purposes  from  $55,000  to  $450,000.  The 
present  schools  include  the  Senior  High  School,  Monroe  Street;  East 
Junior  High  School,  West .  Junior  High  School ;  Central  Elementary, 
Harmon  Street ;  Dickey  Avenue,  Elm  Street,  First  Street,  Laird  Avenue, 
Market  Street,  McKinley  School,  North  Elm  Street,  Roosevelt  school, 
South  Park  Avenue,  Tod  Avenue  and  Frances  Willard  School. 

H.  B.  Turner  is  the  present  superintendent  of  schools,  having  suc- 
ceeded C.  E.  Carey.  Preceding  superintendents,  beginning  with  the 
organization  of  the  school  system  in  1849,  were,  Mortimer  D.  Leggett, 
Jacob  D.  Cox,  James  Marvin,  Hugh  J.  Caldwell,  J.  J.  Childs,  William  H. 
Pitt,  H.  B.  Furness,  J.  C.  Barney,  E.  F.  Moulton,  J.  L.  Lasley  and  R.  S. 
Thomas,  the  latter  being  succeeded  by  Superintendent  Carey.  The  pres- 
ent board  of  education  numbers,  Jay  Buchwalter,  president ;  W.  G.  Alex- 
ander, vice  president;.  Mrs.  Grace  V.  Ford,  V.  C.  Thompson,  William 
Kyser  and  Ruth  Dillon  Kepner,*-e1eijk-treasurer. 

Dana's  Musical  Institute 

This  institution  is  not  merely  a  Warren  one  but  is  famed  throughout 
all  Northeastern  Ohio  and  numbers  pupils  from  all  over  this  territory. 

Dana's  Institute  was  founded  in  October,  1869,  although  for  years 
before  that  Junius  Dana  had  been  a  prominent  educator  in  Warren,  hav- 
ing removed  here  in  1838  from  his  birthplace  in  New  Hampshire.  The 
original  school  room  was  in  the  third  floor  of  a  building  at  Main  and 
Market  streets,  but  success  was  immediate  and  in  July,  1870,  the  school 
was  removed  to  a  large  four-room  building  at  Park  Avenue  and  High 
Street  that  had  formerly  been  a  hotel.  Here  the  school  prospered  under 
the  elder  Dana  and  Professor  William  D.  Dana,  its  active  head  for  more 
than  a  generation.  The  work  of  the  institution  was  enlarged  until  vocal 
music  and  every  kind  of  instrumental  music  was  taught. 

In  1912  a  new  institute  building  in  Park  Avenue  was  erected  and 
under  Lynn  B.  Dana  all  the  traditions  of  this  famous  school  have  been 
maintained.  The  Warren  Military  Band  School,  the  only  institution  of 
its  kind  in  the  country,  is  also  located  here. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       445 
Churches 

Religious  exercises  in  Warren  began  almost  with  the  founding  of  the 
•settlement.  The  first  services  were  held  by  the  Baptists  and  the  Presby- 
terians and  the  church  organizations  were  formed  by  members  of  these 
■denominations,  the  Baptists  preceding  the  Presbyterians  in  each  instance 
by  but  a  few  months. 

Most  of  early  days  settlers  of  Warren  possessed  staunch  religious  con- 
evictions,  so  that  a  full  dozen  creeds  were  represented  by  the  time  the 
village  had  attained  fifty  years  of  growth.  In  the  last  twenty  years  this 
spread  of  religion  has  been  even  more  marked  until  today  Warren  has 
twenty-eight  religious  organizations,  twenty-three  of  these  having  church 
buildings  of  their  own  while  the  remaining  five  have  regular  meeting 
places.  In  the  last  ten  years  nine  new  church  buildings  have  been  erected 
and  two  old  buildings  have  been  remodeled.  As  Warren  is  increasing  in 
population  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  most  of  these  congregations 
are  active  and  flourishing. 

Baptist 

The  first  religious  services  in  Warren  were  held  on  Sunday,  June  8, 
1800,  when  Rev.  Henry  Speers,  a  Baptist  minister  of  Washington  County, 
Pennsylvania,  preached  to  an  audience  of  fifty,  or  a  great  part  of  the 
population  of  Warren.  Services  were  also  held  intermittently  in  1801 
and  1802  by  Rev.  Thomas  G.  Jones,  who  had  charge  of  a  Baptist  con- 
gregation on  the  Shenango  River  that  included  Brookfield  residents  of 
the  Baptist  persuasion.  :v-  :' 

On  September  3,  1803,  Rev.  Charles  B.  Smith  presided  at  a  gathering 
where  the  first  church  congregation  in  Warren  was  formally  organized, 
the  name  of  the  "Concord  Baptist*  Church/'  being  adopted  at  that  time. 
In  addition  to  the  minister  those  who  attended  this  meeting  and  became 
enrolled  members  of  the  church  were,  Isaac  Dally,  Effie  Dally,  Jane 
Dally,  Samuel  Fbrtner,  Henry  Fortner,  M.  C.  Leavitt,  Jr.,  Caleb  Jones, 
Samuel  Burnett,  Nancy  Burnett  and  Mary  Jones.  The  Philadelphia 
confession  of  faith  was  adopted  and  the  congregation  drew  its  own  cove- 
nant, a  most  rigid  document  that  was  enforced  with  a  discipline  now  un- 
known in  church  affairs.  On  October  1st,  M.  C.  Leavitt,  Jr.,  was  elected 
clerk  and  Isaac  Dally  deacon.  Before  the  end  of  1803  Samuel  Quinby, 
Samuel  Hayden,  Sophia  Hayden,  William  Jackman  and  Martha  Jackman 
joined  the  church  by  letters  from  other  congregations  to  which  they  had 
retained  allegiance.  In  1805,  John  Reeves  and  John  Dally  and  wife  were 
received  into  the  church. 

For  almost  two  years  preaching  was  conducted  by  lay  members,  but 
in  June,  1805,  Rev.  Thomas  Jones  became  supply  pastor,  attending  the 
church  until  1810.  In  that  year,  or  the  following  one,  Rev.  Adamson 
Bentley  became  the  first  resident  pastor.  At  this  time  the  church  had 
twenty-six  members,  some  of  whom  resided  outside  Warren.  Services 
were  held- part  of  the  time  at  Youngstown.     In  1815  fifteen  members 


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446       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

were  granted  letters  that  empowered  them  to  form  a  Baptist  congrega- 
tion at  Austintown. 

For  almost  twenty  years  Baptist  services  were  held  in  private  homes, 
in  the  courthouse  and  in  groves  in  summer,  but  in  1822-23  a  brick  meeting 
house  was  built  in  High  Street,  opposite  the  courthouse,  on  land  donated 
by  Ephraim  Quinby,  with  the  stipulation  that  the  property  was  to  be 
used  for  Baptist  church  purposes  only. 

In  1821  Alexander  Campbell  visited  Warren,  and  subsequently  Rev- 
erend Bentley  visited  him  at  Bethany,  Virginia,  the  outcome  being  that 
in  1828  the  pastor  and  a  great  part  of  the  Concord  Church  membership 
went  over  to  the  religious  teachings  pronounced  by  Campbell.  Only  six 
members  remained  true  to  old  Baptist  doctrines  and  beliefs,  and  such 
inroads  were  made  by  the  Campbellites  on  other  Baptist  congregations 
that  the  Mahoning  Baptist  Association  went  out  of  existence.    The  Con- 


First  Baptist  Church  in  Warren 

cord  church  building  was  retained  by  Reverend  Bentley  and  his  follow- 
ers, despite  the  stipulation  of  the  Quinby  deed. 

The  six  faithful  members  were  John  Reeves  and  wife  and  Ephraim 
Quinby,  wife  and  two  daughters.  Meeting  at  Reeves'  home  or  in  the 
courthouse  they  held  services  among  themselves,  although  visited  and 
encouraged  by  Rev.  A.  Greatrake  of  Pittsburgh,  until  February,  1834, 
when  the  church  was  reorganized  with  seven  members,  Elder  Jacob 
Morris  presiding.  In  1835  a  charter  was  granted  the  incorporated  "Con- 
cord Baptist  Church  of  Warren,"  and  in  1836  the  church  united  with 
the  Beaver  Baptist  Association.  A  Sunday  school  was  organized  in  that 
year  and  in  1837  Rev.  R.  Smith  became  pastor,  giving  way  in  1838^0 
Doctor  Winters  who  remained  for  eleven  years. 

During  Doctor  Winters'  pastorate  the  congregation  grew  rapidly,  and 
on  December  4,  1845,  a  church  building  was  dedicated,  this  edifice  being 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       447 

located  in  Pine  Street,  north  of  Market,  on  land  donated  deeded  by*  John 
Reeves.  Accessions  to  the  church  membership  continued,  inspired  by 
revival  services  in  1859  and  again  in  1870,  the  latter  replacing  losses 
sustained  during  the  Civil  war.  There  was  a  period  of  reverses  between 
1876  and  1879  when  many  members  withdrew  owing  to  differences  with 
the  pastor,  Rev.  W.  T.  Whitmarsh.  During  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  J.  S. 
Hutson,  1879-1885,  these  losses  were  repaired.  Under  the  pastorate  of 
Rev.  J.  S.  Wrightnour  a  movement  was  begun  for  a  new  church  building, 
a  site  was  purchased  in  High  Street  at  a  cost  of  $7,500  and  a  building 
committee  comprising  E.  A.  Palmer,  George  E.  Day,  W.  C.  Winfield, 
M.  J.  Sloan,  W.  A.  Heald,  C.  H.  Williams  and  W.  J.  Kerr  was  named. 
Dr.  William  Codville  became  pastor  fn  1890,  and  under  his  pastorate 
ground  was  broken  for  the  church  August  31,  1891,  and  the  edifice 
was  completed  in  1892  at  a  cost  of  $23,000  and  dedicated  with  services 
held  on  September  15  and  16,  1894.  On  December  3,  1893,  the  Mecca 
Baptist  Church  united  with  the  Concord  Church  and  the  Warren  congre- 
gation became  the  First  Baptist  Church.  Panic  times  found  the  church 
much  in  debt,  but  under  Rev.  Chester  F.  Ralston,  who  came  in  1898,  this 
burden  was  lifted  and  on  January  9,  1900,  a  jubilee  service  was  held 
with  the  church  free  of  all  obligations.  Since  that  time  considerable 
money  has  been  spent  for  improvements,  and  the  church  building,  al- 
though old,  is  serviceable  and  the  congregation  flourishing.  Rev.  A.  A. 
Nellis  is  the  present  pastor. 

There  are  two  other  Baptist  churches  in  Warren,  the  Shiloh  Church, 
Walnut  Street,  Rev.  A.  Smith,  pastor,  and  the  Romana  Church,  Pine 
Street. 

Presbyterian 

Services  under  Presbyterian  auspices  were  first  held  in  Warren  in 
the  fall  of  1800  by  Rev.  Joseph  Badger,  pioneer  clergyman  of  the  West- 
ern Reserve,  wh<?  was  sent  out  by  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society. 
It  was  three  years  later  before  a  congregation  was  organized,  and  while 
the  Baptist  Church  was  the  first  in  the  field  the  Presbyterian  Church  is 
the  oldest  in  Warren  in  point  of  unbroken  existence. 

Formal  organization  took  place  on  November  19,  1803,  when  the 
"Church  of  Christ  in  Warren"  was  formed  under  the  guidance  of  Rev- 
erend Badger,  assisted  by  Rev.  William  Wick  of  Youngstown  and  Rev- 
erend Tait.  The  church  started  with  a  membership  of  but  six.  Thomas 
Prior,  Betsy  Prior,  Thomas  Ross,  Rosalind  Ross,  Polly  Lane  and  Ann 
Davidson. 

Rev.  Thomas  Robbins  served  as  supply  minister  from  1803  to  1805 
and  Rev.  Jonathan  Leslie  from  1805  to  1808,  being  replaced  in  the  latter 
year  by  Rev.  James  Boyd,  the  first  regular  pastor.  Reverend  Boyd,  who 
also  had  the  Newton  church  in  his  charge,  remained  until  his  death  on 
March  8,  1813.  Rev.  James  Duncan  was  supply  minister  from  1813  to 
1815,  and  on  February  4,  1820,  Rev.  Joseph  W.  Curtis  was  installed  by 
the  Grand  River  Presbytery,  after  having  been  supply  minister  for  a 
year  and  a  half.     Reverend  Curtis  remained  until  183 1,  and  under  his 


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448       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ministry  construction  of  a  church  building  was  begun  in  the  fall  of  1830, 
this  edifice  being  dedicated  on  May  10,  1832. 

Rev.  Josiah  Towne  was  pastor  from  May  13,  1835,  to  October  1, 
1839,  the  congregational  form  of  government  of  the  church  being  super- 
seded, under  his  pastorate,  or  on  February  1,  1838,  by  the  Presbyterian 
form.  Rev.  Nathan  B.  Purinton  was  in  charge  from  May,  1840,  until 
April  12,  1848.  During  his  term  the  Presbyterian  society  was  incor- 
porated as  the  "First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Warren,"  this  action  taking 
place  on  March  10,  1845.  Rev.  George  W.  Hulin  had  been  supply  pastor 
in  1831-32  and  Rev.  J.  A.  Woodruff,  1832-34.  Rev.  William  C.  Clark 
was  pastor  from  November  15,  1848,  and  remained  for  fifteen  years,  or 
until  1863.  The  old  church  building  was  remodeled  and  improved  under 
his  pastorate,  in  1849. 

Since  that  time  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  has  had  eight  pastors, 
Rev.  H.  R.  Hosington,  1863-67;  Rev.  Benjamin  Page,  supply,  1867-68; 
Rev.  N.  P.  Bailey,  1869-79;  Rev.  Alex  Jackson,  1879-84  ;Rev.  James  D. 
Williamson,  1885-88";  Rev.  W.  L.  Swan,  1888-98;  Rev.  W.  S.  McFad- 
den,  1899-1903;  Rev.  F.  P.  Reinhold,  1904  to  date. 

The  present  First  Church  building,  located  in  Mahoning  Avenue  and 
conspicuous  because  of  its  high  spire,  was  built  in  1875,  the  old  church 
building  being  torn  down  to  make  way  for  the  new.  Dedicatory  services 
took  place  on  November  19,  1878,  Dr.  Daniel  H.  Evans  of  Youngstown 
preaching  the  sermon  on  this  occasion. 

Episcopal 

Perhaps  the  first  Episcopal  services  in  Warren  were  held  in  the  old 
courthouse  in  181 3,  by  Reverend  Searle.  At  that  time,  it  is  said,  the  only 
communicant  of  the  Episcopal  faith  in  Warren  was  Mrs.  Lavina  Rowe, 
although  it  is  likely  there  were  other  attendants  at  this  service.  In  that 
day  of  few  distractions  many  attended  services  of  denominations  with 
which  they  were  not  actually  affiliated. 

During  the  service  of  Bishop  Philander  Chase  as  head  of  the  Episco- 
pal diocese  of  Ohio,  or  between  181 9  and  1831,  services  were  held  inter- 
mittently at  Warren  by  Bishop  Chase,  Reverend  Searele,  Rev.  M.  C.  T. 
Wing  and  Rev.  J.  H.  Harrison,  the  last  mentioned  being  from  Board- 
man. 

In  1836  an  Episcopal  congregation  was  formally  organized  by  Rev- 
erend Harrison,  and  in  1841  it  was  reorganized  by  Rev.  C.  C.  Townsend, 
who  acted  as  pastor  for  the  next  two  years  in  connection  with  his  charge 
at  Newton  Falls.  On  petition  of  Gen.  John  Crowell  the  church  was  in- 
corporated in  1842  as  Christ  Church,  the  name  it  has  since  borne.  Be- 
tween 1843  and  1848  there  was  no  settled  pastor,  but  the  church  prog- 
ressed. Services  were  held  under  lay  auspices  in  Colonel  Harris'  paint 
shop,  at  the  end  of  the  old  bridge,  and  in  Darley's  school  room  on  the 
second  floor  of  the  King  Block.  The  first  Easter  Monday  election  was 
held  in  1846,  when  S.  D.  Harris  and  U.  B.  White  were  named  wardens 
and  William  H.  WTeeks,  C.  J.  Van  Gorder,  George  Parsons,  Jr.,  Gen.  John 
Crowell  and  William  G.  Darley,  vestrymen.     In   1846,  also,  a  lot  was 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       449 

purchased  at  what  is  now  Park  Avenue  and  Franklin  Street  as  a  church 
site,  the  cornerstone  of  the  church  building  was  laid  on  September  i, 
1847,  services  were  held  therein  in  the  summer  of  1848  and  the  church 
was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Mcllvaine  on  September  23,  1849. 

Rev.  G.  W.  DuBois  became  pastor  in  1848,  remaining  until  1853. 
Reverend  DuBois  was  a  son-in-law  of  Bishop  Mcllvaine  and  the  bishop 
visited  Warren  frequently  during  these  five  years.  Rev.  Joseph  E.  Ryan 
was  a  visiting  pastor  from  1853  to  1855  and  resident  pastor  from  1855 
to  1858,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  C.  S.  Abbott. 

Under  Reverend  Abbott  attendance  increased  and  it  was  decided  to 
enlarge  the  church.  A  committee  was  named  for  this  purpose,  and  oh , 
April  23,  i860,  it  reported  that  sufficient  funds  had  been  pledged  for  the 
work.  A  meeting  was  called  for  April  30th,  when  reports  were  to  be 
made  on  the  letting  of  contracts,  but  on  the  afternoon  of  April  30th 
Warren  was  visited  by  the  most  disastrous  fire  of  its  history.  The  severe 
losses  sustained  by  members  irf~the  church  and  the  need  of  rebuilding 
business  houses  caused  delay,-  and  before  further  action  could  be  taken  it 
was  decided  that  a  new  churclj  site  would  be  advisable.  In  October, 
1861,  a  location  was  purchased  in  High  Street  and  on  May  14,  1863,  the 
cornerstone  of  the  new  church  was  laid  by  Bishop  Bedell.  In  1864  serv- 
ices were  held  in  a  temporary  meeting  place  over  Andrews  and  Weeks' 
store  in  Main  Street)(^cfcJ££l5lay  24,  1865,  the  new  church  was  dedicated 
by  Bishop  Mcllvaine. 

Reverend  Abbott  remained  until  July,  1867,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Charles  T.  Steck,  who  remained  a  year.  Rev.  Henry  L.  Badger 
was  pastor  from  1869  to  1871,  Rev.  Thorhas  J.  Taylor  from  October, 
1871,  to  April,  .1873,  Rev.  A.  R.  Kieffer  from  1873  to  August,  1883,  and 
Rev.  James  A.  Matthews  from  September,  1883,  to  April,  1885.  Rev. 
L.  P.  McDonald  oame  as  pastor  in  1904  and  remained  until  1920. 
^-%.   .  •      „  • 

Methodist 

Throughout  the  Western  Reserve  Methodist  organizations  sprang  into 
existence  in  the  various  townships  almost  with  the  beginning  of  settle- 
ment. Yet  it  was  twenty  years  after  the  founding  of  Warren  that  the 
first  Methodist  Episcopal  body  was  formed  here. 

Delegated  by  the  quarterly  meeting  at  Youngstown,  and  on  solicitation 
of  Warren  Methodists,  Rev.  James  McMahan  and  Elder  Swayze  came  to 
Warren  on  November  26,  1819,  and  on  the  evening  of  that  day  the  elder 
preached  to  a  gathering  in  the  old  schoolhouse  on  the  river  bank,  west 
of  the  courthouse  park.  The  following  day  Reverend  McMahan  formal- 
ly organized  a  Methodist  class  with  a  membership  of  ten,  John  Bridle, 
Ann  Bridle,  Lewis  Reeves,  Hannah  Reeves,  Romanta  Brockway,  Sarah 
Cowan,  John  Barnes,  Sarah  Barnes,  Nancy  Hudson  and  Alex  Stewart. 
The  organization  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Lewis  Reeves,  the 
village  jailer.  John  Bridle  was  elected  leader  and  served  until  1821  when 
he  was  succeeded  by  Benjamin  Stevens  who  remained  leader  until  his 
death  in  1883. 

The  class  later  became  a  duly  organized  church  and  for  many  years. 

Vol.  1—29  ■■  < 


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450       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

the  members  met  in  the  old  courthouse,  in  private  homes  and  in  the  old 
Academy  Building,  but  in  1836  a  movement  was  begun  for  a  church 
building  and  on  November  9,  1837,  this  structure  was  dedicated.  This 
church  stood  on  the  high  river  bank  at  what  is  now  the  west  end  of 
Franklin  Street,  Benjamin  Stevens,  A.  Van  Gorder,  A.  R.  Reeves,  Isaac 
Van  Gorder  and  George  Hapgood  were  the  building  committee. 

Until  this  time  services  had  been  conducted  by  lay  members  and  visit- 
ing ministers,  but  in  1839  the  Warren  Church  was  made  a  station  with 
Rev.  L.  D.  Mix  as  attendant.  Membership  increased  steadily,  if  not 
rapidly,  and  in  1857-58  it  was  found  necessary  to  remodel  the  old  church 
building. 

Ten  years  later,  on  March  15,  1868,  the  chufch  was  formally  incor- 
porated as  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  with  Albert  Van  Gor- 
der, Allison  Chew,  Benjamin  Crannage,  B.  P.  Jameson,  William  Hap- 


fcA,      ** 

UK  i 

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■ttilE 

nfir 

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Tod  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

good,  George  Van  Gorder,  William  A.  Ernest,  Albert  Wheeler  and  J.  M. 
Stull  as  incorporators.  About  the  same  time  it  wa$  decided  that  a  new 
church  was  necessary  and  on  March  30,  1868,  a  building  lot  was  pur- 
chased in  High  Street  and  plans  were  made  for  church  construction.  On 
March  28,  1873,  the  last  service  was  held  in  the  old  church  and  in  June, 
1874,  the  new  church  was  dedicated,  the  service  being  conducted  by  Rev. 
B.  I.  Ives,  D.  D.,  of  Auburn,  New  York. 

This  edifice,  complete,  c*st  $55,000,  a  great  amount  of  money  for  that 
day,  and  the  burden  on  the  congregation  was  rendered  greater  when  the 
cyclone  of  1878  tore  the  roof  from  the  building  and  damaged  the  auditor- 
ium until  it  had  to  be  practically  rebuilt.  The  structure  sufficed,  however, 
for  more  than  forty  years,  or  until  the  present  church  building  in  North 
Park  Avenue  was  built  in  191 5.  This  is  probably  the  finest  of  Warren 
church  edifices.  The  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  now  one  of 
the  leading  religious  organizations  of  Warren.  Rev.  A.  B.  Salmon  is 
pastor. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       451 

The  Tod  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  congregation  was 
formed  in  1897  by  members  of  the  First  Church.  In  1898  B.  F.  Wonders, 
R.  P.  McClennan,  A.  R.  Moore,  C.  L.  Bailey,  A.  F.  Spear  and  J.  F.  Wil- 
son, church  trustees,  purchased  a  church  site  at  Tod  Avenue  and  Buckeye 
Street,  construction  work  was  begun  immediately  and  in  August,  1898, 
the  church  building  was  dedicated.  Rev.  L.  W.  LePage  had  been  named 
pastor  of  the  congregation  soon  after  its  organization  in  1897. 

In  May,  1912,  the  old  church  building  was  removed  and  the  same 
year  construction  of  a  much  larger  edifice  was  begun.  This  building  was 
dedicated  in  1913.    Rev.  S.  E.  Sears  is  the  present  pastor  of  the  church. 

Christian 

The  Central  Christian  Church  of  Warren  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church,  and  its  early  history  is  the  history  of  that  church. 

In  1821  Rev.  Adamson  Bentley  of  the  Baptist  Church  became  inter- 
ested in  the  teachings  of  Alexander  Campbell,  and  seven  years  later  the 
evolution  from  Baptist  to  Christian,  or  Disciples,  church  began  with 
revival  services  held  at  Warren  by  Walter  Scott,  in  January,  1828.  Rev- 
erend Bentley  and  all  but  six  members  of  the  Baptist  Church  accepted  the 
new  teachings  and  within  three  months  there  were  127  baptisms,  giving 
the  church  a  membership  of  almost  200. 

Apparently  this  was  considered  a  Baptist  congregation  until  about 
1841  or  1842.  In  the  latter  year  Alexander  Campbell  visited  Warren  and 
the  Disciples  faith  was  firmly  established.  Cyrus  Bosworth  and  other 
elders  served  the  congregation  after  1831,  and  in  1846  Rev.  John  T. 
Smith  came  as  resident  pastor.  Rev.  J.  W.  Lamphear  had  been  engaged 
in  1843,  but  returned  to  Lisbon,  although  he  later  served  Warren. 

The  old  Baptist  Church  building  had  been  retained  by  the  Disciples, 
but  on  June  16,  1880,  a  modern  church  building  in  High  Street  was 
dedicated  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  E.  B.  Wakefield.  This  building 
has  recently  been  entirely  remodeled. 

The  Christian  Church  is  a  religious  organization  of  exceptional 
strength  in  Warren  and  its  congregations  are  large  and  flourishing.  Rev. 
Walter  Mansell  is  the  present  pastor  of  the  Central  Church. 

The  Second  Christian  Church  was  formed  from  the  Central,  or  parent 
church,  in  1905  and  preparations  were  begun  immediately  for  building. 
The  cornerstone  of  the  new  church  was  laid  on  October  21,  1906,  and  on 
April  14,  1907,  the  edifice  was  dedicated.  This  young  congregation  soon 
found  itself  out  of  debt  and  vieing  with  the  older  organization  in  strength. 
The  church  building  has  recently  been  remodeled  and  modernized.  Rev. 
F.  W.  Brown  is  pastor. 

Roman  Catholic 

Members  of  the  Catholic  faith  began  to  come  to  Warren  in  numbers 
about  1835,  and  in  1837  Rev.  Patrick  O'Dwyer  of  Cleveland  visited  them 
and  held  the  first  services  of  this  church.  Father  O'Dwyer  continued  to 
come  at  intervals  until  1839,  between  1839  and  1846  Warren  was  unat- 


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452       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

tended,  and  from  1846  to  1849  Rev.  James  Conlan,  resident  pastor  at 
Dungannon,  Columbiana  County,  visited  regularly,  Warren  being  one  of 
his  stations. 

From  1850  to  1868  Warren  was  attended  by  priests  from  Randolph, 
Akron,  Summitville  and  Youngstown.  For  many  years  Mass  was  read 
in  private  homes,  and  during  one  summer  in  the  open  air  in  Freeman's 


St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic  Church 

woods,  but  in  1864  Rev.  E.  M.  O  Callaghan  of  Youngstown  purchased 
two  lots  at  Park  Avenue  and  Franklin  Street  and  remodeled  the  Episco- 
pal Church  that  stood  on  one  of  these  lots,  this  building  being  used  for 
church  purposes  for  thirty-five  years  thereafter. 

In  April,  1868,  Rev.  E.  J.  Conway  was  appointed  the  first  resident 
pastor,  For  the  next  eight  years  the  Warren  Church,  then  Our  Lady 
of  Mount  Carmel  parish,  had  a  resident  priest  part  of  the  time  and  was. 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       453 

attended  during  the  remaining  time  from  Niles.  Since  then  there  has 
been  a  resident  pastor  except  for  a  short  time  in  1886. 

In  July,  1886,  Rev.  Ambrose  A.  Weber  was  appointed  parish  priest 
and  under  his  fifteen  years'  of  ministration  the  church  thrived  notably. 
The  church  and  parish  house  were  remodeled,  a  cemetery  laid  out  and 
in  1900  Father  Weber  purchased  the  present  church  site  at  High  and 
Seneca  streets. 

In  July,  1901,  Father  Weber  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  P.  C.  N.  Dwyer, 
and  under  Father  Dwyer  ground  was  broken  for  a  new  church  in  1902. 
Construction  of  a  parochial  residence  was  also  begun,  and  in  June,  '1907, 
St.  Mary's  Church  was  dedicated.  Father  Weber  also  purchased  a 
school  site  in  1900,  and  under  the  ministrations  of  his  successor  and 
those  of  Rev.  C.  J.  Moseley,  the  present  parish  priest,  St.  Mary's  has 
flourished. 

Reformed 

First  services  of  the  Reformed  Church  were  held  in  Warren  about 
1841  by  Rev.  Nathan  Paltzorff,  the  McFarland  Block  at  Park  Avenue 
and  South  Street  being  engaged  for  this  purpose.  Reverend  Paltzorff  re- 
mained but  a  short  time,  but  returned  in  1846  and  resumed  services  in 
the  King  Block  in  Main  Street,  the  church  being  regularly  organized  at 
this  time. 

In  1848  a  lot  was  purchased  in  Vine  Street  and  a  church  building 
was  erected,  but  later  Reverend  Paltzorff  became  identified  with  the  Eng- 
lish Evangelical  Synod,  a  great  part  of  the  congregation  going  with  him. 
The  church  building  remained  in  possession  of  the  new  congregation,  but 
services  became  irregular  and  in  1866  the  building  was  sold  to  the  Luther- 
ans and  to  the  members  of  the  Reformed  Church  who  had  held  to  the 
old  faith. 

In  the  fire  of  1868  this  building  was  destroyed  and  the  members  of 
the  Reformed  Church  held  services  in  the  basement  of  the  Baptist 
Church.  For  a  time  the  church  suffered  by  the  defection  to  the  Evangeli- 
cal Synod,  the  dissolution  of  the  joint  arrangement  with  the  Lutherans 
and  the  destruction  of  the  church  buildingr  but  later  revived  in  member- 
ship. The  present  First  Reformed  Church  building,  located  in  East 
Market  Street  and  built  in  1912,  is  one  of  the  most  attractive .  church 
edifices  in  Warren.     Rev.  R.  W.  Bloemker  is  the  pastor. 

Lutheran 

Lutheran  services  were  held  in  Warren  in  the  early  '40s  at  least,  and 
in  1866  the  members  of  this  denomination  united  with  the  Reformed 
Church  in  purchasing  the  old  Reformed  Church  building  in  Vine  Street, 
a  structure  that  they  used  jointly.  Previous  to  this  services  had  been 
held  in  the  old  Empire  Hall  and  in  the  basement  of  the  Baptist  Church. 

The  building  used  jointly  by  the  two  congregations  burned  in  1868, 
but  was  rebuilt  by  the  Lutherans  and  used  solely  by  this  congregation 
thereafter.     On  October  23,  1870,  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church  was  reg- 


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454       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ularly  organized  by  Rev.  H.  Shultz,  having  a  membership  of  about 
sixty.  Rev.  John  Bauch  came  that  year  as  the  first  pastor,  remaining 
until  1873,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  R.  Schmidt.  Rev.  F.  C. 
Snyder  is  the  present  pastor. 

The  Emanuel  Evangelical  Lutheran  congregation  was  founded  on 
February  4,  191 2,  being  organized  under  the  leadership  of  Rev.  F.  R. 
Sutter.  The  church  building  at  Buckeye  and  Cherry  streets  was  built 
soon  afterwards,  and  dedicated  on  April  6,  1913.  Rev.  R.  H.  Long,  the 
first  pastor,  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Charles  L.  Rush,  present  head  of 
the  congregation. 

The  Finnish  Lutheran  congregation  was  founded  about  fifteen 
years  ago  and  has  a  new  church  building,  located  in  Clinton  Street. 
Rev.  Ever  Maatala  is  pastor. 

United  Evangelical 

Evangelical  Church  services  were  first  held  in  Warren  about  1850 
but  eventually  this  congregation  went  out  of  existence,  most  of  the  mem- 
bers becaming  identified  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Later 
many  younger  members  of  the  rural  churches  began  to  locate  in  Warren, 
and  at  the  Ohio  conference  of  the  United  Evangelical  Church  at  Akron 
in  September,  1902,  a  committee  consisting  of  Rev.  S.  E.  Rife,  Rev. 
T.  R.  Smith,  Rev.  J.  A.  Grimm,  M.  B.  Templin,  G.  W.  Ripple,  Heman 
W.  Masters  and  Levi  Beaver  was  named  to  select  a  church  site  in 
Warren. 

A  location  was  picked  in  Belmont  Avenue,  but  before  the  church  was 
built  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Mercer  Street  school  building  on  May 
21,  1903,  when  the  church  was  organized  under  the  direction  of  Rev. 
H.  D.  Shultz.  In  July  ground  was  broken  for  the  church  and  the  build- 
ing was  dedicated  on  November  22,  1903,  by  Bishop  R.  Dubs  of  Harris- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  as  Grace  United  Evangelical  Church,  Reverend 
Shultz  remaining  as  pastor  until  1905.  Rev.  F.  A.  Firestone  is  the 
present  pastor. 

United  Brethren 

The  United  Brethren  Church  of  Warren  was  organized  in  1909  and 
a  temporary  tabernacle  erected  in  which  to  hold  services.  On  Easter 
Sunday,  191 1,  a  start  was  made  toward  raising  funds  for  a  permanent 
church  building  and  more  than  $2,500  was  subscribed  and  pledged.  A 
site  was  selected  in  North  Park  Avenue,  the  dwelling  house  removed 
to  the  rear  for  parsonage  purposes  and  on  June  1,  191 1,  ground  was 
broken.  The  cornerstone  was  laid  on  August  27,  191 1,  and  in  April, 
19 1 2,  the  church  was  formally  dedicated  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev. 
John  Pringle.  The  congregation  is  a  growing  one,  with  Rev.  .E.  L. 
Ortt  as  the  present  pastor.  Reverend  Jones  was  the  organizer  and  first 
pastor  of  the  church. 

The  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Warren  is  located  in  Market 
Street,  this  church  structure  having  been  erected  but  a  few  years  ago. 
Rev.  J.  I.  Wherry  is  pastor. 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       455 

The  Hebrew  congregation  was  organized  about  fifteen  years,  and 
after  worshiping  in  temporary  quarters  for  some  time  now  has  a  temple 
in  First  Street.    Rabbi  Samuel  Greenstein  is  pastor  of  this  congregation. 

Other  religious  bodies  include  the  Free  Methodist  Church,  212  Oak 
Street,  Rev.  C.  W.  Smith,  pastor;  First  Church  of  Christ,  Scientist, 
reading  room  and  meeting  hall  in  Hippodrome  Building;  Rumanian 
Greek  Orthodox  Church,  104  South  Vine  Street,  Octavian  Muresan, 
pastor;  Christian  and  Missionary  Alliance,  South  Pine  Street;  Pente- 
costal Mission,  Market  Street;  International  Bible  Students,  Market 
Street;  Warren  Bible  School  Mission,  South  Park  Avenue,  and  the 
Transcendant  Church. 

The  Grace  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  in 
1874  by  Rev.  J.  F.  Lee  and  is  now  a  good-sized  congregation.  This  or- 
ganization has  a  church  building  in  Market  Street  and  is  under  the 
ministry  of  Rev.  M.  L.  Gordon. 

Professions 

As  the  business  center  of  a  great  territory  in  the  early  days  of  Ohio, 
Warren  ranked  high  in  all  professions,  but  it  was  in  the  profession  of 
the  law  that  it  shone  with  especial  splendor.  This  is  not  surprising, 
since  it  was  originally  the  capital  of  a  small  empire  and  the  center  to 
which  all  the  great  men  of  this  profession  from  Northeastern  Ohio 
gravitated. 

The  Trumbull  County  bar  of  early  days  was  famed  in  itself,  but 
even  from  outside  Trumbull  came  men  like  Giddings  and  Wade,  Peter 
Hitchcock  and  Andrew  W.  Loomis  to  practice  there.  Benjamin  Tappan 
and  Edwin  M.  Stanton  practiced  at  Warren  in  their  early  years,  James 
A.  Garfield  appeared  there  in  later  times.  The  Trumbull  County  bar 
produced  one  governor  of  Ohio,  Jacob  Dolson  Cox,  and  six  justices  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state,  Calvin  Pease,  Matthew  Birchard,  Rufus 
P.  Spaulding,  Rufus  P.  Ranney,  Milton  Sutliff  and  William  T.  Spear, 
while  Judge  George  Tod  was  elected  to  the  same  bench  when  Youngs- 
town  was  still  in  Trumbull  County. 

John  Stark  Edwards,  first  Trumbull  County  lawyer  and  probably  the 
first  lawyer  on  the  Western  Reserve,  was  born  at  New  Haven,  Connecti- 
cut, August  23,  1777,  a  son  of  Pierpont  Edwards  and  Frances  Ogden 
Edwards.  His  father  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Con- 
necticut Land  Company.  Graduating  at  Princeton  in  1796,  he  studied 
law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  New  Haven  in  the  spring  of  1799, 
and  left  soon  after  for  Warren,  where  he  arrived  in  June,  1799.  He 
later  repaired  to  Mesopotamia  Township,  which  was  owned  by  his  father, 
and  cleared  ground  and  erected  a  cabin  there,  but  practiced  his  pro- 
fession a  great  deal  of  the  time  at  Warren  and  finally  located  there 
permanently  in  1804.  He  was  one  of  the  attorneys  for  Joseph  McMahon, 
defendant  in  the  first  trial  in  Trumbull  County,  in  September,  1800. 

In  March,  181 1,  he  was  commissioned  lieutenant-colonel  in  com- 
mand of  the  Second  Regiment,  Third  Brigade,  Fourth  Division,  Ohio 
Militia  and  marched  with  his  regiment  to  Cleveland  when  the  Trumbull 


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456       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

County  troops  responded  to  the  call  to  war  in  the  summer  of  1812.  In 
October,  1812,  he  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the  Sixth  Ohio  District, 
comprising  all  Northeastern  Ohio,  the  first  resident  of  the  Western 
Reserve  to  attain. this  honor.  In  January,  1813,  he  set  out  for  Put-in- 
Bay  on  a  business  mission,  started  back  from  Lower  Sandusky  before 
completing  his  journey  and  was  taken  ill  on  the  road.  He  died  on 
February  22,  1813. 

On  February  28,  1807,  John  S.  Edwards  was  married,  at  Spring- 
field, Vermont,  to  Louisa  Maria  Morris,  daughter  of  General  Lewis 
Morris.  They  had  three  children,  but  one  of  whom,  William  J.  Ed 
wards,  long  a  prominent  Youngstown  man,  grew  to  mature  years.  In 
1814  Mrs.  Edwards  was  married  to  Major  Robert  Montgomery,  by 
"whom  she  had  three  children,  Robert,  Mrs.  Caroline  Hazeltine  and  Mrs. 
Ellen  Louisa  Hine. 

Calvin  Pease  was  born  at  Suffield,  Hartford  County,  Connecticut, 
September  9,  1776.  He  located  at  Youngstown  in  1800,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  at  Warren  the  same  year  and  located  at  Warren  in  1803. 
He  was  elected  clerk  of  the  first  court  of  Trumbull  County  in  August, 
.1800,  and  named  by  the  Legislature  president  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  for  the  Third  Circuit,  serving,  until  1810.  Judge  Pease 
was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  in  181 2,  named  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Ohio  in  1816  and  elected  to  the  Lower  House  of  the  State 
Legislature  in  1831.    He  died  September  17,  1839. 

Thomas  Denny  Webb,  born  at  Windham,  Connecticut,  May  10,  1784, 
a  son  of  Peter  and  Tamasin  Denny  Webb,  located  at  Warren  in  1807. 
In  1812  he  established  the  Trump  of  Fame,  the  first  newspaper  on  the 
Western  Reserve,  in  181 3  was  named  collector  of  internal  revenue  for 
the  Eighth  District,  and  in  1832  was  a  candidate  for  Congress  against 
Elisha  Whittlesey.  He  practiced  law  at  Warren  until  1857  and  died  on 
March  7,  1865,  leaving  two  children,  Adaline  and  Laura,  the  latter  the 
wife  of.  Dr.  Warren  Iddings.  Mrs.  Webb  was  Betsey  Stanton  and  was 
married  to  Mr.  Webb  on  January  13,  1813. 

Matthew  Birchard  w&s  born  at  Becket,  Massachusetts,  January  19, 
1804.  In  1812  he  settled  in  Windham  Township  with  his  father,  read 
law  with  General  Roswell  Stone,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1827  and 
entered  into  partnership  with  David  Tod.  He  was  postmaster  of  War- 
ren from  1829  to  1833,  president  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 
1833  t0  J836,  solicitor  of  the  general  land  office  at  Washington  for  the 
next  three  years  and  solicitor  of  the  treasury  department  until  1841. 
He  was  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio  from  1842  to  1849  and 
in  1853  was  elected  to  Congress  as  a  Democrat  from  a  strongly  Whig 
district.  Thereafter  he  practiced  law  at  Warren  until  his  death  on 
June  16,  1876. 

General  Roswell  Stone,  born  at  Burlington,  Hartford  County,  Con- 
necticut, in  1794,  graduated  at  Yale  in  1817  and  located  at  Warren  in 
1822.  He  was  prosecuting  attorney  of  Trumbull  County  in  1833-34, 
securing  the  conviction  of  the  only  murderer  ever  hanged  in  the  county. 
He  died  in  1834. 

Judge  Milton  Sutliff  was  one  of  four  brothers,  all  of  whom  became 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       457 

noted  Trumbull  County  lawyers.  Born  in  Vernon  Township  on  October 
16,  1806,  he  graduated  from  Western  Reserve  College  in  1833  and  began 
the  practice  of  law  in  1834.  A  pronounced  anti-slavery  man,  he  early 
affiliated  with  the  Free  Soil  party  and  was  elected  to -the  State  Senate 
in  1850.  He  became  a  Republican  on  the  organization  of  that  party,  was 
elected  a  justice  of  the  State  Supreme  Court  in  1857  and  attended  the 
convention  of  i860  that  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln.  He  was  a  vig- 
orous supporter  of  the  Civil  war,  but  in  1872  left  the  Republican  party, 


Trumbull  County  Courthouse 

supported  Horace  Greeley  and  was  a  Democratic  candidate  for  Congress 
against  General  Garfield.     He  died  on  April  24,  1878. 

Calvin  Sutliff  was  born  in  Vernon  on  April  17,  1808,  admitted  to  the 
bar  at  Warren  and  practiced  there  until  his  death  in  1852.  Levi  Sutliff 
formed  a  partnership  at  Warren  with  Judge  Matthew  Birchard.  He 
died  in  1864.  Flavel  Sutliff,  the  fourth  of  the  lawyer  brothers,  died  when 
a  young  man. 

Rufus  P.  Spaulding,  born  on  the  Island  of  Martha's  Vineyard  in  1799, 
graduated  from  Yale,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  came  to  Warren. 
Here  he  taught  school  and  practiced  law,  becoming  famed  in  his  pro- 
fession and  being  elected  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio  in  1849. 
In  1852  he  located  at  Cleveland  and  in  1862  was  elected  to  Congress.  He 
died  at  Cleveland. 


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458       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Rufus  P.  Ranney  was  born  in  Hampden  County,  Massachusetts, 
October  30,  1813,  came  to  Portage  County  with  his  father  in  1824,  read 
law  with  Giddings  and  Wade  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1836.  He 
practiced  law  for  several  years  at  Jefferson  but  removed  to  Warren  in 
1845.  He  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Congress  in  1842,  1846  and 
1848,  member  of  the  state  constitutional  convention  of  185 1  and  jus- 
tice of  the  Supreme  Court  from  1851  to  1856.  After  1856  he  practiced 
law  at  Cleveland. 

Judge  Ezra  B.  Taylor  was  born  at  Nelson,  Portage  County,  July  9, 
1823,  read  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1845,  located  at  Ravenna  in 
1847  and  in  1849  was  married  to  Harriett  M.  Frazier.  He  was  named 
prosecuting  attorney  of  Portage  County  in  1854  and  in  1862  removed 
to  Warren.  In  1864  he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Seventy-First 
Ohio  National  Guard  and  on  his  return  home  was  elected  colonel  of  his 
regiment. 

In  1877  he  was  appointed  to  succeed  Judge  Francis  Servis  and  in 
1878  was  elected  to  this  office.  On  August  12,  1880,  he  was  nominated 
for  Congress  by  the  Republicans  of  the  Nineteenth  District  to  succeed 
James  A.  Garfield,  elected  and  served  twelve  years,  or  from  \1881 
to  1893. 

Gen.  John  Crowell  was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1801,  educated  and 
read  law  at  Warren  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1827.  He  was? 
elected  to  the  State  Senate  in  1840,  to  Congress  in  1848  and  in  1852 
removed  to  Cleveland. 

Philo  E.  Reed  was  a  native  of  Hartford,  born  there  on  June  20, 
1 83 1.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1854,  practiced  for  a  short  time  and 
removed  to  Illinois.    He  was  killed  while  serving  in  the  Union  army. 

Ira  L.  Fuller  was  born  in  Broome  County,  New  York,  in  1816,  came 
to  Brookfield  with  his  parents  in  1833,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and 
twice  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Trumbull  County.  He  died  on 
October  16,  1864. 

Thomas  Jefferson  McLain  was  born  in  Huntington  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1801,  located  in  Warren  in  1830  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1842.  He  was  a  newspaper  publisher,  postmaster,  mayor  of  War- 
ren and  banker  as  well  as  lawyer,  a  man  of  varied  pursuits. 

Judge  George  M.  Tuttle  was  born  at  Torrington,  Litchfield  County, 
Connecticut,  on  June  19,  181 5,  located  in  Ashtabula  County  in  1838  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1841.  He  was  elected  judge  of  the  Common 
Pleas  Court  in  1866  and  afterward  practiced  law  with  F.  E.  Hutchinson. 

John  Hutchins  was  born  in  Vienna  on  July  25,  1812,  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1838,  was  clerk  of  courts  from  1839  to  1844,  an  avowed  airti- 
slavery  man,  member  of  Congress  from  1859  to  1863  and  active  in 
recruiting  for  the  army.     In  1868  he  removed  to  Cleveland. 

Gen.  Robert  W.  Ratliff  was  born  June  30,  1822,  in  Howland  Town- 
ship. Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1846,  he  taught  school,  engaged  in  bank- 
ing, and  practiced  law  until  1861,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  Union  army.  In 
August,  1861,  he  was  made  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Second  Ohio  Cavalry 
and  was  mustered  out  in  1865  #s  a  brigadier-general.  In  1867  he  resumed 
the  practice  of  law  at  Warren. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       459 

Gen.  Jacob  Dolson  Cox  was  born  at  Montreal,  Quebec,  in  1828,  the 
son  of  American  parents.  He  graduated  from  Oberlin  in  185 1,  located 
in  Warren  the  same  year,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1854  and  elected  to 
the  State  Senate  in  1859.  In  April,  1861,  he  abandoned  peaceful  pursuits 
to  recruit  an  Ohio  detachment  for  war  service  and  on  April  23,  1861, 
was  commissioned  a  brigadier-general  of  Ohio  Volunteers.  He  was 
subsequently  made  a  major-general,  and  while  still  in  the  field,  in  October, 
1865,  was  elected  governor  of  Ohio  on  the  Republican  ticket.  He  declined 
re-election,  was  named  Secretary  of  the  Interior  by  President  Grant  but 
resigned  and  located  in  Cincinnati  where  he  remained  until  his  death. 

Judge  Charles  E.  Glidden  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  where  he 
was  born  on  December  4,  1835.  He  located  at  Poland,  was  elected  judge 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  1861  and  again  in  1866  and  retired 
because  of  ill-health  at  the  close  of  his  second  term. 

Whittlesey  Adams  was  born  at  Warren,  November  26,  1829,  a  son 
of  Asahel  Adams  and  Lucy  Mygatt  Adams.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  i860,  was  paymaster  in  the  United  States  army  in  1864  and  later 
became  prominent  in  the  insurance  business  at  Warren. 

William  T.  Spear  was  born  at  Warren,  June  3,  1833,  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1858,  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Trumbull  County  in  1871 
and  served  two  terms,  was  elected  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
in  1878  and  elected  to  the  Ohio  Supreme  Court  in  1885. 

Other  practitioners  at  the  Trumbull  County  bar  prior  to  the  Civil  war 
days  were,  John  F.  Beaver,  Jonathan  Ingersoll,  Buel  Barnes,  Francis  E. 
Hutchinson,  Charles  W.  Smith,  captain  in  the  Civil  war;  Nathan  O. 
Humphrey,  admitted  in  1838  and  three  times  prosecuting  attorney  of 
the  county ;  George  W.  Leet,  James  D.  Tayler,  Sidney  W.  Harris,  Robert 
W.  Tayler,  later  of  Youngstown;  Col.  Joel  F.  Asper,  Gen.  M.  D.  Leg- 
gett,  William  Porter,  William  O.  Forrest,  George  F.  Brown,  Joel  B. 
Buttles,  William  L.  Knight,  Charles  Olcott,  David  O.  Belden,  Benjamin 
F.  Curtis,  George  L.  Wood,  W.  J.  Bright,  Orlando  Morgan,  Judge  Joel 
W.  Tyler,  Azor  Abell,  Jefferson  Palm,  lawyer,  writer,  political  leader, 
and  man  of  parts;  C.  A.  Harrington,  Albert  Yeomans,  Union  soldier 
and  probate  judge;  John  M.  Stull,  prosecuting  attorney,  mayor 
of  Warren  and  one  of  its  most  public-spirited  citizens  for  many  years; 
Lucian  G.  Jones,  Riverius  B.  Barnes,  E.  H.  Ensign  and  Homer  Norton. 

Benjamin  F.  Hoffman,  whose  biography  is  given  in  connection  with 
the  Mahoning  County  bar,  began  the  practice  of  law  at  Warren  in  1836 
as  a  partner  of  Judge  George  Tod.  Shortly  afterwards  he  entered  into 
partnership  with  David  Tod.  He  served  as  postmaster  of  Warren  from 
1838  to  184 1  and  was  associated  in  practice  until  1856  with  Mr.  Tod 
and  with  Matthew  Birchard,  John  Hutchins  and  Gen.  R.  W.  Ratliff. 
In  1856  he  was  elected  common  pleas  judge,  serving  five  years,  acted  as 
secretary  to  Governor  Tod  from  1862  to  1864  and  in  1865  opened  a  law 
office  at  Youngstown.  He  removed  to  Youngstown  in  1870  and  remained 
there  until  1886  when  he  located  in  California,  dying  at  Pasadena  in 
1909,  at  ninety-six  years  of  age. 

Many  Canfield  and  Youngstown  attorneys  were  practitioners  at  War- 
ren until  the  division  of  the  county  in  1846.     This  step  necessarily  de- 


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460       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

tracted  from  the  fame  of  the  Trumbull  County  bar,  but  this  loss  has 
been  more  apparent  than  real  for  the  high  standard  of  the  old  days  has 
been  maintained.  Not  only  is  Warren  well  represented  in  the  legal  pro- 
fession, but  there  is  a  good  representation  in  all  the  other  incorporated 
muncipalities  of  the  county. 

The  Trumbull  County  Bar  Association  was  organized  on  July  26, 
,1879,  with  Judge  George  M.  Tuttle  as  president;  Jefferson  Palm,  vice 
president;  F.  D.  McLain,  secretary;  Judge  T.  I.  Gillmer,  treasurer;  Judge 
John  M.  Stull,  C.  A.  Harrington  and  T.  I.  Gillmer,  executive  commit- 
tee. This  was  an  informal  organization,  and  on  January  19,  1920,  the 
association  was  reorganized,  Judge  Charles  M.  Wilkins  being  elected 
president;  E.  O.  Dilley,  vice  president;  A.  O.  Lea,  secretary;  A.  E. 
Wonders,  treasurer.  The  Trumbull  County  bar  also  has  a  Trumbull 
County  Law  Library  Association  with  quarters  in  the  courthouse  where 
there  is  an  excellent  collection  of  legal  works. 

Medicine    • 


Dr.  John  B.  Harmon,  whose  biography  is  given  more  fully  elsewhere 
in  this  work,  was  probably  the  first  practitioner  in  the  Warren  neigh- 
borhood, although  it  was  about  1807  before  he  located  in  Warren. 

Dr.  John  W.  Seeley  of  Jefferson,  Green  County,  Pennsylvania,  located 
in  Howland  Township  in  1801  and  was  virtually  a  Warren  practitioner 
from  that  time  forward.  In  the  War  of  181 2  he  attained  the  rank  of 
general,  practiced  medicine  again  after  the  war,  was  an  earnest  promoter 
of  the  Pennsylvania-Ohio  canal  and  died  from  an  apoplectic  stroke  on 
the  occasion  of  the  celebration  in  connection  with  the  canal. 

Dr.  Enoch  Leavitt  was  born  on  May  12,  1775,  came  to  Warren  in 
1805  and  practiced  until  his  death  in  1827. 

Dr.  Sylvanus  Seeley  was  born  in  Green  County,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1795,  studied  under  his  father  in  Howland  Township,  entered  the  War 
of  181 2  as  a  surgeon's  mate  and  practiced  in  Warren  after  the  war.  Doc- 
tor Seeley  married  a  daughter  of  Col.  George  Jackson  in  1814  and  was 
the  father  of  Mrs.  Cyrus  Van  Gorder  and  George  J.  Seeley. 

Dr.  Daniel  B.  Woods  was  born  at  Youngstown  on  November  11,  1816, 
studied  under  Dr.  John  A.  Packard  at  Austintown,  received  his  degree 
from  the  Ohio  Medical  College  and  began  practice  at  Warren  in  1840. 
He  became  a  famed  Ohio  surgeon  and  was  one  of  the  first  in  the  state 
to  use  ether  as  an  anaesthetic.  He  was  also  active  in  politics,  having  been 
a  Democratic  candidate  for  Congress  three  times.  Doctor  Woods  mar- 
ried Phoebe  L.  Holliday  of  Warren  in  1842,  one  of  his  sons,  Dr.  Dallas 
M.  Woods,  succeeding  him  in  practice  at  Warren. 

Dr.  John  R.  Woods  was  born  at  Youngstown  in  1825,  studied  medi- 
cine under  his  brother,  Dr.  Daniel  B.  Woods,  graduated  from  the  Cleve- 
land Medical  College  in  1850  and  practiced  at  Warren. 

Dr.  Warren  Iddings  was  born  at  Warren  on  March  4,  1817,  studied 
under  Dr.  Tracy  Bronson  at  Newton  Falls  and  Kuhn  and  Seeley  at 
Warren,  graduated  from  Ohio  Medical  College  in  1844  and  began  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        461 

practice  of  his  profession  at  Warren.  He  married  Laura  Webb,  daughter 
of  Thomas  D.  Webb. 

Dr.  J.  R.  Nelson  was  born  in  Liberty  Township  in  1813,  attended 
medical  school  in  Cleveland,  began  practice  at  Garrettsville  in  1844  and 
removed  to  Warren  in  1847. 

Dr.  J.  R.  Van  Gorder  was  born  at  Warren  in  1825,  a  son  of  James 
L.  Van  Gorder.  He  studied  under  Dr.  Sylvanus  Seeley,  attended  lectures 
at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  and  began  practicing  at  Warren  in  1852. 

Dr.  Frederick  Bierce,  who  removed  from  Ashtabula  County  to  War- 
ren in  1861 ;  Dr.  Eben  Blattsley,  Doctor  Kuhn,  Dr.-D.  W.  Jameson,  Doc- 
tor Nichols  and  Dr.  William  Paine  were  early  practitioners.  Doctor 
Myers  was  a  surgeon  in  General  Sigel's  division  in  the  Civil  war  and 


Warren  City  Hospital 

located  at  Warren  in  1862.  Dr.  L.  Spear  was  born  in  Austintown  in  1828, 
began  practice  in  1855,  came  to  Warren  in  1858  and  accompanied  the  One 
Hundred  and  Seventy-First  Ohio  Volunteers  to  Sandusky  in  1864. 

Dr.  Cyrus  Metcalf  began  practice  at  Bristolville  in  1846  after  receiv- 
ing a  degree  from  Geneva  Medical  College,  New  York,  and  in  1866 
located  at  Warren.  Dr.  H.  A.  Sherwood  began  practice  in  1876  and  Dr. 
C.  S.  Ward  in  the  same  year. 

Since  1880  the  number  of  physicians,  surgeons  and  members  of  the 
dental  profession  has  notably  increased,  accessions  being  especially  rapid 
in  the  last  ten  years.  Warren  is  the  headquarters  of  the  flourishing 
Trumbull  County  Medical  Association,  an  organization  of  which  Dr.  W. 
W.  McKay  is  now  president  and  Dr.  J.  D.  Knox,  secretary. 

Warren  has  a  vigilant  healtrr  board,  a  City  Hospital  and  a  Detention 
Hospital.    The  City  Hospital  was  founded  in  1908,  this  institution  being 


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462       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

made  possible  by  generous  donations  from  organizations  and  individuals 
of  the  city.  The  hospital  was  built  at  an  original  cost  of  $50,000  and  has 
been  increased  in  size  as  Warren  has  grown.  It  is  maintained  by 
receipts  from  pay  patients  together  with  a  city  appropriation  each  year. 
The  capacity  of  the  institution  is  85  beds,  including  medical,  surgical 
and  obstetrical.  The  hospital  staff  includes,  Miss  Mary  Elizabeth  Sur- 
bray,  R.  N.,  superintendent;  Miss  Caroline  M.  Wilson,  R.  N.,  directress 
of  nurses;  Miss  Emily  M.  Valiquette,  R.  N.,  operating  room  supervisor; 
Miss  Marie  Marek,  R.  N.,  night  supervisor;  Miss  Mary  Hair,  R.  N., 
supervisor  of  surgical  division;  Miss  Pauline  Tweeddale,  R.  N.,  labora-. 
lory  technician;  Miss  Marion  Price,  dietician;  Miss  Margaret  H.  Kehl- 
er,  medical  statistician;  Miss  Edna  Fawcett,  housekeeper;  Miss  Dorla 
Trask,  bookkeeper. 

Newspapers 

Warren  has  three  newspapers,  the  Warren  Chronicle  and  Warren 
Tribune,  dailies,  and  the  Western  Reserve  Democrat,  weekly. 

The  first  named  takes  precedence  historically  as  the  oldest  newspaper 
on  the  Western  Reserve.  It  was  on  Tuesday,  June  9,  1812,  that  the  first 
issue  of  the  Trump  of  Fame  was  put  out  by  Thomas  D.  Webb,  with 
David  Fleming  as  printer.  Like  most  newspapers  of  that  day  it  special- 
ized in  foreign  and  Washington  news,  yet  in  the  War  of  1812  it  brought 
the  first  news  of  the  declaration  of  hostilities  to  the  Reserve  and  a  little 
more  than  a  year  later  was  the  first  newspaper  in  America  to  announce 
Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie,  a  news  "beat"  seldom  equaled. 

In  December,  1813,  James  White  became  associated  with  Webb,  and 
a  year  later  Webb  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  Quinby.  The  paper  was 
then  sold  to  Fitch  Bissell  who,  on  October  4,  1816,  changed  the  name  to 
the  Western  Reserve  Chronicle.  In  1817  Samuel  Quinby  and  Elihu 
Spencer  became  the  publishers  and  in  1819  George  Hapgood  succeeded 
Spencer.  Hapgood  remained  until  1841,  Quinby,  Otis  Sprague,  E.  R. 
Thompson,  William  Quinby,  John  Crowell,  Calvin  Pease,  Jr.,  and  A.  W. 
Parker  being  successively  associated  with  him.  Parker  sold  to  E.  D. 
Howard  in  1853  and  the  Western  Reserve  Chronicle  and  the  Western 
Reserve  Transcript  were  merged  under  the  name  of  the  Chronicle  and 
Transcript.  James  Dumars  was  associated  with  Howard  for  a  short  time 
and  Jacob  Dolson  Cox  was  for  a  time  associate  editor.  In  April,  1855, 
Comfort  A.  Adams  and  George  N.  Hapgood  became  proprietors  and 
again  made  the  paper  the  Western  Reserve  Chronicle.  In  February, 
1861,  the  Trumbull  Democrat  became  merged  with  the  Chronicle  and 
William  Ritezel  of  the  Democrat  became  associated  with  the  Chronicle. 
Adams  retired  in  1865,  Hapgood  died  the  same  year  and  Ritezel  was 
sole  editor  and  proprietor  until  1877  when  B.  J.  Taylor  and  F.  M.  Ritezel 
became  associated  with  him,  under  the  name  of  William  Ritezel  and  Com- 
pany. On  the  death  of  William  Ritezel  in  1901  the  establishment 
reverted  to  Taylor  and  F.  M.  Ritezel.  In  1905  F.  S.  Van  Gorder  pur- 
chased Mr.  Taylor's  interest  and  Mr.  Ritezel  and  Mr.  Van  Gorder  have 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       463 

since  conducted  the  paper  under  the  name  of  William  Ritezel  and  Com- 
pany   Mr.  Ritezel  is  editor  and  Mr.  Van  Gorder  business  qianager. 

In  1883  William  Ritezel  and  Company  launched  the  Warren  Chron- 
icle as  the  daily  edition  of  the  Western  Reserve  Chronicle.  The  latter 
is  still  published  weekly,  and  in  191 2  celebrated  its  one  hundredth  birth- 
day anniversary.  Today  it  can  look  back  to  the  days  when  it  was  eagerly 
read  in  the  War  of  1812,  the  Mexican  war,  the  Civil  war,  the  Spanish- 
American  war  and  the  World  war. 

The  Warren  Tribune  had  its  origin  in  the  Canfield  Herald,  started  at 
Canfield,  then  county  seat  of  Mahoning  County,  in  i860.  John  Weeks, 
of  Medina,  was  the  founder  of  the  paper.  It  had  several  owners  within 
a  few  years  and  in  1872  became  the  Mahoning  County  News.  In  the 
spring  of  1875  the  News  was  purchased  by  Rev.  W.  S.  Peterson  who 
published  it  for  more  than  a  year.  When  Canfield  lost  the  county  seat 
in  1875  Rev.  Peterson  sought  a  more  promising  field  and  decided  upon 
Warren.  Removing  there  he  made  the  paper  the  Warren  Tribune  and 
issued  the  first  number  in  August,  1876.  In  1891  the  daily  Tribune 
came  into  existence  and  the  daily  and  weekly  have  been  published  since, 
the  Tribune  Company  being  the  present  operating  concern.  Mrs.  Zell 
Hart  Deming  is  publisher  and  has  been  a  most  successful  one. 

The  Warren  Chronicle  and  Warren  Tribune  are  both  Republican 
papers. 

The  Western  Reserve  Democrat,  weekly,  was  founded  in  1883. 
Horace  Holbrook  is  editor  and  publisher.  The  Trumbull  Rural  Asso- 
ciate is  a  weekly  agricultural  paper. 

Warren  has  seen  the  rise  and  fall  of  several  other  newspapers.  In 
1830  the  News-Letter  was  launched  by  T.  J.  McLain  and  J.  G.  McLain. 
It  was  a  vigorous  Andrew  Jackson  supporter.  In  1839  ^  became  the 
Trumbull  Democrat  and  was  published  under  this  name  until  1861  when 
it  was  united  with  the  Western  Reserve  Chronicle. 

The  Trumbull  County  Whig  was  established  in  1848.  Later  it  became 
the  Western  Reserve  Transcript  and  in  1854  was  absorbed  by  the  Chron- 
icle. The  Liberty  Herald  was  launched  in  1850  and  survived  but  a 
short  time.  The  Warren  Constitution  was  established  in  1862  by  Jef- 
ferson Palm  and  was  published  for  many  years.  The  Warren  Record, 
like  the  Constitution,  was  a  Democratic  paper  and  was  founded  in  1876 
with  S.  B.  Palm  as  editor. 

Warren  Public  Library 

Having  been  at  all  times  a  seat  of  learning  and  culture  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  Warren  should  have  been  a  pioneer  in  library  work,  or  that 
it  should  have  today  one  of  the  best  libraries  found  in  Ohio  in  a  city  of 
this  size. 

The  Warren  Public  Library  had  its  inception  in  the  "Trumbull 
Library/'  founded  in  1814  with  1,000  volumes  of  history  and  biography, 
the  library  room  being  located  in  the  first  floor  of  the  White  and  Spear 
cabinet  shop  in  Mahoning  Avenue.  In  1848  the  Warren  Library  Associa- 
tion was  founded  by  Jacob  Perkins,  Dr  Julian  Harmon,  Orlando  Mor- 


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464       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

gan,  Judge  G.  M.  Tuttle  and  others,  the  books  were  turned  over  to  this 
association  and  library  quarters  were  fitted  up  on  the  second  floor  of 
the  Van  Gordef  block  with  George  Van  Gorder  as  librarian. 

The  enterprise  was  too  large  for  Warren  of  that  day  and  in  1854 
the  library  was  suspended.  It  had  at  this  time  2,000  volumes,  and  on 
suspension  these  were  sold.  Twenty-three  years  later,  in  1877,  the  library 
association  was  revived  with  Professor  E.  F.  Moulton  as  president  and 
Dr.  Julian  Harmon  as  secretary  and  a  number  of  books  were  gathered 
together  and  placed  in  Dr.  Harmon's  office.  On  Jiily  18,  1888,  the  present 
Warren  Library  Association  was  formed  at  a  meeting  of  fifteen  persons 
in  P.  L.  Webb's  office,  the  call  being  sent  out  by  President  Moulton.    The 


Warren  Public  Library 

294  volumes  then  in  the  library  were  removed  to  Mr.  Webb's  office  in  the 
Opera  House  Block  and  the  library  opened  to  the  public  with  Mr.  Webb 
as  librarian.  The  dues  for  library  association  membership  were  one 
dollar  a  year  at  this  time,  and  following  this  reorganization  a  lecture 
course  series  was  arranged  to  extend  over  the  next  five  years  as  a  means 
of  raising  library  funds.  In  August,  1890,  the  library  association  was 
incorporated  and  Marshall  Woodford  was  elected  president,  B.  J.  Taylor, 
vice  president;  O.  L.  Wolcott,  treasurer;  T.  D.  Oviatt,  secretary  and 
librarian.  In  1895  an  income  of  $515  a  year  for  five  years  was  obtained 
by  individual  subscriptions  and  on  April  1,  1898,  the  institution  became  a 
free  public  library,  library  quarters  being  fitted  up  in  the  west  room  on 
the  first  floor  of  the  courthouse. 

Shortly  afterward  it  was  decided  to  erect  a  library  build'ngf.     Judge 
Milton  Sutliff  had  left  a  bequest  of  $10,000  for  this  purpose  and  Andrew 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       465 

Carnegie  agreed  to  donate  $20,000.  Subsequently  the  Carnegie  gift  was 
increased  to  $28,383  and  on  February  5,  1906,  the  present  public  library 
in  High  Street  was  opened. 

Marshall  Woodford  was  succeeded  as  president,  on  his  death  in  1895, 
by  B.  J.  Taylor.  Mr.  Taylor's  successor  was  Homer  E.  Stewart,  who 
died  shortly  after  his  election,  and  was  succeeded  by  T.  I.  Gillmer,  the 
present  president.  Other  officers  are,  Mrs.  H.  C.  Baldwin,  vice  president ; 
Frank  E.  Elliott,  treasurer ;  C.  M.  Wilkins,  S.  W.  Park,  Charles  Fillius,  A. 
R.  Hughes  and  W.  C.  Pendleton,  trustees;  Josephine  Lytle,  librarian. 
The  library  has  now  approximately  17,500  volumes.  Its  circulation  in 
1919  was  33,951  books,  an  increase  of  6,500  over  1918  and  the  number 
of  borrowers  is  4,500,  new  cards  issued  in  1919  alone  being  1,348. 

Civic  and  Fraternal  Organizations 

The  leading  civic  organization,  of  course,  is  the  Board  of  Trade,  whose 
history  has  already  been  given.  Since  its  reorganization  in  1909  O.  R. 
Grimmesey  has  remained  as  president  of  this  body  and  George  C.  Braden 
secretary.     W.  A.  Walcott  is  vice  president. 

An  organization  that  deserves  special  mention  in  connection  with 
Warren  is  the  Ohio  Woman  Suffrage  Association.  Strictly  speaking,  this 
is  a  state  and  not  a  local  body,  yet  in  a  sense  it  is  a  Warren  organization 
because  the  headquarters  are  located  here  and  Warren  is  the  home  of 
its  guiding  spirit,  Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor  Upton.  Year  in  and  year  out  Mrs. 
Upton  has  fought  the  battle  of  equal  suffrage,  has  fought  fairly  and  fought 
without  cessation,  never  giving  away  for  a  moment  in  the  face  of  repeated 
defeats  and  discouragements.  The  Ohio  Woman  Suffrage  Association 
has  been  succeeded  by  the  Ohio  League  of  Women  Voters,  but  it  will 
always  be  remembered  as  the  champion  of  a  just  cause  and  its  leader  will 
rank  with  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and  other  great 
lights  in  this  cause.  Scarcely  less  credit  must  go  to  Miss  Elizabeth  J. 
Hauser,  another  Trumbull  County  woman. 

Old  Erie  Lodge,  No.  3,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  is  the  oldest  of 
Warren  fraternal  organizations.  It  was  in  1803  that  a  number  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Ancient  York  Masons,  Samuel  Tylee, 
Martin  Smith,  Tryal  Tanner,  Camden  Cleveland,  Solomon  Griswold, 
Aaron  Wheeler,  John  Walworth,  Charles  Dutton,  Arad  Way,  Gideon 
Hoadley,  Ezekiel  Hover,  Turhand  Kirtland,  John  Leavitt,  William  Rayen, 
George  Phelps,  James  B.  Root,  James  Dunscomb,  Samuel  Spencer,  Joseph 
DeWolf,  Daniel  Bushnell,  Calvin  Austin  and  Asahel  Adams,  applied  to 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Connecticut  for  authority  to  form  a  lodge  under 
Connecticut  jurisdiction.  Most  of  these  were  members  of  Connecticut 
lodges,  and  in  residence  they  represented  other  parts  of  the  Western 
Reserve  as  well  as  Warren. 

On  October  19,  1803,  the  prayer  was  granted  and  Samuel  Tylee,  who 
had  journeyed  to  New  Haven  with  the  petition,  was  made  deputy  grand 
master  with  authority  to  form  the  new  lodge.  On  March  2,  1804,  Deputy 
Master  Tylee,  and  temporary  officers  named  for  the  occasion,  formally 
opened  the  lodge  as  Erie  Lodge,  No.  47,  Free  and  Accepted  York  Masons. 

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466       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Deputy  Master  Tylee  then  consecrated  and  installed  the  brothers  and  the 
first  officers  of  the  lodge,  Turhand  Kirtland,  master ;  John  Leavitt,  senior 
warden;  William  Rayen,  junior  warden;  Calvin  Austin,  treasurer;  Cam- 
den Cleveland,  secretary ;  Aaron  Wheeler,  senior  deacon ;  John  Walworth, 
junior  deacon;  Charles  Dutton  and  Arad  Way,  stewards;  Ezekiel  Hover, 
tyler.    The  first  meeting  was  held  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day. 

On  March  n,  1807,  Erie  Lodge  instituted  the  movement  toward 
erecting  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Ohio.  Lodges  at  Marietta,  Cincinnati,  Zanes- 
ville  and  Chillicothe  responded  to  the  call.  On  March  4,  1807,  represen- 
tatives of  these  five  lodges  and  of  the  Worthington  lodge  assembled  at 
Chillicothe,  and  on  March  5,  1807,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ohio  was  organ- 
ized, George  Tod  of  Erie  Lodge  being  named  grand  warden.  On  De- 
cember 5,  1808,  George  Tod,  Samuel  Huntington  and  John  H.  Adgate 
were  named  representatives  to  the  grand  lodge  communication  to  be  held 
in  January,  1809. 

On  January  5,  1814,  a  charter  of  constitution  was  received  from  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Ohio  appointing  Samuel  Tylee,  Francis  Freeman,  Elisha 
Whittlesey,  Seth  Tracy,  William  W.  Cotgreave,  John  Leavitt  and  Calvin 
Austin,  and  their  successors  forever,  a  regular  lodge  of  the  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons  under  the  name  of  Erie  Lodge,  No.  3.  The  lodge  con- 
tinued to  function  until  about  1830  when  it  succumbed  to  the  anti-Masonic 
wave  then  sweeping  the  country.  The  charter  was  burned  in  a  fire  that 
destroyed  the  home  of  Edward  Spear  in  1833. 

After  a  quarter  of  a  century  better  times  dawned  and  on  October  17, 
1854,  a  charter  was  granted  to  Richard  Iddings,  Jacob  H.  Baldwin,  J.  B. 
Buttles,  W.  H.  Holloway,  Henry  Stiles,  J.  Rodgers,  H.  Benham,  Gary  C. 
Reed,  J.  Veon,  Benjamin  Stevens,  Edward  Spear,  John  B.  Harmon,  Alex- 
ander McConnell  and  H.  McManus,  men  who  had  cherished  the  principles 
of  Masonry  during  its  dark  days,  under  the  name  of  Western  Reserve 
Lodge.  On  October  19,  1854,  the  old  name  was  restored,  Old  Erie  Lodge, 
No.  3  coming  into  existence. 

The  first  Masonic  meeting  house  was  apparently  the  frame  building 
in  which  the  Western  Reserve  Bank  was  first  located.  Later  the  lodge 
occupied  the  Hadley  tavern,  the  log  schoolhouse  west  of  the  public  square 
and  the  meeting  place  in  "Castle  William."  After  reorganization  in  1855 
meetings  were  first  held  in  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  Hall, 
later  in  the  Gaskill  House,  in  a  building  where  the  Second  National  Bank 
Building  is  now  located,  in  rooms  over  the  First  National  Bank  and  finally 
in  the  present  Masonic  Temple  on  its  completion  in  1904. 

Masonic  organizations  in  addition  to  Old  Erie  Lodge  include,  Mahon- 
ing Chapter,  No.  66,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  Warren  Council,  No.  58,  Royal 
and  Select  Masons;  Warren  Commandery,  No.  39,  Knights  Templar; 
Morning  Light  Chapter,  No.  Po,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 

Mahoning  Lodge,  No.  29,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  was 
chartered  on  May  21,  1844,  with  Charles  Pease,  John  Benson,  Josiah  F. 
Brown,  L.  P.  Lott  and  E.  W.  Weir  as  the  original  members.  The  lodge 
was  instituted  on  the  same  day,  the  first  officers  elected  being,  Lewis  P. 
Lott,  N.  G. ;  Josiah  F.  Brown,  V.  G. ;  Charles  Pease,  secretary ;  E.  W* 
Weir,  treasurer.     During  the  great  fire  of  1846  the  block  in  which  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       467 

lodge  was  quartered  was  destroyed  by  fire,  causing  a  great  financial  loss. 
It  recovered,  however,  from  this  and  subsequent  reverses  and  fifteen  years 
ago  erected  its  own  building  in  Park  Avenue.  In  addition  to  Mahoning 
Lodge  there  are  three  other  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  organiza- 
tions in  Warren,  Trumbull  Encampment,  No.  47 ;  Canton  Warren,  No.  79 
and  Warren  Lodge,  Daughters  of  Rebekah. 

Independence  Lodge,  No.  90,  Knights  of  Pythias,  was  instituted  on 
July  27,  1875,  with  John  G.  Thompson,  grand  chancellor  for  Ohio,  in 
charge,  the  number  of  original  members  being  fifty.  The  first  officers 
were,  L.  M.  Lazarus,  past  chancellor;  G.  B.  Kennedy,  C.  C. ;  E.  A. 
Cobleigh,  V.  C. ;  H.  A.  Potter,  prelate ;  George  H.  Tayler,  M.  of  F. ;  T. 
McQuiston,  Jr.,  M.  of  E.;  C.  L.  Hoyt,  K.  of  R.  and  S.;  F.  M.  Ritezel, 
M.  of  A.  Since  1900  this  lodge  has  been  one  of  the  thriving  organizations 
of  Warren  and  now  has  its  own  building.  In  addition  Warren  has 
Western  Reserve  Division,  No.  103,  Uniform  Rank  Knights  of  Pythias 
and  Independence  Temple,  No.  159,  Pythian  Sisters. 

Warren  Lodge,  No.  295,  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  was 
instituted  on  July  26,  1895,  the  promoter  of  the  movement  being  Louis 
Geuss  of  Youngstown  lodge,  then  a  resident  of  Warren.  The  event  is  a 
memorable  one  in  the  history  of  fraternal  societies  in  Warren.  The 
Elks  now  have  their  own  home  in  High  Street. 

Warren  Council,  No.  620,  Knights  of  Columbus,  was  organized  on 
January  6,  1902,  largely  through  the  enthusiasm  and  the  efforts  of  Rev. 
P.  C.  N.  Dwyer,  who  became  the  first  chaplain  of  the  council.  D.  K. 
Moser  was  named  the  first  grand  knight.  The  organization  has  flour- 
ished and  still  has  a  large  membership  even  though  many  of  its  Niles 
members  were  organized  into  a  new  lodge  at  Niles  in  April,  1913.  The 
Knights  of  Columbus  now  have  their  own  meeting  hall. 

In  addition  to  the  above  mentioned  Warren  fraternal  organizations, 
and  organizations  along  similar  lines,  include,  Warren  Circle,  No.  82, 
Protected  Home  Circle;  Court  Trumbull,  No.  707,  Independent  Order 
of  Foresters;  Warren  Tent,  No.  162,  Knights  of  the  Maccabees;  Mahon- 
ing Castle,  No.  138,  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle;  Martha  Washington 
Temple,  No.  53,  Ladies  of  the  Golden  Eagle;  Warren  Camp,  No.  4807, 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America;  Trumbull  Lodge,  No.  186,  Loyal  Order 
of  Moose;  Warren  Aerie,  No.  311,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles;  Warren 
Branch,  Ladies'  Catholic  Benefit  Association;  Warren  Council,  No.  203, 
National  Union;  Clan  Campbell,  No.  325,  Order  of  Scottish  Clans; 
Western  Reserve  Council,  No.  386,  Royal  Arcanum;  Warren  Review, 
No.  381,  Women's  Benefit  Association;  Athenian  Court,  No.  80,  Tribe 
of  Ben  Hur;  Warren  Council,  No.  222,  United  Commercial  Travelers; 
Warren  Legion,  No.  788,  National  Protective  Legion ;  Trumbull  Camp, 
No.  1433,  Royal  Neighbors  of  America;  Warren  Lodge,  No.  3170, 
Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor ;  Home  Chapter,  American  Insurance 
Union;  Warren  Grange,  No.  171 5;  Mt.  Nebo  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons;  Louis  Mitchell  Lodge,  No.  222,  Improved  Benevolent  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks  of  the  World.  Among  the  patriotic  organizations 
are  numbered,  Bell-Harmon  Post,  No.  36,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic ; 
Bell-Harmon   Corps,   No.    58,   Women's   Relief    Corps ;   Clarence   Hyde 


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468       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Post,  American  Legion;  Warren  Camp,  No.  40,  Sons  of  Veterans;  Re- 
becca Taylor  Long  Tent,  No.  47,  Daughters  of  Veterans.  The  Maccabees, 
Moose  and  Modern  Woodmen  also  have  their  own  buildings. 

Young  Women's  Christian  Association 

The  Warren  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  was  organized 
in  June,  1916,  with  Mrs.  A.  L.  Phelps  as  president;  Mrs.  B.  W.  Edwards, 
vice  president;  Mrs.  H.  Q.  Stiles,  second  vice  president;  Mrs.  Arner 


Warren  Postoffice 

Clark,  recording  secretary ;  Miss  Helen  Hunt,  corresponding  secretary ; 
Mrs.  H.  D.  Warren,  treasurer. 

The  organization  now  has  rented  quarters  in  Park  Avenue,  but  has 
grown  satisfactorily  and  has  greatly  increased  its  usefulness  in  four  years. 
Its  work  includes,  dormitory  service,  with  forty  permanent  girl  roomers 
and  transients;  cafeteria,  serving  525  persons  a  day;  industrial  depart- 
ment, with  organized  clubs;  girls'  work  department,  with  250  girl  re- 
serves ;  employment  bureau,  rooms  registry,  colored  branch  and  interna- 
tional institute  for  foreign  born.  The  present  officers  of  the  association 
are,  Mrs.  H.  Q.  Stiles,  president;  Mrs.  A.  L.  Phelps,  vice  president; 
Mrs.  B.  W.  Edwards,  second  vice  president ;  Mrs.  C.  W.  Dickinson,  cor- 
responding secretary;  Mrs.  A.  E.  Burch,  recording  secretary;  Mrs.  Ella 
McKee,  treasurer ;  Miss  E.  Alberta  Brenner,  general  secretary. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       469 

Parks 

Warren  itself  has  often  been  described  as  a  great  park,  owing  to 
the  beauty  of  much  of  the  residence  portion  of  the  city. 

Aside  from  this,  however,  it  has  specially  designated  outdoor  places 
for  the  young  and  old.  The  public  square,  or  City  Park,  donated  to 
Warren  by  Capt.  Ephraim  Quinby,  founder  of  the  city,  is  a  singularly 
beautiful  spot,  adorned  with  stately  elms  and  maples.  In  the  preserva- 
tion of  this  five-acre  tract  Warren  has  been  especially  fortunate.  Op- 
posite Court  House  Park  is  another  two-acre  tract,  Monumental  Park, 
located  on  a  great  bend  in  the  Mahoning  River.  Here  the  soldiers'  mon- 
ument is  located  and  here  the  old  city  hall  formerly  stood.  Oak  Grove 
Park,  or  the  fair  grounds,  is  another  attractive  spot. 

Packard  Park,  a  tract  of  approximately  fifty  acres,  lies  one  mile  north 
of  the  courthouse  and  was  given  to  the  city  by  W.  D.  Packard,  who  also 
gave  $4,000  for  its  improvement.  The  city  has  since  invested  $80,000 
in  equipping  and  beautifying  this  place  until  it  is  now  the  mecca  for 
picnickers,  lovers  of  athletic  games  and  those  anxious  to  get  away  among 
the  trees.  Baseball  diamonds,  football  fields,  tennis  courts,  basket  ball 
courts,  picnic  grounds  and  croquet  grounds  have  been  fitted  up  and  a 
large  shelter  house  has  been  built.  It  becomes  more  valuable  daily  as 
Warren  increases  in  size.  Packard  Park  is  managed  by  a  special  board  of 
trustees. 

Warren  Township 

The  City  of  Warren  occupies  but  a  comparatively  small  part  of  War- 
ren Township,  much  of  that  subdivision  being  farming  land.  The  Ma- 
honing River  enters  the  township  from  Braceville  Township  to  the  west 
and,  after  making  a  wide  sweep  through  the  northern  part  of  the  town- 
ship, flows  southerly  again  through  the  City  of  Warren  into  Howland 
Township. 

Outside  Warren  the  one  municipality  of  any  size  in  the  township  is 
Leavittsburg,  located  on  the  Mahoning  River  just  west  of  the  center.  It 
was  perhaps  only  chance  that  made  Warren  rather  than  Leavittsburg  the 
metropolis  of  Warren  Township,  as  the  latter  place  would  naturally  have 
had  the  advantage  because  of  its  location.  The  cleared  ground  found  in 
the  old  Indian  meadows  and  the  good  mill  sites  probably  influenced  the 
selection  of  the  site  of  Warren  for  first  settlement,  although  Leavittsburg 
has  a  good  mill  location  and  has  had  a  grist  mill  for  many  years. 

In  the  apportionment  of  Warren  Township  the  Western  part  fell  to 
the  ownership  of  John  Leavitt,  Jr.  Leavitt  removed  to  Warren  with  his 
wife  and  seven  children  in  1800,  and  in  1805  settled  on  a  farm  near  the 
center  of  the  township,  dying  at  Warren  in  181 5.  Samuel  Leavitt  visited 
Trumbull  County  in  1800  and  purchased  a  farm  adjoining  John  Leavitt's 
property.  He  removed  here  from  Connecticut  in  1802,  being  the  first 
settler  in  the  center  of  the  township.  Enoch  Leavitt  came  soon  after- 
wards and  purchased  the  ground  on  which  the  Village  of  Leavittsburg 
now  stands.     Benajah  Austin,  step-son  of  Samuel  Leavitt,  came  from 


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470       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Vermont  in  1803,  married  Olive  Harmon  and  located  at  the  center,  soon 
afterwards.  Phineas  Leffingwell  and  Jabez  Leffingwell  located  on  lands 
here  about  1818. 

With  the  original  settlement  of  the  Leavitts  a  village  site  was  dedi- 
cated and  an  open  square  provided  by  the  owners  of  the  land,  as  was 
customary  on  the  Western  Reserve  in  that  day.  A  few  years  later  Samuel 
Forward  built  a  sawmill  and  Richard  Iddings  built  a  grist  mill  and  the 
place  became  known  as  Leavittsburg,  although  actually  there  was  no 
village  settlement  and  eventually  even  the  open  park  became  farm  land. 

The  present  village  is  slightly  west  of  the  proposed  location  of  the 
original  town  and  came  into  existence  with  the  construction  of  the  rail- 
road that  is  now  the  Erie  line.  It  has  today  a  population  of  perhaps  1200, 
although  with  the  tendency  to  locate  new  industries  farther  up  the 
Mahoning  River  it  is  in  a  position  to  expand  greatly  within  a  few  years. 
A  grist  mill  is  still  operated  and  the  plant  of  the  D.  and  M.  Cord  Tire 
Company  is  located  here.  There  are  two  grocery  stores,  conducted  by 
Johnson  Bros.,  and  Brobst  and  Strong,  a  confectionery  conducted  by  W. 
G.  Stoll  and  one  restaurant,  the  McLowman.  Mahoning  Park,  located  on 
the  river  at  Leavittsburg,  is  a  noted  pleasure  resort  and  picnic  place. 

Officials  of  Warren  Township  include,  Harry  P.  Johnson,  S.  P.  Van 
Houter  and  John  Miller,  trustees.  Grandon  Moran,  clerk ;  Robert  Brown, 
treasurer;  C.  C.  Bubb  and  Carl  Rice,  justices  of  the  peace.  W.  C.  Reeker 
is  postmaster  at  Leavittsburg. 

Warren  Township  schools,  outside  the  City  of  Warren,  are  supervi- 
sion district  No.  2.  The  townships  schools  are  thoroughly  centralized 
with  W.  W.  Glass  as  principal  of  the  high  school,  Clarence  Seavers,  Erma 
E.  Ward  and  Lucile  E.  Morrison,  high  school  teachers  and  Edith  Nelson, 
Mabel  Fox.  Tennie  Nelson  and  G.  C.  Lathouse,  grade  school  teachers. 


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CHAPTER  XXIII 

NILES 

Early  History  of  the  Metropolis  of  Weathersfield  Township — 
Heaton's  Industries  that  Marked  the  Beginning  of  the  City — 
Middle  Day  Industrial  Activity — the  Finanqial  Crash  of  1874 
— Modern  Niles,  a  Growing  and  Busy  Industrial  City. 

Several  times  in  the  course  of  this  history  the  writer  has  had  occasion 
to  refer  to  Weathersfield  Township,  Truipbull  County,  because  the  story 
of  early  days  on  the  Western  Reserve  could  not  be  told  otherwise.  It 
is  linked  inseparably  with  this  territory,  for  it  was  perhaps  only  chance 
that  prevented  the  founding  of  a  settlement  here  several  years  before  the 
first  permanent  occupation  of  the  Reserve  at  Youngstown  became  a 
reality  in  1796-97. 

Niles,  metropolis  of  Weathersfield  Township  and  the  largest  municipal- 
ity in  the  Mahoning  Valley  except  Youngstown  and  Warren,  is  located  a 
little  north  of  the  center  of  the  township,  on  the  Mahoning  River.  Mos- 
quito Creek,  the  largest  tributary  of  the  Mahoning,  flows  into  the  river 
at  Niles,  coming  from  the  north.  Meander  Creek  also  enters  the  river 
here,  coming  from  the  south.  The  municipality  is  not  only  the  metropolis 
of  the  township  but  contains  the  greater  part  of  the  population  as  well, 
although  Mineral  Ridge  is  a  good-sized  Weathersfield  Township  village 
and  the  agricultural  districts  are  well  populated. 

Actual  settlement  of  Weathersfield  began  on  the  "Salt  Springs,,  tract, 
perhaps  a  mile  west  of  Niles.  With  the  death  of  Gen.  Samuel  Holden 
Parsons,  owner  of  this  tract,  in  1789,  no  attempt  was  made  to  colonize 
it  until  1797  when  Reuben  Harmon  of  Vermont  located  on  a  five-hun- 
dred acre  plat  that  he  had  bought  from  the  Parsons'  heirs,  this  acreage 
including  the  salt  springs.  Settlers  from  nearby  townships  also  came 
here  to  "make"  salt,  and  a  few  other  families  located  nearby  in  1799 
and  1800.  Perhaps  the  first  habitation  was  built  at,  or  near,  the  present 
site  of  Niles  about  this  time,  but  the  actual  founder  of  this  modern  in- 
dustrial city  was  James  Heaton. 

James  Heaton  and  his  brother,  Daniel  Heaton,  came  to  the  Ma- 
honing Valley  in  1802,  James  being  at  that  time  thirty-two  years  of  age, 
his  brother  two  years  younger.  In  that  year,  or  in  1803,  they  built,  on 
Yellow  Creek  in  Poland  Township,  the  first  blast  furnace  in  the  Ma- 
honing Valley.  Two  years  later,  or  in  1804,  this  partnership  was  dis- 
solved with  the  withdrawal  of  the  elder  brother,  Daniel  remaining  m 
Poland  in  charge  of  the  little  iron  furnace. 

471 


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472       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY. 

In  1805  James  Heaton  located  on  a  farm  in  Howland  Township, 
his  brother  Isaac  purchasing  a  home  there  at  the  same  time.  Heaton 
was  perhaps  a  qualified  farmer,  but  his  inclinations  were  distinctly  in- 
dustrial, so  that  it  is  not  surprising  that  1806  saw  him  located  on  Mos- 
quito creek,  in  Weathersfield  Township.  While  this  stream  runs  through 
a  comparatively  low-lying  country  that  gives  no  great  fall  to  the  water 
there  was  sufficient  power  capable  of  development  to  fill  Heaton's  needs 
and  he  acquired  lands  on  both  sides  of  the  creek  from  its  junction  with 
the  northward,  taking  over  sufficient  acreage  to  make  possible  the  con- 
struction of  a  dam  and  mill  race  and  to  protect  himself  against  overflow 
caused  by  the  dam.  He  built  for  himself  and  family  a  log  cabin  that 
stood  near  the  east  end  of  the  present  Mosquito  Creek  bridge,  and  from 
this  settlement  Niles  may  be  said  to  date  its  founding. 

.It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  describe  the  site  of  Heaton's  dam,  as  a 
dam  has  stood  there  ever  since — just  north  of  the  city  bridge  over  the 
stream.  Alongside  the  backwater  formed  by  the  present  dam  is  the 
plant  of  the  Fostoria  Glass  Company.  From  the  dam  Heaton  began 
the  construction  of  a  mill  race  on  the  west  side  of  the  creek.  This  race 
winds  along  the  creek  for  a  quarter  to  a  third  of  a  mile,  whence  the 
water  is  turned  back  into  the  creek,  giving  a  fall  of  eight  to  ten  feet.  At 
this  point  Heaton  built  the  saw  mill  and  the  grist  mill  that  were  the 
first  industries  of  Niles. 

The  pioneer  saw  mill  has  long  since  passed  away  but  the  grist  mill 
it  still  grinding  away  after  114  years  of  life.  The  original  structure  put 
up  by  James  Heaton  was  rebuilt  in  1839  and  perhaps  has  undergone 
exterior  repairs  since.  From  an  outside  view  it  is  not  imposing,  but  a 
visit  to  the  interior  confirms  one  in  belief  in  its  stability  even  while  leav- 
ing no  doubt  of  its  age.  Its  immense  pillars,  hewn  square  and  as  solid 
as  the  day  there  shaped,  its  hardwood  beams,  its  smooth  floors,  worn 
to  a  polish  with  the  meal  and  dust  and  tramp  of  feet — all  these  con- 
vince one  that  the  march  of  progress  rather  than  age  will  bring  about  its 
abandonment.  It  is  a  bit  of  pioneer  life  just  a  few  steps  away  from 
the  heart  of  a  busy  little  city  of  modern  industries.  The  old  overshot 
wheel  has  vanished  and  the  water  turbine  has  taken  its  place,  electricity 
has  been  installed  as  an  auxiliary  power  for  emergency  and  the  mill 
property  and  water  rights  have  been  purchased  within  the  past  year  by 
the  Republic  Iron  and  Steel  Company — otherwise  it  is  a  flour  and  feed 
mill  of  the  days  when  this  sort  of  plant  was  the  leading  industry  of  any 
Western  Reserve  community,  and  its  present  owners  and  operators, 
Drake  and  McConnell,  are  experienced  millers,  as  well  as  descendants 
of  early  pioneers. 

The  passion  for  iron  making  that  had  made  James  Heaton  and  his 
brother  engage  in  the  apparently  profitless  task  of  building  the  Yellow 
Creek  furnace  was  strong  in  the  miller,  however,  and  it  was  but  three 
years  later  that  he  built  on  the  banks  of  Mosquito  Creek  a  small  forging 
plant  for  the  manufacture  of  iron  with  charcoal,  the  output  being  the 
first  bar  iron  manufactured  in  Ohio.  The  pig  iron  from  which  Heaton 
manufactured  this  product  was  obtained  from  the  Yellow  Creek  furnace 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       473 

and  this  supply  prevailed  until  the  War  of  1812  closed  down  the  stack 
by  calling  the  furnace  men  to  arms. 

A  less  energetic  man  might  have  been  discouraged  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, but  James  Heaton  was  not.  If  there  was  no  pig  iron  to  be 
bought  he  would  make  it.  He  had  not  the  funds  to  carry  out  this  project 
but  on  November  6,  181 2,  he  borrowed  $1,448  from  his  brother,  John  ' 
Heaton,  giving  a  mortgage  on  much  of  his  lands  and  on  his  saw  mill, 
grist  mill  and  blooming  forge,  and  in  181 3  built  a  charcoal  furnace  on  the 
banks  of  Mosquito  Creek  at  the  foot  of  a  bluff  and  just  a  short  distance 
east  of  the  old  high  Niles  High  School  Building.  This  furnace  he  named 
the  "Maria,"  after  his  daughter,  the  practice  of  naming  blast  furnaces 
after  individuals,  and  very  often  after  women,  being  a  common  one  in 
the  Mahoning  Valley  down  to  the  present  time. 

No  attempt  will  be  made  here  to  give  a  complete  description  of  James        ! 
Heaton's  iron  industries  or.  to  go  into  details  concerning  his  methods  of 
manufacture.     These  are  fully  described  in  the  chapter  of  this  work        { 
relating  to  Mahoning  Valley  industries.     It  will  suffice  to  say  that  with 
these  industries  as  a  nucleus  a  village  sprang  up  along  Mosquito  Creek        ! 
that  became  known  as  Heaton's  Furnace. 

It  was  for  many  years  but  a  diminutive  place.  A  small  store  was 
opened  up  for  the  convenience,  .of  Heaton's  employees  and  others,  Heaton  ■ 
rebuilt  his  forge  in  1820,  and  in  iSio^a^postoffice  was  established  at  ! 
Weathersfield,  northeast  of  Heaton's  Furnace,- with^  David  A.  Adams  as  : 
postmaster.  Daniel  Heaton  in  the  meantime  had  followed  his  :brother  .  ^J 
and  located  at  Heaton's  Furnace,  although  if ;  he  had  -  any,  part  in  the-  ^ 
operations  of  the  industries  there  it  is  not  apparent.  A  log  schoolhouse  ^'"'^ 
was  built  south  of  the  river  at  a  very  early  day  and  was  perhaps  tire  ^ 
first  school  in  Weathersfield  Township.  On.  thehill  above  the  grist  mill,  * 
now-  in  the  center  of  the  business  district  of  Niles,  another  schpoj.  wa§^  J 
buj.lt  for  the  children  of  Heaton's  Furnace.^  This  school  was  taught  by  •  '.  j 
Heman  R.  Harmon,  son  of  the  pioneer  salt  maker.  y>"J    '„.    4 

In  1830  James  Heaton  retired  from  the  active  management  of  hisr^ 
furnace  and  was  succeeded  by  Heaton  and  Robbins,  the  -firm -being  made  4 
up  of  his  son,  Warren  Heaton,  and  his  son-in-law,  Josiah  Robbins,  who 
had  settled  in  Weathersfield  Township  in  1826  and  had  married  Maria 
Heaton.  Robbins  retired  in  1834  and  the  furnace  was  managed  by  War- 
ren Heaton,  although  with  no  great  profit,  as  the  market  was  limited  and 
real  money  was  almost  unknown.  Even  the  furnace  hands  were  paid 
mostly  in  provisions. 

About  this  time,  however,  modern  Niles  had  its  beginning.  In  its 
almost  thirty  years  of  existence  Heaton's  Furnace  had  remained  a  small 
hamlet,  but  the  middle  '30s  were  days  of  activity  along  the  whole  length 
of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  for  the  canal  connecting  the  Ohio  River  and 
Lake  Erie  had  become  a  certainty.  In  .1834  James  Heaton  and  Warren 
Heaton  anticipated  this  improvement  by  laying  out  a  village  plat:  It 
was  a  diminutive  municipality  when  compared  with  Niles  of  today,  tor 
it  embraced  only  a  small  section  of  land  lying  west  of  Mosquito  Creek 
and  north  of  the  Mahoning  River.    At  this  time  too,  or  about  this  time, 


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474       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

the  name  of  Heaton's  Furnace  gave  way  to  the  title  that  furnishes  the 
basis  for  the  present  name. 

Although  less  eccentric  than  his  brother  Daniel,  who  was  most  un- 
usual in  his  idiosyncrasies — even  going  to  the  extent  of  having  his  name 
changed  to  Eaton  because  he  believed  the  initial  letter  superfluous — 
James  Heaton  was  not  free  of  peculiarities.  In  particular  he*  was  most 
positive  in  his  political  convictions,  although  violent  adherence  to  a  polit- 
ical party  was  so  common  in  that  day  that  it  could  hardly  be  considered 
a  peculiarity  after  all.  Being  a  pronounced  Whig  he  was  a  faithful  sub- 
scriber to  a  Baltimore  newspaper  variously  known  at  different  times  as 
the  Niles  Register.  Niles  Weekly  Register  and  Niles  National  Register. 
To  Heaton  this  newspaper  was  the  court  of  final  decision  in  all  things 


Monumental  Park,  Warren 

political.  To  its  editor  he  ascribed  amazing  knowledge  and  abilities.  Its 
views,  or  the  views  of  its  editor,  he  quoted  as  the  last  answer  in  polit- 
ical controversies,  and  it  may  be  accepted  that  he  loved  a  political  debate 
as  thoroughly  as  did  all  strong  men  of  his  day.  It  is  not  surprising  then 
that  he  conferred  the  title  of  "Nilestown"  on  his  newly  platted  village. 

The  town  makers  had  judged  well.  Several  new  houses  sprang  up 
in  the  year  the  village  was  platted.  In  1836  the  first  store,  other  than 
the  company  store,  was  started  by  Robert  Quigley,  and  a  few  years  later 
another  store  was  started  by  Josiah  Robbins  and  Ambrose  Mason,  Rob- 
bins  having  married  Mason's  daughter  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife, 
Maria  Heaton  Robbins.  In  1836,  also,  Jacob  Robeson  opened  a  hotel 
in  a  house  built  by  Samuel  Dempsey  in  1834,  a  location  that  he  aban- 
doned a  year  later  when  he  erected  a  hotel  building.     Previous  to  this 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       475 

there  had  been  only  a  tavern  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  The  first 
brick  building  was  constructed  by  James  Crandon  and  it  was  some 
years  later  before  the  Mason  Block,  the  first  brick  structure  of  any 
appreciable  size,  was  put  up. 

The  completion  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  Canal  to  Warren  in 
the  spring  6f  1839  saw  the  realization  of  the  dream  of  Mahoning  Valley 
residents  for  an  ample  transportation  line,  and  all  villages  in  the  Ma- 
honing Valley  shared  in  the  resulting  prosperity.  Nilestown  outstripped 
in  importance  thereafter  all  other  Weathersfield  Township  settlements 
until  on  March  16,  1843,  the  Weathersfield  Station  postoffice  gave  way 
to  one  in  this  village  near  the  mouth  of  Mosquito  Creek,  the  municipality 
becoming  plain  "Niles,"  by  decree  of  the  postoffice  department.  Am- 
brose Mason  was  the  first  postmaster. 

The  ten-year  period  between  1840  and  1850  was  one  of  rapid  growth 
for  Niles.  With  the  coming  of  the  canal  began  the  era  of  coal  mining 
on  which  so  many  Mahoning  Valley  towns  were  founded.  Niles  par- 
ticipated in  the  growth  of  this  industry,  although  never  dependent  upon 
it  to  the  extent  that  some  of  its  neighboring  villages  were.  It  was  upon 
the  manufacture  of  iron  that  Niles  was  built. 

Heaton's  little  plants  had  been  the  sole  reliance  of  Niles  in  this  re- 
spect up  to  the  days  of  the  canal,  but  in  1841  there  came  an  industry 
that  dwarfed  these.  This  was  the  plant  of  James  Ward  and  Company, 
an  industry  begun  in  the  above  year  and  completed  and  put  in  opera- 
tion in  1842.  Associated  with  James  Ward,  Sr.,  in  this  enterprise  were 
his  brother,  William  Ward,  and  Thomas  Russell,  Pittsburgh  men.  They 
had  first  built  at  Lisbon,  Columbiana  County,  then  New  Lisbon,  but  find- 
ing conditions  unsatisfactory  removed  their  plant  to  Niles.  Here  they 
rolled  the  first  iron  made  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  by  this  process,  per- 
haps the  first  made  in  Ohio.  The  output  was  bar  iron,  sheet  iron,  horse- 
shoe iron  and  tire  iron,  products  most  in  demand  at  the  time.  This  was 
the  industry  that  gave  Niles  its  impetus,  an  industry,  strangely  enough, 
that  was  later  to  deal  Niles  almost  its  death  blow. 

Meanwhile  the  pioneer  Maria  furnace  blazed  away.  On  the  death 
of  Warren  Heaton  in  1842  it  was  leased  to  McKinley,  Reep  and  Demp- 
sey,  the  senior  partner  of  this  firm  being  William  McKinley,  Sr.,  father 
of  President  William  McKinley.  Succeeding  lessees  were  Jacob  Robe- 
son and  Company,  Robeson  and  Bowell,  and  Jacob  Robeson  and  John 
Battles,  its  last  operator$.  The  actual  ownership  of  the  old  furnace  was 
vested  in  the  Heaton  family  until  the  stack  passed  out  of  existence  in 

1854. 

To  care  for  their  pig  iron  needs  James  Ward  and  Company  leased 
the  Falcon  furnace  at  Youngstown  for  several  years  and  in  1859  built 
the  Elizabeth  furnace  at  Niles.  Eventually  this  stack  was  removed  to 
Youngstown  and  became  the  Hannah  furnace  of  the  Mahoning  Valley 
Iron  Company.  This  stack,  rebuilt  several  times,  is  now  the  property 
of  the  Republic  Iron  and  Steel  Company. 

With  the  coming  of  the  Civil  war  in  1861  Niles  felt  the  early  de- 
pression and  the  later  industrial  activity  that  accompanied  this  conflict. 
The  village,  and  Weathersfield  Township,  responded  nobly  to  the  call 


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476       YOUXGSTOVVN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

for  men  and  industries  were  at  first  crippled,  although  later  this  loss 
was  adjusted. 

The  period  immediately  succeeding  the  Civil  war  was  a  most  pros- 
perous one  for  Niles.  James  Ward,  Sr.,  died  in  July,  1864,  and  until 
his  estate  was  adjusted  the  affairs  of  the  iron  company  were  managed 
by  his  brother,  William  Ward,  but  in  1866  James  Ward,  Jr.,  son  of  the 
founder,  became  the  active  head  of  the  concern.  In  that  year  he  rebuilt 
the  old  mill  of  the  James  Ward  and  Company,  in  1867  built  the  Falcon 
Iron  &  Nail  Company  plant  and  in  1868  built  the  Russia  mills.  This 
last  named  plant  was  designed  to  make  genuine  Russian  sheet  iron  as 
well  as  ordinary  black  sheets  and  although  it  was  not  successful  in  the 
former  respect  remained  in  existence  as  a  sheet  mill.  James  Ward  and 
Company  apparently  made  nails  even  before  the  death  of  the  senior 
Ward,  but  the  industry  was  launched  by  the  younger  man  on  an  exten- 
sive scale. 

The  expansion  of  the  Ward  interests  was  not  the  extent  of  Niles' 
growth  in  this  period.  In  1865  a  mill  equipped  with  puddle  mill,  sheet 
mills  and  a  bar  mill  was  built  by  a  partnership  in  which  William  Davis, 
George  Harris,  James  Harris,  Corydon  Bean,  James  Jose,  James  Russell 
and  Eh-.  A.  M.  Blackford  were  interested,  Blackford  being  a  son-in-law 
of  Thomas  Russell  of  the  original  James  Ward  and  Company  firm.  In 
1870  Davis  retired  and  this  became  the  Harris  and  Blackford  mill.  In 
1870  William  Ward  built  a  blast  furnace  that  was  operated  under  the 
firm  name  of  William  Ward  and  Company,  the  Niles  Boiler  Works  was 
built  in  1 87 1  by  Jeremiah  Reeves  and  George  Reeves  and  the  Niles  fire 
brick  plant  was  started  in  1878  by  John  R.  Thomas.  The  Globe  Foundry 
and  Machinery  Company  was  an  industry  antedating  these,  having  been 
built  in  1858  by  Thomas  Carter.  In  1873  ft  came  into  the  possession 
of  James  Ward  and  Company. 

Niles  was  thus  an  industrial  community  of  the  greatest  importance  in 
the  early  '70s;  one  apparently  destined  to  be  a  competitor  of  Youngs- 
town  and  to  outstrip  Warren.  The  growth  was. unhealthy,  however,  even 
though  it  appeared  solid  enough  on  the  surface.  James  Ward,  Jr.,  had 
built  and  taken  over  manufacturing  plants  with  a  lavish  hand  for  that 
day.  Apparently  his  enterprises  were  prospering  and  his  firm  was  sound 
and  solvent.  Its  standing  made  its  credit  of  the  highest  order  until 
James  Ward's  "paper"  was  considered  almost  as  good  as  government 
greenbacks.  It  was  accepted  with  as  little  hesitation  and  Ward  used 
this  credit  freely  in  operating  his  industries. 

The  "scrip"  form  of  currency  employed  by  Heaton  and  his  succes- 
sors in  the  pioneer  industries  of  Niles  remained  in  use  long  after  the 
new  industries  had  come  and  a  more  plentiful  supply  of  legal  currency 
had  made  it  unnecessary.  In  1868,  however,  "scrip"  was  abolished  on 
protest  of  Niles  merchants  and  for  five  years  actual  money  was  used  by 
manufacturers  in  paying  workmen  and  by  workmen  in  paying  bills.  In 
1873,  however,  came  the  financial  depression  that  has  gone  down  in 
history  as  the  "Panic  of  '73,"  and  the  use  of  "scrip"  was  resorted  to  all 
over  the  Mahoning  Valley.  It  was  revived  in  Niles,  with  the  agreement 
of  the  merchants,  some  of  whom  gave  their  consent  reluctantly.     B.  F. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       477 

Pew,  still  an  active  Niles  resident  and  then  in  business  with  his  father, 
says  he  held  out  to  the  last  against  accepting  this  mere  promissory  form 
of  payment  but  finally  acceded.  With  many  the  high  standing  of  the 
manufacturing  firm  was  sufficient  guarantee  of  the  worth  of  this  tender. 

The  panic  was  acute  all  over  the  United  States.  Iron  making  dis- 
tricts felt  it  with  especial  keenness,  and  from  Warren  to  Lowellville 
there  was  depression,  privation  and  suffering.  But  all  the  neighboring 
towns  escaped  lightly  in  comparison  with  Niles,  for  the  firm  of  James 
Ward  and  Company  made  an  assignment  in  February,  1874,  that  struck 
Niles  with  all  the  force  of  a  tornado. 

The  Ward  "paper"  was  held  throughout  the  entire  valley  and  there 
was  scarcely  a  person  in  Niles  from  laborer  to  manufacturer  who  was 
left  unaffected.  Ward  had  expanded  too  rapidly  and  his  notes  as  well 
as  "scrip"  had  been  accepted  with  too  little  question.  A  few  more  years 
of  prosperity,  of  course,  might  have  seen  the  withdrawal  of  this  "paper" 
and  found  the  Ward  industries  on  a  sound  basis.  The  panic  was  merely 
something  that  could  not  be  foreseen  and  when  it  came  it  was  a  black  day 
alike  for  those  who  had  payments  to  meet  and  payments  due. 

The  "old"  Ward  mill,  the  Falcon  mill  and  the  Russia  mills,  owned  by 
James  Ward,  Jr.,  were  taken  over  by  a  receiver,  the  William  Ward  and 
Company  blast  furnace  followed  and  the  Globe  Foundry  and  Machine 
Works  reverted  to  the  Carter  family,  its  original  owners,  after  having 
been  operated  by  James  Ward  and  Company. 

The  Ward  failure  is  said  to  have  been  for  a  greater  amount  than  the 
taxable  value  of  all  the  property  in  Niles.  This,  perhaps  will  give  some 
idea  of  the  manner  in  which  every  business  house  in  the  village  was  ruined 
or  at  least  shaken  to  its  very  foundation.  Ten  years  earlier,  or  in  1864, 
Niles  had  attained  such  a  size  that  it  became  an  incorporated  municipality, 
but  now  its  growth  was  halted.  The  panic  days  disappeared  and  other 
communities  recovered,  but  Niles  never  revived  from  the  shock  until  the 
last  decade.  Not  only  had  it  been  hit  harder,  but  there  came  in  succession 
three  other  setbacks  scarcely  less  cruel  than  the  first. 

In  the  industrial  reorganization  of  1874-76  the  Ward  Iron  Company 
became  the  operators  of  the  original  Ward  mill,  and  the  Russia  mills  were 
operated  by  L.  B.  Ward  and  Company.  James  Ward,  Jr.,  was  general 
manager  of  both,  although  previously  Carter  and  Gephart  had  taken  over 
one  or  both  of  the  plants  for  a  short  time.  The  Falcon  Works  came  into 
the  ownership  of  the  Arms  Brothers  and  others  of  Youngstown,  the  Wil- 
liam Ward  and  Company  blast  furnace  was  operated  by  creditors  for  a 
time  and  purchased  by  John  R.  Thomas  in  1879  an^  the  Harris  and  Black- 
ford mill  came  into  the  ownership  of  C.  H.  Andrews,  W.  C.  Andrews  and 
L.  E.  Cochran  of  Youngstown  and  operated  by  them  under  the  name  of 
the  Niles  Iron  Company. 

In  the  early  '8os  the  firm  of  L.  B.  Ward  and  Company  failed.  The 
immediate  results  to  Niles  were  less  disastrous  than  they  had  been  in  the 
first  instance,  but  the  ultimate  effect  was  not  less  marked.  It  dealt  a 
blow  to  Niles  just  when  it  was  beginning  to  recover  from  the  first  adver- 
sity. In  this  failure  the  banking  firm  of  A.  G.  Bentley  and  Company 
went  down  and  the  "old  mill"  of  the  Ward  Company  was  abandoned  and 


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478       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

dismantled.  This  plant,  it  might  be  added,  stood  on  the  site  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Pennsylvania  Passenger  Station  and  Freight  House.  The 
Russia  mills  were  taken  over  by  Summers  Bros.  &  Co.  The  plant  of  the 
Niles  Iron  Company  had  already  been  dismantled  and  the  machinery 
removed  to  the  works  of  the  Andrews  Bros.  Company  at  Youngstown. 

This  left  Niles  with  only  the  Russia  mills,  the  Falcon  Iron  and  Nail 
Company,  the  Thomas  furnace,  the  Globe  Foundry  and  Machine  Com- 
pany and  the  Niles  brick  works  as  its  leading  industries.  Its  industrial 
equipment  was  poorer  than  it  had  been  ten  years  before. 

In  the  late  '8os  the  Falcon  Mill  interests  took  over  the  Russia  mills, 
thus  becoming  operators  of  sheet  mills,  bar  mills,  nail  plate  mill  and  nail 
factory.  A  few  years  later,  or  about  1891,  Niles  received  its  first  indus- 
trial accession  after  years  of  reverses  in  the  construction  by  the  Falcon 
Iron  and  Nail  Company  of  a  tin  plate  mill.  This  plant  became  known 
immediately  as  the  "McKinley  Mill,"  and  a  more  fitting  name  could  not 
have  been  chosen.  William  McKinley  was  born  at  Niles  on  January  29, 
1843,  and  it  was  the  McKinley  tariff  bill,  passed  in  1890,  that  made  pos- 
sible the  establishment  of  the  tin  plate  industry  in  the  United  States  by 
protecting  America  against  ruinous  competition  with  old  world  plants. 
The  "McKinley"  Mill  was  the  first  large  tin  plate  plant  built  in  the 
United  States. 

The  new  plant  had  scarcely  gotten  in  operation  when  the  panic  of 
1893  came  on.  Niles  felt  this  like  all  iron  making  centers,  although  per- 
haps in  a  less  degree  than  some  others  for  tin  plate  and  sheet  plants 
operated  to  a  better  advantage  during  the  depression  than  did  most  iron 
industries.  This  reverse  was  less  severe  than  the  ones  that  had  preceded 
it  or  the  one  that  was  to  follow. 

In  1898  began  the  era  of  combination  of  iron  and  steel  industries. 
To  a  few  iron  and  steel  centers,  among  them  Youngstown,  the  forma- 
tion of  the  "trusts"  was  a  bqpn,  for  the  policy  of  the  steel  combinations 
was  to  centralize  activities.  The  Youngstown  plants  that  were  taken 
over  were  modernized  and  enlarged.  The  money  that  Youngstown  men 
received  for  the  sale  of  their  industries  went  into  new  plants  for  the 
benefit  of  Youngstown.  But  if  centralization  meant  increased  activity 
in  such  places  it  meant  disaster  to  Niles. 

Niles  men  were  quick  to  realize  that  their  remaining  industries  might 
be  dismantled  by  their  new  owners,  or  removed  to  points  where  the  com- 
binations were  centralizing.  To  prevent  this  they  banded  together  in  a 
commercial  organization  and  launched  a  movement  to  save  all  that  re- 
mained. Citizens'  delegations  met  the  managers  of  the  new  combinations 
and  secured  a  promise  that  the  Niles  plants  that  had  just  been  taken  over 
would  not  only  be  left  intact  but  would  be  remodeled  and  enlarged  if 
this  were  possible.  It  was  a  comforting  reassurance,  but  the  period  of 
rejoicing  was  short.  The  final  notification  from  the  "trust"  management 
was  that  the  Niles  mills  were  in  such  shape  that  it  would  be  impossible 
to  modernize  them.     The  mills  were  dismantled. 

This  was  a  severe  blow  after  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  of 
fighting  for  industrial  life  but  Niles  did  not  quit.  Niles  people,  in  fact, 
are  not  of  the  quitting  kind.     In  business,  baseball,  politics  or  boxing 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       479 

they  are  always  ready  to  meet  challengers.  "They've  taken  away  our 
industries;  it's  up  to  us  now  to  get  some  more,"  was  the  word  passed 
around  among  Niles  residents. 

Back  in  1890  a  board  of  trade  had  been  organized  by  R.  G.  Sykes 
and  B.  F.  Pew ;  the  initial  purpose  being  the  construction  of  public  utili- 
ties. Private  interests  had  offered  to  install  waterworks  and  an  electric 
light  plant,  but  under  the  leadership  of  the  board  of  trade  Niles  voted  to 
build  these  plants  with  public  funds  and  operate  them  municipally.  Within 
a  year  this  was  done. 

This  first  trade  body  languished,  for  the  '90s  were  not  years  of  civic 
activity,  but  in  1900  when  it  became  apparent  that  something  had  to  be 
done  to  save  the  city  from  near-extinguishment  another  institution  of  this 
kind  was  naturally  proposed  as  the  medium  through  which  to  work.  The 
Niles  Board  of  Trade  was  therefore  formed  as  an  unincorporated  body 
and  with  an  initial  membership  of  fourteen,  including  W.  H.  Smiley, 
T.  A.  Winfield,  Ivor  J.  Davis,  B.  F.  Pew,  C.  G.  Harris,  F.  C.  Robbins, 
L.  L.  Holaway,  William  Herbert,  Evan  J.  Job,  Wade  A.  Taylor,  H.  H. 
Mason,  J.  N.  Baldwin,  C.  P.  Souders  and  A.  J.  Leach.  Mr.  Smiley  was 
elected  president  of  the  organization  and  Mr.  Winfield  secretary.  The 
first  industry  landed  was  the  Harris  Automatic  Press  Company,  a  concern 
that  was  given  a  site  and  a  bonus  of  $1,500  and  that  remained  a  Niles 
plant  until  191 4  when  it  was  removed  to  Cleveland  following  labor 
troubles  and  inability  to  get  a  sufficient  supply  of  skilled  workmen. 

The  upward  movement  was  now  on  in  Niles  and  new  industries  came, 
one  by  one.  The  Niles  policy  was  not  merely  to  invite  plant  builders  to 
locate  at  Niles  but  to  use  verbal  persuasion  and  even  more  substantial 
aid.  The  experiment  succeeded  so  well  that  on  April  14,  1908,  the  Niles 
Board  of  Trade  was  reorganized  and  incorporated  with  a  membership  of 
thirty.  T.  E.  Thomas  was  elected  president;  L.  L.  Holaway,  first  vice 
president;  W.  F.  Thomas,  second  vice  president;  J.  N.  Baldwin,  secre- 
tary, and  F.  W.  Stillwagon,  treasurer.  The  remaining  members  were, 
C.  G.  Harris,  W.  A.  Thomas,  T.  A.  Winfield,  John  S.  Naylor,  F.  E.  Bryan, 
William  C.  Allison,  j.  D.  Waddell,  William  Herbert,  M.  J.  Flaherty,  H. 
H.  Hoffman,  B.  F.  Pew,  W.  G.  Duck,  W.  A.  Hutchings,  W.  S.  Sayers, 
S.  I.  Manchester,  C.  P.  Souders,  C.  G.  Thomas,  D.  J.  Finney,  J.  W. 
Rogers,  Julian  Cowdery,  William  Holzbach,  W.  H.  Pritchard,  J.  W. 
Eaton,  Vincent  Mango  and  Clare  Caldwell. 

The  energetic  manner  in  which  Niles  went  after  industries  is  shown 
by  some  of  the  inducements  offered  manufacturing  companies  to  locate 
there.  The  Thomas  Steel  Company  received  $10,000  and  a  free  site; 
Empire  Steel  Company  $13,333;  Fostoria  Glass  Company,  $10,000;  Ma- 
honing Valley  Steel  Company,  $20,000 ;  Falcon  Steel  Company,  $44,000. 
Small  bonuses  were  given  several  other  plants.  All  these  plants  are  still 
located  at  Niles  and  prospering.  The  Thomas  and  Empire  mills  were 
sold  later  to  the  Brier  Hill  Steel  Company  and  the  men  interested  in  the 
Empire  works  then  erected  the  DeForest  Sheet  and  Tin  Plate  Company 
plant,  also  at  Niles,  but  asked  no  bonus.  The  plant  of  the  Niles  Car 
and  Manufacturing  Company,  manufacturers  of  street  cars,  was  built 
by  home  capital. 


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480       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Other  Niles  industries  today  include  the  Standard  Boiler  and  Plate 
Iron  Company,  Stanley  works,  Grasselli  Chemical  Company  plant, 
Youngstown  Steel  Car  Company,  Ohio  Galvanizing  Company,  Bostwick 
Steel  Lath  Company,  Basic  Steel  Company,  Hubbard  Pressed  Steel  Com- 
pany, Engel  Aircraft  Company,  Metal  Post  and  Culvert  Company,  Na- 
tional Sand  and  Stone  Company,  Niles  Fire  Brick  Company  (the  nu- 
cleus of  which  was  the  old  Niles  Fire  Brick  works),  Niles  Forge  and 
Manufacturing  Company,  Niles  Iron  and  Steel  Roofing  Company,  Niles 
Lumber  Company,  Western  Reserve  Lumber  Company,  Stevens  Metal 
Products  Company,  Sykes  Metal  Lath  and  Roofing  Company,  Tritt  China 
Company,  Wilson  Manufacturing  Company,  and  the  Electric  Alloy  Steel 
Company.  The  last  named  company  was  organized  in  1920  and  is  now 
about  to  build  a  modern  electric  steel  plant.  The  Globe  Foundry  and  Ma- 
chinery Company  is  now  the  pioneer  industry,  the  Thomas  furnace  is  the 
property  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company  and  the  DeForest  Shee*  and  Tin 
Plate  mills  are  owned  by  the  Republic  Iron  and  Steel  Company.  The 
Republic  has  purchased  a  great  acreage  adjoining  this  plant  and  has  made 
great  additions  while  even  more  extensions  are  now  under  way,  these 
new  works  having  a  valuation  of  fully  $2,000,000. 

In  addition  to  upbuilding  the  city  industrially  the  Niles  trade  body 
gained  for  Niles  the  new  Erie  passenger  station,  a  most  creditable  struc- 
ture for  the  city,  and  it  was  at  a  board  of  trade  banquet  in  1910  that 
J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  made  the  first  public  suggestion  for  the  construction  of 
the  McKinley  Memorial  building. 

In  1919  the  Board  of  Trade  became  the  Niles  Chamber  of  Commerce. 
Its  headquarters  are  in  the  McKinley  Memorial  building  and  it  is  still 
boosting  Niles  and  doing  so  successfully.  J.  D.  Waddell  is  the  president 
of  this  body,  J.  E.  Thomas,  first  vice  president;  L.  O.  Wurtemberger, 
second  vice  president;  M.  M.  McGowan,  treasurer  and  Edward  J.  Samp, 
managing  secretary.  J.  N.  Baldwin  retired  as  secretary  in  191 7  after 
nine  years'  service,  during  which  time  Niles  made  much  of  its  modern 
progress. 

Financial  Institutions 

Niles  has  a  healthy-sized  retail  trade  and  is  the  business  center  of  an 
extensive  territory.  The  pioneer  banking  firm  of  the  city  was  Wick, 
Bentley  and  Company,  organized  in  1869.  A  year  later  it  became  Bent- 
ley  and  Crandon  and  in  1871  was  succeeded  by  the  Citizens  Loan  and 
Savings  Association.  In  1880  this  firm  gave  way  to  A.  G.  Bentley  and 
Company,  a  banking  firm  that  remained  until  after  the  second  Ward 
Failure  in  1883  or  1884. 

Niles  now  has  four  financial  houses.  The  Home  Savings  and  Loan 
Company,  organized  in  1897,  is  the  oldest  and  the  largest  of  these.  Its 
banking  house  is  located  in  Mill  Street  and  the  concern  has  a  capitaliza- 
tion of  $300,000.  D.  J.  Finney  is  president  of  this  organization,  J.  M. 
Elder,  vice  president;  George  J.  Taylor,  secretary;  H.  W.  Stevens,  treas- 
urer. 

The  Dollar  Savings  Bank  was  incorporated  in  1905  and  has  a  capital 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       481 

of  $150,000.  Its  banking  house  at  Main  Street  and  Park  Avenue  is  one 
of  the  most  attractive  buildings  in  the  city.  W.  A.  Taylor  is  president  of 
this  bank,  J.  W.  Eaton  and  C.  S.  Thomas,  vice  presidents ;  W.  H.  Stevens, 
secretary  and  treasurer ;  A.  W.  Kirkbride,  assistant  secretary  and  assist- 
ant treasurer. 

The  Niles- Trust  Company  was  formed  in  1909  to  do  a  general  bank- 
ing as  well  as  trust  company  business  and  occupies  a  banking  room  at 
Main  and  Mill  streets.  The  officers  of  this  institution  are,  C.  P.  Wilson, 
president;  D.  J.  Finney  and  T.  E.  Thomas,  vice  presidents;  J.  D.  Wad- 
dell,  secretary;  R.  J.  McCorkle,  treasurer.    Its  capital  is  $125,000. 

The  McKinley  Savings  and  Loan  Company  was  incorporated  in  1918. 
Its  banking  house  is  located  in  Main  Street  on  the  site  of  the  house  in 
which  President  William  McKinley  was  born  and  the  institution  has  a 
capital  of  $100,000.  The  present  officers,  who  were  the  first  officers  also, 
are  T.  J.  Thomas,  president;  H.  H.  Hoffman,  first  vice  president;  Sol 
Lowendorf,  second  vice  president;  C.  C.  McConnell,  secretary;  R.  M 
Smith,  treasurer;  W.  F.  MacQueen,  attorney. 

Newspapers 

Niles'  first  newspaper  was  the  Niles  Register,  started  in  the  summer 
of  1867  by  Edward  S.  Butler  and  E.  E.  Moore.  It  suspended  after  six 
months. 

The  Niles  Independent  was  launched  in  1868  by  J.  H.  Fluhart,  who 
sold  out  in  June,  1871,  to  M.  D.  Sanderson.  In  1872  the  paper  became  the 
property  of  Fred  C.  McDonald  and  in  1873  was  purchased  by  Dyer  and 
Sanderson.  Caught  in  the  crash  of  1874,  the  paper  suspended,  but  was 
revived  on  October  1,  1875,  by  M.  D.  Sanderson,  who  made  it  the  Trum- 
bull County  Independent.  He  sold  out  after  a  few  weeks  to  N.  N.  Bart- 
lett  and  shortly  afterward  J.  H.  Fluhart  became  associated  with  Mr. 
Bartlett.  In  May,  1876,  the  plant  was  purchased  by  McCormick  and 
Williams  and  subsequently  the  original  name  of  the  Niles  Independent 
was  revived.  The  Independent,  a  newsy  and  vigorous  weekly,  is  now 
owned  by  Mrs.  Ella  M.  McCormick  and  edited  by  A.  A.  Mooney.  It  is 
Democratic  in  politics. 

The  Niles  News,  a  Republican  daily,  was  launched  in  1890  and  after 
several  changes  in  ownership  the  Niles  Printing  and  Publishing  Company 
became  the  Niles  Daily  News  Company  in  1918.  The  ownership  of  the 
company  is  vested  in  E.  R.  Smith,  who  purchased  the  plant  in  1919,  and 
the  paper  is  edited  by  A.  W.  Thorpe.  Mr.  Smith  is  also  the  owner  of 
the  Newton  Falls  Herald. 

McKinley  Birthplace  Memorial 

It  is  peculiarly  fitting  that  the  city  of  Niles  should  be  the  site  of  the 
McKinley  Birthplace  Memorial,  an  institution  designed  not  merely  to 
honor  a  great  President  but  to  serve  as  a  depository  for  heirlooms  per- 
taining to  the  McKinley  family,  documents  relating  to  the  life  of  the  late 
President,  memoirs  and  souvenirs  of  the  political  campaigns  in  the  days 

Vol.  1—81 


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482       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

when  William  McKinley  was  one  of  the  foremost  statesmen  of  the  coun- 
try, and  state  papers  relating  to  his  incumbency  as  President.  All  the 
Mahoning  Valley  is  crowded  with  incidents  relating  to  William  McKinley. 
At  Poland  he  received  his  later  education,  enlisted  in  the  Union  Army 
and  studied  law,  at  Youngstown  he  numbered  intimate  friends  and 
associates  from  boyhood  days  and  over  the  industries,  the  cities  and  the 
villages  of  the  valley  he  exercised  a  watchful  care  throughout  his  entire 
life,  but  it  was  at  Niles  that  he  was  born  and  spent  his  early  days. 

No  memorial  of  stone  is  needed  to  perpetuate  his  memory  here  in 
Northeastern  Ohio.  Tradition  hands  down  now,  and  will  hand  down  from 
generation  to  generation,  the  story  of  his  rugged  adherence  to  principles 
and  ideals,  his  unfaltering  Christian  faith,  his  devotion  to  home,  his  cheer- 
fulness in  the  face  of  adversities,  his  remarkable  charm  of  manner  and 
his  simple  democracy  and  modesty  that  remained  unchanged  even  after 
ascending  the  heights  of  prominence,  responsibility  and  power.  Nor  was 
the  birthplace  memorial  designed  in  any  such  narrow  sense.  It  was 
planned  as  a  national  institution  and  has  become  one  in  every  sense  of  the 
word. 

The  plan  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  President  McKinley  by  a  fitting 
monument  at  his  birthplace  was  first  announced  at  a  gathering  of  the  Niles 
Board  of  Trade  on  February  4,  1910,  by  Joseph  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  a  boyhood 
companion  and  a  lifelong  friend  of  William  McKinley.  The  proposal  was 
received  with  enthusiasm,  but  it  remained  for  Mr.  Butler  to  bring  it  to  a 
successful  realization,  and  toward  this  work  he  bent  his  energy  and  zeal. 

Broached  to  McKinley  admirers  in  all  parts  of  the  country  the  plan 
received  such  instant  and  wholehearted  approval  that  the  project  expanded 
rapidly  beyond  even  its  original  scope.  Mr.  Butler  saw  that  by  consistent 
presentation  of  his  proposal  it  would  be  possible  to  secure  funds  sufficient 
to  build  something  besides  the  modest  structure  he  had  originally  planned. 
The  movement  became  one  for  the  erection  of  a  building  that  would 
rank  with  the  finest  examples  of  memorial  architecture  in  the  United 
States.  Slightly  more  than  a  year  was  then  spent  in  organizing  the  move- 
men  thoroughly,  and  with  this  work  the  project  took  legal  form  when 
the  movement  was  incorporated  by  special  act  of  Congress,  passed  on 
March  4,  191 1,  and  signed  by  President  William  H.  Taft,  Vice  President 
James  S.  Sherman  as  president  of  the  Senate  and  Speaker  Joseph  G. 
Cannon  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  incorporators  were  Joseph 
G.  Butler,  Jr.,  Myron  T.  Herrick,  J.  G.  Schmidlapp,  John  G.  Milburn 
and  W.  A.  Thomas.  The  incorporators  met  in  New  York  City  on  May  17, 
191 1,  and  elected  Joseph  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  president;  John  G.  Milburn,  vice 
president;  J.  G.  Schmidlapp,  treasurer;  W.  A.  Thomas,  secretary;  the 
executive  committee  consisting  of  Myron  T.  Herrick,  chairman ;  Joseph 
G.  Butler,  Jr.,  and  W.  A.  Thomas.  Mr.  Schmidlapp  was  later  succeeded 
as  trustee  by  H.  C.  McEldowney,  who  also  became  treasurer. 

The  project  was  now  ready  for  further  presentation  to  the  nation,  and 
it  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  that  while  Mr.  Butler  gave  largely  of  the 
efforts  for  carrying  out  the  work,  the  funds  for  the  erection  of  the 
memorial  have  come  in  a  large  degree  from  all  the  people.  It  was  to 
make  the  movement  thoroughly  democratic  that  the  fee  for  membership 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       483 

in  the  National  McKinley  Birthplace  Memorial  Association  was  fixed  at 
a  small  sum,  and  the  McKinley  souvenir  gold  dollar,  minted  specially  by 
the  United  States  for  this  purpose  was  issued. 

On  their  part,  the  people  of  Niles  gave  substantiated  evidence  of  their 
approval  of  the  project  by  providing  the  memorial  site.  A  location  on  the 
ground  on  which  the  house  in  which  William  McKinley  was  born  actually 
stood  was  not  possible.  This  building  was  removed  some  years  ago  to 
Mineral  Ridge,  remodeled  and  later  removed  again.  On  the  site  stands 
now  the  building  occupied  by  the  McKinley  Savings  and  Loan  Company, 
located  in  Main  Street,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  memorial 
grounds.  The  location  selected  fronts  on  Main  Street,  between  Park 
Avenue  and  Church  Street,  and  on  this  spot  stood  the  little  white  school- 
house  in  which  William  McKinley  received  his  earlier  education. 

The  means  available  and  the  character  of  the  work  to  be  done  made 
it  essential  that  the  best  architectural  design  possible  should  be  selected 
for  the  memorial  building.  Appreciating  their  responsibility  thoroughly, 
the  memorial  association  trustees  decided  to  secure  this  design  by  an  archi- 
tectural competition,  a  movement  in  which  the  great  architects  of  the 
United  States  were  invited  to  participate.  Six  firms  of  nation  wide  prom- 
inence submitted  plans — all  of  these  being  offered  without  any  marking 
that  would  designate  the  authorship — and  from  the  six  the  judges  selected 
a  design  by  McKim,  Mead  and  Company,  of  New  York,  a  firm  that  has 
designed  more  important  structures  of  this  kind  than  any  other  architec- 
tural concern  in  America.  The  erection  of  the  monument  was  entrusted 
to  the  John  H.  Parker  Company,  of  New  York,  and  a  little  more  than  two 
years  was  required  for  the  work  of  construction.  The  cornerstone  was 
laid  with  fitting  ceremony  on  November  20,  191 5,  addresses  being  made 
on  this  occasion  by  President  Joseph  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  of  the  memorial 
association,  Governor  Frank  B.  Willis  of  Ohio  and  Myron  T.  Herrick, 
trustee  of  the  memorial  association,  former  governor  of  Ohio  and  former 
ambassador  to  France.  A  letter  of  felicitation  was  also  received  from 
President  Woodrow  Wilson. 

The  dedicatory  ceremony,  on  October  5,  191 7,  was  an  even  more 
notable  event,  attracting  to  Niles  an  immense  gathering  of  people  that 
represented  every  state  in  the  Union,  officialdom  and  plain  private  citi- 
zens alike  being  present  to  do  homage.  The  number  of  national  officials 
in  attendance  was  lessened  by  the  fact  that  the  President  and  the  Congress 
were  then  engaged  with  the  momentous  questions  arising  from  the  World 
war  in  which  America  had  announced  its  part  but  six  months  earlier.  The 
ceremonies  consisted  of  a  parade,  followed  by  addresses  and  the  dedica- 
tory ritual  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  President  J.  G.  Butler, 
Jr.,  of  the  memorial  association  presided  as  chairman  on  this  occasion 
and  made  the  opening  address,  the  chief  address  was  delivered  by  Judge 
James  H.  Hoyt,  the  dedicatory  address  was  delivered  by  former  President 
William  Howard  Taft  and  the  closing  address  by  Myron  T.  Herrick.  The 
memorial  was  thus  formally  presented  to  the  nation. 

Of  the  memorial  structure  itself  it  can  be  said  that  it  typifies  the  spirit 
of  William  McKinley.  In  its  simple  beauty  and  unusual  design  it  is  one  of 
the  most  striking  monuments  in  America. 


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484       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  building  stands  amid  park-like  surroundings  in  the  heart  of  the 
city  of  Niles,  and,  erected  of  Georgia  marble,  it  is  pronounced  by  many 
one  of  the  noblest  works  of  its  kind  in  America.  In  dimensions  it  is  232 
feet  in  length  and  136  feet  in  width,  with  a  height  of  38  feet.  It  con- 
sists of  a  semi-circular  open  court  of  honor  flanked  by  two  lateral  wings, 
the  court  of  honor  being  laid  out  as  an  Italian  garden,  with  hedges,  vases 
and  parterres.  It  is  supported  by  twenty-eight  monolithic  columns,  and 
about  the  interior  of  the  court  runs  a  broad  walk,  flanked  by  statues  of 
David  Tod,  war  governor  of  Ohio  and  pioneer  coal  operator  and  iron 
maker;  Cornelius  Newton  Bliss,  Secretary  of  the  Interior  in  President 


The  National  McKinley  Birthplace  Memorial 

McKinley's  Cabinet;  Justice  William. R.  Day  of  the  United  States  Su- 
preme Court;  John  Hay,  famed  American  statesman  and  Secretary  of 
State  in  the  McKinley  Cabinet ;  Theodore  Roosevelt,  statesman  and  Wil- 
liam McKinley's  successor;  former  President  William  Howard  Taf t,  Elihu 
Root,  statesman  and  attorney  general  in  the  McKinley  Cabinet ;  Philander 
C.  Knox,  statesman  and  now  United  States  senator,  and  M.  A.  Hanna, 
United  States  senator  from  Ohio,  manufacturer,  intimate  friend  of  Wil- 
liam McKinley  and  manager  of  his  presidential  campaign.  Surmounting 
them  all,  and  toward  the  rear  of  the  open  part  of  the  court  of  honor  is  a 
heroic  marble  statue  of  President  William  McKinley,  the  work  of  the 
famous   American   sculptor,  J.   Massey   Rhind,   who   pronounces  it   the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       485 

greatest  of  his  life  efforts.  It  is  a  wonderful  likeness  of  the  late  presi- 
dent and  a  faithful  representation  of  the  subject  in  his  noblest  mood,  that 
of  statesman  engrossed  in  the  heavy  task  of  steering  the  ship  of  state 
and  formulating  the  policies  of  the  world's  greatest  nation. 

To  the  right  of  the  court  of  honor  is  the  main  assembly  hall — 
designed  to  accommodate  an  audience  of  1,000  and  provided  with  comfort- 
able seats — a  semi-circular  stage,  dressing  rooms  and  all  necessary  ad- 
juncts. The  acoustics  are  excellent,  the  lighting  and  heating  designed 
with  the  utmost  care.  This  auditorium,  equipped  with  a  large  motion 
picture  machine,  has  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  public  for  all 
gatherings  worthy  of  such  a  meeting  place  and  its  use  is  invoked  with 
growing  frequency. 

To  the  left  of  the  court  of  honor,  as  one  enters,  is  located  the  public 
library  wing,  equal  in  size  to  the  auditorium.  This  wing,  however,  is  of 
two-story  construction,  the  first  being  devoted  to  the  library  proper, 
while  the  second,  reached  by  marble  stairways,  contains  the  museum,  or 
McKinley  memorial  rooms,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  meeting  place 
and  meeting  room  of  the  township  trustees. 

The  McKinley  museum,  or  historical  room,  was  designed  as  a  resting 
place  for  relics  and  souvenirs  associated  with  the  life  of  the  late  presi- 
dent. Many  mementoes  of  this  kind  have  already  been  received  and  the 
number  is  being  augmented  daily  by  offerings  from  those  who  possess 
relics  of  William  McKinley  and  wish  to  see  them  placed  not  alone  where 
they  may  inspire  the  sightseer  but  will  be  forever  safe  from  the  ravages 
of  time.  Here  such  mementoes  will  be  absolutely  safe  from  destruction 
by  fire  or  accident.  A  careful  record  is  kept  of  such  articles,  the  name  of 
donor  or  lender,  and  such  additional  information  as  is  appropriate. 

Within  the  building  arranged  in  a  manner  to  constiute  a  notable  "Hall 
of  Fame,"  are  appropriate  busts  and  tablets  commemorative  of  the  men 
whose  industry  and  influence  has  made  them  marked  figures  in  the 
industrial  and  political  history  of  America. 

The  bronze  bust  of  Henry  C.  Frick  stands  within  the  main  library 
room.  Others  who  are  commemorated  by  busts  are,  Jonathan  Warner, 
pioneer  in  the  Lake  Superior  iron  ore  region  and  the  Mahoning  Valley 
in  ore  development  and  pig  iron  making;  George  F.  Baker,  president  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  New  York  and  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  United  States  Steel  Corporation;  James  A.  Farrell,  president  of  the 
United  States  Steel  Corporation;  E.  H.  Gary,  jurist,  chairman  of 
the  United  States  Steel  Corporation,  and  president  of  the  American  Iron 
and  Steel  Institute;  James  H.  Hoyt,  lawyer  and  orator;  Alexander  L. 
Crawford,  industrial  leader  and  pioneer  in  production  of  block  coal  and 
promotion  of  railroads  and  blast  furnaces;  James  Ward,  first  maker  of 
wrought  iron  in  the  Mahoning  Valley ;  B.  F.  Jones,  A.  M.  Byers,  Henry 
W.  Oliver,  Andrew  Carnegie,  John  R.  Thomas,  C.  H.  Andrews,  L.  E. 
Cochran,  Frank  Buhl  and  John  W.  Gates,  giants  in  the  iron  and  steel  busi- 
ness. Commemorated  by  busts  are  James  Heaton,  founder  of  Niles  and 
builder  of  the  first  blast  furnace  in  the  Mahoning  Valley ;  Frank  H.  Ma- 
son, Thomas  Struthers,  Joseph  H.  Brown  and  Richard  Brown,  whose 
names  are  inseparably  connected  with  the  story  of  iron  making. 


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486       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  public  library,  occupying  the  entire  ground  floor  in  the  left  wing 
of  the  memorial  building,  is  deserving  of  especial  mention.  The  Niles 
Library  Association  was  formed  in  1908  and,  supported  by  private  sub- 
scription and  by  city  and  school  board  appropriations,  started  in  a  modest 
way  in  a  room  in  State  Street.  Later  the  library  was  removed  to  the 
postoffice  building  where  it  remained  until  1916  when  a  building  on  the 
McKinley  Memorial  grounds  was  occupied  for  a  year.  In  191 7,  with  the 
completion  of  the  memorial  building,  the  library  was  installed  therein 
and  in  1918  the  name  of  the  organization  was  changed  to  the  Memorial 
Library  Association,  although  it  is  a  municipal  institution  and  discharges 
all  the  functions  of  a  public  library* 

It  is  doubtful  if  there  is  a  public  library  in  any  other  American  city 
the  size  of  Niles  that  is  so  splendidly  equipped.  The  main  library  room  is 
large  and  commodious,  and  serves  also  as  the  memorial  registry,  for  the 
memorial  building  is  a  daily  Mecca  for  sightseers  and  a  record  of  all 
these  is  kept.  In  addition  there  are,  to  the  right  and  left,  the  children's 
reading  room,  adults'  reading  room,  reference  rooms,  magazine  room  and 
library  office,  while  to  the  rear  are  large  stack  rooms,  equipped  with  three 
story  stacks.  The  library  contains  more  than  8,000  volumes,  including 
1,000  given  by  the  late  Henry  C.  Frick,  and  its  circulation  last  year 
was  42,922. 

The  library  is  cared  for  by  Miss  Ida  E.  Sloan,  librarian,  who  has  two 
assistants.  Officers  of  the  library  association  are,  D.  J.  Finney,  presi- 
dent ;  A.  J.  Bentley,  vice  president ;  G.  R.  Miller,  treasurer.  These,  with 
Mrs.  Kate  H.  Strock,  Miss  Carrie  E.  Jones,  T.  E.  Thomas,  J.  E.  Thomas, 
G.  H.  Trimber  and  A.  B.  Campfield,  make  up  the  board  of  trustees. 

The  McKinley  Memorial  Building  is  designed  to  occupy,  with  its 
ground,  an  entire  square.  Thus  far  it  has  not  been  possible  to  secure  all 
the  property  necessary  to  this  end,  but  since  such  a  structure  should  have 
an  appropriate  setting  it  is  felt  that  ultimately  all  the  other  buildings 
within  this  square  will  be  razed  and  the  ground  devoted  to  memorial 
purposes.  The  grounds  surrounding  the  building  are  already  extensive 
and  artistically  laid  out  under  the  direction  of  a  competent  landscape 
artist. 

To  provide  for  the  maintenance  of  this  institution  an  endowment  fund 
has  been  created,  this  being  fixed  at  $200,000.  In  raising  the  original 
fund  Henry  C.  Frick  was  the  largest  contributor  with  a  gift  of  $50,000, 
but  there  were  numerous  small  contributors,  many  of  them  giving  one 
dollar,  and  the  endowment  has  also  been  made  of  large  and  small  con- 
tributions alike. 

Prominent  Organizations 

While  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  Memorial  Library  Association 
are  the  leading  civic  bodies  of  Niles  there  are  numerous  organizations 
founded  on  fraternal  and  similar  lines. 

Court  Providence  Lodge  No.  5,  Foresters  of  America,  is  an  outgrowth 
of  Court  Providence  Lodge,  Ancient  Order  of  Foresters,  instituted  on 
December  28,   1862.     Mahoning  Lodge,   No.  394,   Free  and  Accepted 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       487 

Masons  was  granted  a  charter  on  June  22,  1867,  and  is  still  a  thriving 
organization,  other  Masonic  lodges  being,  Mount  Moriah  Lodge,  No.  46. 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Trumbull  Chapter,  No.  5,  Royal 
Arch  Masons;  Niles  Council,  No.  1,  Royal  and  Select  Masters;  St.  John's 
Commandery,  No.  1,  Knights  Templar;  Ida  McKinley  Chapter,  No.  229, 
Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 

Falcon  Lodge,  No.  436,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  was  insti- 
tuted in  January,  1870.  The  allied  association  is  Ferndale  Lodge,  No. 
607,  Daughters  of  Rebekah.  The  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  is 
one  of  the  prominent  structures  of  Niles  and  its  meeting  hall  is  the  gath- 
ering place  of  many  societies. 

Other  organizations  of  this  character  include  William  McKinley  Post, 
No.  106,  American  Legion;  a  newly  organized  Elks  Lodge;  Niles  Coun- 
cil, 1681,  Knights  of  Columbus,  instituted  in  April,  1913;  Niles  Lodge, 
No.  436,  Knights  of  Pythias ;  Trumbull  County  Division,  No.  18,  Uniform 
Rank  Knights  of  Pythias,  Ada  H.  Assembly,  No.  47,  Pythian  Sisters; 
McPherson  Post,  No.  i6.  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic ;  McPherson  Corps, 
No.  260,  Woman's  Relief  Corps;  McKinley  Memorial  Lodge,  No.  96, 
Sons  of  Veterans ;  Nancy  Allison  Tent,  No.  36,  Daughters  of  Civil  War 
Veterans;  Trumbull  Conclave,  No.  1135,  Royal  Arcanum;  Niles  Castle, 
No.  72,  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle;  Nancy  McKinley  Lodge,  No.  35, 
Ladies  of  the  Golden  Eagle;  Niles  Tent,  No.  66,  Maccabees;  Niles  Re- 
view, No.  44,  Women's  Benefit  Association  of  Maccabees;  Niles  Circle, 
No.  22,  Protected  Home  Circle;  Branch  No.  71,  Catholic  Mutual  Benefit 
Association;  Branch  No.  710,  Ladies  Catholic  Benevolent  Association; 
Gennessee  Tribe,  No.  15,  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men;  Ponemah  Council, 
No.  14,  Daughters  of  Pocahontas;  Division  No.  1,  Ancient  Order  of  Hi- 
bernians; Division  No.  1,  Ladies  Auxiliary  Ancient  Ordetf  of  Hibernians; 
Progressive  Cotmcil,  No.  314,  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechan- 
ics; Niles  Lodge,  No.  2978,  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor;  Niles  Camp, 
No.  5076,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America;  Niles  Lodge,  No.  627,  Loyal 
Order  of  Moose;  Niles  Home,  No.  50,  Home  Guards  of  America;  Niles 
Lodge,  No.  308,  American  Insurance  Union;  Niles  Aerie,  No.  1476, 
Frlternal  Order  of  Eagles;  Niles  Council,  No.  151,  Daughters  of  Amer- 
ica ;  Order  of  thfc  Sons  of  Italy. 

Churches 

The  first  religious  organization  in  Niles,  or  Weathersfield  Township, 
was  a  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  School  class  formed  in  1814  by  Rev. 
Samuel  Lane,  a  circuit  rider.  This  class  was  organized  at  the  home  of 
Ebenezer  Roller,  who  lived  within  what  is  now  the  City  of  Niles. 

From  this  small  beginning  grew  the  Methodist  Episcopal  congregation 
that  is  now  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Niles.  A  plain 
church  building  was  erected  in  1870,  and  sufficed  until  the  present  church, 
a  most  creditable  structure,  was  put  up  in  1908.  This  building  stands  at 
Park  Avenue  and  Arlington  Street.  The  congregation  is  a  flourishing  one, 
with  Rev.  E.  A.  Jester  as  pastor. 


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488       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Presbyterian 

On  application  made  in  1838  Rev.  William  O.  Stratton  of  the  New 
Lisbon  Presbytery  was  appointed  to  organize  a  Presbyterian  Church  at 
Niles,  for  Weathersfield  Township  members  of  this  denomination.  At  a 
meeting  held  at  the  Niles  schoolhouse  at  Niles,  Miller  Blachly,  Phoebe 
Blachly,  Eben  Blachly,  Anna  Blachly,  Miller  Blackly,  Jr.,  Mary  Blachly, 
Robert  Quigley,  Catherine  Reiter,  Andrew  Trew,  Margaret  Biggart, 
Elizabeth  Biggart,  James  McCombs,  Elizabeth  McCombs  and  Eleanor  Bell 
were  duly  enrolled  and  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Niles  organized. 
The  congregation  was  supplied  until  July  11,  1867,  when  Rev.  T.  Calvin. 
Stewart  was  named  as  the  first  resident  pastor,  remaining  until  1876. 
The  congregation  has  a  commodious  church  building  at  Main  and  Church 
streets,  and  has  a  large  membership.  Rev.  E.  S.  Tonsmeier  is  the  present 
pastor. 

The  Second  Presbyterian  Church  was  originally  organized  as  the 
Welsh  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  day  when  Niles  had  a  large  Welsh- 
speaking  population.  It  dates  back  to  about  1870.  The  congregation  met 
at  first  in  the  church  building  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  a 
denomination  no  longer  in  existence.  Rev.  John  Moses  was  the  first 
pastor.  The  church  has  retained  the  membership  of  the  families  that 
founded  it  but  is  now  an  English-speaking  congregation.  Rev.  E.  S. 
Robert  is  pastor. 

Christian 

The  First  Christian  Church  of  Niles  was  organized  in  1840  by  an 
evangelist,  Elder  John  Henry,  with  a  charter  membership  numbering 
Elder  Joshua  Carle,  Margaret  Carle,  Elder  A.  Jackson  Cluse,  Eleanor 
Cluse,  Deacon  Jacob  Robeson,  Dorcia  Robeson,  Deacon  Samuel  Burnett, 
Deacon  Lewis  Heaton,  Milly  Ann  Heaton,  Nancy  Carle,  Josiah  Dunlap, 
Polly  Dunlap,  William  Winfield,  Seymour  Hake  and  others.  Members 
of  the  Mason  and  Robbins  families  were  also  early  members. 

The  first  church  was  erected  and  dedicated  in  1844,  and  Rev.  Hervey 
Brockett  was  the  first  minister,  although  Reverend  Henry,  founder  of  the 
congregation,  presided  at  the  dedication.  More  ample  church  accommo- 
dations were  arranged  later  and  in  1894  the  present  modern  church  build- 
ing was  constructed  at  Church  and  Arlington  streets.  In  1919  the  Church 
Lot  Club  was  organized  in  the  congregation  to  raise  the  sum  of  $15,000 
from  members  and  by  March  1,  1920,  the  goal  had  been  reached.  The 
congregation  is  one  of  the  largest  in  Niles.  Rev.  W.  H.  McLain  is  the 
present  pastor. 

Roman  Catholic 

Roman  Catholic  services  at  Niles  began  in  1853  when  the  village  was 
made  a  station  attached  by  the  Dungannon,  Columbiana  County,  church, 
Rev.  Francis  Stroker  being  the  first  attending  priest.  In  1858  Niles  was 
attached  to  the  newly  founded  St.  Columba's  parish  at  Youngstown  as  a 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       489 

station  and  in  1864  was  made  a  mission.  In  this  year  Rev.  E.  M.  O'Cal- 
laghan  of  St.  Columba's  built  the  original  St.  Stephen's  church,  a  small 
frame  building,  and  in  July,  1865,  Rev.  A.  R.  Sidley  was  named  as  the 
first  resident  pastor,  remaining  until  1868.  In  1888  a  movement  was  be- 
gun for  the  erection  of  a  new  church  and  the  present  brick  structure  was 
built  in  1890-91  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  F.  M.  Scullin,  who  came  as 
pastor  in  1889  and  remained  for  many  years.  First  services  were  held  on 
Christmas  day,  1891,  and  the  church  wa§  dedicated  on  May  8,  1892.  St. 
Stephen's  is  a  growing  parish,  in  charge  of  Rev.  D.  B.  Crotty. 

Our  Lady  of  Mt.  Carmel  Church,  Robbins  Avenue,  is  a  younger 
Catholic  parish.  Rev.  Nicholas  Santoro  is  the  pastor  of  this  congrega- 
tion. 

Baptist 

The  Niles  Baptist  Church  was  organized  in  1868  and  the  first  church 
building  was  erected  in  1872-73,  Rev.  I.  T.  Griffith  being  the  first  pastor. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  D.  C.  Thomas  who  remained  for  a  number 
of  years.  The  Baptist  Church  is  a  frame  building  in  East  Church  Street 
and  plans  are  now  under  way  for  remodeling  this  structure  and  improv- 
ing it  extensively.  The  congregation  is  a  good-sized  one,  with  Rev.  R.  J. 
Murphy  as  pastor. 

Primitive  Methodist 

The  Primitive  Methodist  congregation  in  Niles  was  organized  in  1873 
by  Rev.  M.  Harvey,  who  remained  as  the  first  pastor,  the  membership  of 
the  church  being  made  up  largely  of  mill  workers.  The  church  building 
is  located  at  Bert  and  Olive  streets,  the  congregation  being  attended  by 
Reverend  McPhee. 

Episcopal 

St.  Luke's  Episcopal  Church  was  formed  in  1890  and  remained  a  mis- 
sion until  1914  when  it  became  a  parish.  The  parish  has  a  neat  and 
modern  church  building  in  Robbins  Avenue  and  an  attendance  of  approxi- 
mately 250.    Rev.  F.  C.  Roberts  has  been  pastor  since  191 7. 


Other  Churches 

There  are  several  other  churches  and  missions,  including  the  Christ 
English  Lutheran  congregation,  Rev.  C.  A.  Dennig,  pastor,  that  meets 
in  the  old  high  school  building,  and  the  International  Bible  Students' 
organization. 

Schools 

The  first  schoolhouse  at  Niles,  probably  the  first  one  in  Weathersfield 
Township,  has  been  described  before.  It  was  a  small  log  building  located 
south  of  the  river.     After  the  founding  of  James  Heaton's  pioneer  in- 


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490       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

dustries  another  school  was  built  on  the  bluff  above  the  grist  mill,  now  in 
the  heart  of  the  city.    This  school  was  probably  in  existence  by  1815. 

In  the  '30s  there  appears  to  have  been  a  brick  schoolhouse  at  Niles,  a 
one-room  building,  of  course,  and  about  the  time  the  village  was  laid  out 
a  white  frame  schoolhouse  was  built  on  the  present  site  of  the  McKin- 
ley  Memorial  Building.  It  was  in  this  structure  that  William  McKinley 
received  his  earlier  education,  his  first  teacher  being  Alva  Sanford,  known 
locally  as  "Santa  Ana,"  perhaps  from  some  supposed  resemblance  to  the 
Mexican  general-president,  or  perhaps  as  a  humorous  tribute  to  his 
peaceful  nature  as  distinguished  from  the  warlike,  bloody  Mexican  who 
was  then  leading  the  war  against  the  United  States. 

With  the  incorporation  of  Niles  Village  and  the  rapid  growth  of  the 
municipality  in  Civil  war  days  and  immediately  thereafter  a  Union  school 
district  was  organized  with  Josiah  Robbins,  Jr.,  T.  C.  Stewart,  S.  D. 
Young,  William  Davis,  W.  C.  Mason  and  William  Campbell  as  the  first 
school  board.  This  organization  was  effected  in  1869  and  in  the  same 
year  it  was  decided  to  build  a  modern  school  building  for  the  village,  at 
a  cost  of  $15,000.  This  amount  later  was  increased  and  in  1871  the 
school  building  was  ready  for  occupancy. 

At  the  time  of  its  erection  this  school  structure  was  easily  the  best 
in  Trumbull  County,  being  a  three-story  brick  building  with  the  best  fur- 
nishings obtainable.  It  sufficed  as  a  union  school  and  high  school  for 
Niles  for  more  than  forty  years  and  is  even  yet  not  entirely  in  disuse  be- 
ing used  for  the  manual  training  department  of  the  Niles  schools. 

In  October,  1869,  Rev.  T.  Calvin  Stewart  was  elected  superintendent 
of  the  school  district,  giving  two  days  a  week  to  this  work  in  connection 
with  his  duties  as  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Reverend  Sfewart 
served  capably  for  two  years,  being  succeeded  by  L.  L.  Campbell.  In 
addition  to  the  high  school  there  were  two  primary  school  buildings  at 
Niles  in  the  early  days  of  the  school  district. 

The  old  high  school  sufficed  for  Niles  until  1914  when  the  present 
high  school  structure  was  built  and  opened.  This  building,  located  in 
West  Church  Street  is  a  large  and  attractive  structure  of  light  brick 
and  ranks  among  the  best  high  schools  of  Northeastern  Ohio.  The  build- 
ing has  thirty-one  rooms  and  a  gymnasium  and  auditorium. 

Within  the  City  of  Niles  there  are  also  six  grade  school  buildings. 
The  Niles  school  district  extends  outside  the  city,  covering  a  territory 
of  five  square  miles  and  including  the  McKinley  Heights  School. 

Superintendent  W.  C.  Campbell,  under  whom  the  Niles  schools  made 
notable  progress,  retired  in  June,  1920,  and  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  L. 
Ebey,  a  competent  educator  and  executive.  The  staffs  of  the  other  schools 
with  the  city  follow : 

Senior  High  School — J.  Boyd  Davis,  principal ;  Esther  Mayer,  French 
and  English;  Mrs.  Charles  E.  Mull,  English;  La  Verne  Delin,  Latin; 
Eliza  Allison,  history;  Ellen  Hoist,  Spanish;  Willis  Neuenschwander, 
history ;  Miles  Dearth,  physics  and  chemistry ;  Minnie  Roth,  mathematics ; 
Eulalie  Hill,  shorthand  and  typewriting;  Guy  Ross,  bookkeeping;  Charles 
E.  Mull,  manual  training;  Mrs.  Mary  Watson,  printing. 

Junior  High  School. — Seventh  Grade:     Reba  Hadley,  mathematics; 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       491 

Hilda  Thomas,  geography;  Hazel  Hewitt,  English;  Mrs.  Alta  Jones, 
history. 

Eighth  Grade:  Ethel  Hadley,  history;  Elenor  Galster,  mathematics; 
Anna  Hostetler,  English ;  Betty  Nelson,  civics  and  elementary  science. 

Ninth  Grade:  Alice  M.  Gilbert,  mathematics;  Faye  Motz,  English; 
Marion  Maiden,  Latin ;  Otto  Dearth,  general  science ;  Mrs.  J.  Boyd  Davis, 
bookkeeping ;  J.  S.  Blair,  manual  training. 

Cedar  Street. — Rebekah  A.  Cook,  principal;  Nellie  Pickett,  Gertrude 
Nims,  Mrs.  Emmit  Baker,  Miss  Lula  Hall,  Alma  Evans,  Pauline  Crof- 
ford,  Florence  Waldorf,  Mrs.  Earl  Tritt. 

Warren  Avenue. — Mrs.  Kittie  Craig,  principal;  Mrs.  Frank  Forney, 
Mrs.  George  Alexander,  Mrs.  Fred  Baer,  Hilda  Underwood,  C.  E.  Bliss, 
Eva  Ballentine,  Leta  Crisler. 


Niles  High  School 

Bentley  Avenue. — Helene  Sliffe,  principal;  Lyda  Peterson,  Beryl 
Spafford,  Edna  Millard,  Ida  Trumbull,  Margaret  Mackey,  Edna  Brown, 
Mabel  Neiss. 

Bert  Street. — Mary  A.  Morrall,  principal;  Beatrice  Millard,  Lilian 
McCulloch,  Freda  Moats. 

Third  Street. — Louise  McLloyd,  principal;  Clara  Haible,  Mrs.  Ru- 
theda  Crofford,  Ellen  Messenger. 

Leslie  Avenue. — Violet  Madley,  principal ;  Edyth  Hadley. 

Special  Teachers. — Olga  DeVries,  domestic  art ;  Dorothy  Williams, 
domestic  science;  Beatrice  Dickinson,  physical  training;  J:  C.  Loman, 
athletic  coach ;  Jane  O.  Dorsey,  supervisor  of  music ;  Eileen  M.  Gorham, 
supervisor  of  penmanship;  Rena  Pottorf,  supervisor  of  drawing;  J.  L. 
Cleaver,  Smith-Hughes  Co-ordinators. 

The  high  school  is  a  first  grade  institution,  on  the  accredited  list  of 
the  North  Central  Association  of  Colleges  and  Universities.    The  enroll- 


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492       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ment  of  the  high  school  is  approximately  400  and  of  the  grade  schools, 
1900. 

Members  of  the  Niles  board  of  education  include,  Fred  Williams, 
president;  R.  M.  Haun,  clerk;  Mrs.  Miriam  Kelly,  F.  C.  Wagstaff  and 
James  Clark. 

St.  Stephen's  parochial  school  was  organized  in  1868.  In  1893  the 
old  church  building  was  converted  into  school  rooms  but  in  1900  a  modern 
brick  school  structure  was  erected  in  Arlington  Street  on  the  site  of  the 
old  building.  In  1898  an  academy  was  opened  and  still  flourishes.  Both 
these  schools  hold  a  high  rank  among  Niles  educational  institutions. 

Public  Affairs 

For  more  than  a  half  century  of  its  existence  Niles  was  an  unincor- 
porated part  of  Weathersfield  Township  and  under  township  rule.  The 
township  A^IS^rorrnally  organized  in  1809,  having  been  part  of  the  civil 
township  of  Warren  before  that  time.  There  is  no  record  of  the  first 
officers  elected. 

In  1843  Niles  became  a  postoffice  station,  and  on  August  27,  1864, 
a  petition  was  presented  to  the  commissioners  of  Trumbull  County  ask- 
ing the  incorporation  of  the  village.    This  petition 'read: 

"To  the  Commissioners  of  Trumbull  County,  State  of  Ohio : 

"We,  the  undersigned,  inhabitants  and  qualified  voters  of  Weathers- 
field  Township  in  said  county,  not  embraced  within  the  limits  of  any  city 
or  incorporated  village,  desire  that  the  following  described  territory  with- 
in the  township  of  Weathersfield  be  organized  into  an  incorporated  vil- 
lage, to  wit : 

"Beginning  at  a  stake  or  corner  of  the  farm  of  John  Fee  near  the 
dwelling  of  H.  H.  Mason,  and  running  west  one  mile  to  a  stake  or  comer 
on  the  land  belonging  to  the  heirs  of  John  A.  Hunter,  deceased,  near  the 
dwelling  of  S.  H.  Pew,  thence  due  south  one  and  one-fourth  miles  to  a 
stake  or  comer  on  the  farm  of  John  Battles,  thence  east  one  mile  to  a 
stake  or  corner  on  the  farm  of  C.  S.  Campbell,  thence  north  to  the  place 
of  beginning — an  accurate  map  or  plat  thereof  is  hereunto  affixed — and 
that  said  village  be  named  and  called  Niles,  and  that  A.  M.  Blackford  be 
authorized  to  act  in  behalf  of  the  petitioners  in  prosecuting  this  claim." 

The  petition  was  granted  and  on  January  23,  1866,  the  first  municipal 
election  was  held.  H.  H.  Mason  was  named  mayor;  James  Draa,  record- 
er; James  Ward,  Jr.,  William  Davis,  David  Griffiths,  Richard  Holton  and 
Henry  Shaffer,  members  of  council. 

The  present  city  officials,  for  the  term  1920-21,  include  Charles  Crow, 
mayor;  W.  F.  MacQueen,  solicitor;  Howard  Rosensteel,  treasurer; 
Homer  Thomas,  auditor  and  clerk;  Samuel  Cartwright,  president  of 
council ;  John  Stafford,  Joseph  Rummell,  James  Holloway,  Murray  Wick, 
James  Lapolla,  Hatty  Hughes  and  R.  J.  Hubbard,  councilmen;  B.  L. 
Hogan,  director  of  public  service;  George  Pendleberry,  director  of  pub- 
lic safety;  Frank  Ward,  city  engineer. 

Niles  long  ago  reached  the  city  class  and  in  1883  a  city  hall  was  built 
in  West  Park  Avenue.    This  building  is  still  in  use,  being  the  police  and 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       493 

fire  headquarters  as  well  as  the  mayor's  office.  Next  door  is  the  site  of 
the  proposed  new  postoffice. 

The  police  department  came  into  existence  when  the  office  of  marshal 
was  created  on  the  incorporation  of  the  village.  With  the  advancement 
of  Niles  to  the  city  class  the  marshal  was  displaced  by  a  chief  of  police, 
L.  J.  Rounds  holding  this  position  now.  The  Niles  fire  department  was 
organized  as  a  volunteer  institution  in  1870  and  a  second  hand  engine  was 
used  until  1875  when  a  modern  steamer  was  purchased.  T.  D.  Thomas 
was  chief  of  the  department  from  the  time  of  its  organization  until  1880, 
when  George  W.  Bear  was  named  for  the  place.  The  department  is  now 
motorized  and  well  equipped,  being  under  the  direction  of  Chief  A.  I.  Orr. 

The  Niles  water  works  came  into  existence  about  1891  as  a  municipal 
utility,  the  first  water  supply  coming  from  artesian  wells.  Later  an  in- 
take was  built  to  bring  water  from  the  Mahoning  River.  The  water 
works  building  is  an  ample  brick  structure,  and  in  1909  a  filtration  plant 
was  added.  A  reservoir  on  Robbins  hill  gives  good  pressure  to  all  parts 
of  the  city.  The  municipal  lighting  plant  is  also  in  the  water  works  build- 
ing. Power  is  furnished  by  the  Hydro-Electric  Company.  Bert  Hollo- 
way  is  the  city  superintendent  of  water  and  light. 

The  1920  census  gave  Niles  a  population  of  13.080.  This  is  a  gain 
of  4,179,  or  56.4  per  cent,  over  iqio. 


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CHAPTER  XXIV 

STRUTHERS 

Founding  of  Settlement  That  Has  Developed  Into  an  Enterpris- 
ing City — Early  Days  and  Gradual  Growth  to  Village  and 
Twentieth  Century  Industrial  Center — Struthers  in  a  Busi- 
ness, Educational  and  Religious  Way. 

Struthers  as  a  settlement  is  almost  as  old  as  Youngstown,  and  as  a 
village  has  been  in  existence  for  more  than  half  a  century.  Modern 
Struthers,  however,  is  purely  a  twentieth  century  municipality,  its  story 
going  back  for  scarcely  twenty  years. 

On  August  30,  1798,  John  Struthers,  from  Washington  County, 
Pennsylvania,  purchased  from  Turhand  Kirtland  400  acres  of  Poland 
Township  land,  this  tract  being  the  present  site  of  Struthers.  Lying 
at  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Creek  and  containing  a  good  mill  site,  it  was 
desirable  land,  yet  considered  less  valuable  perhaps  than  that  farther  up 
Yellow  Creek  where  the  Village  of  Poland  was  to  be  located. 

Struthers  settled  on  his  new  possessions  on  October  19,  1799.  His 
first  cabin,  according  to  J.  W.  Sexton,  a  life  long  resident  of  Struthers 
and  a  grandson  of  Stephen  Sexton,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Poland 
Township,  was  built  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  parsonage  of  St. 
Nicholas'  Church.  In  1800  he  built  a  grist  mill,  the  first  in  Poland 
Township  and  to  this  later  added  a  sawmill,  both  of  these,  of  course, 
being  located  on  Yellow  Creek.  Here,  too,  in  August,  1800,  was  born 
Ebenezer  Struthers,  the  first  male  white  native  of  Poland  Township. 

In  1802  or  1803  Daniel  Eaton  built  a  blast  furnace  on  Yellow  Creek, 
located  south  of  Struthers*  land.  John  Struthers  also  saw  the  pos- 
sibility of  the  iron  business  and  in  1806  he  associated  himself  with 
Robert  Montgomery  and  David  Clendennin  in  the  erection  of  a  second 
stack,  this  being  on  Struthers*  land,  and  about  a  mile  and  a  half  down 
Yellow  Creek  from  Eaton's  furnace.  Subsequently  Struthers,  Mont- 
gomery and  Clendennin  also  purchased  the  Eaton  stack. 

The  diminutive  Struthers  stack  prospered  until  the  War  of  181 2,  a 
conflict  that  called  away  available  workmen  and  left  the  furnace  idle. 
Struthers'  stack  was  never  again  operated  and  Struthers  himself  emerged 
from  the  havoc  of  the  war  with  his  industry  and  his  lands  gone.  To 
his  sorrow  was  added  the  death  of  his  son,  Lieutenant  Alexander 
Struthers,  who  was  killed  at  Detroit  in  the  latter  part  of  181 3.  Struthers 
removed  to  Coitsville  Township  and  was  later  elected  sheriff  of  Trum- 
bull County.     Here  in  his  new  home  another  tragedy  came  into  his  life 

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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       495 

in  1826  when  his  two  daughters,  Drucilla  and  Emma  Struthers,  were 
drowned  while  crossing  the  Mahoning  River  in  a  skiff  at  the  site  of  the 
present  City  of  Struthers. 

For  more  than  three  score  years  the  site  of  the  present  municipality 
could  scarcely  rank  even  as  a  village.  The  construction  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania and  Ohio  Canal  in  1839-40  was  a  boon  to  Youngstown  and 
gave  considerable  impetus  to  the  youthful  Village  of  Lowellville  but 
had  little  influence  on  the  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Creek. 
It  remained  for  the  railroad  to  bring  Struthers  to  life. 

Thomas  Struthers,  son  of  John  Struthers,  had  located  in  Warren, 
Pennsylvania,  following  the  family  adversity,  and  in  1865  bought  back 
the  family  homestead,  or  much  of  it,  and  laid  out  the  village  that  he 
gave  his  family  name  to.  The  younger  Struthers  had  prospered  in  his 
new  home,  and  with  prosperity  fulfilled  this  hope  of  a  lifetime.  Two 
railroads  came  through  the  site  of  the  town,  a  postoffice  was  established 
in  1866  with  Richard  Olney  as  postmaster,  and  about  1867  Thomas 
Struthers  revived  industry  there  by  erecting  a  saw  mill. 

Iron  making,  the  pioneer  industry,  was  revived  in  1869  on  a  mod- 
ern scale  with  the  construction  of  the  Anna  furnace  by  the  Struthers 
Iron  Company,  an  enterprise  promoted  by  John  Struthers,  associated 
with  T.  W.  Kennedy,  John  Stambaugh  and  John  Stewart,  Daniel  B. 
Stambaugh  and  T.  W.  Stewart  later  becoming  members  of  the  firm. 
This  industry  gave  a  real  impetus  to  the  new  village,  and  to  round  out 
his  activities  Thomas  Struthers  erected  a  hotel  in  1873  ^at  £ave 
Struthers  Village  a  creditable  standing. 

Even  with  this  start  the  growth  of  Struthers  was  leisurely.  It  be- 
came an  agricultural-industrial  community  rather  than  a  strictly  in- 
dustrial one.  Its  connections  with  Youngstown  and  other  Mahoning 
Valley  towns  were  better  than  those  of  rural  villages  of  the  county 
because  of  the  railroads,  but  between  the  village  and  Youngstown  was 
only  a  great  stretch  of  farming  territory.  To  the  blast  furnace  and 
sawmill,  the  only  industries  in  1880,  was  added  the  sheet  mill  plant  of 
the  Summers'  Brothers  Company,  built  by  Samuel  and  William  Sum- 
mers in  the  early  '80s.  Later  still,  in  1808,  was  built  the  plant  of  the 
J.  A.  and  D.  P.  Cooper  Gear  Company. 

For  more  than  a  dozen  years  this  latter  works  was  the  village's  most 
famed  industry.  A  good  percentage  of  the  population  depended  upon  it ; 
in  fact  it  was  looked  upon  as  a  village,  rather  than  a  mere  private,  in- 
stitution. The  annual  picnics  of  the  Cooper  plant  assumed  the  aspect 
of  civic  outpourings.  Business  was  suspended  in  all  lines  for  the  day 
and  Fourth  of  July  was  hardly  observed  more  zealously.  Struthers' 
residents  who  are  still  young  can  recall  these  days,  and  do  recall  them 
with  delight. 

Yet  one  hundred  years  after  John  Struthers  had  built  his  first  cabin 
and  erected  the  saw  mill  and  grist  mill  plant  Struthers  was  still  a  village 
of  somewhat  less  than  a  thousand  inhabitants.  The  blast  furnace  had 
passed  into  the  ownership  of  Brown,  Bonnell  Iron  Company  and  still 
later  into  the  possession  of  the  Struthers  Furnace  Company,  with  W. 
C.    Runyon    of    Cleveland    as   the    chief    stockholder.       The    Summers 


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496       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Brothers  sheet  mill  plant  had  been  transferred  to  Warner  and  Patterson 
and  thence  to  the  ownership  of  the  American  Sheet  and  Tin  Plate 
Company,  but  no  industries  had  been  added. 

In  1899  Struthers  was  brought  into  closer  communication  with 
Youngstown  and  the  upper  Mahoning  Valley  by  the  construction  of 
the  interurban  electric  line,  and  two  years  later  saw  the  beginning  of 
the  erection  of  the  neighboring  village  of  East  Youngstown,  following 
the  incorporation  of  the  Youngstown  Iron,  Sheet  and  Tube  Company 
late  in  1900. 

Modern  Struthers  dates  from  the  beginning  of  work  on  the  con- 
struction of  the  initial  units  of  this  great  work  in  1901.  It  was  not  a 
Struthers  enterprise,  yet  the  site  selected  was  almost  on  the  edge  of 
the  village,  although  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  from  that  occupied 
by  the  village.  This  proximity,  and  the  fact  that  the  founding  of  this 
plant  was  accepted  as  the  beginning  of  a  greater  industrial  era  in  the 
entire  Struthers  neighborhood  brought  on  a  "boom"  in  the  village. 

The  years  1901  and  1902  were  therefore  periods  of  activity  and  of 
enthusiasm.  The  population  grew  rapidly  and  the  community  took  on 
another  aspect.  New  stores  and  new  allotments  sprang  up;  the  main 
street  became  something  more  than  a  village  road. 

Up  to  this  time  Struthers  was  a  mere  unincorporated  part  of  Poland 
Township  but  the  need  of  a  better  government  became  apparent  and  in 
November,  1902,  Struthers  was  made  a  formally  incorporated  munici- 
pality. The  first  village  election  was  held  on  December  6,  1902,  after 
a  short  campaign  into  which  Struthers  entered  with  all  the  ardor  of  an 
old  municipality.  The  first  village  officers,  elected  on  this  occasion, 
included  Thomas  Roberts  as  mayor ;  Andrew  E.  Black,  clerk ;  Seth  Mc- 
Nab,  treasurer;  George  Demmil,  marshal;  George  Zumpky,  William 
Maurice,  Harry  Swager,  W.  A.  Morrison,  Clark  McCombs  and  John 
H.  Shaffer  as  councilmen. 

Struthers*  growth  has  been  rapid  since  1902,  and  the  village — or 
city — has  kept  pace  commercially  with  the  growth  in  population.  Its 
manufacturing  possibilities  are  limited  by  its  location  between  high 
hills,  yet  it  is  an  important  industrial  community  today.  Except  for 
the  Struthers  Furnace  Company,  which  still  remains  an  independent 
company,  operating  the  only  strictly  merchant  blast  furnace  in  the  Ma- 
honing Valley  proper,  its  industries  are  confined  almost  entirely  to  de- 
partments of  the  Youngstown  Sheet  and  Tube  Company  that  justified 
early  optimism  by  spreading  to  the  village.  The  plant  of  the  American 
Sheet  and  Tin  Plate  Company  eventually  came  into  the  ownership  of 
the  Sheet  and  Tube  Company  and  the  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  con- 
duit plant  of  this  great  concern.  Another  industry  that  sprang  up  in 
Struthers  in  1902  was  the  Youngstown  Manufacturing  Company,  manu- 
facturers of  nuts  and  bolts.  This  works  passed  to  the  ownership  of 
the  Morgan  Spring  Company  and  still  later  became  the  property  of  the 
Youngstown  Sheet  and  Tube  Company,  the  location  now  being  occupied 
by  the  rod  and  wire  department  of  this  company.  The  Ward  Nail 
Company   is   Struthers*   most   recent   industry. 

The  Struthers  Savings  and  Banking  Company,  the  pioneer  financial 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       497 

concern  of  the  municipality,  opened  for  business  on  July  i,  1902,  and 
remained  in  existence  until  April  3,  1920,  when  it  was  closed  by  the 
State  Banking  Department,  following  the  discovery  of  gross  mismanage- 
ment and  misappropriation  of  its  funds. 

A  branch  bank  of  the  Dollar  Savings  &  Trust  Company,  of  Youngs- 
town,  was  opened  at  Struthers  in  June,  1920,  and  occupies  the  quarters 
of  the  original  bank. 

The  Home  Savings  and  Loan  Company  of  Youngstown  operates  a 
branch  institution  in  Struthers,  the  second  business  house  of  this  kind 
in  the  municipality.  In  1919  the  company  built  a  splendid  building  in 
Poland  Avenue  to  replace  the  temporary  quarters  used  until  that  time. 

Struthers  has  a  weekly  newspaper  in  the  Struthers  Tribune,  founded 
in  1914  by  H.  I.  Countryman  and  still  published  by  him.  It  is  Republi- 
can in  politics  and  is  issued  each  Thursday. 

The  Struthers  Chamber  of  Commerce  is  the  city's  business  com- 
mercial organization.  Its  membership  includes  the  progressive  residents 
of  the  community  and  its  officers  number  L.  S.  Baldwin  as  president; 
J.  J.  Hill  and  Charles  Pleas  as  vice  presidents;  Bruce  R.  Campbell, 
treasurer;  George  L.  Sauer,  secretary.  The  Rural  Community  Im- 
provement club  is  an  active  organization  for  Lyon  Plat  and  other 
suburbs. 

Struthers  has  made  many  municipal  improvements  and  progressive 
residents  are  working  for  more.  It  has  several  good  business  blocks, 
but  also  has  too  many  buildings  of  this  kind  not  in  keeping  with  the 
wealth  of  the  community. 

Schools 

At  an  early  day  in  the  Western  Reserve,  perhaps  as  early  as  1801, 
a  school  was  started  in  a  log  house  where  Struthers  now  stands.  This 
was  before  there  was  a  school  at  Youngstown  or  Poland  Village.  Tradi- 
tion records  that  Perlee  Brush,  the  first  school  teacher  in  Youngstown, 
was  also  the  first  teacher  in  Poland  Township,  and  if  this  is  true  his 
service  there  must  have  antedated  even  his  service  at  Youngstown. 

Whether  a  school  was  maintained  continuously  here  after  that  date 
cannot  be  determined,  but  after  the  founding  of  the  village  country 
school  facilities  prevailed.  Twenty  years  ago  the  village  school  system 
consisted  of  but  four  one-room  buildings,  but  shortly  after  this  date  the 
first  of  the  modern  brick  buildings  was  erected  and  occupied. 

The  Struthers  school  district  embraces  not  only  the  municipality  but 
some  territory  outside,  and  in  the  last  ten  years  considerable  gain  has 
been  recorded  educationally.  The  program  mapped  out  has  been  to 
abandon  the  antiquated  one-room  buildings  but  even  the  construction 
of  increased  accommodations  did  not  serve  to  do  this  until  1920,  owing 
to  the  rapid  growth  of  the  place. 

The  present  school  facilities  include  the  Elm  Street  building  of  eight 
rooms;  Highland  Avenue  building,  eight  rooms;  Sexton  Street  building, 
ten  rooms;  Center  Street  building,  twelve  rooms;  and  the  newly  built 
high  school  structure  in  Euclid  Avenue,  a  thirty-room  building. 

Vol.  1—32 


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498       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  present  school  staff  includes  W.  P.  Moody  as  superintendent; 
Ray  S.  Palmer,  high  school  principal;  Raymond  A.  McBride,  William 
G.  Oyler  and  Carrie  Coburn,  grade  school  principals;  L.  H.  Behney, 
C.  E.  Seeger,  Hilda  Vogan,  Elizabeth  Wenger,  Ethel  Milligan  and  Mary 
Alana  Dennison,  high  school  teachers;  George  Oyler,  eighth  grade 
teacher;  Elizabeth  Meade,  Binnie  Struble  and  Paul  Buchanan,  seventh 
grades ;  Mary  Evans,  Mrs.  Clara  Lee,  Anna  Smith,  Paulina  Cooke,  sixth 
grades;  Mrs.  Mary  Jayne,  Catherine  Richards,  Rachel  Becker, 
fifth  grades;  Dorothy  Shive,  Elva  Hinton,  Mrs.  Ray  Palmer,  Mrs. 
Patricia  Lowry,  Mrs.  Ruth  Behney,  fourth  grades;  Bertha  Thompson, 
Alice  James,  Mrs.  Gladys  Williams,  Florence  Erskine,  third  grades ;  Mrs. 
Harriet  B.  Fredericks,  Mrs.  Bertha  Williams,  Sarah  Oyler,  Florence  Irv- 
ing, Mrs.  Bessie  Gough,  Margaret  Rhodes,  second  grades;  Gertrude 
Demming,  Catherine  Roberts,  Mrs.  James  Bennett,  Helen  Morris,  Mrs. 
Jane  Stansbury,  Grace  Davis,  first  grades;  Mrs.  Florence  Pond,  super- 
visor of  domestic  art;  Carrie  Coburn,  supervisor  of  penmanship;  Goldie 
McClintock,  supervisor  of  music;  H.  D.  Pollen,  assistant  principal. 

The  new  high  school  was  built  in  1920  at  a  cost  of  $275,000  and  is 
a  community  building  as  well  as  a  school.  In  addition  to  class  rooms 
it  has  an  auditorium  with  a  capacity  of  800,  complete  domestic  science 
equipment  and  equipment  for  the  other  arts  and  a  splendid  gymnasium. 
With  its  completion  the  two  remaining  one-room  school  buildings  of  the 
old  regime  were  abandoned  by  Struthers. 

At  the  Sexton  Street  School  in  the  last  session  Superintendent 
Moody  inaugurated  a  half -day  school  system  that  proved  so  successful 
that  it  attracted  the  attention  of  national  educational  authorities,  being 
the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  State  and  operated  under  state  approval. 
Two  sets  of  teachers  were  used  in  carrying  out  this  system,  pupils 
attending  half-day  sessions  six  days  a  week.  This  innovation  was  made 
necessary  by  the  congested  state  of  the  schools  before  the  construction 
of  the  new  high  school  buildings. 

The  Struthers  school  district  is  entirely  separate  from  the  county 
school  system.  The  board  that  administers  its  affairs  consists  of  C.  E. 
Kimmel,  president;  S.  L.  Friedman,  A.  B.  Stough,  John  J.  Hill  and 
Harry  M.  Kerr,  with  Seth  McNab  as  clerk. 

Public  and  Social  Activities 

Struthers  has  two  public  playgrounds,  using  this  word  in  the  sense 
of  playgrounds  for  adults  as  well  as  children,  in  Yellow  Creek  Park 
and  Campbell  Park. 

Yellow  Creek  Park  is  a  municipal  institution,  and  while  it  is  already 
a  most  desirable  outing  place  present  provisions  for  the  park  will  be 
only  a  beginning  if  Struthers  is  at  all  alive  to  its  opportunities.  The 
wildly  beautiful  gorge  of  Yellow  Creek,  rivaling  that  of  Mill  Creek  at 
Youngstown,  begins  within  the  village  and  extends  practically  for  miles. 
Between  Struthers  and  Hamilton  Lake  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  Water 
Company  it  is  especially  beautiful.  The  valley,  or  gorge,  is  of  various 
widths,  the  hillsides  steep  and  covered  with  evergreen,  the  fall  of  water 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       499 

in  the  creek  abundant  and  resembling  a  rushing  mountain  stream  rather 
than  a  midwest  waterway.  Happily  it  has  not  been  marred  by  its  con- 
tact with  civilization  and  it  is  still  possible  to  preserve  the  entire  valley. 

Yellow  Creek  Park  occupies  only  the  lower  part  of  the  gorge,  be- 
ginning at  the  village.  It  has  not  been  improved  as  yet  to  the  extent  it 
should  be,  but  already  has  a  dam,  swimming  pool,  shelter  houses  and 
picnic  grounds  and  provision  is  being  made  for  increasing  the  size  of 
the  pool.  Within  this  park  is  the  site  of  the  old  furnace  built  by  John 
Struthers  and  his  associates  in  1806. 

The  affairs  of  the  park  are  administered  by  a  board  consisting  of 
John  E.  Longnecker,  Charles  Pleas,  B.  F.  Diefenderfer  and  Otis  Held- 
man. 

Campbell  Park  is  a  Youngstown  Sheet  and  Tube  Company  institu- 
tion, but  lies  largely  within  the  village.  It  occupies  a  smaller,  but  pretty, 
gorge,  and  has  been  improved  by  liberal  donations  from  the  company 
that  sponsored  it.  It  too  has  a  pool,  playgrounds  and  special  provisions 
for  picnics,  outings  of  all  kinds  and  athletics. 

The  Struthers  Reading  Circle  is  a  progressive  women's  organization, 
with  Mrs.  Seth  McNab  as  president.  This  organization  has  done  much 
in  a  social  and  educational  way  and  is  the  leading  spirit  now  in  the 
movement  to  establish  a  Struthers  public  library,  an  institution  much 
needed  in  the  municipality.  The  library  will  be  established  in  the  new 
corporation  building. 

Struthers  fraternal  organizations  include  Struthers  Lodge,  933,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  lodges  of  the  Maccabees,  Protective 
Home  Circle,  Daughters  of  Isabella,  Knights  of  Pythias  Lodge  No.  720, 
and  Eagles.  Many  members  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  the  Knights  of 
Columbus  and  similar  organizations  at  Youngstown  reside  at  Struthers. 

Municipal  Government 

Since  its  incorporation  eighteen  years  ago  Struthers  has  remained 
under  the  village  form  of  government,  but  the  present  administration 
is  the  last  village  body  that  will  rule  over  the  city.  The  census  of  1920 
placed  Struthers  in  the  city  class,  with  a  population  of  5,847,  and  the 
192 1  election  will  be  held  for  city  officers  as  provided  by  the  Ohio  code. 

The  present  municipal  officers  of  Struthers  include:  Horace  L. 
Wilson,  mayor;  Seth  J.  McNab,  clerk;  J.  F.  Pearce,  treasurer;  Henry 
Rex,  marshal;  Perry  Robison,  solicitor;  Hugh  B.  Houston,  John  C. 
Kochis,  Jesse  A.  McCleery,  George  L.  Sauer  and  Joseph  H.  Wills, 
councilmen.  Hugh  B.  Houston  is  president  of  the  body.  C.  A.  Haessly 
is  engineer;  Harry  H.  Swager,  street  commissioner  and  D.  C.  Moore 
supervisor  of  health  affairs  for  Struthers,  Lowellville  and  Lyon  Plat, 
the  latter  being  a  populous  suburb  just  outside  Struthers.  William  Dehn 
is  postmaster. 

The  fire  department  is  a  volunteer  institution  with  M.  J.  Dittmar  as 
chief  and  the  police  department,  under  Marshal  Henry  Rex?  includes 
Andrew  L.  Lindsay  and  William  McCarthy,  desk  sergeants;  George  W. 


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500       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Sicafuse  and  Jacob  G.  Funkhouser,  patrolmen;  D.  C.  Moore,  special 
policeman. 

The  municipality  has  a  splendid  new  public  building  for  municipal 
offices  and  the  city  is  in  unusually  good  financial  shape.  A  program  of 
public  improvements  held  up  during  the  war  is  now  being  carried  out. 

Municipally-owned  public  utilities  are  dispensed  with  as  the  water 
supply  of  the  city  is  furnished  by  the  Mahoning  Valley  Water  Company 
from  its  Poland  Township  lakes  while  lighting  is  supplied  by  the  Penn- 
sylvania-Ohio Electric  Company.  Struthers  has  good  means  of  trans- 
portation in  its  three  steam  railroads  and  two  lines  of  the  Pennsylvania- 
Ohio  Company,  reaching  the  north  and  south  parts  of  the  city. 

Churches 

The  United  Presbyterian  Church  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  Struthers 
religious  organizations,  by  lineage  at  least.  It  dates  back  to  1804  when 
a  Presbyterian  Seceders'  Society  was  organized  by  Rev.  James  Duncan, 
pastor  of  the  Associate,  or  Seceder,  congregations  of  Little  Beaver  and 
Brush  Run.  Members  of  the  Cowden,  Lowry  and  McConnell  families 
were  among  the  organizers.  Reverend  Duncan  was  a  rather  remarkable 
character  in  the  early  days  of  Trumbull  County,  given  to  freedom  of 
opinion  that  finally  resulted  in  his  suspension  from  the  ministry.  Dur- 
ing his  time,  however,  a  log  church  was  built  at  Poland  Center  by  the 
Associate  congregation.  In  1820  Rev.  Robert  Douglass  was  installed 
as  pastor  of  Poland  and  Liberty  congregations,  remaining  until  his 
death  in  1823.  He  was  succeeded  in  1826  by  Rev.  David  Goodwillie 
who  was  pastor  of  the  Poland  and  Liberty  congregations  until  1859 
when  he  resigned  the  Poland  charge  to  give  his  entire  time  to  the 
Liberty  Church.  During  his  pastorate,  in  1826,  the  old  log  church  was 
replaced  by  a  brick  church  and  this  gave  way  to  another  edifice  in  1849. 

In  1884  the  church  building  at  Poland  Center  was  dismantled  and 
^removed  to  Struthers.  The  old  Associate  Church  had  become  identified 
with  the  United  Presbyterian  denomination  on  its  organization  in  1858 
and  United  Presbyterian  activities  in  Poland  Township  are  now  centered 
in  Struthers.  The  present  pastor  of  the  Struthers  Church  is  Rev.  Wil- 
liam E.  Minteer. 

Struthers  is  prolific  in  churches,  having  no  less  than  twelve.  St. 
Nicholas*  Roman  Catholic  was  formed  in  1865  with  the  founding  of 
the  village  and  from  1865  to  1870  was  attended  by  Rev.  J.  J.  Begel  from 
Villa  Marie.  In  187 1  a  church  edifice  was  erected  under  the  supervision 
of  Rev.  H.  D.  Best  of  Youngstown.  The  church  was  attended  from 
Villa  Marie  and  Youngstown  for  many  years  and  finally  made  a  mission 
attached  to  the  Sacred  Heart  Church  at  Youngstown,  becoming  a  parish 
with  the  growth  of  Struthers  in  the  early  years  of  the  twentieth  century, 
with  Rev.  P.  F.  O'Byrne  in  charge.  Rev.  Nicholas  Monaghan  is  the 
present  pastor  of  the  parish. 

Protestant  Episcopal  services  had  been  held  irregularly  at  Struthers 
for  some  years  but  these  had  been  discontinued  when  Rev.  W.  H.  Pond 
became  rector  of  St.  James*  Church,  Boardman,  on  December  1,  1915, 


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and  began  regular  services.  Under  his  direction  St.  Paul's  mission  at 
Struthers  was  formed,  a  building  lot  purchased  in  191 7,  a  church  founda- 
tion built  thereon  and  a  building  that  was  moved  on  to  the  lot  was  re- 
modeled and  furnished  for  church  use.  St.  James*  mission  is  still  at- 
tended by  Reverend  Pond. 

The  Lyon  Plat  Congregational  Chjurch  was  organized  in  191 7,  al- 
though services  were  held  there  as  early  as  191 1,  -continuing  until  a 
congregation  was  regularly  formed.  The  congregation  is  worshiping 
now  in  rented  quarters  but  has  purchased  a  church  site  and  has  plans 
under  way  for  a  church  building.    There  is  no  resident  pastor  at  present. 

Methodist  Episcopal  activities  in  Poland  Township  began  in  1832, 
and  in  1834  the  first  church  was  built  at  Poland  Village.  The  Struthers 
Methodist  Episcopal  congregation  was  organized  in  1886  and  the  first 
church  building  was  erected  in  1889.  Reverend  Moore  was  the  first  pastor 
of  this  organization.  A  modern  church  structure  replaced  the  old  one 
in  191 1  and  the  Struthers  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  now  a  large 
body,  with  a  membership  of  400.  Rev.  H.  F.  Patterson  is  the  present 
pastor. 

Presbyterian  activities  in  Poland  Township  antedate  those  of  any 
other  creed,  going  back  to  1802  when  a  Presbyterian  society  was  organ- 
ized at  Poland  Village  by  Rev.  William  Wick  of  Youngstown.  The 
Struthers  Church  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  industrial  development  of  the 
village.    Rev.  S.  S.  Snyder  is  the  present  pastor. 

Baptist  activities  at  Struthers  began  in  February,  1918,  when  a  half 
dozen  families  met  in  the  upper  room  of  the  village  fire  station  and 
organized  a  Baptist  Sunday  School  with  Bryce  S.  Martin  as  superin- 
tendent.   The  Sunday  school  now  has  a  membership  of  fifty. 

In  May,  1919,  Rev.  George  M.  Hulme,  an  evangelist,  held  a  series 
of  services  lasting  three  weeks  that  resulted  in  the  organization  of  the 
Judson  Memorial  Baptist  Church  on  June  29,  19 19.  The  original  mem- 
bership of  twenty-five  families  has  since  been  increased  to  fifty.  Preach- 
ing services  were  held  regularly  after  organization,  and  on  November 
16,  1919,  Rev.  J.  Frederick  Mauer,  LL.  B.,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York, 
was  installed  as  pastor.  The  congregation  has  since  purchased  a  build- 
ing site  in  the  best  residence  part  of  the  city  where  a  modern  church 
building  will  soon  be  erected. 

The  remaining  Struthers  churches  include  the  Reformed  Church; 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  attended  from  New  Castle;  Holy  Trinity 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  Slovak,  Rev.  Joseph  Calibera,  pastor;  Greek 
Catholic  Church,  attended  by  Rev.  Valentine  Balogh  of  Youngstown; 
and  the  Shiloh  Baptist  Church,  colored,  Rev.  Percy  L>  Herod,  pastor. 
The  last  named  is  a  thriving  congregation  of  400  members. 


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CHAPTER  XXV 

GIRARD 

Story  of  the  Liberty  Township  Metropolis  and  Connecting  Link 
Between  Youngstown  and  Upper  Mahoning  Valley  Municipal* 
ities — Early  Day  Hamlet  that  Has  Seen  Growth  of  the  Canal, 
Railroads  and  Industrial  Works — Religious  and  Educational 
History — Girard  Today,  in  a  Business  Way  and  Otherwise. 

Girard  lies  on  the  extreme  westerly  edge  of  Liberty  Township,  Trum- 
bull County,  and  while  the  Mahoning  River  runs  through  the  municipal- 
ity the  town  is  almost  entirely  on  the  east  side  of  that  stream.  Its  limits 
on  the  west  side  are  fixed  by  the  Weathersfield  Township  line. 

Liberty  Township  was  first  settled  in  1798  and  the  land  was  taken  up 
rapidly  within  the  next  two  or  three  years,  so  that  settlement  of  the  dis- 
trict that  is  now  the  municipality  of  Girard  may  be  said  to  date  back 
to  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  grandfather  of  Ambrose 
Eckman,  Girard's  first  mayor,  came  from  Westmoreland  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, by  canoe  about  this  time  and  camped  at  a  spring  opposite  the 
present  Hauser  homestead  in  State  Street.  This  pioneer  later  removed 
to  Weathersfield  Township,  but  was  probably  the  first  settler  on  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Girard.  It  is  certain,  too,  that  a  very  early  day,  as  history  goes, 
there  was  a  grist  mill,  the  nucleus  of  almost  every  old  city  and  village  of 
the  Western  Reserve,  located  at  this  point.  Whence  came  the  name 
"Girard,"  no  one  seems  to  know.  It  is  accepted  by  many  that  the  mu- 
nicipality was  named  in  honor  of  Stephen  Girard,  the  great  American 
philanthropist,  who  died  in  1831,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  ground  for  this 
except  pure  supposition.  Stephen  Girard  had  no  interests  in  this  part  of 
the  country,  although  he  had  admirers  here,  as  elsewhere. 

For  the  first  thirty  or  more  years  of  its  existence,  however,  Girard 
was  a  mere  settlement.  Its  first  notable  growth  came  with  the  move- 
ment for  the  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  Canal.  While  actual  construction 
work  on  this  waterway  was  not  begun  until  1838  the  ultimate  fulfillment 
of  the  project  became  a  certainty  several  years  before,  and  in  1837  a  town 
plat  was  laid  out  at  Girard  by  David  Tod  of  Youngstown,  and  Warren 
men.  This  date  marks  the  birth  of  Girard  as  an  actual  municipality,  the 
village  laid  out  on  this  occasion  being  much  smaller,  of  course,  than  the 
Girard  of  even  a  few  years  later. 

Girard  experienced  a  healthy  growth  from  this  time.  The  canal  be- 
came a  reality  in  1839-40,  the  railroad  came  a  few  years  later,  and  the 
'605  saw  the  era  of  coal  mining  in  Liberty  Township.  For  some  time 
Girard  was  the  southern  terminus  of  the  railroad  that  is  now  the  Erie 

502 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       503 

road,  and  men  and  women  still  living  can  remember  when  Youngstown 
people  bound  for  Cleveland  or  other  points  northwest  of  the  Mahoning 
Valley  had  to  go  by  canal  packet,  or  drive  or  walk  to  Girard  to  take  the 
train. 

Business  interests  came  rapidly  to  Girard  with  the  construction  of 
transportation  facilities  and  it  had  become  a  manufacturing  and  business 
center  by  the  middle  of  the  century.  In  1840  a  large  flouring  mill  was 
built  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  by  Jesse  Baldwin  and  Abner  Osborn, 
this  being  a  notable  industry  because  it  is  operating  today  after  a  continu- 
ous existence  of  eighty  years,  undisturbed  by  the  changing  character  of 
industries  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  and  by  the  changes  in  Girard  itself. 
It  is  still  operated  by  water  power,  although  the  modern  water  turbine  has 
been  substituted  for  the  old  overshot,  or  undershot,  wheel.  The  mill 
property  and  the  mill  dam  with  the  accompanying  water  rights  were  taken 
over  some  years  ago  by  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  but  the  mill  is 
operated  by  W.  J.  Zeller. 

By  i860  the  village  had  attained  a  population  in  excess  of  1,000. 
About  this  time  the  coal  mining  interests  began  to  spread  throughout  all 
Liberty  Township,  and  even  with  the  accompanying  growth  in  other  vil- 
lages of  the  township  Girard  more  than  doubled  in  population  in  the 
next  decade.  Liberty  Township  had  an  especially  large  deposit  of  the 
famed  block  coal  found  in  northern  Mahoning  County  and  a  great  part  of 
Trumbull  County,  and  Girard  profited  by  this  not  only  through  mining 
operations  but  through  the  acquisition  of  industries.  In  i860  the  village 
tannery  came  into  the  possession  of  Krehl,  Hauser  and  Company,  who 
enlarged  the  plant  from  time  to  time  until  it  became  a  large  industry. 
The  blast  furnace  of  the  Girard  Iron  Company  was  built  in  1866  by  David 
Tod,  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  William  Richards,  and  William  Ward,  in  time 
coming  into  the  possession  of  A.  M.  Byers  and  others  of  Pittsburg. 
The  Girard  Stove  Works  was  built  in  1867  and  operated  for  many 
years,  although  it  was  later  removed  to  Youngstown  and  eventually  went 
out  of  existence.  The  Girard  Iron  Works  plant,  a  rolling  mill  with 
puddle  mill,  muck  mill  and  finishing  mills,  was  established  in  1872-73  and 
operated  for  more  than  thirty  years.  With  the  era  of  iron  and  steel  com- 
binations in  1898- 1900  it  lost  its  existence  as  an  independent  concern  and 
eventually  became  identified  with  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  being 
abandoned  by  that  company  about  1905. 

The  growth  that  Girard  experienced  between  i860  and  1870  was  thus 
duplicated  in  the  next  ten  years,  and  continued  in  fact  until  well  along 
in  the  '8os.  With  the  gradual  exhaustion  of  the  coal  beds,  however,  it 
experienced  a  business  slump,  or  rather  a  period  when  it  made  little  or  no 
advance.  In  this  respect  it  was  more  fortunate,  however,  than  most  of 
the  villages  of  this  vicinity  that  had  sprung  into  activity  with  the  opening 
of  the  shafts,  for  many  of  these  went  virtually  out  of  existence,  some  in 
fact  wholly  so.  Girard's  location  on  the  Mahoning  River  and  its  indus- 
tries prevented  it  suffering  this  fate.  Many  families  that  had  much  to  do 
with  the  early  history  of  Girard  and  with  its  activities  during  the  later 
decades  of  the  nineteenth  century,  including  the  Krehl.  Hauser,  Falken- 
stein,  Rush,  Johnson,  Carlton  and  Eckman  families,  remained  and  are 


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504       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

still  numbered  among  its  active  and  public  spirited  residents.  One  of 
these,  Edward  L.  Hauser,  is  not  only  postmaster  there  but  one  of  the 
livest  of  Girard  citizens  in  many  respects. 

The  business  depression  of  the  '90s  was  country  wide  and  it  was  felt 
with  especial  keeness  in  iron  and  steel  making  districts.  Girard  merely 
remained  stagnant  during  this  period,  as  did  other  Mahoning  Valley 
towns.  It  is  during  the  last  fifteen  years  that  it  has  begun  to  experience 
the  revival  that  has  already  brought  it  past  the  high  water  mark  of  activi- 
ties of  thirty  and  forty  years  ago  and  that  will  eventually  make  it  a  still 
larger  municipality. 

Of  its  industries  of  that  day  the  old  flouring  mill  and  the  blast  fur- 
nace are  the  only  ones  left,  but  the  blast  furnace  is  no  longer  an  isolated 
stack.  In  connection  with  it  the  A.  M.  Byers  Company  has  built  a  great 
puddling  mill,  muck  mill  and  skelp  mill  plant.  The  plant  of  the  Standard 
Textile  Products  Company,  originally  the  Standard  Oil  Cloth  Company 
plant,  promoted  by  Youngstown  capital,  has  come  into  existence  on  a 
site  that  was  the  Youngstown  baseball  park  in  the  '90s.  The  old  tannery 
industry  was  abandoned  when  the  plant  was  burned,  but  instead  Girard 
has  the  big  plant  of  the  Ohio  Leather  Company.  The  plate  mill  depart- 
ment of  the  Brier  Hill  Steel  Company  is  a  Girard  works,  the  Youngstown 
Trunk  Manufacturing  Company  is  a  thriving  Girard  institution  with  its 
plant  located  within  the  municipality,  the  Girard  Construction  Company 
is  a  new  industry  and  the  McDonald  mills  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company 
are  located  but  a  short  distance  up  the  river  above  Girard.  Although  a 
thriving  town  has  sprung  up  around  these  mills  they  are  still  a  great  asset 
here.  Girard's  population  in  1920  was  6,556,  an  increase  of  2,820,  or  75 
per  cent,  since  1910. 

Girard  has  four  financial  institutions,  including  a  national  bank,  a 
state  bank  and  two  building  and  loan  companies,  the  latter  testifying  to 
the  present  and  anticipated  growth  of  the  municipality. 

The  Girard  Savings  Bank,  organized  in  1873,  was  the  pioneer  institu- 
tion of  this  kind  This  organization  was  formed  by  R.  H.  Walker,  Evan 
Morris,  O.  Sheadle,  William  B.  Leslie,  R.  L.  Walker  and  John  Morris 
and  began  business  with  R.  H.  Walker  as  president  and  O.  Sheadle  as 
cashier.    This  bank  was  later  discontinued. 

The  First  National  Bank  of  Girard  was  organized  on  March  1,  1893, 
and  opened  for  business  on  May  8,  1893,  with  a  capital  of  $50,000  and 
resources  of  $80,000.  A.  W.  Kennedy  was  the  first  president,  State  Sen- 
ator John  J.  Sullivan,  vice  president ;  A.  B.  Camp,  cashier.  In  January, 
1905,  the  bank  was  reorganized  with  A.  W.  Kennedy  as  president;  F.  W. 
Stillwagon,  vice  president;  James  J.  McFarlin,  cashier.  The  capital  of 
the  bank  had  been  reduced  to  $30,000  in  1901  but  in  1910  was  again  fixed 
at  $50,000,  and  in  the  decade  that  has  elapsed  the  institution  has  experi- 
enced a  tremendous  growth,  the  resources  on  December  31,  191 9,  reach- 
ing $1,210,000,  an  increase  of  no  per  cent  in  fifteen  years.  In  1913  the 
bank  remodeled  the  home  it  owns  in  West  Liberty  Street  and  in  1919 
purchased  41  feet  in  West  Liberty  Street,  to  erect  suitable  banking  quar- 
ters to  meet  growing  needs.     The  present  officers  include,  F.  W.  Still- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       505 

wagon,  president ;  J.  C.  Krehl  and  E.  L.  Hauser,  vice  presidents ;  James  J. 
McFarlin,  cashier;  G.  J.  Hecker,  assistant  cashier. 

The  Trumbull  Banking  Company,  a  state  bank,  and  the  Trumbull 
Savings  and  Loan  Company,  occupying  the  same  banking  building  in 
Liberty  Street,  are  the  outgrowth  of  the  Girard  Savings  and  Banking 
Company,  organized  in  191 1.  This  institution  became  the  Trumbull  Sav- 
ings and  Loan  Company,  and  in  1918  the  Trumbull  Banking  Company 
was  formed.  Officers  of  the  Trumbull  Banking  Company  are,  S%  K.  Hine, 
president;  R.  T.  Izant  and  J.  W.  Darr,  vice  presidents;  W.  H.  Zeller, 
secretary  and  treasurer;  of  the  Trumbull  Savings  and  Loan  Company, 
J.  W.  Masters,  president;  R.  T.  Izant,  secretary;  W.  H.  Zeller,  manager. 

The  Girard  Home  Savings  and  Loan  Company  was  incorporated  on 
January  29,  19 19,  and  opened  for  business  on  September  25,  1919,  in  the 
Denison  Building.  The  rapid  business  progress  made  was  disclosed  in 
the  first  report,  issued  on  December  31,  1919,  which  showed  resources  of 
$101,850.  The  officers  of  this  institution  are,  E.  L.  Hauser,  president; 
E.  B.  Blott  and  W.  J.  Zeller,  vice  presidents ;  James  J.  McFarlin,  secre- 
tary;. Tod  A.  Crum,  assistant  secretary;  Lynn  B.  Griffith,  attorney;  W.  J. 
Griffiths,  manager;  Velma  M.  Morgan,  teller. 

Girard  Organizations 

The  Girard  Board  of  Trade  was  an  active  institution  prior  to  the  war, 
when  it  passed  its  work  and  its  energies  over  to  the  Girard  War  Board, 
an  organization  that  gave  Girard  a  creditable  standing  during  the  world 
conflict.  In  1920  the  Board  of  Trade  was  revived  and  reorganized  to 
advance  the  commercial,  industrial  and  civic  welfare  of  the  community. 
E.  L.  Hauser  is  president  of  this  organization,  James  G.  Lewis,  secretary, 
and  James  J.  McFarlin,  treasurer,  Mr.  Lewis  and  Mr.  McFarlin  being 
two  of  the  most  active  younger  business  men  of  the  town. 

Girard  has  no  newspaper.  Several  experiments  have  been  tried  along 
that  line  but  the  proximity  of  Youngstown,  Niles  and  Girard  has  made 
them  futile. 

Girard  has  a  number  of  civic  and  fraternal  organizations  in  addition 
to  its  trade  board. 

The  Girard  War  Board  was  organized,  as  its  name  would  imply,  -to 
keep  the  community  in  the  front  line  in  response  to  calls  for  aid  for  the 
preservation  of  American  institutions  during  the  great  conflict  of  191 7- 
18,  and  it  discharged  this  work  so  well  that  it  has  been  continued  as 
the  Girard  Community  Corporation,  a  peace  time  organization  for  the 
civic  betterment  of  the  municipality.  At  a  meeting  on  February  27, 
1920,  it  was  voted  to  ask  a  state  charter  and  when  this  was  granted 
plans  were  made  for  a  "peace  chest"  campaign,  the  funds  to  be  used  in 
part  as  nucleus  for  the  building  and  maintenance  of  a  community  build- 
ing. Even  before  this  step  was  taken  the  organization  has  assisted  in 
several  movements  to  the  advantage  of  Girard  other  than  those  for 
which  it  was  originally  formed.  S.  K.  Hine  served  as  president  of  the 
War  Board  during  its  existence  and  Harry  M.  Blair  acceptably  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  secretary. 


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506       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Another  indication  of  Girard's  civic  revival  is  found  in  the  public 
library  association  organized  in  191 9.  For  library  quarters  the  upper 
floor  of  the  town  hall  was  secured,  a  public  subscription  for  library  work 
was  taken  up,  the  library  room  was  redecorated  and  fitted  up  and  Miss 
Geraldine  Knapp  was  installed  as  librarian. 

Girard  fraternal  societies  include  Girard  Lodge,  No.  432,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  instituted  on  July  20,  1869,  with  S.  J.  Lambert, 
Calvin.  Eckman,  Hugh  Gilmore,  H.  M.  Prindle,  C.  D.  Goodrich,  John 
P.  Miller,  L.  Beaver,  W.  F.  Adams,  Jacob  Stambaugh,  Emanuel  Hart- 
zell,  H.  A.  McCartney,  Evan  Morris  and  C.  S.  Miller  as  charter  mem- 
bers; Friendship  Lodge,  No.  65,  Knights  of  Pythias,  instituted  on 
March  12,  1874,  with  Emanuel  Hartzell,  Joseph  Hull,  M.  L.  Kazertee, 
L.  S*  Fowler,  Edgar  Crandon,  S.  E.  Knight,  James  H.  Gifford,  J.  E. 
Jones,  C.  D.  Goodrich,  John  Wilkes,  A.  J.  Jewell,  James  Jones,  Robert 
Thompson  and  Robert  Hughes  as  charter  members;  lodges  of  the 
Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics,  Protected  Home  Circle 
and  Daughters  of  Isabella.  Court  Lily  of  Girard  Lodge,  No.  6625, 
Foresters  of  America  was  instituted  on  January  31,  1880,  and  recently 
disbanded.  The  Masonic  and  Knights  of  Columbus  fraternities  are 
well  represented  here  by  members  who  belong  to  organizations  in  nearby 
municipalities. 

Public  Affairs 

Girard  received  its  first  recognition  as  a  village  about  1836  with 
the  establishment  of  a  government  postoffice.  It  had  been  agreed  that 
if  a  postoffice  were  secured  three  residents  whose  places  of  business 
were  centrally  located  would  serve  successively  as  postmaster.  This 
agreement  was  kept.  The  position — it  had  little  remuneration  except 
the  knowledge  of  public  service  being  done — fell  first  to  E.  Crandon, 
owner  of  the  one  public  house  in  the  village.  This  place,  the  "Black 
Horse  Tavern,"  was  located  on  the  site  of  the  present  Denison  block 
at  Liberty  and  State  streets.  G.  T.  Townsend,  furniture  store  proprietor, 
succeeded  him,  while  William  Johnson  was  the  third  man  to  hold  the 
position,  continuing  as  postmaster  for  many  years.  Ambrose  Eckman, 
then  a  boy,  was  the  first  mail  carrier,  serving  under  Postmaster  John- 
son, his  pay  being  fifty  cents  a  week  for  delivering  the  pouches  from  the 
railroad  station  to  the  postoffice.  In  the  earliest  days  of  the  postoffice 
the  mail  was  brought  and  carried  away,  of  course,  by  stage  coaches. 

Although  the  village  had  attained  a  population  of  probably  more 
than  3,000  in  the  '8os,  Girard  did  not  become  an  incorporated  municipal- 
ity until  September  21,  1891.  At  this  time  it  was  granted  a  charter  by 
the  state  and  at  the  first  municipal  election  Ambrose  Eckman  was 
named  mayor;  David  E.  Jones,  clerk;  C.  D.  Goodrich,  treasurer;  Fred- 
erick Krehl,  Henry  Britt,  G.  J.  Jones,  Henry  B.  Shields,  Evan  Morris 
and  R.  C.  McNeish,  councilmen,  James  Torrence,  marshal. 

Girard  still  retains  the  village  form  of  government,  although  by  the 
census  of  1920  it  is  placed  in  the  city  class,  the  population  having  passed 
the  5,000  mark.    The  first  city  officers  will  be  elected  in  November,  1921. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       507 

The  "town"  hall  is  one  of  the  noted  buildings  of  Girard.  A  more 
complete  history  of  this  structure  is  given  in  connection  with  the  Girard 
schools,  as  the  structure  was  used  as  a  school  building  and  public  meet- 
ing place  until  after  the  incorporation  of  the  municipality  when  it  became 
the  official  village  building. 

Mayor  Thomas  G.  Blackstone  is  now  serving  his  sixth  term  as  chief 
executive  of  Girard,  the  other  elective  officials  being,  John  L.  Gleason, 
clerk;  Charles  Wormer,  treasurer;  Wick  W.  Pierson,  solicitor;  John 
E.  Stringer,  marshal;  John  H.  Deely,  William  T.  Jenkins,  James  E. 
Stotler,  Harry  D.  Miles,  George  Parker  and  David  J.  Rees,  councilmen, 
Mr.  Stotler  being  president. 

The  Girard  fire  department  is  a. volunteer  institution  under  Charles 
W.  Kyle,  as  chief,  the  firemen  being  paid  for  calls  actually  responded  to. 
The  fire  department  has  its  own  station  building  in  Liberty  Street,  and 
the  equipment  is  motorized. 

The  police  department,  under  Marshal  Stringer,  includes  John  Sul- 
livan as  sergeant  and  Wade  B.  Matthews,  D.  B.  Paden  and  Ollie  Payne 
as  patrolmen.    The  police  station  is  in  the  town  hall. 

Girard's  water  supply  is  municipally-controlled.  The  water  comes 
from  deep,  drilled  wells  along  the  Church  Hill  road  and  is  carried  to 
the  municipality  by  gravity,  stored  in  a  standpipe  and  pumped  through- 
out the  city.  Girard  also  has  an  auxiliary  water  supply  available  from 
Mahoning  and  Trumbull  Water  Company's  reservoir  in  the  Squaw 
Creek  Valley,  the  right  to  tap  this  company's  mains  having  been  granted 
in  return  for  the  concession  of  passing  through  the  city.  Girard  lighting 
is  furnished  by  the  Pennsylvania-Ohio  Electric  Company. 

Churches 

There  are  churches  representing  nine  denominations  in  Girard,  or 
within  the  Girard  district. 

The  earliest  Methodist  Episcopal  Society  in  Liberty  Township  was 
formed  about  1821,  and  in  1843  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at 
Girard  was  organized  by  Rev.  Dillon  Prosser,  pioneer  clergyman  of  this 
creed.  The  original  members  of  this  church  were  Peter  Carlton,  Han- 
nah Carlton,  Mary  Carlton,  Abigail  Osborn,  Betsy  McLean,  Samuel 
McMillan  and  members  of.  the  Hollingsworth  family.  The  first  home 
of  the  congregation  was  a  log  schoolhouse  located  on  the  site  afterwards 
occupied  by  the  residence  of  O.  Sheadle.  Later  the  Hollingsworth  store 
room  was  used,  services  were  then  held  at  the  residence  of  George 
Spray  and  later  in  the  frame  schoolhouse  Rev.  Dillon  Prosser  was  the 
first  pastor. 

In  1852  a  plain  frame  church  was  erected  and  in  1879  a  more 
pretentious  structure  was  put  up,  this  being  dedicated  on  January  18, 
1880.  This  building,  with  a  Sunday  school  room  added  later  is  still 
in  use.  Rev.  C.  B.  Hess  is  the  present  pastor  of  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.    The  church  has  a  membership  of  650. 

Trinity  Lutheran  Church  was  organized  as  early  as  1830,  and  per- 
haps even  earlier,  among  the  original  members  being  Peter  Barnishel, 


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508       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Peter  Reel,  George  Hood  and  Jacob  Reel.  A  log  building  was  erected 
just  north  of  the  village  and  in  1833  this  was  replaced  by  a  more  com- 
modious structure.  This  is  the  pioneer  Lutheran  organization  of  this 
part  of  Trumbull  County  and  is  a  flourishing  organization.  Rev.  A.  A. 
Ahn  is  the  present  pastor. 

The  first  Presbyterian  society  of  Liberty  Township  was  organized 
in  1832  by  the  Rev.  James  Satterfield  of  the  presbytery  of  Beaver  and 
a  church  was  erected  at  Church  Hill  in  1832-33.  The  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Girard  was  organized  on  August  10,  1909,  with  Rev.  B.  B. 
Harrison  as  the  first  pastor.  The  congregation  worshipped  in  the  Welsh 
Congregational  Church  Building  and  subsequently  purchased  this  build- 
ing. The  present  membership  of  the  church  is  80.  Rev.  Thomas  Robin- 
son is  pastor. 

Baptist  services  were  held  in  Liberty  Township  at  an  early  day  and 
began  in  Girard  in  the  '6os.  The  development  of  the  coal  mines  brought 
numerous  Welsh  miners  to  the  township,  and  a  great  many  of  these 
were  of  the  Baptist  denomination.  It  was  1883,  however,  before  the 
Girard  Baptist  congregation  was  formally  organized,  the  first  church 
being  built  in  1884.  Rev.  J.  H.  Lloyd  of  Youngstown  was  instrumental 
in  the  early  success  of  this  congregation.  The  first  resident  pastor  was 
Rev.  W.  J.  Williams  and  the  present  church  was  erected  in  1903.  Rev. 
James  Macphail  is  now  in  charge  of  the  congregation,  which  numbers 
149  members. 

Christian,  then  Disciples,  activities  also  began  in  Girard  in  the  '6os, 
early  service  being  held  in  the  school  hall,  now  the  "town"  hall.  The 
church  was  organized  on  February  5,  1867,  by  Orin  Gates,  the  original 
members  of  the  church  being  Charles  C.  Fowler,  James  Shannon.  Am- 
brose Mason,  William  Shannon,  S.  H.  Miller,  John  Patton,  Lucy  Shan- 
non, Laura  Gilbert,  Alice  Harper,  Louisa,  D.  Fowler,  Nancy  Reel, 
Elizabeth  Reed,  Malinda  Phillips,  Minerva  Phillips,  Elizabeth  Stam- 
baugh,  Cynthia  Young,  Collins  Atwood,  Elizabeth  Gantholtz  and  Florence 
McLain.    Rev.  Orin  Higgins  was  the  first  pastor. 

In  1 87 1  a  substantial  church  building  was  erected,  and  this  is  still  in 
use,  although  additions  have  been  made.  The  congregation  owns  a  large 
church  site  at  Broadway  and  Stewart  Avenue,  and  in  1919  a  movement 
for  a  new  church  resulted  in  the  pledging  of  $30,000  for  this  work.  The 
outcome  will  be  a  $60,000  building  ample  for  many  years  to  come. 

Rev.  B.  F.  Leach,  a  graduated  of  Rayen  School  and  Hiram  College, 
has  been  pastor  of  this  congregation  since  August,  191 3,  succeeding  Rev. 
C.  S.  Cliffe.  The  congregation  is  a  large  one,  having  471  members. 
Societies  in  addition  to  the  church  organization  include  the  Ladies 
Aid,  C.  W.  B.  M.,  Bible  School  and  Senior  and  Junior  Christian 
Endeavors. 

Roman  Catholic  services  at  Girard  also  began  with  the  growth  of 
the  village  during  the  early  days  of  coal  mining.  The  first  services  of 
this  denomination  were  held  on  October  21,  1868,  when  Rev.  Bernard 
B.  Kelley  of  Niles  read  Mass  at  the  home  of  John  Kinney.  Services 
were  held  in  private  homes  and  in  rented  quarters  until  1891  when  worlc 
on  St.  Rose's  Church  was  begun.    Girard  as  a  mission  had  been  attended 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       509 

by  priests  from  Warren,  Niles  and  Brier  Hill,  but  in  April,  1892,  Rev. 
James  J.  Stewart  was  appointed  the  first  resident  pastor.  St.  Rose's 
Church  was  dedicated  on  May  15,  1892.  Father  Stewart  is  still  well 
remembered  as  one  of  Girard's  notable  men,  his  activities  being  civic  as 
well  as  churchly.  He  remained  as  pastor  until  1909  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  E.  A.  Kirby,  D.  D.,  who  is  now  in  charge.  The  parish 
is  a  flourishing  one  of  eighty  families. 

The  Apostolic  Christian  Assembly  was  organized  in  1878  by  Rev. 
J.  Bollinger  who  remained  as  head  of  the  congregation  until  1880.  The 
original  members  were  William  Ludt,  Mrs.  William  Ludt,  Charles 
Schoenfeld,  Mrs.  Charles  Schoenfeld  and  Mrs.  Mary  Fairchild,  and  serv- 
ices were  conducted  at  the  Ludt  home  by  Rev.  John  Bakody  even- before 
the  organization  of  the  congregation.  A  church  building  was  put  up  in 
1878  and  the  congregation  is  still  a  thriving  one. 

Bethel  United  Evangelical  Church,  Loy's  Corners,  dates  back  to  1822 
when  meetings  were  held  at  the  home  of  George  Herring,  with  Rev. 
Henry  Yambert  officiating.  About  1830  a  church  was  built  east  of 
Girard  and  later  this  church  was  moved  to  a  location  north  of  the  village. 
Originally  this  was  an  Evangelical  Association  but  ultimately  became  a 
United  Evangelical  Church  and  is  now  a  thriving  organization  with  Rev. 
W.  L.  Bennet  as  pastor.  In  addition  to  the  Bethel  Church  there  is  a 
United  Evangelical  mission  with  a  church  building  in  Fairvew  Avenue, 
Stop  24.  This  body  was  organized  in  1919  and  includes  a  church  as 
well  as  a  Sunday  school.    Rev.  W.  L.  Bennet  is  the  attending  pastor. 

Schools 

There  is  some  question  where  the  first  school  was  established  in 
Liberty  Township.  There  appears  to  have  been  a  log  school  near  Church 
Hill  in  1810,  and  perhaps  at  an  earlier  date,  and  there  is  also  said  to 
have  been  a  school  at  Girard  before  the  above  year,  this  building,  also 
a  log  one,  being  on  Peter  Carlton's  land,  later  the  Evan  Morris  property. 

About  1833  there  was  an  organized  school  at  the  village  and  when 
the  growth  began  in  1836  there  were  also  schools  at  Mosier  and  Weathers- 
field.    About  1840  Girard  had  at  least  one  frame  school  building. 

Little  change  occurred  in  school  facilities  until  Girard  began  to  re- 
spond to  coal  mining  activities  about  i860,  when  a  movement  was  be- 
gun for  better  accommodations.  The  school  directors,  J.  C.  Allison,  Abner 
Osborn  and  Henry  Barnishel,  with  a  citizens'  committee  consisting  of 
William  Johnson,  Edward  Ray,  Martin  Houston,  Abner  Rush  and  H. 
P.  Gilbert  met  on  March  12,  1861,  and  determined  on  the  construction 
of  a  union  school. 

Although  this  movement  was  undertaken  in  the  dark  days  just  when 
the  Civil  war  was  approaching  it  was  most  successful.  David  Tod  donated 
an  ample  site  in  the  section  known  then  and  since  as  Jefferson  Square. 
Liberty  Township  gave  $1,000  toward  the  construction  of  the  proposed 
school  and  public  spirited  residents  of  Girard  raised  the  remainder  of  the 
money  by  public  subscription. 

The  result  was  an  unusually  well-equipped  brick  structure  that  repre- 


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510       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

sented  an  investment  of  $21,000,  the  lower  part  of  the  building  being 
devoted  to  school  purposes  and  the  upper  hall  converted  into  a  public 
assembly  hall.  Professor  Hugh  Caldwell  was  engaged  as  the  first  prin- 
cipal of  the  school,  being  succeeded  in  1870  by  Professor  Wayne  Kennedy 
who  remained  for  a  number  of  years 

In  1887  a  more  modern  brick  high  school  was  constructed  and  with 
the  incorporation  of  Girard  as  a  village  in  1891  the  school  building  became 
the  village,  or  "town"  hall.  It  is  still  used  as  a  municipal  building,  the 
second  floor  being  devoted  to  public  library  purposes. 

The  Girard  School  District  includes  not  only  the  municipality  but 
considerable  territory  outside,  extending  along  the  Church  Hill  Road  to 
the  east  and  taking  in  Mosier  and  Arlington  Park  to  the  south  and  Avon 
Park  to  the  north.  The  school  system  includes  three  large  buildings 
with  eight  grades,  three  small  buildings  with  four  grades,  one  building 
with  two  grades,  and  one  first  grade  high  school,  on  the  accredited  list. 

The  schools  are  under  the  supervision  of  Superintendent  H.  L.  Cash, 
with  R.  C.  Wilkin  as  high  school  principal  and  Gertrude  Redic,  Charles 
Brooks,  C.  L.  Fox  and  Mrs.  M.  O.  Fleming  grade  principals.  High 
school  instructors  are,  F.  M.  Crawford,  E.  E.  Snyder,  Louise  Tomy, 
Pearl  Kerr,  Faye  Lash,  Alice  C.  Ripple,  Estelle  Williamson,  and  grade 
teachers,  Ruth  Mclntyre,  Mrs.  Charles  Pegg,  Jessie  Rees,  Marion  Hinch- 
cliffe,  Caroline  Tuttle,  Isabelle  Hood,  Anna  Morrison,  Pearl  Knapp,  Grace 
Hecker,  Anna  Zeller,  Mrs.  Emily  L.  Lynn,  Mrs.  W.  J.  Griffiths,  Lillian 
Wormer,  Hazel  Hood,  Marie  Wormer,  Alice  Bird,  Mary  Williams, 
Mabel  Batham,  Artie  B.  Shull,  Grace  Reed,  Letha  Foust,  Adelaide  Harris 
and  Mrs.  J.  B.  Davidson. 

Members  of  the  school  board:  D.  J.  Evans,  president;  Dr.  D.  R. 
Williams,  E.  H.  Lotze,  G,  L.  Moore  and  W.  J.  Zeller,  with  George  Bar- 
tholemew  as  clerk. 

St.  Rose's  Catholic  Parochial  School  is  one  of  the  prominent  educa- 
tional institutions  of  Girard.  It  was  organized  in  191 3  and  a  modern 
brick  school  building  was  erected  in  the  same  year.  The  school  has  400 
pupils,  representing  many  nationalities,  and  has  a  high  standing  in  edu- 
cational circles.  Rev.  E.  A.  Kirby,  D.  D.,  is  superintendent  with  Sister 
Margaret  Mary  as  principal,  and  Sister  Alphonsus,  Sister  Monica,  Sister 
Mildred,  Sister  Patricia,  Sister  Colletta,  Sister  Bernice  and  Sister  Ebba 
as  teachers.    The  sisters  belong  to  the  Ursuline  Order. 


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CHAPTER  XXVI 

LOWELLVILLE 

Lower  Mahoning  Valley  Village  One  of  the  Oij>er  Municipali- 
ties of  Mahoning  County — Rise  to  Prominence  Comes  with 
the  Development  of  Iron  and  Coal  Industries  and  Building 
of  Canal — Church,  School,  Business  and  Civil  History. 

Lowellville  is  the  southernmost,  or  southeasternmost,  of  the  seven 
municipalities  of  Warren,  Niles,  Girard,  Youngstown,  East  Youngstown, 
Struthers  and  this  village,  that  are  scattered  along  the  Mahoning  River 
and  create  a  great  industrial  district  twenty-five  miles  in  length. 

The  village  is  located  in  Northeastern  Poland  Township,  but  a  mile 
from  the  Pennsylvania  State  line.  The  traveler  along  the  Mahoning 
River  Valley  needs  hardly  be  apprised  of  this  when  reaching  Lowell- 
ville for  here  may  be  found  the  beginning  of  the  foothills  of  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains.  They  tower  above  the  village  on  either  side,  the 
country  around  it  being  a  most  picturesque  one  away  from  the  hum  of 
industry. 

The  pioneer  settler  of  the  site  now  occupied  by  Lowellville  was  John 
McGill,  who  came  to  Poland  Township  from  Pennsylvania  in  1800  and. 
bought  200  acres  of  valley  and  hillside  land.  Here  at  an  early  day 
he  built  a  grist  mill,  usually  the  first  industry  in  -any  Western  Reserve 
settlement,  and  later  Robert  McGill  built  and  operated  a  sawmill  at 
the  same  place. 

For  the  first  three  decades  after  the  original  settlement  of  this  vil- 
lage site  there  was  little  activity  in  Lowellville.  Poland  Village,  located 
away  from  the  Mahoning  River  Valley,  was  of  more  importance,  and 
several  other  towns  ranked  ahead  of  it  in  a  business  way. 

Its  growth  actually  began  with  the  movement  for  the  Pennsylvania 
and  Ohio  Canal,  although  activity  antedated  the  completion  of  this 
waterway  by  several  years.  It  was  1839-40  before  the  canal  was  com- 
pleted and  in  operation,  while  the  village  plat  was  laid  out  in  1836. 

The  canal  gave  Lowellville  great  impetus.  There  were  several  rea- 
sons for  this  aside  from  the  mere  fact  that  the  village  lay  along  a  route 
of  what  was  then  modern  transportation.  As  early  as  1828  coal  had 
been  mined  at  a  "bank"  near  Lowellville  that  was  later  known  as  the 
Mount  Nebo  mine.  In  1838  William  Watson  and  John  S.  Hunter 
erected  a  large  grist  mill  on  the  river,  and  this  plant  together  with  the 
Hope  Mills,  built  by  James  Brown  in  1857,  made  Lowellville  an  im- 
portant point  for  many  years  in  the  production  of  flour  and  other  grist 

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512       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

mills  products.  In  1840  the  village  was  made  a  postoffice  with  S.  H. 
McBride  as  postmaster. 

The  chief  industry  that  came  to  the  new  village,  however,  was  the 
blast  furnace  built  by  Wilkes,  Wilkinson  and  Company  of  Pittsburg, 
in  1845-46.  This  was  the  first  stack  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  to  use 
bituminous  coal  as  fuel.  Mount  Nebo  coal  had  already  become  of  com- 
mercial importance,  as  shipments  were  being  made  by  canal,  and  the 
furnace  company  acquired  and  worked  the  mine  for  some  time,  although 
it  was  finally  abandoned  because  of  the  deep  water  in  the  shafts. 

Coal  mining,  it  might  be  said,  remained  an  important  industry  about 
Lowellville  for  many  years,  continuing  down  even  to  the  present  day. 

In  the  operation  of  the  blast  furnace  not  merely  the  coal  but  the 
iron  ore  was  a  native  product,  ore  being  obtained  from  Mount  Nebo 
and  from  other  deposits  in  the  Lowellville  neighborhood.  It  was  the 
rich  limestone  deposits  in  the  Lowellville  vicinity,  however,  that  gave 
it  its  greatest  commercial  importance.  This  material  began  to  be  worked 
extensively  in  the  '50s,  the  output  being  used  not  alone  for  the  Lowell- 
ville furnace  but  in  stacks  throughout  the  entire  Mahoning  Valley. 

The  Lowellville  furnace  has  had  an  interesting  history.  In  1853  tne 
original  owners  sold  the  stack  to  Alexander  Crawford  &  Company,  who 
disposed  of  their  interest  in  1864  to  Hitchcock,  McCreary  and  Company. 
The  Mahoning  Iron  Company  purchased  the  plant  in  1871  and  sold  out 
after  a  short  time  to  McCreary  and  Bell. 

In  1880  the  Ohio  Iron  and  Steel  Company  was  incorporated  and  on 
February  1  ith  of  that  year  took  over  the  blast  furnace  and  accompanying 
holdings.  Previous  to  this,  of  course,  the  stack  had  been  enlarged  and 
modernized.  The  officers  of  this  company  at  the  time  of  its  organization 
were:  Thomas  H.  Wells,  president;  Henry  Wick,  vice  president; 
Robert  Bentley,  secretary  and  treasurer.  With  valuable  limestone  de- 
posits as  well  as  the  blast  furnace  this  industry  prospered  greatly,  manu- 
facturing for  many  years  an  unusually  high  grade  of  foundry  iron. 
The  new  company  improved  and  enlarged  the  capacity  of  the  stack  and 
its  advent  into  Lowellville  marked  an  industrial  revival  in  the  village 
that  had  suffered  from  a  depression  for  a  decade  or  so.  Mr.  Bentley 
eventually  succeeded  to  the  presidency  of  the  company  and  has  now 
been  associated  with  it  for  a  full  forty  years. 

Lowellville  acquired  an  important  industry  when  the  open-hearth 
steel  plant  of  the  Youngstown  Iron  and  Steel  Company  was  erected  in 
191 5.  This  plant  has  been  considerably  enlarged  under  the  management 
of  the  Sharon  Steel  Hoop  Company,  which*  acquired  it  with  the  pur- 
chase of  the  Youngstown  concern  in  1917.  It  is  now  one  of  the  most 
modern  establishments  in  the  valley  and  employs  a  large  number  of 
men.  This  company  now  owns  the  physical  property  of  the  Ohio  Iron 
and  Steel  Company,  including  the  Mary  furnace,  and  the  steel  plant 
secures  its  iron  from  that  stack. 

At  Lowellville  is  located  one  of  the  largest  and  most  modern  electric 
power  plants  in  Ohio.  This  is  the  property  of  the  Ohio- Pennsylvania 
Electric  Company,  and  it  supplies  much  of  the  current  for  the  operation 
of  the  city  and  interurban  car  lines  of  that  company  as  well  as  for  steel 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       513 

mills  and  factories  of  all  kinds  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  From  this 
plant  a  high-tension  line  of  the  most  modern  type  extends  up  the  valley 
to  Warren  and  is  being  carried  to  Newton  Falls. 

The  limestone  industry  about  Lowellville  flourished  .from  the  be- 
ginning and  in  its  last  days  the  old  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  Canal — or 
the  short  stretch  of  that  waterway  that  remained — was  used  exclusively 
for  hauling  limestone  from  Lowellville  to  upper  Mahoning  Valley  points. 
Even  before  this  time  the  railroads  had  been  built  in  the  valley  and  in 
1872  the  canal  was  definitely  abandoned. 

The  Pence  quarry,  the  Moore,  Arrel  and  McCombs  and  Johnson 
quarries  were  worked  extensively  in  earlier  years.  The  Bessemer  Lime- 
stone Company,  organized  in  1887,  the  Arrel  Limestone  Company,  or- 
ganized in  1893  and  the  Carbon  Limestone  Company,  organized  in  1894, 
are  numbered  among  the  later  big  producers.  From  quarrying  limestone 
alone  activities  in  this  field  branched  out  with  the  organization  of  the 
Bessemer  Limestone  and  Cement  Company  in  19 19.  The  last  named 
company,  officered  by  John  Tod,  president ;  R.  C.  Steese,  vice  president ; 
F.  R.  Kanengeiser,  vice  president  and  general  manager;  G.  G.  Treat, 
secretary,  and  J.  R.  Rowland,  treasurer,  is  a  large  producer  of  limestone 
for  blast  furnace  and  foundry  flux,  limestone  for  road  work,  asphalt 
filler  and  pulverized  limestone  for  agricultural  use.  The  same  officers 
administer  the  affairs  of  the  Bessemer  Limestone  Company  and  the 
Arrel  Limestone  Company.  Robert  Bentley  is  president  of  the  Carbon 
Limestone  Company;  John  A.  Logan,  vice  president;  M.  S.  Logan, 
secretary  and  treasurer;  S.  D.  L.  Jackson,  general  manager.  This  com- 
pany's quarries  are  located  at  Hillsville,  Pennsylvania,  across  the  line 
from  Lowellville. 

The  Meehan  Boiler  and  Construction  Company,  a  leading  Lowell- 
ville industry,  was  organized  in  1897  by  Patrick  Meehan,  James  Meehan, 
Robert  Gray,  Paul  Meehan  and  John  Meehan,  the  original  name  being 
the  Meehan  Boiler  Company.  The  change  of  title  came  within  a  short 
while  after  the  organization  of  the  company,  the  activities  of  the  con- 
cern being  broadened  to  include  not  alone  the  manufacture  of  boilers 
but  steel  construction  work  of  all  kinds. 

Lowellville's  growth  has  not  been  as  rapid  as  that  of  some  of  the 
neighboring  municipalities  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  in  recent  years.  In 
the  last  twenty  years  it  has  been  brought  into  closer  communication  with 
Youngstown  with  the  construction  of  the  interurban  electric  line  that 
was  extended  through  to  this  village  in  1900-01,  but  this  same  period  has 
witnessed  the  founding  and  growth  of  East  Youngstown  to  the  position 
of  the  third  largest  municipality  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  and  has  seen 
the  expansion  of  Struthers  from  village  to  city  proportions.  The  present 
manufacturing  tendency  in  the  valley  is  northward  until  now  (1920), 
Trumbull  County  towns  are  profiting  most  by  new  industrial  growth. 
Youngstown,  East  Youngstown  and  Struthers  are  in  like  position  with 
Lowellville,  while  Warren,  Niles,  Girard  and  Newton  Falls  are  expanding 
rapidly,  and  the  new  town  of  McDonald  has  grown  up  about  the  Mc- 
Donald works,  far  up  the  river.  From  its  position  so  far  removed  from 
the  headwaters  of  the  Mahoning  Lowellville  is  in  the  least  advantageous 


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514       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

position  of  all  to  profit  by  the  construction  of  new  industries  that  require 
a  great  water  supply,  but  like  these  other  Mahoning  County  municipali- 
ties is  still  a  fertile  field  for  small  industries.  It  has  many  natural  and 
created  resources  to  induce  these. 

Lowellville  does  an  extensive  retail  business,  and  is  withal  a  wealthy 
district.  It  serves  a  good  sized  farming  as  well  as  industrial  section, 
both  of  these  extending  over  into  Pennsylvania  as  well  as  southward  in 
Mahoning  County.    The  population  in  1920  was  2,214. 

Financially  it  is  cared  for  by  the  Lowellville  Savings  and  Banking 
Company,  a  state  bank,  incorporated  on  March  8,  1906,  with  a  capital  of 
$30,000,  and  succeeding  the  Lowellville  Bank,  that  was  founded  but  a 
year  before.    This  institution  is  a  thriving  one. 

Lowellville  has  no  board  of  trade  or  corresponding  commercial  body. 
Organization  of  one  has  been  discussed  from  time  to  time  but  has  not 
proceeded  beyond  the  discussion  stage.  With  the  aid  of  the  industries, 
however,  considerable  social  welfare  work  has  been  carried  on  in  the 
village.  There  are  several  lodges  in  the  village,  including  Hillman 
Circle  No.  368,  Protected  Home  Circle,  and  the  Daughters  of  Isabella. 

Churches 

The  pioneer  Presbyterian  congregation  in  Poland  Township  was 
established  at  Poland  Village  in  1802,  and  before  the  middle  of  the  cen- 
tury there  were  several  other  churches  of  this  denomination  founded. 
With  the  growth  of  the  abolition,  or  anti-slavery  movement,  a  split 
came  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  it  came  in  other  churches,  and  in 
Poland  Township  this  grew  to  the  proportions  of  a  secession  movement 
on  the  part  of  those  who  demanded  an  outright  denunciation  of  negro 
slavery. 

The  first  meetings  of*  the  Poland  Township  seceders  were  held  in 
1848  in  the  Lowellville  Village  schoolhouse.  Later  an  old  warehouse 
was  used,  and  in  1849  the  Free  Church  was  formally  organized,  leading 
members  at  the  time  of  formation  including  John  McFarland,  William 
McFarland,  James  S.  Moore,  John  M.  Porter,  Andrew  McFarland,  John 
S.  Hunter,  Elias  King  and  John  Book.  Because  of  its  abolitionist  views 
the  church  drew  membership  from  surrounding  townships  and  even 
from  Pennsylvania.  Rev.  J.  D.  Whitham  came  as  pastor  of  the  congre- 
gation on  its  organization  and  remained  for  eight  years.  In  1850  the 
first  church  building  was  put  up. 

The  Free  Church  had  numbered  adherents  from  various  creeds,  and 
with  the  close  of  the  Civil  war  and  the  abolition  of  slavery  the  church 
was  disbanded  and  the  members  returned  to  their  denominations.  Most 
of  the  congregation  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church,  but  after  a 
time  the  Presbyterian  congregation  became  inactive.  It  was  revived  in 
1876,  and  continued  as  a  church  and  Sunday  school  until  1888  when 
revival  services  brought  increased  membership  and  the  church  took  on 
renewed  life.  June  3,  1896,  the  congregation  was  reorganized  as  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Lowellville,  Rev.  James  W.  Harvey  be- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       515 

coming  pastor  of  the  Lowellville  and  Coitsville  churches  in  May,  1897. 
In  1895  the  Sunday  school  was  also  reorganized. 

The  church  has  practically  tripled  in  membership  since  the  reorgan- 
ization of  almost  twenty-five  years  ago  having  185  members  now.  A 
new  church  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $55,000  in  1918,  xhe  church 
also  having  a  parsonage  built  at  a  cost  of  $5,000.  Rev.  John  K.  Boston 
is  the  present  pastor. 

Roman  Catholic  Church  services  began  in  1867  under  the  direction 
of  Rev.  John  Begel  of  Villa  Marie,  a  parish  was  organized  in  the  same 
year  and  work  begun  on  the  construction  of  a  church  building  in  1868. 
A  business  depression  set  in,  however,  and  work  was  stopped,  although 
the  congregation  was  attended  from  Youngstown,  and  for  many  years 
by  Rev.  Nicholas  Franche  of  Villa  Marie.  Under  the  direction  of 
Father  Franche  the  movement  to  build  a  church  was  revived  about  1883, 
and  in  1884  the  church  was  completed  and  occupied,  Mass  being  cele- 
brated for  the  first  time  on  Christmas  day  of  that  year.  The  church  was 
dedicated  on  August  15,  1888,  by  Monsignor  F.  M.  Boff,  vicar  general 
of  the  Cleveland  diocese.  The  parish  is  now  attended  by  Rev.  Nicholas 
Monaghan  of  Struthers  and  has  a  membership  of  300. 

Methodist  Episcopal  activities  date  back  to  within  a  few  years  after 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  congregation  was  organized  at  Poland  Village. 
As  early  as  1840  there  was  a  small  Methodist  Church  building  at  Lowell- 
ville, the  congregation  having  experienced  a  revival  about  this  time.  The 
membership  was  small  in  these  days,  but  with  the  business  revival  in 
Lowellville  in  the  '8os  the  church  took  on  a  new  spirit  and  in  1884  w*& 
reorganized.  It  had,  however,  maintained  both  a  church  organization 
and  Sunday  school  up  to  that  time.  Under  Rev.  Gordon  A.  Reigler, 
who  removed  to  California  in  September,  1920,  a  fine,  modern  church 
building  of  creditable  proportions  was  erected  in  Wood  Street.  The 
church  has  a  membership  of  sixty-seven. 

Christian  Church  services  in  Lowellville  began  about  1870  and  in 
1886  the  Christian  Church  congregation  was  formally  organized.  The 
same  year  a  church  building  was  put  up  at  a  cost  of  $4,000.  This  con- 
gregation was  also  without  a  resident  pastor  for  some  time,  but  its 
eighty  members  are  now  under  the  ministry  of  Rev.  L.  A.  Betcher.  The 
church  also  has  a  creditable  parsonage. 

The  religious  history  of  Lowellville  would  not  be  complete  without 
a  reference  to  the  Mahoning  United  Presbyterian  Church.  Actually, 
this  is  not  a  Lowellville  or  a  Poland  Township  organization.  It  is  not 
even  a  Mahoning  County  or  an  Ohio  church.  It  is  a  Lawrence  County, 
Pennsylvania,  congregation  and  the  church  building  is  located  across  the 
line  in  Lawrence  County. 

This  church,  however,  was  the  parent  church  of  the  United  Presby- 
terian Church  in  this  section.  The  Mahoning  congregation  was  founded 
in  1798  as  an  Associate  Church,  this  being  two  years  before  the  first 
church  society  on  the  Western  Reserve  was  founded  at  Youngstown. 
From  the  Mahoning  church  came  the  Rev.  James  Duncan  who  founded 
the  Associate  Church  at  Poland  Center  (now  the  Struthers  United  Pres- 
byterian Church),  in  1804  and  the  Liberty  Township  Associate  Church 


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516       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

in  1805.  Prior  to  the  founding  of  these  congregations  settlers  worshiped 
at  the  Mahoning  church  and  it  is  still  attended  by  residents  of  Lowell- 
ville  and  of  Eastern  Poland  Township. 

Schools 

The  Poland  Center  School,  southwest  of  Lowellville,  was  one  of  the 
earliest  schools  ot  Poland  Township,  and  it  is  probable  that  at  an  early 
day  there  was  a  schoolhouse  even  nearer  the  present  village.  About 
1833,  shortly  before  the  platting  of  the  municipality,  a  school  wag  built 
near  the  present  site  of  Stop  24  on  the  Pennsylvania-Ohio  Electric  Line. 
"Those  who  taught  in  this  school,"  says  a  well  prepared  sketch  of  the 
history  of  the  village  schools,  "received  the  munificent  sum  of  five  dol- 
lars per  month  and  the  privilege  of  'boarding  around.' "  This  latter 
provision  that  teachers  should  be  entitled  to  room  and  board  at  the 
homes  of  the  parents  of  the  various  pupils  during  the  school  term  was 
the  regular  procedure  in  the  early  days  on  the  Western  Reserve. 

The  next  school  was  located  about  two  miles  north  of  the  present 
village,  on  the  Youngstown  and  New  Castle  road.  About  this  time  a 
schoolhouse  was  erected  within  the  present  limits  of  the  village  at  what 
is  now  the  corner  of  Wood  and  McGill  streets.  Because  of  some  dis- 
satisfaction with  this  location  another  building  was  located  on  the  Bed- 
ford road  at  the  turn  in  this  highway.  This  building  was  destroyed  by 
fire.  Another  schoolhouse  was  then  erected  on  the  lot  where  the  Cun- 
ningham Undertaking  Company  was  afterwards  located. 

This  last  mentioned  building  was  a  two-room  brick  structure.  After 
it  had  been  used  for  several  years  it  was  sold  and  a  four-room  frame 
building  was  built,  also  on  the  North  Side. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  river  the  earliest  building  recorded  was 
located  near  the  farm  afterwards  owned  by  Lyman  Stacy.  The  second 
one  was  located  on  the  north  side  of  Jackson  Street  near  the  site  of  the 
present  South  Side  school.  This  building  was  abandoned  in  the  '70s  and 
later  sold. 

On  February  16,  1904,  the  four-room  frame  building  on  the  North 
Side  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  for  the  next  year  school  was  held  in 
halls,  churches,  storerooms  or  any  other  convenient  place,  but  in  Febru- 
ary, 1905,  the  eight-room  brick  building  authorized  to  take  its  place  was 
completed  at  a  cost  of  $35,000.  In  1917  an  addition  to  this  building  was 
constructed  at  a  cost  of  $30,000,  this  structure  containing  a  gymnasium- 
auditorium  that  seats  600.    It  is  now  an  eighteen-room  building. 

In  1888  another  school  for  the  South  Side  was  determined  upon  and 
a  one-room  structure  was  built.  With  the  growth  of  the  village  this  was 
subsequently  made  a  two-room  structure. 

The  Lowellville  High  School  was  founded  in  1876,  or  soon  there- 
after, but  it  was  1886  before  the  first  class  was  graduated,  this  class 
numbering  Miss  Ibbie  Dickson  and  W.  L.  Erskine.  In  1904  the  school 
was  advanced  from  third  to  second  grade  and  in  1909,  under  Superin- 
tendent D.  W.  Mumaw,  it  was  made  a  first  grade  school  and  has  retained 
this  grade  since.    The  parallel  course  of  study — college,  preparatory  and 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       517 

vocational — was  added  in  191 1,  and  the  Lowellville  High  School  has 
since  held  a  high  rank  in  Mahoning  County  schools. 

The  superintendents  of  the  Lowellville  schools  since  this  position 
was  created  include,  W.  V.  Nelson,  1876-79;  John  E.  McVey,  1879-81; 
Walker  Allen,  1881-82;  S.  O.  Ewing,  1882-84;  Frank  J.  Roller,  1884-86; 
L.  U.  Howard,  1886-87;  A.  A.  Galbraith,  1887-88;  A.  A.  Prentice, 
1888-89;  J.  C.  Ewing,  1889-91;  C.  W.  Gilgen,  1891-93;  H.  H.  Bower, 
1893-98;  J.  S.  Alan,  1898-1901;  E.  L.  Rickert,  1901-05;  D.  W.  Mumaw, 
1905-10;  C.  W.  Ricksecker,  1910-11;  A.  W.  Ricksecker,  191 1. 

The  present  attendance  in  the  schools  is  535  in  the  grades  and  55 
in  the  high  school.  In  addition  to  Superintendent  Ricksecker,  the 
high  school  faculty  consists  of  H.  Boren,  N.  H.  Weaver  and  Miss  Sarah 
Gray.  The  grade  school  teachers  are,  Mary  Maurice,  Katherine  Dill, 
Helen  Harries,  Martha  Cowden,  Selina  Watson,  Lillian  Burke,  Nellie 
Brenneman,  Emma  Seaholm,  Jennie  Flory,  Besse  Brenneman,  W.  D. 
McConnell  and  M.  A.  Kimmel. 

Lowellville  district  school  board  members  are,  Robert  Gray,  W.  J. 
Maurice,  G.  E.  Hamilton,  W.  J.  Lomax  and  Dr.  P.  H.  B.  Smith. 

Public  Affairs 

Although  laid  out  as  a  village  in  1836,  Lowellville  did  not  become  an 
incorporated  municipality  until  April  15,  1890.  At  the  first  village  elec- 
tion, held  at  this  time,  H.  D.  Smith  was  elected  mayor;  C.  Meeker, 
clerk;  George  Quisner,  treasurer;  J.  M.  Bryson,  J.  D.  Dickson,  H. 
Elliott,  J.  Lomax,  W.  S.  McCombs  and  Thomas  Sheridan,  councilmen. 

Lowellville  has  not  reached  5,000  population  necessary  to  put  it  in 
the  city  class,  the  village  form  of  government  being  retained.  The  pres- 
ent municipal  officials  are,  C.  J.  Zuercher,  mayor;  John  F.  Lash,  clerk; 
H.  W.  Williams,  treasurer;  S.  L.  Burke,  Joseph  L.  Johnson,  James 
Meehan,  Jr.,  Stephen  Quinn,  George  P.  Schrader  and  Myron  Smith, 
members  of  council;  Thomas  Gray,  S.  E.  Hogue  and  Andrew  Kroeck, 
members  of  the  board  of  public  works. 

The  Lowellville  Village  Hall,  built  in  1870,  houses  the  police  and 
fire  headquarters  as  well  as  the  headquarters  of  the  village  officials.  The 
police  department  is  under  Marshal  George  Boland,  with  C.  E.  Bratz  as 
captain  and  G.  Quse  and  R.  S.  Burke  as  patrolmen.  The  Lowellville 
volunteer  fire  department  was  organized  in  1903  and  is  now  under  Felix 
Samartino  as  chief,  the  fire  fighting  equipment  consisting  of  a  fire  truck 
and  hose  wagon.  The  municipal  water  supply  comes  from  drilled  wells 
owned  by  the  village,  the  waterworks  equipment  consisting  of  one  large 
standpipe  and  pumping  apparatus. 

D.  C.  Moore  is  health  officer  for  the  Lowellville,  Struthers  and  Lyon 
Plat  district. 


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CHAPTER  XXVII 

HUBBARD 

Story  of  the  Settlement  of  the  Township  and  Its  Early  Days — 
First  Events — Rise  of  the  Coal  Industry,  Founding  of  Hub- 
bard Village  and  Story  of  Its  Activities — Church,  School  and 
Industrial  History — Coalburg  and  Other  Parts  of  Township. 

Hubbard  Township,  originally  township  three,  range  one  of  the 
Connecticut  Western  Reserve,  is  the  southeasternmost  township  of 
Trumbull  County.  It  borders  on  Mahoning  County  on  the  south  and 
on  Pennsylvania  on  the  east  and  lies  within  the  Shenango  River  drain- 
age district,  the  chief  tributary  of  that  stream  within  this  township  being 
Yankee  Run,  or,  more  properly,  Little  Yankee  Run,  this  name  dis- 
tinguishing it  from  the  larger  stream  of  the  same  name  across  the  line 
in  Pennsylvania. 

In  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  draft  of  1798  this  township  went 
to  Joseph  Borrell  and  William  Edwards,  Borrell  having  $7,000  interest 
individually,  Edwards  $1,400  and  Borrell  and  Edwards  combined  an  un- 
divided interest  of  $17406.46.  William  Edwards  eventually  became 
owner  of  the  entire  township  and  in  April,  1801,  he  sold  it  to  NehemiaH 
Hubbard,  whose  name  was  given  to  it  after  it  had  been  settled. 

The  first  sales  made  by  Hubbard  were  to  Samuel  Tylee  and  John  P. 
Bissel,  and  the  former  became  not  only  a  land  purchaser  but  agent  for 
the  proprietor  as  well.  Tylee  was  born  in  Litchfield  County,  Connecti- 
cut, in  1766,  and  was  married  to  Anna  Sanford,  by  whom  he  had  ten 
children.  After  making  the  land  purchase  in  Ohio  and  receiving  the 
appointment  as  Hubbard's  agent  Tylee  came  on  to  the  Western  Reserve 
from  Middletown,  Connecticut,  and  reached  Hubbard  on  September  1, 
1801.  He  was  the  first  settler  in  the  township.  Following  the  death  of 
his  first  wife  Tylee  married  Elizabeth  Ayres  and  by  this  second  marriage 
had  one  child.    Tylee  died  at  Hubbard  in  1845  after  a  most  useful  life. 

William  Burnett  came  to  Hubbard  from  New  Jersey,  probably  in  the 
same  year  that  Samuel  Tylee  arrived.  His  son,  Silas  Burnett,  born  in 
December,  1802,  was  probably  the  first  native  white  child  of  Hubbard 
Township.  In  1802  Sylvester  Tylee,  brother  of  Samuel,  came  on  from 
Connecticut  and  settled  at  the  crossroads  that  is  now  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Liberty  streets,  Hubbard  Village.  Sylvester  Tylee  owned  the 
southwest  corner  lot,  Samuel  Tylee  the  northwest  lot  and  Alfred  the 
northeast  lot,  and  from  this  ownership  the  crossroads  became  known  as 
Tylee's  Corners. 

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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       519 

Occupation  of  Hubbard  Township  had  been  delayed  for  two  or  three 
years  after  the  nearby  townships  now  known  as  Coitsville,  Youngstown, 
Liberty  and  Brookfield  had  been  located,  so  that  settlement  was  fairly 
rapid  after  newcomers  first  began  to  arrive.  Jehiel  Roberts,  John  Clark, 
Walter  Clark  and  Edward  Bussey  came  from  Connecticut,  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Burnett  family,  Jeremiah  Wolf,  Jesse  Hall,  Absolom  Hall, 
Morris  Hall,  John  Ayres,  Martin  Swarzwelter  and  A.  K.  Cramer  from 
New  Jersey,  William  Porterfield  and  Matthew  Mitchel  from  Pennsyl- 
vania. John  Gardner  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers.  Others  who 
came  to  Hubbard  in  the  early  days  of  the  township,  or  were  landowners 
therein,  included  Joel  Smith,  Ainos  Smith,  George  Frazier,  Sylvester 
Doughton,  David  Bailey,  William  Parrish,  Jonathan  Carr,  Daniel  Carey, 
Cornelius  Dilley,  William  Erwin,  Samuel  Ewart,  James  Frazier,  William 
Hanna,  Thomas  Hanna,  Hugh  Harrison,  Henry  McFarland,  Benjamin 
Mayers,  John  McCreary,  James  Minary,  Robert  McKay,  James  Mitchel- 
tree,  Samuel  Leslie,  Alexander  McFarland,  John  Porter,  William  Par- 
vin,  Samuel  White,  William  Veach,  John  Snyder,  Edward  Scoville, 
Henry  Robertson,  David  Reed  and  Joseph  Porter. 

Samuel  Tylee,  founder  of  the  township,  who  later  became  a  justice 
of  the  peace  and  was  known  throughout  a  great  part  of  his  life  as 
Squire  Tylee,  built  the  first  cabin  in  the  township  along  Yankee  Run. 
Necessarily  this  was  a  log  house,  a  structure  that  he  replaced  a  few 
years  later  by  the  first  frame  house  in  the  township.  In  1809  Squire 
Tylee  also  built  on  Yankee  Run  the  first  grist  mill  and  the  first  sawmill 
in  the  township,  following  this  pioneering  movement  in  industry  by 
putting  up  a  distillery.  About  1810  William  Elliott  built  a  carding  mill 
near  jthe  Pennsylvania  state  line  and  Jehiel  Roberts  started  a  tannery. 

Dr.  John  Mitcheltree,  the  first  physician  in  Hubbard  Township, 
opened  a  small  store  near  the  state  line  about  1806,  and  shortly  after  this 
Tylee's  Corners  became  a  more  important  settlement.  It  was  made  a 
postoffice  with  Sylvester  Tylee  as  postmaster' in  the  opening  decade  of 
the  nineteenth  century  and  a  few  years  later  Samuel  Tylee  became  a 
storekeeper  there.  An  ashery,  built  by  Samuel  Tylee  and  Alfred  Tylee, 
was  also  among  the  early  industries  of  the  township. 

The  list  of  settlers  above  given  does  not  include  all  the  early  day 
residents  of  Hubbard  by  any  means.  Settlement,  as  we  have  observed, 
was  rather  rapid  in  the  first  few  years  after  the  township  was  opened  up, 
and  except  for  primitive  attempts  at  manufacturing  the  newcomers  were 
almost  entirely  farmers.  The  township  was  heavily  wooded  and  the 
settlers  were  confronted  with  all  the  hard  tasks  imposed  upon  pioneers 
in  clearing  the  land  and  making  it  available  for  agriculture.  Much  of  the 
land  was  well  adapted  for  farming  and  it  was  well  watered  and  also  well 
drained,  as  Hubbard  Township  occupies  rather  high  ground. 

For  the  first  sixty  years  of  its  existence  agriculture  was  the  mainstay 
of  the  township.  Additional  sawmills,  grist  mills  and  tanneries  were 
built  and  in  1824  Squire  Tylee  erected  a  carding  mill  and  cloth-fulling 
mill  on  Yankee  Run.  These  industries  were  common  to  pioneer  settle- 
ments of  the  Western  Reserve  and  served  the  local  trade,  as  absence 


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520       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

of  such  mills  meant  long  journeys  through  the  wilderness  to  larger 
settlements. 

After  the  initial  land  sales,  which  brought  settlers  not  alone  from 
distant  states  but  from  nearby  townships  where  earlier  settlement  had 
taken  much  of  the  cheap  land  off  the  market,  the  growth  of  the  township 
was  not  rapid.  It  was  not  on  the  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  Canal,  a 
waterway  that  led  to  the  early  development  of  nearby  towns.  Nor  was 
it  included  in  the  early  railroad  construction. 

The  opening  of  the  coal  mines  brought  a  transformation  to  the 
township.  As  early  as  1840  coal  mining  began  in  Youngstown  Town- 
ship and  with  a  realization  of  the  value  of  this  fuel  the  industry  spread 
rapidly  at  Liberty,  Weathersfield,  Brookfield,  Vienna  and  Hubbard 
Townships,  new  discoveries  reaching  their  height  about  Civil  war  times. 
With  the  opening  of  the  mines  villages  sprang  into  existence  and  the 
railroads  came.  Farming  became  perhaps  more  profitable  but  its  in- 
dustrial supremacy  vanished  and  the  black  scars  that  denoted  coal 
"banks"  and  the  smoke  of  industries  replaced  peaceful  agricultural  fields. 
The  era  of  coal  lasted  for  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  with Jts 
departure  the  manufacturing  industries  sought  the  Mahoning  River 
valley. 

Politically,  Hubbard  Township  was  made  a  part  of  the  civil  town- 
ship of  Youngstown  when  that  subdivision  was  formed  in  April,  1802. 
The  Youngstown  Township  thus  created  for  governmental  purposes 
embraced  ten  actual  townships,  only  two  of  these,  Hubbard  and  Liberty, 
being  within  the  present  confines  of  Trumbull  County,  the  remaining 
eight  being  within  what  is  now  Mahoning  County.  At  this  initial  elec- 
tion Samuel  Tylee  was  elected  one  of  the  trustees  of  Youngstown  Town- 
ship. 

In  1806  Hubbard  Township  was  civilly  organized,  having  attained  a 
population  by  this  time  that  entitled  it  to  this  distinction.  Samuel  Tylee 
was  also  one  of  the  firsf,  if  not  the  first,  justice  of  the  peace  in  this 
subdivision.  The  present  township  officers  include  Benjamin  Mayers, 
Norman  Price  and  Frank  Doughton,  trustees;  Richard  Williams,  clerk; 
C.  A.  Randall,  treasurer;  A.  T.  Roberts,  justice  of  the  peace;  J.  M. 
Brisbine,  constable;  John  McFetridge,  assessor. 

Hubbard  Village 

Hubbard  municipality,  situated  slightly  south  of  the  center  of  the 
township,  existed  as  the  settlement  of  Tylee's  Corners  in  the  early  days, 
but  as  a  village  its  history  goes  back  only  three  score  years. 

The  development  of  the  coal  mines  in  this  neighborhood  was  respon- 
sible for  the  transformation  of  a  cross  roads  to  a  real  village.  This  era 
began  about  i860,  the  early  mines  being  the  Jackson  brothers  bank,  the 
Veach  and  Burnett,  the  Smith  and  the  E.  P.  Burnett  banks.  Accessions 
to  the  population  began  immediately,  railroad  communication  was  estab- 
lished and  an  erstwhile  country  road  became  a  thriving  business  street. 
The  coal  business  expanded  to  a  great  part  of  the  township,  with  other 
mining  settlements  springing  up,  but  with  Hubbard  Village  the  chief 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       521 

municipality.  These  were  rough  days,  as  well  as  prosperous  ones,  in 
Hubbard,  for  the  growth  of  the  village  in  the  first  fifteen  years  of  its 
existence  was  in  the  nature  of  a  "boom"  that  brought  its  undesirable 
features  as  well  as  its  desirable  ones. 

Andrews  and  Hitchcock  leased  the  E.  P.  Burnett  coal  mines  and  in 
connection  with  their  fuel  holdings  engaged  in  the  blast  furnace  business, 
bringing  the  first  industries  aside  from  the  mines  and  the  proverbial 
sawmills  and  grist  ntills  of  early  Ohio  days.  The  first  of  the  Andrews 
and  Hitchcock  stacks  was  built  in  1868  and  the  second  in  1872.  In  the 
latter  year,  1872,  the  iron  works  of  the  Hubbard  Rolling  Mill  Company 
was  also  built,  the  plant  consisting  of  puddle  furnaces,  muck  rolls,  bar 
mill  and  guide  mill.  This  plant  afterwards  came  into  the  possession  of 
Jesse  Hall  and  Sons,  the  Halls  having  been  instrumental  in  founding 
the  industry.  Numerous  stores  came  into  existence,  together  with  a 
hotel,  seven  churches,  professional  firms  and  saloons. 

In  1868  the  village  had  attained  such  a  population  that  it  became  an 
incorporated  municipality  with  Nathaniel  Mitchell  as  mayor;  J.  D. 
Cramer,  treasurer;  Samuel  Q.  March,  recorder;  T.  R.  McGaughey, 
William  Adams,  John  Hadley,  Edward  Moore,  trustees;  George  Moore, 
marshal. 

By  the  *8os  it  had  attained  the  maximum  of  its  growth.  The  coal 
mining  industry  of  Hubbard,  like  that  of  neighboring  townships  of  Ma- 
honing and  Trumbull  counties  began  to  decline  with  the  exhaustion  of 
the  coal  beds  and  the  pre-eminence  of  Youngstown  became  more  firmly 
established.  Eventually  mining  as  an  industry  capable  of  supporting  a 
town  vanished.  The  rolling  mill  succumbed  to  the  competition  of  more 
modern  plants,  in  1893  much  of  the  machinery  was  removed  to  Youngs- 
town and  even  the  remnants  of  the  mill  were  gradually  dismantled. 
Hubbard's  population  became  smaller  and  its  business  activity  became 
noticeably  less,  although  it  remained  a  sizeable  village  and  was  brought 
into  closer  communication  with  neighboring  municipalities  in  the  Ma- 
honing and  Shenango  valleys  with  the  construction  of  the  Youngstown 
and  Sharon  electric  line  system  in  1901-02. 

Since  that  time  the  plant  of  the  American  Sintering  Company  has 
been  built  at  Hubbard  and  the  blast  furnace  industry  has  been  main- 
tained. The  two  stacks  of  the  Andrews  and  Hitchcock,  enlarged  and 
modernized,  passed  to  the  ownership  of  the  Youngstown  Sheet  and 
Tube  Company,  and  at  Petroleum  station,  contributory  to  Hubbard, 
have  been  built  the  plants  of  the  Petroleum  Iron  Works  Company  and 
the  Pennsylvania  Tank  Car  Company.  In  1881  the  Ohio  Powder  Com- 
pany built  a  powder  mill  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  township.  This 
is  now  operated  by  the  Hercules  Powder  Company. 

While  this  gain  was  not  in  keeping  with  that  of  other  places  in  the 
Mahoning  and  Shenango  valleys  the  present  year  ( 1920)  saw  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  era  in  Hubbard  Village.  New  industries  were  springing 
up  in  all  adjacent  cities  and  villages  and  Hubbard  decided  to  keep  pace 
with  its  neighbors.  Its  first  effort  was  directed  toward  gaining  the  plant 
of  the  Powell  Pressed  Steel  Company,  organized  in  February,  1920.  and 
the  attempt  was  successful  in  spite  of  competing  bids.     This  company 


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522       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

has  a  capitalization  of  $225,000  and  while  it  employs  less  than  one 
hundred  men  in  its  newly  erected  plant  it  is  a  business  that  is  capable 
of  expansion  and  is  but  the  first  of  many  industries  that  Hubbard  pro- 
poses to  get. 

The  successful  outcome  of  this  public  movement  for  a  "Greater  Hub- 
bard" inspired  the  organization  of  a  village  trade  board  to  carry  on  this 
work  systematically.  At  an  open  meeting  on  February  27,  1920,  at- 
tended by  85  public-spirited  residents  a  committee  consisting  of  J.  W. 
Powers,  J.  J.  Boyle,  L.  G.  Ebinger,  R.  H.  VanNess  and  C.  H.  Anderson 
was  named  to  apply  for  a  charter  for  the  "Hubbard  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce," and  to  arrange  for  a  permanent  organization.  With  the  receipt 
of  this  charter  the  formal  organization  was  effected  on  March  10,  1920, 
S.  D.  Roberts  being  elected  president;  J.  W.  Powers,  first  vice  president; 
F.  M.  Stevenson,  second  vice  president;  Charles  H.  Anderson,  treasurer; 
A.  E.  Robinson,  secretary.  A.  J.  Mayers,  L.  G.  Ebinger,  J.  J.  Boyle,  W. 
M.  Evans,  R.  A.  Bell,  R.  F.  Clash,  E.  S.  Stewart,  William  Terry,  J.  A. 
Anderson  and  J.  D.  Marsteller  make  up  the  board  of  trustees. 

With  steam  railroad  and  electric  line  facilities  and  a  fair  supply  of 
water  Hubbard  is  likely  to  attain  its  ambition  of  becoming  a  far  greater 
business  center  than  it  was  even  in  former  days.  The  village  has  a 
good  financial  institution  in  the  Hubbard  Banking  Company,  first  organ- 
ized in  1873  ^  the  Hubbard  Savings  Bank,  with  R.  H.  Jewell  as  presi- 
dent and  G.  M.  Dill  as  cashier.  Samuel  Q.  March,  president  of  the 
Hubbard  Banking  Company  for  many  years,  and  leading  citizen  of  the 
village,  died  in  April,  1920.    A.  J.  Mayers  is  cashier. 

The  Hubbard  Enterprise,  a  weekly  newspaper,  was  launched  in  1877 
by  J.  F.  Horton.  In  1880  it  came  into  the  management  of  W.  R.  Wads- 
worth,  and  was  owned  successively  by  E.  E.  Gregg  and  Fred  Powers, 
George  Gaston,  W.  J.  Baird  and  Son  and  H.  W.  Ulrich,  the  latter  dis- 
posing of  the  plant  to  R.  H.  VanNess,  the  present  owner. 

The  Enterprise  was  not  the  pioneer  among  Hubbard  newspapers, 
however.  In  1868  A.  D.  Fassett  started  the  Hubbard  Standard,  printed 
at  the  Mahoning  Courier  office  at  Youngstown.  Within  ar  few  months 
Fassett  set  up  a  printing  office  at  Hubbard  and  began  the  publication  of 
the  Miner,  which  ran  until  1872  when  the  owner  moved  his  plant  to 
Youngstown  and  began  the  publication  of  the  first  daily  paper  there. 
The  Standard  continued  for  a  short  time  and  then  suspended,  being 
succeeded  by  the  Hubbard  Signal,  an  organ  that  lasted  for  a  year  or 
more. 

Churches 

Hubbard  Village  in  the  heyday  of  its  existence  had  seven  churches 
and  still  has  six  congregations.  Four  of  these  were  Hubbard  Township 
organizations  prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  village. 

The  first  Methodist  Episcopal  Society  was  formed  in  1803  by  Rev. 
Noah  Fidler  of  the  Erie  Ccmference  and  for  a  number  of  years  this 
body  met  west  of  the  present  village.  Later  another  congregation  was 
formed  east  of  the  center,  and  in  1854  these  two  bodies,  both  of  which 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       523 

had  previously  erected  church  buildings  of  their  own,  united  and  erected 
a  church  in  the  village.  This  building  was  completely  remodeled  in 
1894  and  the  congregation  is  now  a  flourishing  one  of  350  members  with 
Rev.  W.  E.  Speaker  as  pastor. 

The  earliest  Presbyterian  organization  in  the  township  was  formed 
about  1804  or  1805  and  a  log  church  was  built  north  of  the  center.  Rev. 
James  Satterfield  was  the  pioneer  minister  of  this  creed  and  the  early 
members  of  the  church  included  Sylvester  Tylee,  Samuel  Tylee,  William 
Clingan,  Thomas  McMoran,  William  Porterfield,  John  Jewell,  Charles 
Stewart  and  Robert  Love  and  members  of  their  families.  In  1857  a 
house  of  worship  was  built  within  the  village.  The  congregation  now 
has  a  membership  of  216  and  is  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  George  B. 
Booth. 

Baptist  services  were  held  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury and  in  1819  a  Baptist  congregation  was  regularly  formed,  this 
organization  taking  place  at  the  home  of  Jesse  Hall.  This  denomination 
suffered  from  defections  to  the  Disciple  creed  but  experienced  a  revival 
in  activities  with  the  opening  of  the  coal  mines  and  in  1870  erected  a 
substantial  house  of  worship  in  Hubbard  Village.  The  congregation 
now  has  200  members,  with  Rev.  W.  M.  Ryan  as  pastor. 

The  Christian,  or  Disciples  of  Christ,  Church,  as  explained  before, 
was  an  outgrowth  of  the  Baptist  congregation,  being  formed  about  1830 
by  forty  members  of  the  older  church.  Meetings  were  held  in  a  build- 
ing owned  by  Jesse  Hall  at  a  cross  roads  north  of  the  present  village. 
This  property  Mr.  Hall  subsequently  gave  to  the  church  and  on  the  site 
an  ample  church  building  was  erected.  Jesse  Applegate,  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  church,  became  a  minister  shortly  afterward  and  for 
twenty  years  ministered  to  this  and  other  congregations.  The  Trumbull 
County  yearly  meeting  of  the  Disciple  Church  was  held  here  in  1837 
and  this  gathering  and  the  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Disciples  of  Ohio 
at  Youngstown  a  few  years  later  brought  many  new  members  to  the 
church.  Alexander  Campbell  attended  both  these  meetings.  This  first 
Christian  congregation  of  Hubbard  Township  is  still  flourishing,  its 
"Corner  House"  Church  being  a  familiar  spot  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  township. 

The  Hubbard  Village  Church  is  the  Central  Christian  congregation. 
It  was  organized  on  December  31,  1899,  and  met  in  the  old  Welsh  Con- 
gregational Church  building  and  later  in  the  abandoned  Welsh  Baptist 
Church  structure,  its  own  church  edifice  in  South  Main  Street  being 
erected  and  dedicated  in  1901.  Rev.  A.  C.  Pierson  was  the  first  pastor 
of  the  congregation  and  Rev.  A.  J.  Cook  is  the  present  minister  in  charge. 
The  church  building  was  entirely  remodeled  in  1919  and  was  rededicated 
in  January,  1920.    The  congregation  has  a  membership  of  200. 

St.  Patrick's  Roman  Catholic  parish  began  with  the  development  of 
the  mines  in  the  early  *6os.  The  Catholics  of  Hubbard  were  attended 
by  Rev.  E.  M.  O'Callaghan  of  Youngstown  from  1864  to  1867,  services 
being  held  usually  at  the  home  of  Michael  Piggott.  In  1867  a  small  frame 
church  was  erected  and  for  three  years  the  parish  was  attended  from 
Youngstown  and  Warren  but  in  1870  Rev.  John  T.  Schaffeld  was  in- 


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524       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

stalled  as  the  first  resident  pastor.  The  present  splendid  St.  Patrick's 
Church  building  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  191 1.  Rev.  John 
F.  Maloney  has  been  pastor  for  the  last  nine  years. 

St.  John's  Evangelical  Lutheran  Congregation  was  organized  in  1867 
by  Rev.  Frederick  N.  Wolf  with  a  membership  of  twenty-five  families, 
meetings  of  this  denomination  having  been  held  previously,  beginning 
in  1864.  Reverend  Wolf  remained  as  the  first  pastor  of  the  congrega- 
tion and  in  1871  the  first  church  edifice  was  erected.  Rev.  C.  Hem- 
minghaus  is  pastor  now.  This  congregation  is  now  erecting  a  new 
church  building. 

The  Welsh  Baptist  Church  of  Hubbard  was  organized  in  1863  and 
the  Welsh  Congregational  Church  in  1865  but  both  of  these  subsequently 
passed  out  of  existence. 

Schools 

Log  school  houses  were  built  in  Hubbard  Township  in  the  opening 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  first  of  these  being  probably  located 
on  the  farm  of  John  Gardner  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  township. 
Perlee  Brush,  first  teacher  in  Youngstown  and  first  teacher  in  Poland 
Township  as  well,  was  an  early  day  teacher  in  Hubbard  also,  while 
Asahel  Adams,  of  Canterbury,  Connecticut,  opened  a  select  school  at 
Hubbard  in  1804.  Until  the  revival  began  at  Hubbard  Village  in  the 
'60s  its  educational  accommodations  were  of  the  country  school  type  of 
that  day,  but  in  1868  a  movement  was  begun  for  the  establishment  of  a 
high  school  in  the  village  and  in  1870  this  building  was  completed  and 
opened,  being  erected  by-  the  entire  township. 

As  Hubbard  had  in  the  meantime  become  an  incorporated  village  the 
erection  of  this  school  precipitated  a  school  war  between  the  village  and 
the  township  that  lasted  for  almost  half  a  century.  Both  boards  asserted 
their  right  to  control  the  school  and  the  rivalry  reached  a  crisis  in  1880 
when  the  township  board  selected  D.  A.  Wilson  as  principal  of  the 
building  and  the  village  board  selected  D.  Greenwood.  The  township 
board  managed  to  gain  control  of  the  building  and  installed  Professor 
Greenwood,  but  the  feeling  became  so  bitter  that  it  was  necessary  at  one 
time  to  maintain  an  armed  guard  over  the  building. 

Meanwhile  the  village  school  board  appealed  to  the  common  pleas 
qourt  for  an  injunction  restraining  the  township  board  from  asserting 
control  over  the  school,  from  installing  Professor  Wilson  and  from  in- 
terfering with  Professor  Greenwood.  Judge  Spear  found  in  favor  of 
the  township  board  and  the  village  board  relinquished  any  attempt  to 
gain  control  of  the  school  by  force  but  appealed  to  the  Circuit  Court. 
This  court  reversed  Judge  Spear  and  gave  control  to  the  village  board 
in  1882.  This  latter  body  took  charge  immediately  but  the  township 
board  appealed  in  turn  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio  and  in  1885  a 
decision  of  this  court  reversed  the  Circuit  Court  and  reinstated  the 
township  board  in  control. 

Instead  of  ending  the  Hubbard  school  feud  this  decision  merely 
aggravated  it.     Feeling  continued  to  run  high,  the  two  boards  fought 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       525 

for  mastery  and  a  second  court  battle  resulted,  ending  again  in  favor 
of  the  township.  The  bitterness  even  reached  a  point  where  a  partition, 
or  dividing  wall,  was  built  between  the  village  part  of  the  school  build- 
ing and  the  township  part. 

The  war  was  demoralizing  to  the  cause  of  education  in  Hubbard  as 
the  schools  naturally  deteriorated.  Good  system  was  lacking  and  the 
example  of  their  elders  was  not  edifying  to  youths  of  school  age.  The 
village  was  the  chief  sufferer  as  it  desired  a  better  high  school  building 
and  a  higher  grade  school  but  had  neither  the  power  to  build  one  nor 
the  money  with  which  to  build  it  as  the  township  had  become  wealthier 
in  taxable  property  than  the  municipality.  In  the  spring  of  1916,  how- 
ever, the  war  was  renewed  by  the  village  school  board  which  circulated 
petitions  throughout  the  township  asking  the  consolidation  of  the  town- 
ship and  village  school  districts.  A  sufficient  majority  was  obtained  to 
bring  this  about,  but  court  procedure  was  again  resorted  to  by  the 
township  board  to  prevent  the  merger.  Again  there  was  a  long  battle 
that  began  in  County  Court  and  was  carried  through  the  Appellate 
Court  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio  but  the  village  school  board  was 
sustained  and  Hubbard  Township,  including  the  village,  was  made  one 
school  district. 

Village  and  township  both  have  profited  under  this  arrangement 
with  the  construction  of  a  new  $250,000  high  school  building  in  the 
village,  erected  in  1920.  This  structure  houses  both  high  and  grade 
schools  and  has  an  auditorium  and  well  equipped  gymnasium.  The 
building  not  only  provides  for  future  growth  of  the  school  population 
but  is  a  community  center  as  well.  With  its  completion  the  old  school 
building  and  accompanying  portable  structures  have  been  abandoned. 

In  addition  to  the  Hubbard  Village  building  there  is  a  six-room 
building  at  Coalburg,  just  completed  and  replacing  the  old  two-room 
building,  a  two-room  building  at  Petroleum  and  six  one-room  district 
schools.  A.  E.  Robinson  is  superintendent  of  the  Hubbard  schools, 
Maude  Slemons  principal  of  the  high  school,  J.  W.  Lawther,  Ethel  For- 
sythe,  Verna  Allison  and  Marie  Gotshal  teachers  of  high  school  classes 
and  Lucy  Arner,  Myrta  Bailey,  Olive  Roberts,  Marjorie  Hughes,  Martha 
Vessels,  Deeda  VanNess,  Ruth  Stewart,  Anna  M.  Pallett,  Daphne  Lim- 
bach  and  Genevieve  Matthews  teachers  of  grade  classes  and  Neva 
Stewart  teacher  of  music.  Teachers  in  the  one-room  schools  include 
Ruila  Barnes,  Irene  Blythe,  Mildred  Jones,  Laura  Williams,  May  Rap- 
pie  and  Maude  Reed.  Marion  Fowler  and  Christine  Fowler  teach  in 
the  Petroleum  buildings  and  L.  J.  Moats  and  Rachel  Sexton  the  Coal- 
burg classes.  The  number  of  teachers  at  the  latter  place  will  be  in- 
creased to  six  with  the  opening  of  the  new  building. 

The  Hubbard  Board  of  Education  members  are:  E.  G.  Ebinger, 
C.  H.  Drissen,  F.  F.  Clingan,  C.  R.  Stewart  and  Calvin  Minglin. 

In  addition  to  the  public  schools  a  parochial  school  is  maintained  by 
St.  Patrick's  Parish.  This  school  was  founded  in  the  early  days  of  the 
parish  but  in  191 5  a  new  and  modern  school  building  was  put  up.  The 
pupils  are  taught  by  sisters  and  the  school  is  under  the  supervision  of 
Father  Maloney,  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's. 


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526       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Hubbard  Societies 

In  addition  to  the  newly  organized  Chamber  of  Commerce  the  Vil- 
lage of  Hubbard  is  represented  in  more  than  half  a  dozen  bodies  organ- 
ized along  fraternal  and  similar  lines.  Hubbard  Lodge,  No.  495,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  is  not  only  a  thriving  body  but  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  Temple  is  the  finest  of  Hubbard's 
public  buildings.  The  village  also  has  a  Rebekah  Lodge,  Knights  of 
Columbus  Council,  lodges  representing  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Pro- 
tected Home  Circle,  Foresters  of  America  and  Hubbard  Post,  No.  51, 
American  Legion.  Progressive  Grange  is  a  Hubbard  Township  organi- 
zation and  is  one  of  the  most  thriving  of  Trumbull  County  granges. 

Public  Affairs 

Hubbard  retains  the  village  form  of  government  as  the  municipality 
will  not  reach  the  city  class  for  another  ten  years  at  least.  Elective 
officials  for  1920-21  include:  Charles  F.  White,  mayor;  T.  F.  Rock, 
clerk;  W.  L.  Evans,  treasurer;  Dr.  D.  R.  Jacobs,  J.  E.  Schofield,  G.  R. 
Bailey,  Dr.  W.  H.  Button,  J.  J.  Murphy  and  William  Wolf,  councilmen, 
Dr.  Jacobs  being  president  of  council ;  J.  D.  Marsteller,  William  Terry 
and  L.  A.  Mitchell,  members  of  the  Board  of  Public  Affairs;  Carl 
Furgison,  marshal.    J.  W.  Farrelly  is  postmaster. 

Marshal  Furgison  is  head  of  the  village  police  department  and  IX 
L.  Windsor  chief  of  the  volunteer  fire  department.  The  village  water 
supply  is  secured  from  drilled  wells,  the  water  being  pumped  to  a  stand- 
pipe  for  storage.  Heretofore  it  has  been  used  without  any  added  treat- 
ment but  the  village  filter  plant  is  about  to  be  built  to  insure  better  water. 
Hubbard  lighting  is  supplied  by  the  Pennsylvania-Ohio  Electric  Com- 
pany, but  lighting  as  well  as  water  service  is  administered  by  the  Board 
of  Public  Affairs. 

Hubbard  has  the  usual  complement  of  paved  streets,  a  good  sewer- 
age system  and  is  connected  with  Youngstown  by  a  paved  auto  high- 
way. It  is  on  the  Erie  and  New  York  Central  steam  railroad  lines  as 
well  as  on  the  electric  line. 

Coalburg 

Coalburg,  in  the  northwest  part  of  Hubbard  Township,  is,  as  its 
name  plainly  implies,  a  product  of  the  coal  mining  operations  of  many 
years  ago.  Mines  were  opened  in  this  vicinity  in  1863  by  Powers  and 
Arms,  the  field  being  leased  later  to  the  Mahoning  Coal  Company. 
William  Powers  and  Company  opened  a  store  there  in  the  year  the 
mines  were  opened,  a  postoffice  was  established  with  Jacob  Sanders  as 
postmaster  and  the  village  grew  with  mushroom-like  rapidity.  At  one 
time  it  had  a  population  of  upward  of  a  thousand  inhabitants,  dependent 
almost  entirely  upon  the  mines. 

With  the  exhaustion  of  the  mines  Coalburg  began  to  decline  and 
even  before  1880  had  lost  its  commercial  importance.     Recently,  how- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       527 

ever,  it  has  experienced  a  revival  with  the  construction  of  the  New 
York  Central  Railroad  freight  terminal  there.  The  terminal  includes 
great  railroad  yards,  roundhouse,  coal  tipple  and  ash  conveyor.  All 
yard  work  formerly  done  at  Youngstown  has  been  transferred  there. 
Coalburg  formerly  had  three  churches,  the  Welsh  Baptist,  Welsh 
Congregational  and  Methodist  Episcopal,  but  only  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal remains  now.  The  church  building  was  erected  in  1871  and  is 
supplied  by  visiting  pastors.  The  village  also  has  a  thriving  Knights  of 
Pythias  Lodge  with  a  lodge  building  of  its  own,  this  being  one  of  the 
prominent  structures  in  the  village.  In  January,  1920,  the  last  indebted- 
ness was  lifted  from  this  building,  the  occasion  being  celebrated  by  a 
gathering  in  which  members  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  from  all  parts 
of  Mahoning  and  Trumbull  counties  participated. 


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CHAPTER  XXVIII 

EAST  YOUNGSTOWN 

Story  of  the  Development  of  the  Infant  Municipality  of  Ma- 
honing County — Remarkable  Industrial  Growth  in  Twenty 
Years — Early  Days  in  East  Youngstown — Municipality  in 
1920. 

Although  the  youngest  of  the  ten  incorporated  municipalities  of 
Mahoning  County,  East  Youngstown  is  now  the  second  in  size.  Passing 
successively  all  its  other  sister  villages  and  cities  it  now  ranks  only  be- 
hind Youngstown  in  population. 

For  many  years  the  Fairview  district  of  Coitsville  Township,  lying 
just  across  the  line  from  Youngstown  Township,  was  fairly  well  built 
up,  but  otherwise  the  territory  lying  between  Youngstown  and  the 
Village  of  Struthers  was  but  farm  land.  Insofar  as  communication  was 
concerned  the  two  places  were  far  apart. 

The  first  connecting  link  aside  from  the  dirt  highways  and  the  steam 
railroads  was  the  interurban  line  built  from  Youngstown  to  Struthers 
in  1899.  This  speedily  brought  traffic  between  the  two  places,  and  yet 
in  the  summer  of  1900— just  twenty  years  ago— the  present  site  of  East 
Youngstown  and  of  the  great  steel  works  that  made  that  city  possible 
was  mere  wooded  hillside,  waving  grain  fields  and  tangled  river  bot- 
toms. This  latter  low-lying  ground  was  the  location  selected  by  the 
Youngstown  Sheet  and  Tube  Company  as  a  site  for  its  future  plant 
after  the  company  had  been  incorporated  in  November,  1900,  its  original 
name,  however,  being  the  Youngstown  Iron,  Sheet  and  Tube  Company. 

Not  even  the  organizers  of  this  company  dreamed  of  the  ultimate 
magnitude  of  the  plant  they  were  planning,  their  original  conception 
being  modest.  That  a  manufacturing  work?  was  to  replace  wheat  fields, 
however,  was  justification  enough  for  bringing  an  accompanying  vil- 
lage into  existence,  in  fact  made  this  necessary.  East  Youngstown — 
called  so  for  want  of  initiative  or  care  in  giving  it  another  name — was 
born,  and  was  born  with  a  "boom."  It  would  have  been  better  for  the 
future  of  the  city  had  more  care  been  expended  on  its  founding;  had 
there  been  some  early  and  systematic  development  of  the  hilltop  instead 
of  having  all  energies  concentrated  on  hastily  erecting  a  village  on  a 
hillside  and  in  a  hollow. 

In  the  first  half  dozen  years  or  more  of  its  existence  East  Youngs- 
town was  a  mere  struggling  sort  of  place,  built  in  spots  and  not  well 
built  anywhere.     It  was  a  place  of  shacks  and  boarding  houses;  its 

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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       529 

population  made  up  largely  of  foreign-born  and  of  the  type  of  Ameri- 
cans— some  of  them  keen  but  restless  and  some  merely  shiftless — who 
flock  into  each  new  community.  The  inhabitants  were  largely  unmarried 
men ;  the  boarding  houses  were  not  of  the  kind  that  tends  to  elevation 
or  uplift. 

Throughout  this  period  the  township  form  of  government  persisted. 
Although  the  village  grew  in  population  from  a  few  hundred  inhabitants 
to  3,000  or  more  its  affairs  were  administered  by  township  trustees,  its 
law  enforcement  authorities  were  township  constables  and  justices  of 
the  peace.  And  East  Youngstown  was  lawless — although  not  more  so 
than  other  newly  founded  municipalities  where  there  is  little  restraint 
on  the  part  of  the  law.  Because  it  was  part  of  a  large  township  East 
Youngstown  remained  saloonless  for  some  years,  but  was  far  from  "dry." 
Youngstown  was  not  far  away  and  the  illicit  sale  of  liquor  went  on 
with  no  great  restraint.  Many  of  the  stories  concerning  East  Youngs- 
town's  lawlessless  in  its  earlier  years  are  exaggerated,  and  throughout 
its  course  there  persisted  the  saving  grace  of  lightheartedness  that 
identified  the  village  with  humor  rather  than  tragedy.  It  was  not  a 
frontier  town  as  often  depicted — at  least  not  a  frontier  town  in  the 
accepted  sense — for  the  American  border  settlement  of  fame  and  story 
has  always  a  place  made  up  of  Americans,  good  and  bad,  while  East 
Youngstown  was  largely  a  foreign  village  from  its  founding. 

By  1908  East  Youngstown  had  attained  a  size  where  the  township 
form  of  government  was  plainly  inadequate.  It  was  a  large  village 
without  any  head  and  with  little  order.  More  enterprising  residents 
instituted  a  movement  for  its  incorporation  into  a  separate  municipality 
so  that  public  improvements,  police  and  fire  protection  and  some  re- 
sponsible form  of  government  might  be  possible,  and  this  movement 
for  incorporation  was  hastened  by  discussion  of  a  proposal  that  the  vil- 
lage be  annexed  to  Youngstown. 

There  was  no  great  sentiment  in  favor  of  this  latter  step  but  much 
sentiment  in  favor  of  the  former  move,  and  on  November  19,  1908,  an 
election  was  held  on  the  question  of  incorporation.  The  advocates  of 
incorporation  won  by  a  vote  of  158  to  59,  the  incorporation  proposal 
containing  a  prqviso  that  a  municipal  election  should  be  held  within  six 
months. 

This  first  election  in  East  Youngstown  was  held  on  April  24,  1509, 
and  resulted  in  the  election  of  David  C.  Hamilton  as  mayor;  P.  J.  Car- 
ney, clerk;  George  Warhurst,  treasurer;  James  A.  Nestor,  marshal,  and 
I.  M.  Fink,  O.  G.  DeFogarassy,  William  Gordon,  Joseph  Maust,  Wil- 
liam H.  Reed  and  Jerry  Daley  as  councilmen.  These  officials  were 
named  to  serve  only  for  an  eight-months'  term  ending  on  January  1, 
1910,  their  successors  being  named  at  the  first  regular  election  in  the 
village  in  November,  1909. 

The  East  Youngstown  "Riot" 

That  East  Youngstown  was  not  wholly  weaned  away  from  its  in- 
clinations of  early  days  even  when  it  took  on  the  dignity  of  a  full- 


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530       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

fledged  municipality  was  made  apparent  by  the  "East  Youngstown  Riot," 
so  called  because  of  want  of  a  more  appropriate  name,  although  in  truth 
it  was  a  debauch  rather  than  a  riot  in  the  generally  accepted  sense  of 
that  term. 

This  event — the  most  notable,  perhaps,  although  not  the  most  credit- 
able, occurrence  in  the  history  of  Youngstown's  next  door  neighbor — 
had  its  origin  in  the  strike  of  steel  workers  of  the  Mahoning  Valley, 
more  particularly  of  the  eastern  end  of  the  valley,  that  began  with  a 
walkout  of  tube  mill  workers  about  New  Year's  day,  1916.  The  busi- 
ness depression  that  began  in  1913  had  ended  in  1915  with  the  receipt 
of  "war  orders"  for  steel,  and  the  workers'  demands  were  for  higher 
wages  and  other  concessions. 

By  Tuesday,  January  4,  1916,  the  strike  had  brought  out  additional 
men  at  the  plants  of  the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company  and  Youngstown 
Sheet  and  Tube  Company.  "Wednesday  and  Thursday  saw  these  plants 
virtually  closed  down  and  Thursday  there  were  minor  clashes  between 
strikers  and  the  police  authorities.  The  same  day  a  notice  of  an  increase 
in  wages  to  steel  workers  was  posted,  but  this  step,  too  long  delayed, 
was  futile.  Whisky  added  fuel  to  grievances  and  the  more  lawless  of 
the  strikers  were  in  no  mood  for  compromise  or  discussion  of  differences. 

While  there  were  disturbances  at  Haselton  and  Lansingville  and  at 
the  Poland  Avenue  entrance  to  the  Youngstown  Sheet  and  Tube  plant, 
the  real  danger  point  from  the  beginning  was  in  East  Youngstown. 
Thursday  night  there  were  frequent,  though  not  severe,  clashes  and 
weapons  of  all  kinds  were  hastily  assembled  and  piled  in  open  view  in 
the  streets.  The  Sheet  and  Tube  Company  in  turn  summoned  guards 
armed  with  rifles.  Friday  morning  a  mob  compelled  the  village  authori- 
ties of  East  Youngstown  to  free  an  accused  rioter  locked  up  in  the 
village  jail. 

The  situation  grew  rapidly  worse  during  this  day,  Friday,  January 
7,  1916.  With  thousands  of  idle  men  about,  drink  flowing  freely  in  the 
open  saloons  and  grievances  inflamed,  there  was  much  apprehension  of 
trouble  and  good  grounds  for  the  fear.  Fights  were  common  through- 
out the  day  and  the  village  authorities  failed  to  heed  the  warnings  that 
the  saloons  should  be  closed.  To  everyone  else  it  was  apparent  that 
the  village  police  could  not  hope  to  cope  with  the  situation  and  yet  there 
was  delay  in  asking  help,  although  the  governor  had  been  asked  un- 
officially to  have  troops  in  readiness. 

The  crisis,  insofar  as  violence  that  jeopardized  human  life  was  con- 
cerned, was  reached  about  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Darkness  had 
almost  settled  down  on  this  early  January  day  when  the  crowd  of  idle 
men  and  women  increased  at  the  village  end  of  the  bridge  leading  from 
-East  Youngstown  over  the  railroad  tracks  to  the  Youngstown  Sheet 
and  Tube  plant.  It  was  about  the  hour  for  changing  shifts  in  the  mill 
and  the  assemblage  grew  rapidly  with  the  attempt  of  a  few  workmen 
to  enter  the  plant  in  defiance  of  warnings. 

Just  who  fired  the  first  shot  that  precipitated  the  night  of  terror 
was  a  much  disputed  point  until  testimony  adduced  in  legal  proceedings 
later  established  that  there  was  a  single  revolver  discharge   from  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       531 

crowd  below  aimed  at  the  mill  guards  stationed  on  the  bridge.  The 
guards  replied  with  a  volley  from  their  rifles  and  the  crowd  broke  and 
fled. 

Actually  this  ended  the  hostilities  between  strikers  and  guards.  The 
"riot,"  curiously  enough,  was  an  aftermath  and  only  indirectly  related 
to  this  clash.  The  "crowd  that  broke  under  rifle  fire  apparently  forgot 
the  cause  of  its  grievance.  It  became  a  mob,  and  the  mob  members, 
already  filled  with  drink,  broke  into  saloons  and  plied  themselves  still 
more.  Almost  an  hour  after  the  clash  at  the  bridge  a  flame  burst  out  in 
a  nearby  building  and  in  a  moment  the  mad  attempt  to  burn  down  a 
city  was  on. 

For  six  hours  or  more  pure  anarchy  reigned.  The  "riot"  was  a 
drunken  frolic  rather  than  a  real  riot.  Building  after  building  was  fired, 
gasoline  Jtoured  into  the  flames,  the  fronts  of  buildings  battered  in  to 
speed  the  blaze.  The  drunken  members  were  actuated  only  by  a  desire 
to  see  a  conflagration,  while  the  sober  ones,  and  the  women,  prudently 
came  with  wagons  and  bed  ticks  and  their  stout  arms  and  looted  the 
stores. 

It  was  a  never-to-be-forgotten  sight  in  the  hours  intervening  until 
a  volunteer  committee  of  citizens  was  organized  and  halted  further 
excesses,  although  unable  to  check  the  natural  spread  of  the  flames. 
Meanwhile  troops  had  been  summoned  and  toward  morning  2,700  in- 
fantry and  machine  gunners  were  on  the  ground.  The  "riot"  was  over, 
the  rioters  had  dispersed  and  morning  found  only  blackened  ruins  to 
mark  the  business  part  of  the  city.  East  Youngstown  had  had  its  mad 
frolic  and  became  peaceful  under  the  martial  law  that  prevailed  for  the 
next  week.  It  was  an  occurrence  probably  without  a  parallel  in  our 
history,  for  during  the  hours  of  wild  disorder  virtually  no  attempt  was 
made  to  destroy  the  property  of  those  against  whom  the  grievance  was 
originally  directed. 

Today,  almost  five  years  after  its  occurrence,  East  Youngstown  bears 
marks  of  the  riot  in  scarred  buildings  and  unoccupied  lots.  Not  for 
a  long  time  will  the  last  mementoes  of  this  affair  disappear,  although 
they  might  well  be  dispensed  with  to  the  advantage  of  the  city. 

In  general,  however,  better  buildings  have  risen  from  the  ruins  and 
the  rapid  growth  of  the  municipality  has  made  its  marks  even  less 
noticeable.  Among  the  most  enterprising  the  rebuilding  program  was 
begun  immediately,  although  the  usual  compensation  of  insurance  was 
denied,  the  riot  exemption  clause  operating  to  prevent  any  salvage  to 
property  owners  in  the  shape  of  insurance  money.  A  suit  for  the  re- 
covery of  insurance  money  has  been  won  in  the  County  Court  but  the 
case  is  still  pending  on  appeal. 

Brick  and  steel  structure  buildings  in  many  instances  served  to  re- 
place unsightly  frame  buildings.  The  Youngstown  Sheet  and  Tube 
Company  emergency  hospital,  a  $75,000  structure,  was  completed  and 
opened  in  1916.  This  building,  in  fact,  was  near  completion  at  the  time 
of  the  riot  and  although  on  the  edge  of  the  fire  belt  was  left  unharmed. 
The  Pittsburgh  and  Lake  Erie  Railroad  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation building  near  the  Youngstown-East  Youngstown   line  is  an- 


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532       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

other  of  the  notable  structures  of  the  city.  High  up  on  the  hill  above 
the  business  part  of  the  city  the  Youngstown  Sheet  and  Tube  Company 
has  acquired  a  large  acreage  of  land  and  has  laid  this  out  with  paved 
streets,  sidewalks,  sewers  and  shade  trees.  On  this  land  have  been  al- 
ready erected  more  than  300  modern  concrete  homes,  suitable  for  both 
large  and  small  families.  It  has  still  considerable  acreage  and  proposes 
to  erect  additional  homes  for  its  foreign-born  and  colored  workmen 
here  as  fast  as  they  can  be  rented. 

The  city  hall,  at  3126  Wilson  Avenue,  erected  after  the  incorporation 
of  the  municipality,  was  enlarged  considerably  in  19 17  and  is  now  a 
creditable  building.  This  structure  houses  not  only  the  administrative 
offices  of  the  city  but  is  the  headquarters  of  the  fire  department  and 
police  department  as  well.  Several  business  blocks  are  also  excellent 
structures.  Paved  streets  are  replacing  the  unsightly  thoroughfares  of 
a  few  years  ago,  improvements  of  this  kind  being  made  not  without 
difficulty  owing  to  East  Youngstown's  location  on  a  precipitous  hillside. 

East  Youngstown's  Resources 

Financially  East  Youngstown  is,  or  should  be,  one  of  the  richest 
cities  in  America,  for  there  is  perhaps  not  another  municipality  of  its 
size  in  the  country  with  an  annual  payroll  as  great  as  East  Youngstown. 
This  is  true  even  though  this  payroll — now  more  than  $22,000,000  an- 
nually— comes  from  one  plant  alone,  the  Youngstown  Sheet  and  Tube 
Works,  or  that  part  of  the  works  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  Actually, 
of  course,  it  is  Youngstown  rather  than  East  Youngstown  that  profits 
by  this  great  annual  expenditure  of  money,  since  a  greater  proportion 
of  the  money  is  earned  by  residents  of  Youngstown.  Some  day  East 
Youngstown  will  perhaps  share  in  this  to  a  greater  degree. 

Early  financial  institutions  of  East  Youngstown  were  the  Hamory 
International  Bank  and  the  branch  bank  of  the  Dollar  Savings  and  Trust 
Company  of  Youngstown.  These  and  foreign  loan  banks  sufficed  until 
scarcely  more  than  a  year  ago  when  East  Youngstown  acquired  a  bank 
all  its  own  in  the  formation  of  the  People's  Trust  and  Savings  Bank. 
This  concern,  formed  with  the  cooperation  of  the  older  financial  insti- 
tutions that  surrendered  the  field,  was  organized  early  in  1919  and 
opened  for  business  on  April  21,  1919,  with  a  paid  in  capital  of  $200,000. 
It  is  essentially  a  people's  institution  in  fact,  having  235  stockholders. 

The  officers  of  this  institution  are:  President,  D.  R.  Fithian;  vice 
presidents,  Eugene  Crow  and  G.  V.  Hamory;  secretary-treasurer,  J.  M. 
Reed;  assistant  secretary-treasurer,  John  Roberts;  trust  officer,  Harry 
G.  Gibson;  finance  committee,  John  McGarry  and  Frank  Porembski. 
For  a  year  the  bank  occupied  temporary  quarters  under  the  bridge  but 
in  1920  completed  and  occupied  its  own  building  at  Wilson  Avenue  and 
Tenth  Street.  The  institution  had  resources  approaching  $1,000,000  at 
the  close  of  its  first  year. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       533 
East  Youngstown's  Churches  and  Social  Welfare  Activities 

The  church  showing  in  East  Youngstown  is  not  especially  favorable, 
considering  the  size  of  the  municipality,  but  this  paucity  of  religious 
organizations  is  more  apparent  than  real.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
residents  are  identified  with  Youngstown  and  Struthers  churches.  And 
while  East  Youngstown  has  no  regularly  organized  Protestant  church, 
an  inter-denominational  church,  or  community  religious  center,  is  now 
being  established  under  the  direction  of  the  Federated  Churches  of 
Youngstown. 

St.  John's  parish,  made  up  of  Slovak-speaking  Catholics,  is  the  largest 
religious  body.  This  congregation  was  organized  in  1916,  and  in  1918 
erected  a  fine  church  building  in  Reed  Avenue.  Originally  an  independ- 
ent church,  it  is  now  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  bishop  of  the  Catholic 
diocese  of  Cleveland,  although  temporarily  without  a  pastor. 

St.  John's  Greek  Orthodox  Church,  a  Ruthenian,  or  Uhro-Rusin, 
congregation,  also  has  a  splendid  church  building,  located  in  Gordon 
Avenue.    Rev.  F.  Kulchimsky  is  pastor  of  this  parish. 

There  are  two  other  churches  for  foreign-speaking  residents,  the 
Slovak  Baptist  Church  at  Reed  Avenue  and  Sixteenth  Street,  and  the 
Italian  Baptist  Mission  in  Reed  Avenue,  the  latter  taught  by  Miss  Ada 
Poesgate.  Rev.  G.  W.  W.  Jenkins  was,  until  his  death,  in  charge  of  a 
colored  union  mission  that  meets  in  a  former  store  room  in  Wilson  Ave- 
nue adjoining  Community  Hall.  ~ 

The  Community  Hall  at  East  Youngstown  is  one  of  the  best  social 
assets  of  the  city  and  is  the  center  of  the  wide  and  varied  activities  of 
the  Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company  among  its  employes.  This  in- 
stitution is  in  charge  of  Prof.  George  B.  Fout  and  it  conducts  almost 
every  kind  of  ^educational  and  uplift  work  including  religious  teaching 
by  various-other  organizations.  Here  are  conducted  free  day  and  night 
classes  for  foreign-speaking  people,  in  which  English  is  taught  to  such 
of  the  more  than  forty  different  nationalities  found  among  this  com- 
pany's 15,000  employes.  Entertainments,  dances,  social  gatherings  and 
similar  attractions  are  provided,  and  all  sorts  of  welfare  and  American- 
ization work  carried  on  by  a  considerable  corps  of  teachers  and  others. 
Much  progress  has  been  made  in  this  rather  difficult  field  and  the  schools 
in  operation  there  have  numerous  branches  in  that  locality. 

Catholic  Sunday  School  services  are  held  each  Sunday  morning  in 
the  community  meeting  place  with  Miss  Lorene  Durbin  in  charge,  as- 
sisted by  seven  teachers,  all  these  of  Youngstown.  Each  Sunday  after- 
noon the  same  room  is  given  over  to  Sunday  School  services  conducted 
by  H.  W.  Hawkins  and  eight  teachers  from  the  Evergreen  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Youngstown. 

On  Tuesday  and  Thursday  evenings  of  each  week  classes  are  held  in 
the  hall  for  fifty  or  more  boys  in  which  there  are  two  Boy  Scout  troops. 

Wednesday  and  Friday  evenings  are  devoted  to  classes  for  young 
men  who  make  up  the  East  Youngstown  Community  Club  for  athletics. 

Monday,  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  evenings  classes  are  held  for 
teaching  English  to  foreign-born  men  and  women  and  on  the  same  eve- 


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534       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

nings  educational  classes  are  held  for  colored  people  in  the  annex,  or 
store  room  next  door. 

Basket  ball  games  and  community  dances  are  held  each  week  for 
the  foreign-born  young  people. 

The  same  hall  is  used  as  a  meeting  place  for  eight  different  societies, 
for  church  suppers  and  in  fact  for  any  and  every  activity  in  keeping 
with  the  purpose  of  Community  Hall.  The  Americanization  idea  is  kept 
to  the  forefront  in  all  things,  even  the  dances  being  of  the  most  modern 
American  kind. 

Plans  for  the  still  further  use  of  Community  Hall  in  higher  educa- 
tion for  foreign-born  and  American-born  alike  were  formulated  in  1919 
to  be  carried  out  in  the  winter  of  1919-20,  but  this  ambitious  plan  was 
halted  by  the  steel  strike  of  1919.    The  program  provided  for  classes  in 


Emergency  Hospital  of  the  Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company 

at  East  Youngstown 

reading,  writing,  spelling,  arithmetic,  grammar,  United  States  history 
and  classes  in  first  and  second  citizenship  papers  for  the  foreign-born  to 
supplement  the  rudimentary  instructions  in  the  English  language  already 
given.  The  schedule  arranged  for  the  American-born  provided  for  in- 
structions in  all  branches  of  architecture,  including  drawing  and  design- 
ing, building,  blue  print  reading,  molding  and  die  setting;  chemistry,  in- 
cluding industrial,  acids,  alkalies,  iron  and  steel  and  gas;  engineering, 
including  electrical,  mechanical,  concrete,  structural  and  civil ;  metallurgy 
mining,  including  coal,  ore  coke,  acids,  alkalies,  gas  and  oils;  also  in- 
structions in  arithmetic,  geometry,  algebra,  mensuration,  trigonometry, 
pattern  making,  boiler  repairing,  etc.,  in  fact  also  every  branch  of  activity 
useful  in  an  industrial  community. 

This  program,  arranged  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Fout,  has  merely 
been  postponed,  however,  and  not  abandoned.  It  will  be  taken  up  when 
the  readjustment  made  necessary  by  the  strike  is  completed. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       535 

The  Youngstown  Sheet  and  Tube  Company  supports  this  work  for 
social  and  material  betterment  in  addition  to  carrying  on  an  extensive 
program  of  its  own  through  its  welfare  department.  In  this  especial 
attention  is  given  to  American  sports — next  to  education  the  surest 
method  of  Americanizing — and  the  program  already  in  effect  is  but  the 
beginning.  Because  of  its  topography  East  Youngstown  is  ill-suited  to 
playground,  athletic  field  and  other  outdoor  activities,  but  even  this  diffi- 
culty is  being  overcome.  East  Youngstown,  in  fact,  has  not  even  a  park 
of  its  own  today,  although  Campbell  Park  is  in  reality  largely  an  East 
Youngstown  institution,  and  provision  for  playgrounds  has  been  made 
in  the  housing  plans  of  the  big  employing  corporation. 

The  Youngstown  Sheet  and  Tube  Hospital  is  another  important  unit 
in  the  community.  This  company  took  up  the  problem  of  better  sani- 
tary and  health  conditions  in  East  Youngstown  with  added  vigor  fol- 
lowing the  trachoma  outbreak  in  the  spring  of  1914.  a  step  that  was 
much  needed  as  the  village  was  decidedly  backward  at  that  time  from  a 
health  viewpoint  and  living  conditions,  yet  far  from  desirable,  were 
almost  unbelievably  bad.  The  hospital,  a  first  aid  institution  supported 
by  the  company,  was  projected  soon  afterwards  and,  as  noted  before, 
built  in  1915  and  1916  and  opened  in  the  latter  year.  Dr.  S.  M.  McCurdy 
is  in  charge  as  superintendent  of  this  institution  with  a  staff  of  ten  or 
more,  while  Miss  Sue  Dickey  is  supervisor  of  welfare  work,  with  three 
visiting  nurses  under  her  charge. 

East  Youngstown  Schools 

Educational  work  referred  to  above  is,  of  course,  designed  for  adults 
and  for  those  who  have  not  yet  reached  maturity  but  are  working.  Ample 
provision  is  made  for  those  of  school  age. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  East  Youngstown  it  has  not  been  either 
niggardly  or  backward  in  providing  elementary  education.  Its  schools 
will  rank  with  any  in  the  country.  It  has  expended  liberally  on  educa- 
tion and  it  has  not  only  provided  the  best  possible  in  the  way  of  a  teach- 
ing corps  but  has  been  more  generous  than  the  average  growing  Amer- 
ican city  in  furnishing  school  accommodations.  As  a  result  its  schools 
have  been  one  of  the  most  valuable  assets  to  the  municipality. 

Long  before  East  Youngstown  came  into  existence  Coitsville  Town- 
ship provided  school  accommodations  in  the  Fairview  neighborhood, 
these  accommodations  being  of  the  country  school  type,  of  course.  With 
the  growth  of  the  village  these  facilities  were  increased,  and  even  after 
the  incorporation  of  the  municipality  the  schools  remained  for  a  time 
part  of  the  Coitsville  Township  school  district.  In  1912,  however,  the 
East  Youngstown  school  district  was  separately  organized  and  still  re- 
mains a  distinct  unit,  being  outside  the  jurisdiction  of  the  county  rural 
school  district. 

The  buildings  completed  and  now  in  use  include  the  Fairview  Build- 
ing, erected  in  191 1,  the  Gordon  Building,  erected  in  I9r3»  the  Reed 
Building,  erected  in  1916,  and  the  McCartney  school.  The  enrollment 
is  approximately  2,000  pupils. 


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536       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Following  the  development  of  the  grade  schools  a  high  schoool  was 
established  and  this  is  now  a  third  grade  institution  with  an  enrollment 
of  twenty  scholars.  The  high  school  department  is  conducted  at  present 
in  the  Fairview  Building  but  the  city  is  now  erecting  a  magnificent  high 
school  building  that  would  be  creditable  to  a  larger  place  and  will  meet 
demands  for  years  to  come.  With  its  development  the  school  will  be 
advanced  in  grade.  For  ten  years,  in  fact,  the  East  Youngstown  tend- 
ency has  been  to  erect  substantial  brick  school  buildings  and  it  is  but  a 
matter  of  a  short  time  until  the  last  of  the  frame  buildings  is  dispensed 
with  altogether. 

The  East  Youngstown  school  district  is  in  charge  of  W.  M.  Coursen 
as  superintendent,  with  Raymond  Clark  as  principal  of  the  Fairview  and 
McCartney  Building,  L.  L.  Longstreet,  superintendent  of  the  Gordon 
Building,  and  J.  B.  Cover,  superintendent  of  the  Reed  Building. 

The  work  of  the  schools  is  not  merely  educational  in  the  strict  sense 
of  that  term  but  embraces  courses  in  domestic  science  and  arts  for  the 
girls,  manual  training  for  the  boys,  including  training  in  both  wood  and 
metal  work,  and  all  the  accompanying  branches  taught  in  the  most 
modern  schools. 

The  teaching  staff  of  the  schools  is  recruited  largely  from  Youngs- 
town, with  instructors  also  from  other  nearby  places.  The  instructors 
include,  Cecelia  Adams,  Clara  Bates,  Esta  Barger,  E.  Barnhill,  Lena 
Broomhall,  Brooks  S.  Clark,  Kenneth  Clark,  Clara  Chester,  Edith  Cover, 
Valera  Chenault,  Helen  M.  Evans,  Jean  Fisher,  Juliette  Faubion,  Lucy 
Guiler,  Ethel  Guiler,  Francis  Hays,  Mildred  Teachout,  Gertrude  Hays, 
Erma  Haney,  Alma  Henry,  Annetta  Holliday,  Gussie  Holden,  Mamie 
Jackson,  Ruth  Jones,  Elsie  Jaxtheimer,  Marjorie  Kline,  Ruth  Kissick, 
Margaret  Kenney,  W.  G.  Kurtz,  Alma  Lattau,  Mollie  Latau,  Lois 
Lackey,  Sadie  Lindsay,  Leita  Loney,  Nellie  Milligan,  Genevieve  Mariner, 
Ethel  Orr,  Katherine  O'Connor,  Helen  Pfaff,  Osie  Patterson,  Margaret 
Reisel,  Treva  Stubbs,  Ethel  Simon,  Mary  Savage,  Josephine  Snyder, 
H.  T.  Sexton,  Lucille  Kiddle,  Irene  Keeton,  Florence  Basom,  Arthur 
Johns,  Marie,  Strachan,  Mildred  Teachout,  Ernestine  Van  Fleet,  Justine 
White,  Caroline  Williamson,  Fay  Wilcox,  Ethel  Walters  and  Allein 
Yant,  in  addition  to  the  superintendent  and  principals  before  mentioned. 

The  board  of  education  of  East  Youngstown  numbers  John  E.  Mc- 
Garry,  Cowden  Hetrick,  Irving  Jean,  Charles  C.  Reed  and  Charles  F. 
Schaffer. 

Public  Affairs 

East  Youngstown  still  retains  the  village  form  of  government  that 
replaced  the  township  government  in  1909,  but  a  new  era  will  start  on 
January  1,  1922,  when  the  first  city  administration  takes  office.  East 
Youngstown  having  been  automatically  advanced  from  the  village  to  the 
city  class  when  the  census  of  1920  gave  it  a  population  of  11,620,  far  in 
excess  of  the  5,000  inhabitants  necessary  to  entitle  an  Ohio  municipality 
to  the  grade  of  city. 

David  C.  Hamilton,  the  first  mayor,  held  office  until  1914,  W.  H. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       537 

Cunningham  officiated  as  mayor  from  1914  to  1918  and  Thomas  J.  Mc- 
Vey  from  1918  to  1920.  W.  H.  Cunningham  was  again  elected  mayor 
in  November,  1919,  and  is  now  serving  the  two-year  term  from  1920  to 
1922.  Other  public  officials  for  the  current  term  include,  Oscar  E. 
Diser,  solicitor;  Anthony  Julius,  clerk;  Gabriel  Masi,  treasurer;  Louis 
F.  Hamrock,  John  Lisko,  John  F.  Jakebek,  Nick  Comsia,  Leonard 
Richitelli  and  John  Vansuch,  councilmen ;  George  Tana,  assessor.  Hugo 
Wantz  is  health  officer,  the  old  health  board  having  been  abolished  by  the 
new  Ohio  county  health  board  law  of  1920. 

The  East  Youngstown  fire  department  was  organized  in  1910  and  is 
a  volunteer  body.  George  Mathews  is  chief  of  the  department  and  Dan 
Benchea  assistant  chief.  The  department  equipment  includes  a  Nott 
1,000-gallon  steamer  and  a  Jeffery  hose  and  chemical  truck.  In  reserve 
is  a  hook  and  ladder  truck. 

The  police  force  was  formed  with  the  incorporation  of  the  village 
and  will  undergo  a  change  in  its  formation  with  the  entrance  of  East 
Youngstown  to  the  city  rank.  It  is  now  in  charge  of  James  Murray  as 
marshal,  with  Joseph  Ruby  as  captain  in  command  of  the  night  force. 

East  Youngstown  has  a  modern  system  of  fire  plugs  and  Gamewell 
alarm  system. 

The  water  supply  of  East  Youngstown  is  furnished  by  the  Mahoning 
Valley  Water  Company  from  its  Poland  Township  lakes.  The  water- 
works system  comprises  a  pumping  station,  finished  in  191 7  and  located 
at  Wilson  Avenue  and  Third  Street,  equipped  with  two  electrically 
driven  motor  pumps  and  pumping  500,000  gallons  of  filtered  water  every 
twenty-four  hours,  and  a  standpipe  30  feet  in  diameter  and  50  feet 
in  height  and  capable  of  impounding  500,000  gallons.  The  total  cost  of 
this  plant  exceeded  $200,000.  The  water  supply  depends  on  gravity 
pressure  only  to  reach  East  Youngstown,  but  with  the  greater  part  of  the 
city  built  on  a  hillside  and  hilltop  this  additional  pressure  supplied  by 
the  pumping  station  was  necessary.  Henry  Hussey  is  superintendent  of 
the  waterworks. 

For  lighting  East  Youngstown  depends  upon  the  Pennsylvania-Ohio 
Electric  Company.  The  "White  Way"  system  of  the  city  is  one  of  its 
most  notable  features  and  a  truly  attractive  one.  It  antedates  even  the 
Youngstown  "better  lighting"  system.  The  system  includes  417  100- 
kilowatt  lights  in  the  residential  section  and  more  than  100  two-bracket 
ornamental  light  standards  in  the  business  part  of  the  city. 

The  board  of  public  affairs  in  charge  of  these  utilities  includes, 
Michael  C.  Carney,  chairman;  Thomas  Krajnak  and  George  Terhanko, 
with  John  J.  McCarthy  as  clerk. 

Despite  its  size  East  Youngstown  has  but  a  small  voting  population, 
the  number  of  ballots  cast  averaging  less  than  5  per  cent  of  the  popula- 
tion. This  is  due,  of  course,  to  the  fact  that  the  alien  population  is 
largely  in  excess  of  the  native-born  and  naturalized  population. 

With  East  Youngstown  entering  a  class  that  will  necessitate  a  change 
in  the  form  of  government  there  is  some  discussion  of  annexation  to 
Youngstown.  The  preponderance  of  sentiment  is  against  this  plan,  how- 
ever, and  the  city  will  probably  continue  its  existence  as  a  separate 


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538       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

municipality.  Combination  with  Struthers  has  also  been  proposed  but 
this  suggestion  has  not  been  favorably  received  in  either  place,  although 
the  actual  line  of  demarcation  between  Youngstown,  East  Youngstown 
and  Struthers  has  almost  been  lost  in  the  rapid  growth  of  the  three 
cities. 


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CHAPTER  XXIX 

SEBRING 

One  of  the  Younger  Municipalities  of  Mahoning  County  and 
One  of  the  Most  Prosperous — The  Pottery  Center  of  the  Ma- 
honing Valley — Church,  School  and  Political  History  of  the 
Town. 

With  one  exception,  Sebring,  is  the  youngest  of  the  ten  incorporated 
municipalities  of  Mahoning  Valley,  yet  it  is  the  largest  of  these  outside 
the  extreme  northeastern  part  of  the  county  where  the  steel  industry  is 
located.    And.  unlike  these,  Sebring  is  a  pottery  town. 

The  municipality  takes  its  name  from  its  founders,  members  of  the 
Sebring  family,  formerly  residents  of  the  great  pottery  center  of  East 
Liverpool,  Columbiana  County.  Of  six  brothers  of  this  family,  George 
E.,  Oliver  H.,  Frank  A.,  Ellsworth  M.,  Fred  and  William,  all  except 
Frank  A.  Sebring,  were  potters  by  trade  at  East  Liverpool  and  worked 
at  the  bench  there  until  1895,  when  they  purchased  a  one-kiln  pottery  in 
that  city.  Their  means  were  limited — only  what  they  had  acquired  by 
frugal  saving — but  they  entered  on  the  pottery  venture  after  making  the 
first  payment,  giving  employment  to  a  force  of  ten  men.  For  some  time 
they  were  forced  to  struggle  hard  to  gain  a  foothold,  but  finally  pros- 
pered, acquired  a  standing  in  their  business  and  built  up  a  substantial 
trade. 

In  1898  the  brothers  purchased  the  Klondike  pottery,  a  five-kiln 
plant  at  East  Liverpool.  About  this  time  the  East  Palestine  pottery,  a 
similar  enterprise,  failed  and  the  management  of  that  plant  was  offered 
to  George  E.  Sebring  if  he  would  pay  the  interest  on  the  money  invested. 
The  surplus,  if  there  was  any,  was  to  be  his  own. 

Sebring  managed  the  plant  so  well  that  he  placed  it  on  a  paying  basis ; 
likewise  an  extremely  profitable  basis  for  himself.  By  this  time  the 
Sebring  brothers  were  anxious  to  go  into  the  business  on  a  more  ex- 
tensive scale,  and  in  the  spring  of  1899  the  six  brothers  and  two  of  their 
sisters,  Mrs.  J.  H.  Norris  and  Mrs.  Charles  Albright,  purchased  a  200- 
acre  tract,  lying  in  Southern  Smith  Township,  just  east  of  the  center,  the 
main  tract  being  parts  of  the  Stephen  Gray  and  E.  E.  Allison  farms. 

It  was  their  intention  to  build  a  town  as  well  as  to  erect  industries, 
but  before  this  was  done  another  160-acre  tract  was  purchased  from 
William  Johnson.  The  Town  of  Sebring  was  then  platted.  It  had  then, 
in  the  spring  of  1899,  three  farm  houses  located  on  the  site;  in  1920  it 
was  a  busy  place  of  3,541  inhabitants. 

539 


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540       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Unlike  the  "villages  that  often  grow  up  in  a  haphazard  way  about  in- 
dustries, Sebring  was  laid  out  well  from  the  beginning.  Industrial  and 
business  sections  were  located  and  city  thoroughfares  laid  out.  The 
streets  in  Sebring  run  north  and  south  and  are  numbered,  the  avenues 
run  east  and  west  and  are  named  after  the  various  states  of  the  Union. 
Later  another  120-acre  tract  was  added  to  the  original  360  acres  that 
made  up  the  town  site. 

Work  was  also  begun  at  once  on  promoting  the  pottery  industry,  this 
work,  as  well  as  the  platting  of  the  town,  being  done  by  the  family  mem- 
bers, incorporated  under  the  name  of  the  Sebring  Land  Company.  The 
Oliver  China  plant  was  the  first  one  built  and  was  placed  in  operation 


Residence  of  O.  H.  Sebring 

with  Oliver  H.  Sebring  as  manager.  It  is  now  operated  by  E.  H.  Sebring, 
and  employed  250  hands  at  the  start.  Next  the  Sebring  pottery  was 
opened  with  Frank  A.  Sebring  as  manager,  the  French  China  pottery 
followed  and  the  Limoges  China  plant  was  the  fourth  of  the  industries 
launched.  All  these  plants  were  completed  and  placed  in  operation  in 
1900  and  1901.  The' Saxon  pottery,  the  largest  of  Sebring  plants  and 
now  owned  by  Oliver  H.  Sebring,  was  built  at  a  later  date. 

Sebring  was  not  a  "boom"  town  at  any  time,  since  it  always  had  a 
substantial  basis,  but  in  its  early  days  it  had  many  of  the  elements  of 
a  place  of  this  character.  The  first  hotel  was  the  old  cow  barn  on  the 
Stephen  Gray  farm,  a  large  structure  that  was  divided  into  twenty  rooms 
by  the  simple  process  of  stretching  blankets  as  the  separating  walls  be- 
tween these  rooms.  When  Sebring  was  made  a  full  fledged  postoffice 
station  immediately  after  its  founding,  and  four  mail  trains  a  day  were 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       541 

given  instructions  to  stop  there,  Sebring  people  were  anxious  to  make  a 
showing  so  Mayor  A.  E.  Albright  assembled  four  letters,  placed  one  in 
each  mail  sack  and  called  it  a  good  day's  work. 

Sebring  rapidly  passed  this  stage  and  became  a  municipality  of  paved 
streets,  public  utilities  and  substantial  buildings,  both  business  blocks  and 
homes.  Having  good  railroad  facilities  in  the  Stark  Electric  road,  the 
main  line  of  the  Pennsylvania  Lines  West  and  the  Alliance,  Niles  & 
Ashtabula  branch  of  the  Pennsylvania,  other  industries  also  came.  In 
addition  to  the  pottery  plants  above  named  Sebring  works  now  include 
the  plants  of  the  Sebring  Tire  and  Rubber  Company,  Strong  Enamel  Com- 
pany, makers  of  steel  enamel  ware;  General  Clay  Forming  Company, 
Sebring  Cooperage  Company,  operating  two  shops ;  Rach  Foundry  Com- 
pany, Columbiana  Cooperage  Company,  and  Hall  Machine  works.  There 
is  also  a  good  bed  of  coal  underlying  the  town  but  this  has  never  been 
worked  profitably  because  of  the  water  encountered  when  mining  opera- 
tions were  attempted. 

Sebring  has  two  financial  institutions,  the  Citizens  Banking  Company, 
a  state  bank,  and  the  Buckeye  Building  and  Loan  Company,  both  organ- 
ized soon  after  the  founding  of  the  town.  O.  H.  Sebring  is  president  of 
the  Citizens  Banking  Company  and  W.  L.  Murphy,  secretary-treasurer. 
There  is  one  Sebring  newspaper,  the  Sebring  Times,  founded  in  1907 
and  edited  by  E.  H.  Mehrten.  This  paper  is  a  weekly,  and  succeeded  the 
Sebring  News,  first  issued  on  June  8,  1899.  The  town  has  a  good  stop- 
ping place  in  the  Sebring  Hotel. 

McKinley  Post,  No.  76,  American  Legion,  is  a  Sebring  organization. 
Fraternal  societies  include  Desmond  Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  lodge  and  Holly  Rebekah  Lodge,  No.  747. 

-1 
Schools  -*     r  -  > 

Founding  of  a  public  school  system  began  with  the  platting  of  the 
town,  and  in  the  fall  of  1900  the  first  school  was  opened  in  a  one-room 
frame  building  located  in  the  heart  of  the  business  section  and  now  used 
as  a  furniture  store.  Work  was  also  begun  immediately  on  a  four-roQm 
brick  structure  in  Ohio  Avenue,  and  this  building,  still  in  use  and  known 
as  the  Ohio  Avenue  school,  was  opened  to  classes  in  the  1901-02  term.  A 
high  school  was  also  started  during  that  term  with  Marshall  Cox  as  the 
first  high  school  teacher. 

The  town  soon  outgrew  even  this  modern  building,  and  in  1902  a  two* 
roof  frame  building  was  erected  and  used  as  a  grade  building.  In  1909 
this  building  was  torn  down  and  the  Lincoln  school,  an  eight-room  struc- 
ture, was  erected  on  the  site.  In  1914  two  more  school  buildings  were 
added,  a  small  two-room  structure  on  the  south  side  of  the  town,  and  the 
McKinley  school,  an  eight-room  grade  building  in  Indiana  Avenue.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1916  a  two-room  section  was  added  to  the  McKinley 
structure. 

The  schools  are  under  the  direction  of  R.  J.  Alber  as  superintendent 


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542       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

and  have  a  high  standing.    Sebring's  only  library  is  the  one  in  connection 
with  the  schools. 

Churches 

Sebring  has  eight  churches,  representing  the  same  number  of  de- 
nominations, this,  of  course,  in  addition  to  the  rural  churches  of  Smith 
Township  that  represent  other  creeds  as  well. 

The  First  Methodist  Episcopal  is  the  oldest  of  Sebring  religious  or- 
ganizations, and  with  its  250  members  is  the  largest  of  these  church 
bodies  today.  This  congregation  was  founded  in  1899,  organized  in  1900 
and  the  church  building  also  erected  in  1900.  This  was  put  up  at  a  cost 
of  $16,000  and  a  parsonage  added  at  a  cost  of  $6,000.  Rev.  J.  M. 
Schafer  is  the  present  pastor. 

The  Church  of  Christ  was  founded  and  organized  in  1900  and  the 
church  structure  put  up  the  same  year  at  a  cost  of  $4,500.  The  parsonage 
put  up  in  connection  cost  $4,000.  The  congregation  has  225  members, 
with  Rev.  Harry  H.  Elwinger  as  pastor. 

The  United  Presbyterian  Church  at  Sebring  was  founded  in  1900, 
organized  in  1901  and  the  church  building  erected  in  1902.  It  is  a  sub- 
stantial building  that  represents  an  expenditure  of  $20,000,  the  parsonage 
costing  an  additional  $5,000.  Rev.  D.  T.  McCalmont  is  pastor  of  this 
congregation  of  150. 

St.  Ann's  Roman  Catholic  parish  was  founded  in  1900  and  in  1910 
the  congregation  was  formally  organized  and  a  church  built  at  a  cost  of 
$10,000.  The  church  has  100  members,  Rev.  J.  A.  Powers  being  the 
present  pastor. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  congregation  dates  back  to  1900.  It  was 
organized  in  1901  and  the  present  church  was  erected  in  1902  at  an  ex- 
pense of  $13,000.  The  parsonage  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $5,000.  This 
congregation  has  175  members,  Rev.  J.  I.  Gregory  being  pastor. 

The  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  was  organized  in  191 3  and  the 
church  building  erected  in  191 5  at  an  expenditure  of  $6,500,  the  parson- 
age costing  an  additional  $4,500.  The  church  has  sixty  members,  in 
charge  of  Rev.  Guy  S.  Boyer. 

St.  Matthew's  Episcopal  Mission  is  located  in  East  Ohio  Avenue  and 
is  one  of  the  newer  congregations  of  Sebring.  Rev.  Rob  Roy  Remington 
is  rector  of  this  parish. 

The  First  Baptist  Church  is  another  thriving  Sebring  congregation. 
Rev.  S.  M.  Smalley  is  pastor  of  this  church  and  J.  P.  Watson  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  school. 

Public  Affairs 

Sebring  was  incorporated  as  a  village  immediately  on  its  founding,  or 
in  June,  1899,  and  at  the  first  village  election  A.  E.  Albright  was  named 
mayor;  G.  S.  Haggart,  clerk;  W.  L.  Murphy,  treasurer;  W.  H.  Beatty, 
marshal  and  Edward  Flentke,  Samuel  Dobbs,  Joseph  Moon,  Millard 
Cochran,  Charles  Strasser  and  William  Carnahan,  councilmen. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       543 

A  year  later,  or  in  1900,  the  town  hall  was  built  and  this  structure 
houses  the  city  offices,  fire  department  and  police  department.  The 
volunteer  fire  department  was  organized  in  July,  1903,  and  is  now  under 
Harry  Davidson  as  chief.  The  equipment  includes  two  hand  hose  trucks 
and  the  organization  has  been  an  efficient  one.  The  police  department  in- 
cludes three  men,  with  the  town  marshal  as  head  of  the  organization. 

The  Sebring  water  works  is  now  a  municipally-owned  utility,  having 
been  purchased  early  in  1919  from  the  Mellon  interests,  of  Pittsburgh,  who 
installed  the  plant.  Apparently  the  investment  was  a  wise  one ;  since  the 
report  for  the  first  year,  or  for  the  period  from  April  11  to  December 
31,  1919,  showed  receipts  of  $12,560.45  and  expenditures  of  $10,517.75, 
including  interest  charges  as  well  as  all  expenditures  for  operation,  main- 
tenance, repairs,  replacements  and  extensions.  A.  J.  Eden  is  superin- 
tendent of  the  water  works.  For  lighting  Sebring  depends  upon  electric 
current  from  the  Alliance  Gas  and  Power  Company,  arrangements  to  this 
effect  having  been  made  within  the  last  year.  Previous  to  that  Sebring 
was  poorly  lighted,  but  it  is  now  well  equipped  in  this  respect  throughout 
and  has  a  white  way  lighting  system  in  the  main  business  streets  that 
gives  the  municipality  a  distinctly  citified  appearance. 

The  present  municipal  officers  of  Sebring  include,  Guy  Mushrush, 
mayor;  Edward  Thompson,  clerk;  Paul  Gilbert,  treasurer;  Charles  Baum- 
gardner,  marshal;  Robert  Walker,  Charles  Goodballet,  Edward  Gibbins, 
F.  P.  Schroder,  Arthur  Waterman  and  William  Jones,  councilmen; 
Thomas  Woods,  L.  M.  Ells  and  Robert  Larkins,  members  of  the  board  of 
public  works. 


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CHAPTER  XXX 

TOWNSHIPS  OF  MAHONING  COUNTY 

Historical  Sketches  of  the  Fourteen  Political  Subdivisions  of 
the  County — Settlement  and  Pioneer  Activities — Educa- 
tional and  Religious  Activities — Interesting  Personalities — 
Villages  of  County. 

Mahoning  County  as  organized  on  February  16,  1846,  comprised- 
fifteen  townships,  the  ten  townships  in  the  two  upper  tiers  being  taken 
from  Trumbull  County  and  the  five  townships  in  the  lower  tier  being 
annexed  from  Columbiana  County.  It  has  an  area  of  427  square  miles, 
being  one  of  the  medium  sized  counties  of  Ohio.  The  county  now  has 
but  fourteen  townships — speaking  in  a  political,  or  civil,  sense — the 
Township  of  Youngstown  having  been  merged  into  the  City  of  Youngs- 
town  with  the  annexation  of  191 3. 

The  county  lies  almost  entirely  within  the  Mahoning  River  basin, 
only  a  few  of  the  creeks  in  the  southeastern  part  draining  southward 
and  away  from  the  Mahoning.  It  has  an  unusually  good  system  of 
improved  roads  and  these  are  being  rapidly  extended.  The  northeastern 
part  of  the  county — Coitsville  and  Poland  townships  and  Youngstown — 
is  traversed  by  several  parallel  trunk  line  railroads,  the  Niles  &  Lisbon 
branch  of  the  Erie  Railroad  runs  from  north  to  south  through  the  middle 
of  the  county,  the  western  part  is  traversed  by  the  Ntles  &  Alliance 
branch  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  while  two  other  branches  of  the 
Pennsylvania  and  the  L.  E.  A.  &  W.  R.  R.  also  cover  shorter  stretches 
in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county.  The  electric  lines  include  the 
Pennsylvania-Ohio  in  the  northeastern  corner,  the  Youngstown  & 
Suburban  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  and  the  Stark  Electric  in 
the  southwestern.  The  country  districts  have  complete  telephone  serv- 
ice, including  exchange  service  given  by  the  Beaver  Telephone  Com- 
pany, the  North  Jackson  Telephone  Company  and  the  Berlin  Center 
Telephone  Company. 

Agriculturally,  Mahoning  County  has  organized  granges  in  ten  of 
the  fourteen  townships,  also  a  Mahoning  County  Pomona  Grange.  The 
officers  of  this  county  organization  for  1920-21  are,  Rollin  Crouse,  North 
Lima,  master;  Arless  Stahl,  Greenford,  overseer;  Mrs.  J.  V.  Chambers, 
North  Lima,  lecturer;  Thomas  Stratleford,  Canfield,  steward;  Warren 
Stratleford,  Canfield,  assistant  steward;  Mrs.  C.  A.  Cover,  Berlin,  chap- 
lain; Allen  Chubb,  Canfield,  treasurer;  Miss  Margaret  Taylor,  North 
Benton,  ceres;  Mrs.  Charles  Mead,  North  Benton,  pomona;  Mrs.  M.  L. 

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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       545 

Beard,  North  Lima,  flora;  Margaret  Jones,  North  Jackson,  lady  assist- 
ant steward.    C.  A.  Mead  is  county  deputy. 

The  Mahoning  County  Farm  Bureau  was  organized  at  a  joint  meet- 
ing of  the  county  granges  at  Canfield  in  July,  1913,  the  object  being  to 
secure  a  government  farm  agent  for  Mahoning  County.  James  M.  Mc- 
Kay, Boardman,  was  elected  president;  H.  C.  Heintzleman,  Canfield, 
secretary;  H.  L.  Rickert,  North  Lima,  treasurer. 

Shortly  after  this  organization  the  agricultural  commission  decided 
to  place  agents  only  in  counties  that  provided  experiment  farms.  In 
1914  a  vote  was  taken  on  the  establishment  of  such  a  farm  in  Mahoning 
County  and  the  project  carried,  the  resulting  experiment  farm  in  Can- 
field  township  being  the  largest  in  Ohio  to  date.  D.  W.  Galehouse  was 
appointed  agricultural  agent  for  Mahoning  County  and,  in  conjunction 
with  County  School  Superintendent  Jerome  Hull,  devised  a  plan  for 
boys'  and  girls'  club  work  that  was  so  successful  that  Mr.  Galehouse 
was  called  to  North  Dakota  to  organized  similar  work  for  the  entire 
state. 

Early  in  1917,  H.  A.  Lehman  succeeded  Mr.  Galehouse.  Recogniz- 
ing dairying  as  the  foremost  agricultural  interest  of  the  county,  he  estab- 
lished a  cow  test  association  at  Canfield  that  has  been  followed  by  one  at 
North  Lima.  Boys'  calf  clubs  were  founded,  dairymen's  associations 
formed,  a  horticultural  society  organized  and  a  swine  breeders'  club 
formed,  all  these  being  fostered  by  the  farm  bureau. 

In  1918  a  campaign  for  increased  membership  was  put  on,  and  as  a 
result  more  than  1,400  of  the  1,650  active  farmers  of  the  county  were 
enrolled,  this  being  the  highest  percentage  in  any  county  of  the  state. 
During  1919  a  campaign  of  education  in  favor  of  tile  drainage  was 
taken  up,  many  miles  of  tile  were  laid  and  much  educational  work  done. 
Under  Superintendent  Hull  school  gardens  and  courses  in  dressmaking 
and  domestic  science  were  established  and  made  a  part  of  the  regular 
school  course.  This  work,  too,  was  instituted  by  the  farm  bureau, 
Mahoning  County  being  the  first  in  the  state  to  make  these  school-home 
projects  a  part  of  the  educational  system.  The  officers  of  the  farm 
bureau  for  1920  are,  James  M.  McKay,  president;  W.  G.  Cope  of  Beloit 
and  George  S.  Bishop  of  Poland,  vice  presidents;  W.  A.  Chubb  of 
Canfield,  secretary;  Roy  E.  Frederick,  Boardman.  treasurer. 

To  say  that  Mahoning  County  farmers  are  among  the  most  progres- 
sive in  the  state  would  be  superfluous.     Their  record  is  proof  in  itself. 

The  rural  and  village  school  system  dates  from  the  settlement  of  the 
county.  The  first  schools  were  the  subscription  schools  common  to  that 
day.  By  the  school  law  of  1825  townships  were  compelled  to  provide 
school  accommodations.  The  school  law  of  1853  required  township 
school  boards  and  made  the  union  school  system  possible  in  the  town- 
ships. About  1899  centralization  was  given  its  first  trial,  marking  the 
beginning  of  the  end  of  the  old  one-room  schools.  Of  these  it  must  be 
said  they  served  their  purpose  well  in  their  day.  The  first  of  these 
buildings  were  uniform  in  size,  being  20  by  30  feet  in  the  old  Western 
Reserve  townships  and  somewhat  larger,  perhaps  27  by  34  feet,  in  the 
townships  that  had  been  part  of  Columbiana  County.     The  early   log 


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546       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

schools,  however,  gave  way  to  frame  buildings,  many  of  the  frame 
buildings  gave  way  to  brick  structures  and  even  the  brick  structures  have 
largely  disappeared  before  the  modern,  well-equipped  rural  centralized 
schools. 

The  school  code  of  1914  marked  the  beginning  of  a  most  modern 
system  of  rural  schools.  With  the  creation  of  the  office  of  county  super- 
intendent of  schools  Jerome  Hull  was  appointed  to  fill  this  position  and 
has  remained  since.  This  is  evidence  in  itself  of  his  success.  That  he 
has  given  such  satisfactory  service  can  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  he 
is  not  only  an  experienced  educator  but  possesses  as  well  the  qualifica- 
tion needed  even  more  in  this  position — executive  ability. 

The  county  school  district  includes  all  Mahoning  County  except 
Youngstown,  East  Youngstown  and  Struthers.  It  is  divided  into  nine 
supervisory  districts,  each  with  its  district  superintendent,  and  the  super- 
visory districts  in  turn  include  one  or  more  local  districts.  There  are 
twenty-one  of  these  local  districts  in  the  county.  Over  the  county 
schools,  as  an  administrative  body,  is  the  county  board  of  education, 
whose  membership  includes  T.  J.  Mayers,  Poland;  Dr.  S.  G.  Patton, 
North  Jackson ;  Dr.  D.  Campbell,  Canfield ;  John  Yoder,  North  Lima ;  J. 
G.  Pim,  Beloit. 

The  Mahoning  County  health  district,  comprising  the  entire  county 
outside  Youngstown,  was  organized  under  the  law  of  1920.  Dr.  J.  D. 
Boylan  is  health  commissioner  for  this  district.  Under  him  are  health 
officers,  or  supervisors,  for  the  various  municipal  and  township  sub- 
districts. 

POLAND 

Next  to  Youngstown,  and  what  was  formerly  Youngstown  Township, 
Poland  Township  is  perhaps  the  most  historically  important  subdivision 
of  Mahoning  County.  Poland,'  indeed,  was  at  one  time  a  rival — even 
something  more  than  a  rival — of  Youngstown.  It  was  scarcely  behind 
Youngstown  in  date  of  settlement,  it  had  many  advantages  that  were 
important  in  that  day,  and  for  some  time  in  fact  Poland  Township  out- 
ranked- Youngstown. 

Poland  Townsjiip  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  extreme  south- 
easterly township  of  the  great  Connecticut  Western  Reserve.  East  of 
it  is  Pennsylvania  and  south  of  it  Springfield  Township,  a  subdivision 
that  was  once  part  of  Columbiana  County.  It  is  traversed  in  a  south- 
easterly direction  by  the  Mahoning  River,  while  Yellow  Creek,  running 
for  much  of  its  length  through  a  deep  and  wonderfully  picturesque 
gorge,  comes  from  the  southwest  and,  after  traversing  a  large  section  of 
the  township,  empties  into  the  Mahoning  at  Struthers. 

Its  proximity  to  Pennsylvania  was  the  most  distinct  advantage  in 
favor  of  Poland  120  years  ago.  Until  1796  the  territory  that  is  now 
Northeastern  Ohio  was  closed  to  settlers,  not  alone  because  the  State  of 
Connecticut  reserved  the  right  to  it  but  because  Indian  titles  to  the  land 
had  not  been  quieted.  Pennsylvania,  on  the  other  hand,  was  one  of  the 
original  thirteen  colonies,  its  boundaries  had  long  been  definitely  fixed, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        547 

the  Indian  titles  purchased  and  the  colony  and  state  subjected  to  entry 
and  settlement.  There  were  Indian  troubles  and  massacres  of  frontier 
settlers  in  spite  of  treaties,  but  these  considerations  never  halted  the 
daring  Americans  of  the  eighteenth  century.  They  pushed  on  westward 
across  Pennsylvania  to  the  boundary  between  that  state  and  the  un- 
occupied Northwest  Territory,  passing  beyond  Pittsburgh  and  creeping 
up  the  valley  of  the  Beaver  River. 

As  provisions,  especially  flour  and  meal,  were  necessities  for  the 
early  settlers,  it  was  a  distinct  advantage  to  be  located  near  a  pioneer 
town.  The  Connecticut  Land  Company's  surveyors  who  ran  the  town- 
ship lines  of  the  Western  Reserve  in  the  summer  of  1796  were  well 
aware  of  this.  In  their  report  to  the  Connecticut  land  Company  direc- 
tors in  the  fall  of  1796  they  made  specific  reference  to  the  advantages 
of  township  one  of  range  one — now  Poland  Township — by  saying:  that 
"About  twelve  miles  below  the  (Pennsylvania)  line  on  Big  Beaver  there 
was  an  excellent  set  of  mills,  and  about  twenty-five  miles  below  the  line 
there  was  a  town  building  rapidly,  where  provision  of  all  kinds  could 
be  procured,  and  carried  from  thence  up  the  river  into  the  heart  of  the 
Connecticut  Reserve.,,  Township  one,  in  short,  was  the  first  township 
within  the  Northwest  Territory  and  the  nearest  to  this  rapidly  growing 
settlement  of  Beavertown. 

Poland  Township  was  necessarily  behind  Ypungstown  Township  in 
date  of  permanent  occupancy  since  no  settlement  could  be  made  until 
after  the  Western  Reserve  lands  had  been  distributed  in  January,  1798. 
When  this  drawing  was  held  township  one  of  range  one  fell  to  Titus 
Street,  William  Law,  Turhand  Kirtland,  Benjamin  Doolittle,  Samuel 
Doolittle,  Andrew  Hull,  Daniel  Holbrook,  Seth  Hart  and  Levi  Tomlin- 
son.  In  the  summer  of  the  same  year  Turhand  Kirtland  and  William 
Law  visited  their  new  possessions,  but  made  no  permanent  settlement  at 
that  time.  Kirtland  was  at  that  time  western  agent  for  the  Connecticut 
Land  Company  and  had  been  co/nmissioned  to  survey  a  highway  from 
Lake  Erie  to  the  Mahoning  River.  With  his  assistant  surveyors  and 
other  helpers  he  reached  the  Mahoning  Valley  about  August  1,  1798,  and 
assisted  John  Young  in  laying  out  the  village  planned  by  the  latter. 
Kirtland  then  surveyed  the  townships  now  known  as  Poland  in  Mahon- 
ing County  and  Burton  in  Geauga  County,  and  the  fall  of  that  year 
returned  to  Connecticut.  In  the  survey  of  Poland  he  was  assisted  by 
Alfred  Wolcott. 

Early  in  May,  1799,  Kirtland  was  again  in  Youngstown  and  in  the 
latter  part  of  that  month  Jonathan  Fowler  and  family  of  Guilford,  Con- 
necticut, who  were  destined  to  be  the  first  permanent  settlers  of  Poland 
Township,  reached  Youngstown.  Fowler's  family  consisted  of  himself, 
his  wife,  and  an  infant  daughter.  Mrs.  Fowler  was  a  sister  of  Turhand 
Kirtland.  The  Fowlers  had  made  the  trip  to  Pittsburgh  overland  and 
to  Youngstown  by  canoe,  but  at  Youngstown  they  were  met  by  Kirtland 
who  carried  them  by  wagon  to  the  present  site  of  Poland  Village.  They 
lodged  that  night  under  an  oak  tree  on  a  spot  a  few  yards  west  of 
Yellow  Creek.  About  them  was  a  wilderness  lighted  alone  by  their  own 
campfire.     Soon  after  their  arrival  a  cabin  was  erected  for  the  Fowler 


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548        YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

family  from  logs  that  had  been  previously  prepared  by  William  Law. 
Here,  on  February  16,  1800,  was  born  to  them  a  daughter,  Rachel  B. 
Fowler,  the  first  white  child  born  in  Poland  Township.  Rachel  Fowler 
later  became  the  wife  of  Thomas  Riley.  The  Kirtland  and  Fowler 
families,  now  including  many  branches,  have  been  prominent  in  Mahon- 
ing County  life  practically  since  the  days  when  the  Western  Reserve 
was  founded. 

The  growth  of  Poland  Township  in  the  first  few  years  after  the 
initial  settlers  came  was  astonishingly  large.  The  name  that  it  now  bears 
was  conferred  on  it  at  an  early  date  by  Turhand  Kirtland  and  Jonathan 
Fowler.  This  odd  name  for  an  Ohio  Township  oftentimes  excites 
curiosity,  and  in  explanation  of  the  selection  made  it  is  said  that  Kirt- 
land and  Fowler  were  actuated  by  a  desire  to  give  township  one,  range 
one,  a  name  that  would  not  likely  be  duplicated.  This  was  not  because 
of  any  vanity  or  idiosyncrasy  on  their  part.  They  were  merely  desirous 
of  preventing  the  confusion  in  the  transmission  of  mail  and  similar 
matter  that  exists  when  there  are  many  towns  of  the  same,  or  nearly  the 
same,  name.  In  the  same  year  that  the  first  settlement  was  made  John 
Struthers,  from  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania,  completed  the  pur- 
chase of  400  acres  of  land  and  a  mill  site  on  Yellow  Creek  from  Tur- 
hand Kirtland.  On  October  19,  1800,  Struthers  settled  with  his  family 
on  his  land.  This  tract  ig  now  within  the  City  of  Struthers,  named  after 
the  first  settler  there.  In  August,  1800,  Ebenezer  Struthers  was  born  to 
John  Struthers  and  wife,  the  first  male  child  born  in  Poland  Township. 

In  1800  came  John  Arrel  and  Thomas  Love  from  Lancaster  County, 
Pennsylvania;  John  McGill,  who  located  where  the  Village  of  Lowell- 
ville  now  stands;  John  Miller,  Stephen  Frazier,  William  Buck  and 
family,  James  Adair,  John  Dickson,  Rev.  James  Duncan,  Thomas  Jor- 
dan and  John  Jordan  and  families  and  Samuel  Lowden.  In  1801  and 
1802  the  Rev.  Nicholas  Pettinger,  Francis  Henry,  Robert  Smith,  Ben- 
jamin Leach,  Patrick  McKeever,  the  Cowden  family,  Francis  Barclay, 
William  McCombs,  Peter  Shoaf,  Robert  Lowry,  Stephen  Sexton,  David 
Loveland  and  James  McNab  located  in  Poland  Township.  Turhand 
Kirtland  returned  and  located  permanently  in  1803,  his  brother,  fared 
Kirtland,  coming  with  him.  John  Truesdale  and  wife,  Hannah  Robin- 
son Truesdale,  came  in  1804.  Other  early  settlers  were,  James  Russel 
and  family,  Thomas  McCullough,  William  Guthrie.  Ludwig  Ripple, 
James  Stewart,  Gilbert  Buchanan,  John  Hineman,  William  Brown, 
Nathaniel  Walker,  Isaac  Walker,  Josiah  Walker,  James  Blackburn, 
William  Campbell,  James  Moore,  William  Reed  and  family,  Andrew 
Dunlap,  John  McConnell,  William  McConnell,  Brian  Slavin,  John  Mc- 
Cully,  John  McClelland,  John  Hunter,  Joseph  Porter  and  David  Love- 
land,  all  of  whom  located  in  Poland  Township  prior  to  1807. 

Contrary  to  the  usual  Western  Reserve  custom  the  first  permanent 
settlement  in  Poland  Township  was  not  made  at  the  center,  but  along  the 
banks  of  Yellow  Creek  on  the  extreme  western  edge  of  the  township. 
Today,  in  fact,  Poland  Village  overlaps  into  Boardman  Township.  The 
selection  of  this  spot  instead  of  the  Mahoning  River  Valley,  in  the  north- 
western part  of  the  township,  was  a  mistake  from  the  viewpoint  of  the 


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YOUXGSTOVVN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        549 

ultimate  growth  of  the  settlement,  since  it  made  Poland  an  interior 
village  and  prevented  it  ever  becoming  a  large  municipality,  although  this 
may  not  be  a  loss  at  all  since  Poland  is  today  one  of  the  most  attractive 
of  Northeastern  Ohio  villages.  And  at  that  period  the  location  selected 
had  distinct  advantages  as  the  settlement  was  located  on  high  ground 
and  the  trails  and  roads  of  early  days  usually  followed  the  hills.  Poland 
was  thus  one  of  the  important  stage  stations  on  the  route  between  Pitts- 
burgh and  Northeastern  Ohio  points,  a  commercial  and  trading  center  and 
a  settlement  guided  by  men  of  education  and  business  ability.  It  is  not 
surprising,  therefore,  that  it  overshadowed  Youngstown  and  vied  with 
Warren  in  importance.  It  was  a  location  that  attracted  rapid  settle- 
ment. In  Poland  Township  too  the  Connecticut  element,  while  domi- 
nant, was  almost  matched  by  Pennsylvania  immigration. 

On  August  25,  1800,  when  Trumbull  County  of  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory was  formally  organized,  Poland  Township  was  included  in  the 
civil  Township  of  Youngstown  for  governmental  purposes.  At  this 
first  term  of  the  County  Court  may  be  found  an  entry  reading  that : 

"On  motion  of  Judge  Kirtland,  the  court  ordered  that  Jonathan 
Fowler  be  recommended  to  the  Governor  as  a  suitable  person  to  keep 
a  publick  house  of  entertainment  in  the  town  of  Youngstown  on  his 
complying  with  the  requisites  of  the  law." 

Actually  the  proposed  tavern,  or  "publick  house"  was  to  be  located  at 
the  newly  founded  settlement  on  Yellow  Creek.  When  Fowler  first 
exercised  this  privilege  thus  granted  him  by  the  court  does  not  appear, 
but  in  1804  he  erected  a  stone  tavern  building  in  the  settlement.  For 
some  time,  in  fact,  the  settlement  was  known  as  "Fowler's,"  the  name  of 
Poland  that  had  been  given  the  township  being  applied  to  the  village  at 
a  later  date.  This  venerable  stone  structure  is  still  standing.  For  many 
years  it  was  the  historic  "Sparrow  Tavern,"  and  now,  with  a  frame  front 
of  recent  vintage,  is  the  home  of  Charles  Austin.  It  was  on  the  porch 
of  this  tavern  that  William  McKinley  enlisted  in  the  Union  Army  in  1861. 
In  1800  John  Struthers  built  the  first  grist  mill  in  the  township,  this 
being  located  on  Yellow  Creek  below  the  village.  In  1801  Jonathan 
Fowler  built  the  first  sawmill  and  grist  mill  within  the  village.  In  1804, 
the  year  in  which  Fowler  opened  his  stone  tavern,  Jared  Kirtland  erected 
a  tavern  building  at  Poland  Village,  a  structure  that  stood  for  many 
years. 

The  first  storekeeper  is  said  to  have  been  John  Hezlep,  who  opened  a 
small  mercantile  establishment  in  a  room  in  the  Fowler  Tavern.  John 
McConnell  operated  the  first  tannery  and  John  Hineman  the  first  cooper- 
age plant.  The  earliest  physicians  were  Dr.  Isaac  Cowden,  Dr.  Jared 
P.  Kirtland  and  Dr.  Ira  Brainard. 

Coal  and  iron  ore  were  plentiful  in  Poland  Township  in  the  early 
days.  Use  of  the  latter  has  long  been  discontinued  and  even  the  mining 
of  coal  had  long  since  become  unimportant  in  Poland  Township,  but 
the  presence  of  these  minerals  was  responsible  for  the  beginning  of  an 
industry  that  was  destined  to  become  the  commercial  backbone  of  the 
great  Mahoning  Valley.  This  start  was  made  in  Poland  Township  in 
1802  or  1803  when  Daniel  Heaton  and  James  Heaton  built  the  Hopewell 


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550       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

furnace,  a  small  charcoal  stack,  on  the  banks  of  Yellow  Creek,  having 
arranged  for  the  rights  to  dig  ore  and  make  charcoal  from  the  sur- 
rounding timber.  It  was  a  tiny  affair,  crudely  operated  and  capable  of 
but  a  small  output,  yet  the  start  of  the  steel  industry  here  nevertheless. 
The  product,  of  course,  was  for  local  consumption  only,  but  this  was  a 
distinct  boon  as  iron  and  iron  ware  was  at  that  time  brought  from  the 
East.  In  1806  Robert  Montgomery  and  John  Struthers  began  the  erec- 
tion of  a  second  furnace  on  Yellow  Creek  below  the  Heaton  stack,  an 
enterprise  in  which  Robert  Alexander,  James  Mackey  and  David  Clen- 
dennen  also  became  interested.  In  1807  these  new  furnace  owners 
bought  the  Heaton  stack  and  all  Heaton's  ore  and  wood  rights.  This 
second  furnace  was  operated  until  181 2 — or  at  some  time  during  the 
War  of  181 2 — when  it  was  permanently  abandoned  and  the  manufacture 
of  iron  was  shifted  to  the  Mill  Creek  and  Mahoning  River  valleys, 
although  attempts  to  make  iron  in  the  Yellow  Creek  Valley  were  not 
permanently  abandoned  until  the  '30s.  Today  Poland  Township  still 
has  limestone  deposits  in  its  southeastern  corner  but  no  coal  or  iron  ore 
that  is  used  for  iron  making  purposes. 

Poland  Educational  Institutions 

Education  and  religion  were  given  early  consideration  in  Poland 
Township  and  Village  just  as  they  were  in  other  parts  of  the  Reserve. 
In  planning  the  future  town  along  Yellow  Creek,  Judge  Kirtland  set 
aside  a  piece  of  land  as  a  gift  to  the  village  "to  be  kept  for  a  school, 
church  and  other  public  purposes.,,  The  first  school,  however,  is  said  to 
have  been  built  where  Struthers  now  stands,  perhaps  as  early -as  1801  f 
but  soon  afterwards  another  school  was  opened  in  the  Village  of  Poland, 
the  buildings  for  the  latter  being  of  ample  size  and  used  for  meeting  pur- 
poses as  well  as  for  a  school.  It  stood  on  the  site  later  occupied  by  the 
village  Presbyterian  Church.  Perlee  Brush,  who  taught  the  first  school 
in  Youngstown,  is  credited  with  being  the  first  school  teacher  in  Poland 
Township  as  well.  In  his  recollections  of  early  days  Jared  P.  Kirtland 
says  he  (Kirtland)  took  charge,  in  June,  1810,  "of  the  district  school  in 
Poland  Village,  consisting  of  sixty  scholars,  which  I  taught  till  late  in 
September,  in  a  log  house  on  the  public  square/*  At  that  time  Joseph 
Noyes,  a  former  schoolmate  of  Kirtland,  taught  the  school  at  Youngs- 
town and  the  two  young  teachers  weekly  exchanged  visits  and  ideas  on 
instruction. 

This  thirst  for  learning  extended  even  beyond  the  school  rooms. 
Thomas  Struthers,  born  in  Poland  Township  in  1803,  has  left  records 
of  a  debating  society  in  Poland  Township  that  antedated  even  his  recol- 
lection. This  society  was  organized  early  in  the  fall  of  1803  by  John 
Struthers,  Thomas  Struthers,  Alexander  Struthers,  Robert  McCombs, 
Samuel  Wilkinson,  William  Campbell,  William  McCombs,  James  Adair, 
William  Adair  and  John  Blackburn.  The  organization  was  a  formal 
body  with  constitution  and  rules  and  also  regulations  governing  the 
debates  that  had  to  be  observed  strictly.  Topics  that  were  wide  in  range 
were  discussed  at  the  weekly  meetings.     At  one  session  the  deep  ques- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       551 

tion,  "Ought  the  Mahoning  to  be  a  public  highway  or  not?"  was  dis- 
cussed thoroughly  and  on  a  vote  was  "carried  in  the  affirmative  unan- 
imously." This  organization,  perhaps  under  changing  auspices,  was  kept 
alive  for  many  years  and  furnished  not  alone  education,  but  diversion,  to 
Poland  and  Coitsville  Township  residents. 

Poland  Township  early  adopted  the  union  school  system  and  one- 
room  buildings  were  scattered  throughout  the  township.  After  the  in- 
corporation of  Poland  Village  the  school  board  of  the  municipality  pur- 
chased a  five-acre  tract  with  a  frame  dwelling  house  thereon,  this  being 
converted  into  a  school.  Two,  and  sometimes  three,  teachers  were  em- 
ployed. In  1882-83  a  four-room  brick  school  building  was  erected  in 
the  village.  In  1884  tne  schools  were  graded  and  in  1888  a  high  school 
course  was  added.  M.  A.  Kimmel  had  charge  of  the  schools  as  superin- 
tendent, beginning  his  tenure  in  1880  and  remaining  for  almost  thirty- 
five  years. 

By  1914  the  Poland  Township  schools,  outside  Struthers  and  Lowell- 
ville,  included  the  village  school,  the  Heasley  school,  on  the  Youngstown 
road ;  Central  school ;  Fink  school,  on  the  Poland-New  Middletown  road  ; 
Kansas  Corners  school,  southeastern  corner  of  the  township;  Quarry 
school,  on  the  hill  near  the  limestone  quarries ;  Lyon's  plat  school,  near 
Struthers,  erected  about  1909.  A  school  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
the  township  had  been  abandoned,  the  pupils  being  taken  to  Lowell- 
ville. 

In  191 5  the  township  board  of  education  contracted  with  the  Poland 
Village  school  board  to  educate  the  children  from  the  Heasley,  Center 
and  Fink  schools,  these  schools  being  discontinued.  In  1916  a  bond  issue 
of  $35,000  was  voted  for  an  eight-room  building  in  the  Lyon's  plat 
and  a  four-room  building  in  the  Quarry  district.  This  completed  the 
centralization  of  Poland  Township  schools. 

The  Poland  Seminary 

Educationally,  however,  Poland  has  always  been  best  known  for  its 
famed  seminary.  This  institution  had  its  inception  in  1830  when  a  Rev- 
erend Bradley  opened  a  select  school  in  a  room  over  what  became  in 
recent  years  the  Poland  Hardware  Company's  store.  This  school  was 
designed  to  teach  the  classical  branches  and  to  give  better  training  than 
was  possible  in  the  log  schoolhouses  that  were  well  scattered  over  the 
entire  Western  Reserve  in  those  days.  In  1835  Reverend  Bradley  dis- 
posed of  his  school  to  John  Lynch,  a  young  man  who  had  been  one  of 
his  pupils.  Lynch  conducted  the  school  for  ten  years, — having  in  the 
meantime  erected  a  building  to  house  the  academy.  The  institution  was 
not  a  financial  success,  however,  and  Lynch  discontinued  it  in  1845. 

For  three  years  higher  education  lagged  in  Poland,  but  in  1848  B.  F. 
Lee,  an  Allegheny  College  student,  arranged  for  the  opening  of  an 
academy  on  the  west  side  of  Yellow  Creek.  The  school  actually  opened 
in  1849,  and  about  the  same  time  a  second  academy  was  opened  on  the 
east  side  of  the  village  under  the  auspices  of  the  Presbyterians.  This 
latter  school  continued  in  existence  for  about  six  years,  under  the  super- 


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552       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

vision  of  Rev.  Jacob  Coon,  Rev.  Algernon  S.  McMaster  and  Prof. 
George  S.  Rice.  Fire  destroyed  the  school  building,  however,  and  the 
academy  was  discontinued. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Lee  had  completed  the  erection  of  a  building  and 
opened  his  academy  with  M.  R.  Atkins  as  principal;  Miss  E.  M.  Blakelee 
as  preceptress;  Miss  Elmina  Smith,  assistant;  and  Miss  Mary  Cook, 
teacher  of  music.  This  opening  marked  the  actual  founding  of  the 
Poland  Union  Seminary  that  became  a  noted  institution  of  learning  in 
later  years. 

About  1855  tne  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Poland,  assisted  by 
other  citizens,  erected  a  three-story  brick  structure  as  a  home  for  the 
Lee  Academy.  An  endowment  had  been  anticipated  from  the  Pittsburgh 
and  Erie  conferences  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  but  as  this  did 
not  materialize  the  school  was  supported  by  contributions  and  tuition 
fees.  In  1862  the  churches  of  the  village  united  and  raised  funds  for 
the  improvement  of  the  building  and  at  this  time  the  school  was  char- 
tered as  the  Poland  Union  Seminary,  and  opened  with  Dr.  A.  S.  Mc- 
Master as  principal.  In  1871  the  seminary  passed  into  the  control  of 
the  Mahoning  Presbytery  with  the  raising  of  a  $15,000  endowment, 
$10,000  of  this  being  raised  by  popular  subscription  and  $5,000  given 
by  George  P.  Miller.  The  school  structure  put  up  in  1855  housed  the 
academy  until  1897.  In  that  year  part  of  the  historical  building  col- 
lapsed, and  as  a  measure  of  safety  the  remainder  of  the  structure  was 
torn  down  and  a  modern  two-story  school  building  erected. 

On  May  11,  1909,  the  Mahoning  Presbytery  relinquished  its  control 
and  the  Poland  Union  Seminary  passed  out  of  existence.  Its  record  is 
a  highly  honorable  one,  for  Poland  Village  was  once  considered  a  highly 
desirable  residence  place  for  its  educational  facilities  alone,  aside  from 
its  other  advantages.  It  was  to  give  their  sons  the  advantage  of  a 
higher  education  that  the  parents  of  William  McKinley,  afterward  con- 
gressman, governor  and  president,  removed  from  Niles  to  Poland. 

With  the  ending  of  the  seminary  the  building  that  had  housed  this 
institution  became  the  home  of  the  high  school.  The  village  building 
that  had  been  used  for  both  high  school  and  grade  school  purposes  was 
converted  to  grade  school  purposes  only.  It  is  the  familiar  Poland 
Union  School.  The  old  sentiment  attached  to  the  private  school  was 
not  allowed  to  die,  however,  for  the  second  grade  high  school  in  the 
old  seminary  building  is  the  Seminary  High  School,  and  is  governed 
jointly  in  much  the  same  manner  as  Rayen  School  at  Youngstown.  On 
May  9,  1 91 6,  the  seminary  board  of  trustees  formally  leased  the  seminary 
building  to  the  village  board  of  education.  The  trustees  reserve  certain 
rights  and  turn  over  the  earnings  from  the  endowment  fund  to  the 
village  board.  The  present  board  of  trustees  numbers,  Rev.  Arthur  E. 
Porter,  president;  T.  J.  Mayers,  treasurer;  L.  B.  Frederick,  secretary; 
J  R.  Stewart,  S.  G.  McClurg,  James  Hughes,  Rev.  J.  R.  Campbell,  J.  R. 
Smith,  Rev.  O.  B.  Jones,  George  S.  Bishop,  W.  H.  Johnston,  C.  A. 
Detchon,  W.  H.  Stewart  and  L.  W.  Stewart. 

The  present  enrollment  of  the  township  and  village  schools  is  552, 
the  two  local  districts  being  in  the  fourth  supervisory  district  of  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       553 

county  under  Superintendent  R.  E.  Elser.  The  teachers  include  John 
Siekkinen  and  Leah  Moyer  in  the  high  school  and  E.  E.  Fell,  Penelope 
Houston,  Garnet  Smith,  Pauline  Good,  Mary  Campbell,  Emeline  Knesal, 
Louise  Albert,  W.  A.  Strain,  Willis  Wingert,  Helen  Hampson,  Kendall 
Ayers,  M.  Elesta  Baker,  Anna  McSweeney  and  Mary  Ewing  in  the 
grade  schools. 

Poland  Law  School 

Another  notable  educational  institution  of  early-day  Poland  Village 
was  the  law  college,  opened  in  1855  in  the  academy  building  that  had 
just  been  given  up  for  the  new  structure.  The  founders  of  this  school 
were  Judge  Chester  Hayden  and  M.  A.  King,  New  York  State  lawyers, 
and  Gen.  Mortimer  D.  Leggett  of  Warren.  This  institution  flourished 
for  several  years,  numbering  among  its  pupils  men  who  later  became 
prominent  in  public  life  in  Mahoning  County  and  throughout  Ohio. 
The  school  was  subsequently  removed  to  Cleveland. 

Poland  Churches 

The  Presbyterian  congregation  was  the  first  formal  religious  organ 
ization  in  Poland,  having  been  formed  on  May  3,  1802,  by  Rev.  William 
Wick,  the  newly  installed  pastor  at  Youngstown,  and  Rev.  Joseph 
Badger,  the  pioneer  missionary  sent  out  from  Connecticut.  Among  the 
founders  of  this  church  are  found  the  names  of  William  McCombs, 
Josiah  Walker,  William  Campbell,  Thomas  Love,  John  Gordon,  Wil- 
liam Buck,  Thomas  Gordon,  James  Adair,  Jesse  Rose,  John  Jordan, 
William  Dunlap,  John  Hineman,  John  Blackburn,  John  Truesdale,  Rob- 
ert Smith,  John  Arrel,  John  McCombs,  Isaac  McCombs,  John  McClel- 
land, Thomas  McCullough,  Stephen  Sexton,  Joseph  Porter  and  David 
Justice. 

A  log  house  was  erected  for  church  purposes  in  1804,  being  located 
on  the  land  in  Poland  Village  donated  by  Turhand  Kirtland.  This  struc- 
ture was  replaced  by  a  white  frame  church  erected  nearby  in  1828  and 
the  frame  church  gave  way  to  a  brick  edifice  in  1855.  Rev.  Nicholas 
Pettinger  was  the  first  pastor,  having  charge  of  the  Poland  and  West- 
field  congregations.  Rev.  Alexander  Cook  supplied  Poland  from  18 10 
to  18 1 2,  and  in  1815  Rev-  James  Wright,  the  first  resident  pastor,  came. 
Reverend  Wright  remained  until  1832.  His  pastorate  was  succeeded  in 
length  by  that  of  Rev.  Algernon  S.  McMaster  who  remained  in  charge 
of  the  Poland  Presbyterian  Church  from  1854  to  1878,  or  twenty-four 
years.  The  Poland  Presbyterian  Church  is  now  a  flourishing  congre- 
gation with  Rev.  F.  W.  Traser  as  pastor  and  has  a  splendid  church 
edifice. 

The  first  Methodist  society  in  Poland  Village  was  founded  in  1832 
with  eight  members,  including  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Logan,  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Barclay,  Herman  Blackman  and  Sally  Blackman,  although  previous 
services  had  been  held  at  Cook's  Corners  and  other  places.  Rev.  Charles 
Elliott  conducted  services  at  the  time  of  the  founding  of  the  society  and 


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554       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

in  1834  the#  first  church  building  was  put  up  under  the  direction  of  Rev- 
erend Preston.  Until  1850  the  Poland  Methodist  Church  was  attended 
by  circuit  riders,  but  in  that  year  Poland  was  made  a  station  attended 
by  Rev.  William  F.  Day.  The  present  church  was  built  about  fifteen 
years  ago  and  the  congregation  is  now  in  charge  of  Rev.  O.  B.  Jones. 
The  United  Presbyterian  Church,  originally  the  Seceders'  New  As- 
sociate Church,  was  organized  in  1804.  Later  this  congregation  trans- 
ferred its  activities  from  Poland  Center  to  Struthers. 

Early  Day  Supremacy 

Poland  Village  at  one  time  claimed  sufficient  prominence  that 
Youngstown  was  once  referred  to  as  "a  small  settlement  near  Poland." 
Its  location  was  ideal  from  the  viewpoint  of  that  day  as  it  was  situated 
in  a  delightful  farming  region,  prettily  located  on  Yellow  Creek  and 
seat  of  a  splendid  mill  site.  These  advantages  were  such  that  by  1810 
the  township  had  attained  a  population  of  837,  while  Youngstown  Town- 
ship boasted  of  773  inhabitants  and  Cleveland  but  547.  Warren  with  its 
population  of  875,  was  the  only  Trumbull  County  Township  that  ex- 
ceeded it  in  number  of  residents. 

Poland's  population  may  be  estimated  from  the  liberality  with  which 
it  responded  to  the  call  for  soldiers  in  the  War  of  1812.  As  early  as 
1802  the  militia  had  been  regularly  enrolled  with  John  Struthers  as 
captain  and  Robert  McCombs  as  lieutenant.  Later  two  companies  of 
militia  were  formed  in  the  township.  A  partial  list  of  those  who  served 
from  Poland  Township  in  the  second  war  against  England  includes  the 
names  of  Alexander  McKeever,  killed  in  service;  Capt.  Isaac  Walker, 
John  Strain,  Alexander  Buchanan,  Elijah  Stevenson  and  Alexander 
Struthers,  all  of  whom  died  in  the  service;  James  Strain,  Major  John 
Russell,  William  Brown,  John  Arrel,  Isaac  Buchanan,  Walter  Buchanan, 
Eli  McConnell,  Francis  Henry,  William  Reed,  James  Jack,  John  Sex- 
ton, William  Lowry,  Johnston  Lowry,  Hugh  Truesdale,  Alexander 
Truesdale,  John  Cowden,  Alexander  Cowden  and  William  Love.  Love 
was  the  last  Poland  Township  survivor  of  the  Wrar  of  1812,  dying  on 
October  31,  1884,  aged  ninety-one.  In  the  Civil  war.  and  again  in  the 
World  war,  Poland  Township  lived  up  to  the  reputation  for  patriotism 
thus  gained  more  than  100  years  ago. 

Located  off  the  Mahoning  River,  however,  Poland  Village  was  des- 
tined to  lose  its  early  supremacy.  By  1820  Youngstown  Township  had 
attained  a  population  of  1,025,  while  Poland  Township  had  but  990 
inhabitants.  The  opening  of  the  Pennsylvania  &  Ohio  canal  in  1839-40 
directed  industrial  progress  to  the  Mahoning  River  Valley,  and  with 
this  improvement,  and  the  later  construction  of  the  railroads,  Struthers 
and  Lowellville  claimed  industrial  precedence  over  Poland  Village  within 
the  township,  while  Youngstown  flourished  in  an  even  greater  degree. 
The  village  now  has  no  industries.  The  old  mill,  long  abandoned,  was 
torn  down  in  the  summer  of  1920.  Nearby  to  the  north  is  Hamilton 
Lake  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  Water  Company  and  to  the  southeast 
Burgess  Lake  of  the  same  company,  two  bodies  of  water  that  furnish 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       555. 

industrial  and  domestic  water  supplies  to  Struthers  and  East  Youngs- 
town. 

Poland  is  yet  an  active  village,  however,  a  municipality  toward  which 
Youngstown  and  Struthers  are  spreading,  and  in  close  connection  with 
the  former  through  the  interurf>an  electric  line  built  in  191 3.  The 
population  in  1920  was  561.  The  stores  include  the  hardware  store  of 
McCullough  and  Johnson,  the  Asa  Blackman  and  the  McCrone  and  Wells 
grocery  stores,  a  drug  store  conducted  by  Dr.  C.  R.  Justice,  a  tinshop 
with  Clark  Nesbit  as  proprietor,  and  a  confectionery  store.  Miss  Louise 
Byers  is  postmistress. 

Political  History  . 

Poland  Township  was  included  in  the  civil  township  of  Youngstown 
when  that  subdivision  was  erected  in  1802,  John  Struthers  of  Poland 
being  one  of  the  first  trustees  of  Youngstown  Township.  Later  Poland 
Township  was  separately  incorporated.  The  present  township  officers 
are,  George  S.  Bishop,  R.  H,  Darrow  and  William  McCombs,  trustees; 
W.  J.  Maurice,  clerk;  H.  T.  Cowden,  treasurer;  Frank  B.  Riss,  J.  L. 
Sharp  and  Roger  Horn,  constables;  Mike  Dryos,  assessor;  M.  A.  Kim- 
mel,  justice  of  the  peace. 

Poland  Village  became  an  incorporated  municipality  on  August  7, 
1866,  the  temporary  officers  elected  that  year  being  Andrew  Campbell, 
mayor,  and  Seth  H.  Truesdale,  recorder.  The  first  regular  village  elec- 
tion was  held  in  April,  1867,  when  the  following  ticket  was  named: 
John  A.  Leslie,  mayor;  B.  B.  Stilson,  recorder;  C.  B.  Stoddard,  W.  J. 
Ogden,  Adam  Case,  John  Barclay  and  Henry  Burnett,  councilmen; 
Michael  Graham,  marshal. 

The  village  officials  for  1920-21  are,  T.  F.  Collins,  mayor;  J.  M. 
Cleland,  clerk;  K.  K.  Kimmel,  treasurer;  Roy  Wakefield,  marshal;  H. 
R.  Braham,  H.  S.  Braham,  W.  A.  Gark,  A.  B.  Cover,  H.  G.  Gibson 
and  C.  C.  Stewart,  councilmen. 

CANFIELD 

Like  the  Township  of  Poland,  the  Township  of  Canfield  once  vied 
with  Youngstown  for  supremacy  among  the  southernmost  subdivisions 
of  Trumbull  County.  Its  claim  was  not  only  equally  strong  but  of 
longer  duration,  for  it  persisted  even  after  Mahoning  County  was 
formed.  It  is  scarcely  more  than  a  half  century  ago,  in  fact,  since  it 
ranked  with  Youngstown  in  importance. 

Canfield's  ambition  may  be  difficult  to  understand  today  when  a 
comparison  is  drawn  between  the  great  City  of  Youngstown  and  the 
country  village,  but  in  pioneer  times  that  ambition  was  founded  on 
solid  basis.  Next  to  Youngstown,  it  was  the  scene  of  the  first  permanent 
settlement  in  what  is  now  Mahoning  County.  Its  original  purchasers 
and  first  settlers  were  men  of  prominence  and  high  standing  back  in  their 
home  state  of  Connecticut.  They  were  the  kind  of  men  who  were 
respected  and  whose  counsel  was  considered  valuable;  it  is  but  natural 


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556       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

therefore  that  their  influence  was  great.  And,  finally,  when  the  County 
of  Mahoning  was  formed  Canfield  Township  was  the  central  township 
of  the  county ^and  Canfield  Village  was  in  the  exact  center  of  the  county. 
This  strengthened  considerably  Canfield's  claim  to  county  seat  honors, 
for  with  that  passion  for  order  and  exactness  common  to  Connecticut 
people,  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  has  decreed  that  the  settlement 
of  each  township  should  be  made  at  its  center,  and  the  desire  to  locate 
each  county  seat  in  the  Connecticut  Western  Reserve  at  the  center  of 
the  county  was  a  natural  consequence. 

In  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  distribution  of  January,  1798, 
the  Township  of  Canfield  fell  to  six  stockholders  of  the  company  in  the 
following  proportions:  Judson  Canfield,  6,171  acres;  James  Johnston, 
3,502  acres;  David  Waterman,  2,745  acres;  Elijah  Wadsworth,  2,069 
acres;  Nathaniel  Church,  1,400  acres;  Samuel  Canfield,  437  acres.  In 
making  the  apportionment,  however,  this  township  (then  known  merely 
as  township  one,  range  three)  was  considered  as  inferior  in  value  to  a 
standard  township  of  the  Reserve,  and  an  extra  lot  in  township  one, 
range  ten,  was  added  to  bring  it  up  to  standard  value.  This  lot  con- 
tained 1,723^  acres,  and  as  Canfield  Township  itself  numbers  16,324 
acres  the  drawing  was  an  exceptionally  fortunate  one.  Not  only  was 
the  acreage  large  but  Canfield  Township  did  not  prove  to  be  an  inferior 
agricultural  district  as  was  expected.  Instead  it  is  one  of  the  richest 
farming  sections  of  Northeastern  Ohio. 

The  new  owners  of  this  Western  Reserve  township  made  immediate 
preparations  to  open  their  lands  for  settlement.  In  April,  1798,  a  sur- 
veying party  under  the  direction  of  Nathaniel  Church,  one  of  the  own- 
ers, as  agent,  left  Sharon,  Connecticut,  to  locate  the  lands  for  sale  and 
entry.  They  traveled  with  but  light  equipment,  the  superintendent  rid- 
ing on  horseback  and  carrying  his  effects  in  saddlebags,  while  the  re- 
mainder of  the  party  went  on  foot.  In  this  party,  besides  Church,  were 
Nathaniel  Moore,  Eli  Tousley,  Nathaniel  Gridley,  Barker  King,  Reuben 
Tupper,  and  David  Skinner  of  Salisbury,  Connecticut;  Carson  Bacon, 
Samuel  Gilson  and  Joshua  Hollister  of  Sharon,  Connecticut;  Charles 
Campbell  and  Joseph  Pangburn  of  Cornwall,  Connecticut.  Judson 
Canfield,  largest  owner  of  land  in  the  township  and  after  whom  it  was 
named,  came  at  the  same  time.  It  is  possible  he  accompanied  this  party 
that  had  been  hired  to  survey  and  locate  his  lands. 

Church's  party  reached  township  one  of  range  three  on  May  24, 
1798,  having  made  the  trip  by  way  of  Pittsburgh  and  Beavertown  (or 
Fort  Mcintosh)  and  up  the  south  bank  of  the  Mahoning  River.  Ap- 
parently they  did  not  pass  through  John  Young's  village  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  river,  a  tiny  settlement  numbering  at  that  time  but  ten 
families.  The  first  camp  was  made  in  the  northeastern  part  of  town- 
ship one,  range  three,  but  a  day  or  two  after  the  arrival  of  the  party 
the  center  of  the  township  was  located  and  from  this  point  the  survey 
was  begun.  A  rude  cabin  of  poles  and  bark  erected  at  the  first  stopping 
place  burned  down  almost  immediately  and  a  second  cabin  was  erected 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       557 

at  the  center  for  the  use  of  the  party.  The  first  survey  made  was  of 
the  road  east  and  west  from  the  center  and  a  crop  of  wheat,  corn, 
potatoes,  oats  and  beans  was  planted. 

In  June,  1798,  the  first  permanent  settlers  of  Canfield  arrived  in  the 
persons  of  Champion  Minor,  wife  and  two  children,  residents  of  Salis- 
bury, Connecticut.  They  made  the  journey  by  ox-team,  and  in  compli- 
ment to  the  woman  pioneer  a  donation  of  land  was  made  to  her.  A  few 
weeks  later  the  youngest  of  the  Minor  children,  a  daughter,  died,  and 
on  July  2 1  st  the  burial  was  made  east  of  the  center  of  the  township.  The 
members  of  the  surveying  party  stayed  through  the  summer,  pro- 
visions for  their  maintenance  being  brought  from  Pittsburgh,  and  most 
of  them  located  and  purchased  lots,  but  with  the  exception  of  Gilson 
and  Pangburn  they  did  not  remain.  The  population  of  Canfield  Town- 
ship in  the  winter  of  1798-99  consisted  therefore  of  Champion  Minor, 
wite  and  child,  Samuel  Gilson  and  Joseph  Pangburn,  five  persons  in  all. 

In  1799  Nathaniel  Church  was  succeeded  as  agent  of  the  proprietors 
of  township  one  of  range  three  by  Gen.  Elijah  Wadsworth  of  Litchfield, 
Connecticut,  a  man  who  was  destined  to  have  a  great  influence  not 
alone  in  Canfield  Township  but  in  Trumbull  County  and  on  the  entire 
Western  Reserve.  He  was  then  fifty-two  years  of  age,  a  Revolutionary 
war  veteran  and  a  man  of  great  powers  of  leadership.  He  did  not 
remain  at  Canfield  permanently,  however,  on  his  first  visit,  but  spent  two 
or  three  summers  surveying  the  townships  now  known  as  Boardman  in 
Mahoning  County,  Conneaut  in  Ashtabula  County,  Palmyra  in  Portage 
County  and  Johnston  in  Trumbull  County,  being  the  owner  of  lands  in 
all  these  townships  and  in  Wadsworth  Township,  Medina  County,  a 
subdivision  that  was  named  in  his  honor.  In  the  fall  of  1802  General 
Wadsworth  removed  to  Canfield  with  his  family  and  remained  there 
until  his  death  in  1817.  In  1804  he  was  made  major-general  in  com- 
mand of  the  Fourth  Division  of  the  Ohio  Militia,  the  territory  under 
his  command  embracing  Trumbull,  Jefferson  and  Columbiana  counties. 
He  served  gallantly  as  commander  of  this  division  in  the  War  of  1812, 
this  service  at  an  advanced  age  probably  hastening  his  death. 

Judson  Canfield,  who  gave  his  name  to  the  township,  was  a  Yale 
graduate,  and  a  resident  of  Sharon,  Connecticut,  when  he  invested  in 
Western  Reserve  lands.  He  was  thirty-nine  years  of  age  at  the  time 
of  his  first  visit  to  the  West  in  1798.  His  stay  here  was  but  a  short 
one  on  that  occasion.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  Legis- 
lature and  as  an  associate  judge  of  Litchfield  County  from  1802  until 
his  removal  to  Ohio  in  1815.    His  death  took  place  on  February  5,  1840. 

Township  one  of  range  three  was  known  at  first  as  Campfield  Town- 
ship, but  on  April  15,  1800,  was  officially  designated  Canfield  Township. 
The  settlement  of  the  township  was  comparatively  rapid.  The  five 
original  settlers  of  1798  were  joined  in  1799  by  Phineas  Reed,  Eleazar 
Gilson  and  Joshua  Hollister,  and  in  1800  by  Nathaniel  Moore  and 
family,  Moore  being  one  of  the  original  surveying  party  of  1798.  In 
1801  the  settlers  numbered  James  Doud  and  family,  Ichabod  Atwood, 
Calvin  Tobias,  Abijah  Peck  and  Jonah  Scofield.     In  1802  immigration 


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558       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

was  more  plentiful,  among  those  reaching  Canfield  being  Elijah  Wacis- 
worth,  Simeon  Sprague,  Tryal  Tanner,  Matthew  Steele,  Aaron  Collar 
and  William  Chidester,  all  of  whom  were  accompanied  by  their  families, 
David  Butler,  David  Hatfield,  Charles  Chittenden,  Henry  Chittenden, 
Benjamin  Bradley,  Ariel  Bradley,  Warren  Bissel  and  Daniel  Minor. 
Abisha  Chapman,  Jonathan  Sprague,  Dr.  David  Pardee,  Benjamin  Yale, 
William  Chapman,  Bradford  Waldo,  Wilder  Page  and  Cook  Fitch  came 
in  1803;  Zeba  Loveland  and  Archibald  Johnson  in  1804;  Herman  Can- 
field  and  wife,  Ebenezer  Bostwick  and  family,  Henry  Yager,  Jacob 
Ritter,  Jacob  Wetzel,  Henry  Ohl,  Conrad  Neff,  Peter  Lynn,  John  Lynn, 
George  Lynn,  Daniel  Fink,  Adam  Blankman  and  Philip  Borts  in  1805; 


House  at  Canfield  Erected  Entirely  of  Black  Walnut — a  Building 
with  an  Interesting  History 

James  Reed  and  John  Harding  and  wife  in  1805;  Elisha  Whittlesey 
and  wife  and  Adam  Turner  and  family  in  1806;  Comfort  S.  Mygatt  in 
1807,  and  Benjamin  Manchester  and  family  in  1809. 

Other  settlers  who  came  also  in  the  above  years  were  Azariah  Wet- 
more,  John  Everett,  James  Bradley,  Ira  Sprague,  Reuben  Tupper,  one 
of  the  original  surveying  party,  and  Jacob  Oswald. 

The  immigration  of  1802  had  made  Canfield  an  important  township, 
and  in  that  year  it  received  its  first  increase  in  population  by  birth,  the 
pioneer  native  white  child  of  the  township  being  Royal  Canfield  Chid- 
ester. At  this  time  the  village  was  also  dignified  with  its  first  frame 
house,  this  being  erected  in  1802  by  Gen.  Elijah  Wadsworth.  A  year 
previous,  however,  Canfield  had  witnessed  its  earliest  marriage  ceremony 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       559 

when  Joseph  Pangburn,  one  of  the  permanent  settlers  of  1798,  had  been 
wedded  to  Lydia  Fitch.  The  marriage  ceremony,  on  April  11,  1801, 
was  solemnized  by  Judge  Caleb  Baldwin  of  Youngstown.  More  than 
a  year  prior  to  that  date  Isaac  Wolcott,  John  Young's  surveyor-in-chief, 
had  been  married  to  Mercy  Gilson  of  Canfield  but  as  there  was  neither 
clergyman  nor  magistrate  on  the  Western  Reserve  at  that  time  the 
couple  were  married  in  Pennsylvania,  probably  at  Beavertown.  In  1801-, 
too,  Canfield  was  made  a  postoffice  station  when  the  post  road  from 
Pittsburgh,  established  through  the  influence  of  General  Wadsworth, 
was  routed  to  pass  through  the  village. - 

Work  on  the  first  sawmill  in  the  township  was  begun  in  1801  by 
Jonah  Scofield.  Ichabod  Atwood  took  over  the  property  the  same  year, 
completed  the  mill  and  began  operations  in  1802.  The  first  tavern  was 
opened  at  a  date  that  cannot  be  determined,  but  it  is  known  that  Cook 
Fitch,  or  Zalmon  Fitch,  who  came  to  Canfield  in  1803,  was  an  early 
tavern  keeper.  The  first  store  was  opened  in  1804  by  Zalmon  Fitch 
and  about  1807  this  became  the  firm  of  Mygatt,  Canfield  and  Fitch,  who 
conducted  a  pretentious  store.  Later  Comfort  S.  Mygatt,  the  senior 
partner,  became  sole  proprietor.  Dr.  David  Pardee  located  at  Canfield 
in  1803  and  was  the  first  physician  in  the  township,  but  his  stay  was 
short.  Dr.  Shadrach  Bostwick  was  an  early  physician  and  Dr.  Chauncey 
R.  Fowler,  son  of  Jonathan  Fowler,  first  settler  in  Poland  Township, 
located  in  Canfield  in  1826  and  became  one  of  the  men  prominent  in 
Mahoning  County  medical  life. 

Canfield  Schools 

The  first  school  in  Canfield  Township  was  taught  in  the  winter  of 
180001  by  Caleb  Palmer,  the  schoolhouse  being  about  a  mile  and  a 
quarter  east  of  the  center.  Miss  Gestia  Bostwick  and  Miss  Olive  Lan- 
don  were  early  teachers,  while  in  1806  Canfield  was  honored  with  a 
teacher  who  later  became  an  outstanding  figure  in  Trumbull  County 
and  the  Western  Reserve.  This  was  Elisha  Whittlesey  of  New  Mil- 
ford,  Connecticut,  son-in-law  of  Mygatt  Cover  and  a  practicing  lawyer 
in  Connecticut.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Ohio  soon  after  locating 
at  Canfield  in  1806,  was  prosecuting  attorney  of  Tiumbull  County, 
captain  of  militia,  aide-de-camp  to  General  Wadsworth  in  the  War  of 
1 81 2,  representative  in  the  State  Legislature,  member  of  Congress  from 
1822  to  1838,  auditor  of  the  treasury  for  the  postoffice  department  from 
1 84 1  to  1843  and  comptroller  of  the  treasury  through  the  Taylor,  Fill- 
more and  Pierce  administrations  and  again  under  President  Lincoln. 
He  died  on  January  7,  1863,  while  holding  this  office.  From  1822  to 
1841  he  was  in  law  partnership  at  Canfield  with  Judge  Eben  Newton 
and  the  firm  of  Whittlesey  and  Newton  was  one  of  the  noted  law  part- 
nerships of  Northeastern  Ohio  in  that  day. 

The  township  school  system  was  inferior  until  July  2TJ,  1867,  when 
the  union  school  district  plan  was  adopted  for  the  village  and  the  schools 
placed  on  a  graded  basis.  A  board  of  education  consisting  of  J.  W. 
Canfield,  J.  Sonnedecker,  W.  G.  Marsh,  I.  A.  Justice,  G.  R.  Crane  and 


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560       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

P.  Edwards  was  chosen.  W.  G.  Marsh  was  chosen  president  of  this 
board,  J.  W.  Canfield,  treasurer  and  I.  A.  Justice,  secretary.  September 
9,  .1867,  S.  B.  Reiger  was  chosen  high  school  principal  with  Miss  Sarah 
E.  Edwards  as  assistant  while  Miss  Amanda  Wilson  was  given  charge 
of  the  second  grade  and  Miss  Pauline  Test  of  the  primary  department. 
Temporarily  the  abandoned  academy  building  was  used  for  school  pur- 
poses but  in  1871  a  newly  erected  two-story  brick  building  was  opened. 

The  Mahoning  Academy,  referred  to  above,  was  organized  in  1855 
to  meet  the  demand  for  better  educational  facilities,  and  the  academy 
building  was  erected  in  1856,  the  school  being  incorporated  in  1857. 
David  Hine,  A.  M.,  a  graduate  of  Williams  College  was  principal  of 
the  institution.  He  was  a  native  of  Canfield  Township  and  was  a 
popular  and  efficient  teacher.  In  i860  the  academy  had  an  enrollment 
of  240,  but  soon  afterward  the  Civil  war  so  depleted  the  ranks  that  the 
school  was  abandoned.  The  academy  building,  in  High  Street,  still 
stands  and  is  the  residence  of  Windsor  Calhoun. 

The  school  building  erected  in  1871,  generally  known  as  the  Union 
school,  is  a  brick  structure,  still  in  use.  The  cost,  including  building, 
grounds,  furnishings  and  interest  approximated  $30,000. 

Under  the  impetus  given  education  at  this  time  additional  school 
buildings  were  gradually  erected  in  Canfield  Township  until  there  were 
ten  of  these  outlying  districts,  aside  from  the  village  Union  school. 
These  were  popularly  known  as  Lynn  Street,  Raccoon  Street,  Tippe- 
canoe, Mud,  Hell  Street,  Loveland,  Dublin,  Williams,  North  and  Turner 
Street  schools.  In  191 1  and  1912  all  these,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Turner  Street  school,  were  centralized  in  Canfield  Village  until  by  1920 
the  school  facilities  are  sadly  overtaxed.  The  first  grade  is  forced  to 
use  the  old  county  jail  building  for  a  school  room  while  the  second 
grade  is  in  the  County  Normal  School  building,  the  remaining  six 
grades  being  taken  care  of  in  the  Union  School. 

Prior  to  1916  Canfield  Township  and  Canfield  Village  had  separate 
boards  of  education  and  the  township  paid  the  vil'age  on  a  per  capita 
basis  for  educating  the  children  of  the  township,  who  were  transported 
to  the  village.  In  that  year  the  two  boards  petitioned  the  county  board 
of  education  to  unite  the  township  to  the  village  for  school  purposes, 
and  this  was  done,  the  Canfield  Village  school  district  being  created. 

The  present  enrollment  in  the  Canfield  schools  is  375,  the  teaching 
staff  in  the  grade  schools  including  Frank  Nelson,  Effie  Lynn,  Grace 
Burkey,  Mrs.  F.  D.  Myers,  Goldie  Conry,  Mrs.  J.  M.  Minteer  and  Grace 
Jones,  the  last  named  being  the  instructor  at  the  Turner  Street  School. 
Canfield  Township  schools  are  under  the  supervision  of  District  Sup- 
erintendent Fred  D.  Myers. 

North  Eastern  Ohio  Normal  College 

Few  communities  in  the  country  have  laid  so  much  stress  on  educa- 
tion as  Canfield,  and  it  is  not  strange  therefore  that  there  should  have 
been  a  demand  for  higher  education,  even  with  the  improvement  of  the 
township  and  village  schools  in  the  decade  after  the  Civil  war.     This 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       561 

led  to  the  incorporation  in  1881  of  the  North  Eastern  Ohio  Normal 
College,  with  a  board  of  trustees  consisting  of  Judge  Giles  Van  Hyning, 
Judge  J.  R.  Johnston,  Rev.  William  Dickson,  Dr.  A.  W.  Calvin,  H.  A. 
Manchester,  David  Clugston,  George  F.  Lynn,  Hiram  N.  Lynn  and 
Russell  F.  Starr.  Judge  Eben  Newton  generously  donated  for  school 
purposes  the  old  courthouse  building  and  grounds — the  property  having 
reverted  to  him  with  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  to  Youngstown  in 
1876 — and  in  1882  the  institution  was  opened.  Primarily  the  school,  or 
college,  was  intended  to  fit  young  people  for  life  work  as  teachers  and 
in  business  but  the  standard  of  instruction  given  was  so  high  that  the 
institution  became  noted  as  a  preparatory  school  and  famed  for  the 
accomplishments  of  its  pupils.  It  finally  boasted  commercial,  peda- 
gogic and  classical  departments.  It  would  be  impossible  here  to  enumer- 
ate its  scholars  who  have  become  prominent  as  educators  and  as  profes- 
sional and  business  men  and  women,  but  every  municipality  in  Mahon- 
ing and  Trumbull  counties  owes  much  to  this  school,  and  Youngstown 
is  especially  indebted.  To  care  for  the  attendance  a  wing  was  added  to 
the  old  courthouse  building  when  the  school  was  opened. 

After  1908  the  state  did  not  permit  further  normal  credit  to  be 
given,  but  by  special  arrangement  a  faculty  was  maintained  in  the  high 
school  building  between  1910  and  191 3  that  offered  first  year  college 
work,  for  which  credit  was  given.  Since  191 5  the  school  has  been  con- 
ducted as  the  Mahoning  County  Normal  School  and  offers  a  one-year 
normal  course. 

With  the  discontinuance  of  the  North  Eastern  Ohio  Normal  College 
in  1908  the  Canfield  High  School  was  organized,  and  from  1910  to  1913 
this  offered,  in  addition  to  the  high  school  course,  the  one-year  college 
course  above  mentioned.  From  1913  to  1916  a  joint  high  school  was 
maintained  under  the  supervision  of  a  special  board  of  education  and 
since  191 6  the  high  school  and  grade  schools  have  been  under  the  direc- 
tion of  this  board. 

The  high  school  is  now  a  first  grade  school,  a  second  charter  having 
been  granted  in  191 1.  The  school  is  conducted,  of  course,  in  the  his- 
toric old  courthouse,  but  in  November,  1919,  the  people  of  Canfield 
Township  approved  a  bond  issue  of  $90,000  for  the  construction  of  a 
new  high  school  building  and  a  site  was  selected  in  Wadsworth  Street 
for  this  structure.  This  location  is  directly  across  the  street  from  the 
Union  School.  W.  F.  Hesson  is  principal  of  the  high  school  and  Helen 
Vail  and  Margaret  Erskine,  instructors. 

Canfield  has  thus  run  the  gamut  from  the  one-room  school  through 
the  village  school,  union  school,  academy,  normal  school,  normal  college 
and  finally  high  school  and  county  normal  college.  It  has  a  proud 
record  educationally. 

Canfield  Churches 

The  earliest  religious  organization  in  Canfield  Township  was  that 
of  the  Congregational  Church,  formed  on  April  27,  1804,  under  the 
direction   of   Rev.  Joseph  Badger,   the   pioneer   missionary   from   Con- 

Vol.  1—36 


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562       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

necticut,  and  Rev.  Thomas  Robbins.  The  original  members  of  the 
congregation  were  John  and  Sarah  Everett,  Nathaniel  and  Hepsibah 
Chapman,  Jonathan  Sprague,  Lydia  Doud,  Mary  Gilson,  Mary  Brainard 
and  Lavina  Collar.  Services  were  held  in  private  dwellings  and  school- 
houses  for  some  years,  but  in  1820  a  church  building  was  erected  on 
the  east  side  of  the  public  square  in  the  village,  this  being  a  sort  of 
community  building  toward  whose  erection  members  of  all  religious 
denominations  joined.  Subscriptions  were  remarkably  liberal,  consider- 
ing the  value  of  a  dollar  in  those  days,  although  it  might  be  added  that 
payment  was  not  required  in  cash.  One  subscription,  in  fact,  was  for 
$75  from  Aaron  Collar,  later  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature,  who 
agreed  to  pay  "one-third  in  produce,  one-third  in  boards  and  one-third 
in  whisky."  The  latter  donation  may  appear  surprising  today,  but  one 
hundred  years  ago  whisky  was  almost  legal  tender — far  more  common 
than  money  in  truth.  In  the  early  days  there  was  no  resident  pastor  at 
Canfield,  but  among  the  earliest  visiting  clergymen  were  Rev.  Horace 
Smith,  Reverend  Curtis,  and  Rev.  William  O.  Stratton,  a  pioneer  clergy- 
man. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  actually  dates  from  the  organization  of 
the  Congregational  Church,  as  this  congregation  came  into  being  under 
the  "plan  of  union"  in  1804,  and  remained  in  union  with  the  Congre- 
gational denomination  until  1835  when  Rev.  William  O.  Stratton  and 
the  members  of  the  church  who  were  of  the  Presbyterian  persuasion 
withdrew  and  organized  themselves  into  a  regular  Presbyterian  con- 
gregation. The  congregation,  numbering  fifty  persons  in  all,  met  at 
the  home  of  C.  Frithy  for  a  year,  but  with  increasing  membership  a 
church  building  was  finally  erected.  In  June,  1838,  Rev.  W.  O.  Stratton 
severed  his  connection  with  the  Canfield  church,  his  resignation  being 
accepted  with  great  regret  as  his  pastorate  had  been  successful  and 
beneficial.  Rev.  William  McCombs  was  installed  as  pastor  in  April, 
1839.  Later  resident  pastors  were  Rev.  James  Price,  J.  G.  Reaser, 
William  G.  March,  J.  P.  Irwin,  William  Dickson,  who  remained  for 
more  than  twenty-five  years,  and  Rev.  George  V.  Reichel.  The  present 
church  building  was  erected  in  1902  at  a  cost  of  $15,000,  and  a  parsonage 
built  at  a  cost  of  $3,500.  Rev.  W.  P.  Hollister  is  the  present  pastor,  the 
congregation  being  in  flourishing  condition  with  a  membership  of  258. 

St.  Stephen's  Episcopal  congregation  was  organized  in  Canfield  in 
1834,  although  previous  to  that  time  Canfield  had  been  united  with 
Boardman  and  Poland  in  one  Episcopal  congregation.  A  church  build- 
ing was  erected  soon  after  and  dedicated  on  September  27,  1836,  by 
Bishop  Charles  P.  Mcllvaine  of  the  diocese  of  Ohio.  The  land  was 
donated  by  Judson  Canfield  while  the  building  committee  numbered 
Curtis  Beardsley,  Alson  Kent  and  Stanley  C.  Lockwood.  The  congre- 
gation was  attended  from  Boardman,  but  Episcopal  activities  were  finally 
concentrated  in  Youngstown  and  Boardman. 

Methodist  Episcopal  services  were  held  in  Canfield  as  early  "as  1803, 
probably  by  Rev.  Shadrach  Bostwick,  but  the  first-  Methodist  society 
was  organized  in  1820,  consisting  of  Reverend  Bostwick,  wife  and  sister, 
Comfort  Starr  and  wife,  Ansel  Beeman  and  wife  and  Ezra  Hunt.     In 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       563 

1822  Canfield  was  placed  in  the  Youngstown  circuit  and  in  1826  a  church 
building  was  erected,  services  having  been  held  previously  at  a  school- 
house.  The  church  was  attended  in  the  early  day  by  circuit  riders,  but 
faithful  always  in  maintaining  it  was  Reverend  Bostwick,  who  died  at 
Canfield  in  1837  after  a  residence  there  of  thirty  years.  As  a  physician 
as  well  as  a  Methodist  minister  he  administered  alike  to  spiritual  and 
physical  needs. 

In  1861  the  old  church  was  dismantled  and  a  new  one  erected  and 
in  1869  a  dwelling  house  was  purchased  for  a  parsonage.  After  being 
attached  to  various  circuits,  both  within  Mahoning  County  and  without, 
the  Canfield  congregation  now  hsis  its  own  resident  pastor,  Rev.  C.  L. 
Cope  being  the  present  head  of  the  congregation. 

On  January  12,  1822,  a  Baptist  church  was  formed  at  the  home  of 
David  Hays  in  Canfield  and  for  some  years  services  were  held  in  a  log 
house  at  the  center.  About  1828,  through  the  preachings  of  Walter 
Scott,  most  of  the  members  of  this  congregation  became  converted  to 
the  Disciples  church,  now  known  as  the  Christian  church.  A  church 
building  was  erected  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  township  and 
about  1847  a  neat  church  building  was  erected  at  the  center.  J.  W. 
Lamphear  organized  this  church,  with  J.  M.  Caldwell  and  Andrew 
Flick  as  elders  and  Walter  Clark  and  John  Flick  as  deacons.  In  the 
original  organization  of  1822  David  Hays,  Thomas  Miller,  Samuel  Hay- 
den,  William  Hayden  and  John  Lane  of  Youngstown  and  Elijah  Can- 
field  of  Palmyra  were  instrumental.  In  1867  the  township  congregation 
united  with  that  in  the  village.  This  congregation  is  still  flourishing, 
with  Rev.  Herbert*  T.  Blue  as  pastor. 

In  1805  there  was  a  heavy  German  immigration  to  Canfield  Town- 
ship and  this  resulted  in  the  organization  of  a  Reformed  church  about 
1 8 10,  with  Rev.  Henry  Stough  as  the  first  pastor.  A  log  church  was 
built  in  1810,  this  b&ng  replaced  by  a  modern  church  when  it  was 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1845. .  That  year  a  still  more  modern  structure  was 
built  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  north  of  Canfield  Village.  This 
congregation  now  has  a  membership  of  fifty  and  was  in  charge  of 
Rev.  J.  M.  Kendig  as  resident  pastor  until  his  death  in  November,  1919. 

Political  History 

Two  years  after  its  Jtojjnding,  in  1800,  Canfield  Township  was  in- 
cluded in  the  civil  township  $r  Youngstown  for  governmental  purposes 
.and  when  a  township  form  of  government  was  formally  organized  in 
1802  James  Doud  of  Canfield  was  made  one  of  the  township  trustees 
and  Phineas  Reed  one  of  the  two  constables.  Later  Canfield  was  form- 
ally organized  but  no  records  appear  of  the  early  officeholders.  About 
1840  when  the  need  of  new  county  buildings  at  Warren  became  apparent 
Youngstown  renewed  its  claims  for  the  honor  of  being  the  county  seat 
of  Trumbull  County.  Other  claimants  appeared,  each  with  its  own 
plan  for  gaining  this  honor  or  for  being  the  seat  of  justice  of  a  new 
county.  Canfield  offered  a  proposal  that  a  new  county  be  created  out 
of  the  ten  lower  townships  of  Trumbull  County  and  the  five  northern 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       565 

townships  of  Columbiana.  This  plan  was  finally  accepted  in  a  legislative 
act  of  1846  and  Canfield  was  made  the  county  seat  of  this  new  County  of 
Mahoning.  Canfield  had  pledged  itself  to  raise  $5,000  toward  public 
buildings  and  to  donate  suitable  grounds  for  these,  and  in  keeping  with 
this  pledge  $10,000  was  raised  by  private  subscriptions  and  a  court- 
house erected  on  a  lot  donated  by  Judge  Eben  Newton,  the  building  be- 
ing completed  in  1848.  In  1846,  however,  James  Wallace  of  Spring- 
field, James  Brownlee  of  Poland  and  Lemuel  Brigham  of  Ellsworth 
had  been  designated  as  acting  associate  judges  and  they  convened  on 
March  16,  1846,  in  the  office  of  Elisha  Whittlesey,  the  oath  being  ad- 
ministered by  Eben  Newton,  presiding  judge  of  the  district.  Henry  J. 
Canfield  was  chosen  clerk  of  courts.  May  11,  1846  the  first  common 
pleas  court  convened  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  at  the  call  of 
James  Powers,  the  first  sheriff  of  Mahoning  County. 

In  1849  Canfield  Village  was  formally  incorporated  with  Warren 
Hine,  John  Clark,  H.  B.  Brainard  and  John  Wetmore  as  incorporators. 
At  the  election  held  in  April,  1849,  L.  L.  Bostwick  was  elected  mayor; 
H.  B.  Brainard,  recorder;  Charles  Frithy,  John  Clark,  William  B.  Far- 
rell,  M.  Swank,  and  Thomas  Hansome,  trustees.  Canfield  thus  pros- 
pered, except  with  the  Civil  war  setback,  until  1872  when  the  movement 
for  making  Youngstown  the  county  seat  was  revived.  The  election  of 
1873  was  fought  on  this  issue  and  Youngstown  triumphed.  In  1874 
the  Legislature  ordered  the  removal  and  in  1876  Canfield  lost  the  honor 
of  being  the  county  capital. 

Since  thai  day  Canfield  has  remained  a  country  village,  almost  New 
England  like  in  its  quiet  and  beauty.  Prettily  situated  on  high  ground,  it 
is  reached  by  railroad  and  now  by  improved  roads  from  Youngstown. 
Thus  far  no  electric  line  has  reached  the  village,  and  the  possibility  of 
one  is  diminishing  with  the  use  of  the  automobile.  Within  the  town- 
ship, however,  is  the  Mahoning  County  Infirmary,  the  Mahoning  County 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station  and  the  Mahoning  County  fair  grounds. 

The  Mahoning  County  fair  at  Canfield  is  an  institution  that  grows 
more  popular  with  age.  It  had  its  inception  in  the  organization  of  the 
Mahoning  County  Agricultural  Society  at  Canfield  on  February  22, 
1847,  Just  after  the  county  came  into  existence.  Judge  Eben  Newton 
was  the  first  president  of  the  society;  Jacob  Cook,  vice  president;  Silas 
C.  Clark,  secretary;  William  Little,  treasurer;  Joseph  Wright,  David 
Hanna,  Jacob  Baird,  Asa  Baldwin  and  Joseph  Cowden,  managers. 

The  first  fair  was  held  on  October  5,  1847,  and  for  almost  seventy- 
five  years  these  fairs  have  been  held  annually  and  with  increasing  at- 
tendance, especially  since  the  abandonment  of  the  fair  at  Youngstown. 

The  present  township  officials  of  Canfield  are,  E.  R.  Lynn,  J.  I. 
Manchester  and  John  Riley,  trustees;  W.  J.  Dickson,  clerk:  R.  J.  Neff, 
treasurer;  L.  M.  Cox,  constable;  Eben  Barringer,  assessor;  James  B. 
Jones,  justice  of  the  peace. 

Canfield  Village  has  a  population  of  806  and  is  the  trading  center 
for  a  comparatively  large  territory.  Among  the  retail  establishments 
are,  the  Citizens'  Cooperative  Store,  dealing  in  general  merchandise ; 
Manchester  Company,  hardware  and  farm  implements;  F.  A.  Morris, 


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566       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

druggist;  W.  L.  Bryson,  grocer;  M.  J.  Neff,  meat  market;  Canfield  Shoe 
Store;  C.  C.  Neff,  grocer;  T.  B.  Carpenter,  jewelry;  Aaron  Wiesner, 
clothing;  J.  W.  Johnson,  carriages,  harness  and  auto  supplies;  Palace 
lunch  counter  and  confectionery;  Credico's  confectionery.  The  Harroff 
Hotel  is  Canfield's  hostelry. 

Industries  include  the  Altimo  Culture  Company,  growers  and  dealers 
in  cut  flowers,  who  have  here  the  largest  reinforced  concrete  green- 
house in  Ohio;  Canfield  Novelty  Company,  makers  of  wood  novelties 
and  employers  of  a  staff  of  twenty-five;  J.  Delfs  Sons,  dealers  in 
builders'  supplies,  feed  and  hides;  C.  H.  Neff,  planing  mill  and  lumber 
yard  and  dealer  in  builders'  supplies;  Callahan  &  Neff,  hide  buyers;  a 
village  electric  light  plant,  three  garages  and  three  blacksmith  shops. 

Fraternal  and  other  societies  include,  Canfield  Lodge,  No.  155,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows ;  Parkville  Rebekah  Lodge,  ladies'  auxil- 
iary to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  Argus  Lodge,  No.  545, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Dublin  Grange,  Floyd  Hunt,  master. 
The  Odd  Fellows  lodge  dates  back  to  January  18,  1850.  Charles  C. 
Fowler  has  been  postmaster  of  Canfield  Village  for  the  last  eight  years. 

The  officers  of  Canfield  Village  for  1920-21  are,  J.  B.  Jones,  mayor; 
John  Sauerwein,  clerk;  F.  A.  Morris,  treasurer;  F.  P.  Lynn,  marshal; 
N.  H.  Barringer,  C.  H.  Campbell,  A.  B.  Detchon,  E.  C.  Diehl,  Homer 
Mentzer  and   Otto   Sanzenbacher,   councilmen. 

Newspapers 

The  Mahoning  Index  was  started  at  Canfield  in  1846  with  the  crea- 
tion of  Mahoning  County  and  sold  in  January,  1849,  t0  J°hn  R.  Church, 
a  Democratic  leader  in  the  county,  who  conducted  the  plant  until  it  was 
destroyed  by  fire  in  September,  1851. 

The  Mahoning  Sentinel,  also  a  Democratic  organ,  was  launched  in 
1852  with  Ira  Norris  as  editor,  the  paper  being  printed  by  H.  M.  Fowler. 
In  1854  John  Woodruff  became  proprietor,  but  in  1855  he  sold  out  to 
John  M.  Webb  of  Youngstown,  the  Index  having  previously  been  con- 
solidated with  the  Ohio  Republican,  conducted  at  Youngstown  by  Webb 
and  Medbury  from  1846  to  1852.     In  1858  Webb  sold  out  to  William 

B.  Dawson,  but  in  i860  Webb  repurchased  the  paper  and  removed 
it  to  Youngstown. 

In  i860  the  Herald,  a  Republican  paper,  was  started  by  John  Weeks 
of  Medina.  In  1865  Weeks  took  Edward  E.  Fitch  into  partnership  with 
him,  and  subsequently  Fitch  purchased  Weeks'  interest.  In  1872  it  was 
purchased  by  McDonald  &  Son  and  the  name  changed  to  the  Mahoning 
County  News.  Later  it  was  purchased  by  W.  R.  Brownlee  who  made 
it  a  Democratic  paper,  and  in  1875  Brownlee  sold  out  to  W.  S.  Peterson, 
who  removed  the  plant  to  Warren  with  the  loss  of  the  county  seat. 

This  setback  made  Canfield  a  rather  unpropitious  place  for  starting 
a  newspaper,  but  on  May  1,  1877,  H.  M.  Fowler  launched  the  Mahoning 
Dispatch,  an  independent  weekly  newspaper.    In  1880  his  son,  Charles 

C.  Fowler,  became  associated  with  him  and  today  the  Mahoning  Dis- 
patch is  published  by  Charles  C.  Fowler  and  his  son,  Dana  B.  Fowler. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       567 

The  Dispatch  is  a  thriving  and  progressive  weekly  and  is  justly  proud 
of  the  fact  that  it  is  today  the  oldest  newspaper  in  Mahoning  County 
published  without  change  of  management,  and  the  oldest  paper  in  the 
county  published  continuously  without  change  of  name. 

Financial  Institutions 

The  first  financial  institution  in  Canfield  Village  was  the  private 
banking  firm  of  Van  Hyning  &  Co.,  founded  in  1871.  It  went  out  of 
business  ten  years  later. 

The  Farmers  National  Bank  of  Canfield  was  incorporated  in  1887 
and  is  a  thriving  financial  house.  The  present  officers  are,  Dr.  D. 
Campbell,  president;  H.  J.  Beardsley,  vice  president;  Mark  H.  Liddle, 
cashier;  T.  C.  Rose,  assistant  cashier.  The  directors  are  Dr.  D.  Camp- 
bell, J.  S.  Harding,  H.  J.  Beardsley,  Bruce  Matthews,  M.  H.  Liddle, 
M.  G.  Huffman,  E.  R.  Lynn,  G.  N.  Boughton  and  C.  M.  Shively. 

The  Farmers  Savings  and  Loan  Company  of  Canfield  was  incor- 
porated in  1919  and  opened  for  business  on  January  1,  1920.  The  direc- 
tors of  this  institution  are,  C.  H.  Campbell,  M.  H.  Liddle,  H.  J.  Beards- 
ley, J.  S.  Harding,  G.  N.  Boughton,  R.  J.  Delfs,  James  Park,  E.  R. 
Lynn  and  B.  S.  Matthews. 

COITSVILLE 

Coitsville  is  the  northeasternmost  township  of  Mahoning  County. 
On  its  east  is  Pennsylvania,  on  the  north  Trumbull  County,  on  the 
south  Poland  Township  and  on  the  west  the  City  of  Youngstown. 
Youngstown,  in  fact,  overlaps  into  Coitsville  Township  just  as  it  does 
into  Boardman  Township. 

Coitsville — then  township  two,  range  two,  of  the  Connecticut  Re- 
serve— was  allotted  to  Daniel  L.  Coit,  Uriah  Tracey,  Zepheniah  Swift, 
John  Kinsman  and  Christopher  Leffingwell  by  the  draft  of  January, 
1798,  but  Coit  subsequently  became  the  sole  owner  and  gave  his  name 
to  the  township.  Coit  did  not  locate  on  his  western  lands  himself,  but 
in  the  spring  of  1798,  sent  out  a  surveying  party  in  charge  of  John  P. 
Bissel  to  survey  the  ground  for  sale  and  settlement.  In  this  party 
were  Amos  Loveland,  Asa  Mariner,  David  Cooper  and  others.  Amos 
Loveland,  a  resident  of  Vermont  and  a  Revolutionary  war  soldier,  be- 
came the  first  actual  settler  in  the  township.  On  his  visit  here  in  1798 
he  purchased  all  the  land  in  the  township  south  of  the  Mahoning  River, 
returned  to  Vermont  in  the  fall  and  in  December,  1798,  started  out  with 
his  household  goods  and  family  loaded  in  two  sleighs  for  his  new  home. 
The  trip  was  finished  by  wagon  route  and  on  April  4,  1799,  the  family 
reached  Coitsville  Township  and  began  housekeeping  in  a  small  cabin 
Loveland  had  erected  on  his  first  visit.  Here  their  daughter,  Cynthia 
Loveland,  the  first  native  white  child  of  Coitsville  Township,  was  born 
in  June,  1799. 

Gen.  Simon  Perkins  of  Warren  was  Coit's  first  land  agent  and 
numerous  sales  of  land  were  made  after  1801.    In  1800,  however,  John 


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568       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

P.  Bissel,  Coit's  surveyor  and  a  resident  of  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  located 
at  the  center  of  the  township  on  land  he  had  bought  in  1798.  With 
Bissel  came  his  family  of  nine  children.  In  the  same  year  Asa  Mariner 
and  David  Cooper  and  family,  both  members  of  Bissel's  surveying  party, 
located  in  Coitsville.  The  Coopers  came  from  Washington  County, 
Pennsylvania,  although  the  head  of  the  family  was  a  native  of  Mary- 
land. 

In  1800  also  came  Alexander  McGuffey  and  family  from  Washing- 
ton County,  Pennsylvania.  Rev.  William  McGuffey,  afterward  the 
noted  educator  and  author  of  McGuffey's  Eclectic  Readers,  text  books 
in  wide  use  throughout  the  United  States,  accompanied  them  as  an  in- 
fant and  received  his  early  education  in  Coitsville  Township.  In  1801 
Rev.  William  Wick,  the  first  clergyman  in  Youngstown,  purchased  a 
farm  and  located  in  Coitsville  Township,  Andrew  G.  Fitch  of  Connecti- 
cut located  in  the  western  part  of  the  township,  and  Roger  Sheehy  re- 
moved from  Youngstown  here.  Immigration  was  more  general  in  1802, 
among  those  locating  in  Coitsville  being  Barnabas  Harris  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  first  blacksmith,  Sampson  Moore,  Daniel  Augustine,  Joseph 
Beggs  and  wife,  and  James  Shields,  the  Beggs  family  and  Shields  being 
natives  of  Ireland.  John  Johnson  and  wife  of  Pennsylvania  came  in 
1803  and  Mrs.  Margery  McFarlin,  a  native  of  Ireland,  located  in  Coits- 
ville in  1804  with  her  family  of  six  children.  Other  early  settlers,  most 
of  whom  came  here  in  1804,  or  at  an  earlier  date  were  James  Lynn, 
William  Stewart,  James  Stewart,  John  Stewart  and  David  Stewart, 
Thomas  Earleyj  David  Brownlee  and  other  members  of  his  family, 
Matthew  Robb,  William  Bell,  John  Jackson,  Ebenezer  Corey:  Other 
residents  or  landowners  of  Coitsville  in  1804  .  were  Cramer  Casper, 
John  Given,  Matthew  Gillen,  William  Houston,  James  Mears,  William 
Martin,  Samuel  McBride,  John  McCall,  John  Potter,  James  Pauley, 
James  Smith,  John  Thompson,  George  Thompson,  William  Weeks, 
David  Wilson,  Robert  Wilson,  Daniel  Wilson,  James  White,  Francis 
White,  James  Welch. 

Following  Connecticut  custom  the  village  of  Coitsville  was  founded 
near  the  center  of  the  township,  although  in  this  instance  it  was  not 
exactly  in  the  center.  At  an  early  date  the  first  sawmill  was  built  by 
Asa  Mariner  along  Dry  Run  and  the  first  tavern  opened  at  the  center 
by  Andrew  McFarlin.  One  of  the  earliest  industries  was  a  tannery  at 
the  center,  while  there  were  distilleries  in  Coitsville  as  there  were  in  all 
Western  Reserve  townships  at  an  early  day.  A  highway  was  laid  out 
through  the  township  as  early  as  1802,  but  it  was  1827  before  the 
Youngstown-New  Bedford  road  was  made  a  postroad  and  a  post-office 
established  at  Coitsville  Center.  The  first  marriage  took  place  in  1803 
when  Ebenezer  Corey  was  wedded  to  Polly  Thompson.  Coitsville  Town- 
ship also  has  the  doubtful  distinction  of  being  the  scene  of  the  first 
notable  murder  in  Mahoning  County,  when  Sarah  Stewart  was  slain  by 
her  brother-in-law,  William  O.  Moore.  Moore  was  sentenced  to  the 
penitentiary  for  life.  Paroled  when  he  was  believed  to  be  dying,  Moore 
lived  for  many  years  afterward. 

In  181 1,  when  John  P.  Bissel,  land  agent,  died  his  affairs  were  found 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        569 

much  involved  and  many  settlers  lost  much  of  the  money  they  had  paid 
on  land  contracts.  The  wet  seasons  of  1810-11-12  and  the  war  of  1812 
added  to  their  troubles  by  drawing  men  from  the  farms  and  these  were 
dark  years  for  Coitsville  residents.  Most  of  them  courageously 
weathered  the  storm,  however,  and  were  well  repaid. 

Coitsville  Township  was  originally  a  part  of  Youngstown  Township, 
but  in  1806  it  was  ordered  separately  organized  and  at  the  election  of 
April  6,  1807,  the  following  township  officials  were  chosen:  Joseph 
Bissel,  township  clerk;  William  Houston,  Joseph  Jackson  and  William 
Stewart,  trustees;  John  McCall  and  Timothy  Swan,  overseers  of  the 
poor;  William  Martin  and  Ebenezer  Corey,  supervisors  of  highways; 
David  Cooper  and  John  Stewart,  fence  viewers;  James  Stewart  and 
Alexander  McGuffey,  appraisers  of  houses;  Alexander  McGuffey,  lister 
of  property;  James  Lynn,  constable;  John  Johnson,  township  treagurer. 
John  P.  Bissel  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  as  early  as  1805  and  Daniel 
Montieth  in  1806.  William  Houston  and  James  Shields  were  also  early 
justices. 

Early  residents  of  Coitsville  attended  religious  services  at  surround- 
ing settlements  until  1835  when  the  Methodists  effected  an  organization, 
following  revival  services  held  by  circuit  riders  as  early  as  1820.  Serv- 
ices were  later  held  in  barns  but  in  1838  a  church  was  erected  on  land 
donated  by  Isaac  Powers  of  Youngstown.  This  church  was  destroyed 
in  1847  during  the  anti-slavery-pro-slavery  agitation,  undoubtedly  by 
incendiaries,  but  in  1848  a  new  building  was  erected.  To  many  it  will 
be  surprising  to  know  that  pro-slavery  sentiment  was  strong  enough  in 
such  townships  as  Coitsville,  Poland  and  Canfield  that  abolitionist  speak- 
ers were  threatened  and  even  mistreated.  James  McCartney,  Abraham 
Jacobs  and  John  Bissel  were  among  the  founders  of  the  Methodist 
society. 

Coitsville  Township  now  has  two  Methodist  churches,  the  Marion 
Heights  Church  and  the  Scienceville  Church.  The  Marion  Heights 
Church  was  formed  in  1919  by  a  union  of  the  Coitsville  Center  Church 
and  the  Wilson  Avenue  M.  E.  Church,  Rev.  H.  A.  Cassidy  coming  soon 
afterward  as  pastor.  The  congregation  worshiped  in  the  Coitsville  high 
school  building  pending  the  erection  of  a  church  edifice  on  a  site  donated 
by  William  McCartney. 

The  Scienceville  M.  E.  Church  was  founded  in  19 10  and  grew 
rapidly.  A  church  building  was  put  up  in  191 2  at  a  cost  of  $9,000  and 
the  congregation  was  formally  organized  in  1919  with  Rev.  Virgil  E. 
Turner  as  pastor.    It  has  a  membership  of  226. 

The  Presbyterian  Society  of  Coitsville  was  organized  in  1836  and  a 
church  building  was  erected  in  that  year  or  the  next,  with  Rev.  William 
Nesbit  as  pastor.  Active  among  the  organizers  of  this  society  were 
William  Reed,  John  Jackson,  David  Jackson,  J.  I.  Hirst,  George  Harris, 
Samuel  Jackson,  Andrew  McFarlin,  Ebenezer  Corey  and  James  Kerney. 
The  church  was  rebuilt  in  1870  and  now  has  a  membership  of  fifty-nine, 
with  Rev.  H.  S.  D.  Shimp  as  pastor.  Presbyterian  services  were  held 
'  in  Coitsville  as  early  as  1820. 

The  Free  Methodist  Church  at  Sharline  was  organized  in  191 8  and 


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570       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

has  grown  satisfactorily.  Rev.  C.  G.  Sayer  is  pastor  and  Mrs.  Paul 
Lawson  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School.  The  First  Baptist  Church 
at  Sharline  was  organized  in  1919.    Rev.  J.  H.  Canada  is  pastor. 

The  first  school  in  Coitsville  Township  was.  located  on  the  farm  of 
Joseph  Beggs  and  was  taught  by  Jeremiah  Breaden.  This  school,  a  log 
building,  was  put  up  in  1807  or  1808,  and  the  course  of  study  given 
included  Bible  instruction.  In  181 5  a  more  ample  frame  school  was 
erected,  and  other  schools  were  later  located  in  the  township. 

Early  records  having  been  destroyed,  there  is  no  way  of  determining 
the  exact  date  at  which  Coitsville  was  formally  organized  under  the 
union  school  system.  Under  this  organization,  however,  the  schools 
eventually  included  the  Dalby,  Cooper,  Bell,  Coitsville  Center,  Dry  Run, 
Thorn  Hill,  Thorn  Hill  Avenue,  Science  Hill  and  Geography  Hall 
buildings,  all  one-room  structures.  In  the  8o's,  too,  there  was  a  two- 
room  building  jn  the  Coitsville  Center  district  where  Professor  Milligan 
conducted  a  select  school  known  as  the  Buttermilk  College. 

In  1 91 2,  following  the  incorporation  of  East  Youngstown,  a  sepa- 
rate school  sub-division,  known  as  the  East  Youngstown  Village  school 
district,  was  created.  This  robbed  the  Coitsville  school  district  of  more 
than  half  of  its  tax  duplicate  and  took  away  two  of  its  best  buildings, 
the  Fairview,  erected  in  191 1,  and  the  Gordon  building,  then  in  the 
course  of  construction  and  completed  in  191 3. 

By  1 910  the  population  of  the  township  had  increased  until  the  way 
for  better  schools  had  been  paved.  A  resolution  was  passed  permitting 
all  the  seventh  and  eighth  grade  pupils  to  attend  graded  schools.  In  a 
short  time  the  Dry  Run  School  was  closed  up,  in  191 3  the  Dalby  School 
was  abandoned  and  the  centralization  of  the  township  was  completed. 
At  present  Coitsville  Township  contains  eight  schools  outside  East 
Youngstown — Geography  Hall,  a  one-room  building  erected  in  1885; 
Science  Hill  School,  where  a  four-room  building  on  the  site  of  the  old 
school  was  built  in  1906  and  converted  into  an  eight-room  building  in 
1912;  Coitsville  Center  School,  a  six-room  building  erected  in  191 1, 
with  a  four-room  addition  in  191 5;  Thorn  Hill  School,  a  two-room 
building  erected  in  1914;  Thorn  Hill  Avenue,  an  eight-room  building, 
erected  in  191 5;  Buckeye,  an  eight-room  building,  completed  in  1920; 
West  Avenue,  a  portable  building,  erected  in  1918;  Early  Road,  a  port- 
able building,  also  erected  in  1918. 

The  high  school  was  organized  at  Coitsville  Center  in  1895,  and  this 
marked  the  beginning  of  school  supervision  in  Coitsville  Township. 
The  superintendents  who  have  officiated  since  include,  William  Allen, 
1895-1901 ;  Thomas  McGeehon,  1901-02;  H.  P.  McCoy,  (now  state  sen- 
ator) 1902-08;  C.  F.  Mathias,  1908-10;  C.  W.  Ricksecker,  1910-14;  W. 
M.  Coursen,  1914-16;  M.  D.  Morris,  1917-18;  W.  L.  Richey,  superin- 
tendent since  September,  1918.  It  is  a  proud  boast  of  Coitsville  Town- 
ship that  Professor  William  McGuffey,  mentioned  before,  was  a  product 
of  its  schools. 

Present  instructors  in  township  schools  are,  Reubie  F.  Miller,  Jessie 
Yaxley,  Agnes  Thompson,  Ruth  Workman,  George  H.  Rowles,  Linnett 
Hughes,  Blanche  Brodt,  Rita  Speyer,  Elizabeth  Curl,  Sara  Ligo,  Lucille 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       571 

Farrelly,  Oscar  Lawson,  Mrs.  C.  H.  Campbell,  Alice  Strapp,  Ruth 
Curl,  Olive  Holycross,  Grace  Cooke,  L.  D.  Campbell,  Iras  Turner, 
Florence  Strachan,  M.  Grace  Thourot,  Mary  Catherine  Yost,  Lillie 
Rohrbaugh,  Mary  Grace  Dunlap,  Gertrude  Cooke,  A.  C.  Doyle,  Paul 
Booth,  Isabelle  Booth,  Carrie  Rice,  Mary  Rukenbrod,  Edna  Schotten, 
Marguerite  Beck,  Nellie  Baker,  Beatrice  Booth  and  Florence  Callahan. 
The  enrollment  in  1920  was  1,114. 

Coitsville  Center  is  an  attractive  country  village,  but  its  industries, 
even  the  tannery,  are  gone.  The  township  contains  good  farming  land, 
some  of  it  hilly  where  traversed  by  Dry  Run,  that  meanders  through  a 
beautiful  valley  until  it  reaches  the  Mahoning.  The  coal  mining  in- 
dustry at  Thorn  Hill  has  been  abandoned  and  that  one-time  mining 
settlement  is  now  virtually  a  part  of  Youngstown.  The  old  Science 
Hill  settlement,  or  crossroads,  is  now  a  Youngstown  suburb  also,  and 
recently  has  been  made  a  postoffice  under  the  name  of  Sciencevilte. 
Sharline,  which,  like  Scienceville,  is  on  the  Youngstown  &  Sharon 
electric  line,  was  also  made  a  postoffice  station  in  1919. 

Coitsville  Township  was  founded  by  sturdy  New  England-Pennsyl- 
vania stock  and  is  noted  for  the  great  number  of  old  families  who  still 
reside  there.  In  the  southwestern  part  of  the  township,  however,  a  vast 
change  has  come  over  the  scene  in  the  last  twenty  years  with  the 
growth  of  the  great  mills  of  the  Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company 
and  the  village  of  East  Youngstown.  These  have  sprung  up  on  land 
that  was  grain  fields  and  river  bottoms  in  1900.  The  transformation 
has  made  Coitsville  one  of  the  wealthiest  townships  of  the  old  Western 
Reserve. 

The  present  township  officials  of  Coitsville  Township  are,  Joseph 
Stone,  Harry  H.  Kimmel  and  D.  G.  Stewart,  trustees;  C.  F.  Shipton, 
clerk;  R.  W.  Collins,  treasurer;  Eugene  Sample  and  Harry  M.  Williams, 
constables;  Ray  Brownlee,  assessor;  James  Qijigley,  justice  of  the  peace. 

BOARDMAN 

Boardman  Township  was  first  settled  in  1798  by  Elijah  Boardman, 
of  New  Milford,  Connecticut,  member  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Com- 
pany and  largest  holder  of  land  in  the  township,  and  by  four  companions, 
among  whom  were  Nathaniel  Blakely  and  Eleazer  Blakely.  Other 
original  owners  of  land  in  the  township  were  Homer  Boardman,  David 
S.  Boardman,  Jonathan  Giddings,  Stanley  Griswold,  Elijah  Wadsworth 
and  Frederick  Wolcott,  all  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company. 

The  summer  of  1798  was  spent  in  surveying  the  township,  and  in 
the  fall  five  members  of  the  party  returned  to  Connecticut  on  foot,  but 
the  township  had  actually  been  settled  at  this  time.  In  1799  John  Mc- 
Mahan  located  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  township  and  was  per- 
haps the  only  newcomer  that  year.  Immigration  began  in  earnest  in 
1800,  however,  and  continued  so  rapidly  that  Boardman  became  one 
of  the  most  populous  and  most  important  of  Trumbull  County  town- 
ships by  1 810.  Among  the  early  settlers  were  Peter  Stilson,  George 
Stilson,  William  Drake  and  Henry  Brainard  in  1800,  Francis  Dowler, 


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572       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Eli  Baldwin  and  Adam  Simon  in  1801,  George  Zedaker  in  1802,  Josiah 
Walker  in  1803.  Other  taxpayers  in  Boardman  in  1803  were  Linus 
Brainard,  Solomon  Brainard,  Caleb  Baldwin,  Isaac  Cook,  James  Canada, 
Joseph  Comyns,  Noah  Chamberlain,  Ebenezer  Davis,  Lewis*  DeCamp, 
Edward  Dice,  William  Dice,  Oswald  Detchon,  Henry  Dustman,  Benjamin 
Fisher,  Eleazer  Fairchild,  Archibald  McCorkle,  John  Stephens,  Allen 
Scroggs,  Michael  Simon,  James  Stall,  Beach  Summers,  John  Thornton, 
Jr.,  Haynes  Fitch  and  sons  came  in  1804,  Eliakim  Stoddard  and  Richard 
Elliott  in  the  same  year,  John  and  Charlotte  Davidson  and  David  Noble 
in  1805,  Isaac  Blackman  and  James  Moody  in  1807,  David  Fitch  and 
Ethel  Starr  in  1808,  Andrew  Hull,  Herman  Stilson,  Jacob  Deane,  Frank 
Deane  and  Elizabeth  Deane  in  ^809  and  Major  Samuel  Clark  in  1810. 
Abner  Webb,  Joseph  Merchant,  Samuel  Swan  and  Warren  Bissel  were 
located  in  the  township  by  1806  and  others  who  came  before  1810  in- 
cluded David  Woodruff,  Jacob  Simon  and  Isaac  Hankins. 

Elijah  Boardman  followed  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  custom 
of  laying  out  a  village  at  the  center  of  the  township,  but  Boardman 
Center  has  never  become  a  place  of  commercial  importance.  A  post- 
office  was  established  there  prior  to  18 10  with  Eli  Baldwin  as  post- 
master but  pioneer  industries  were  scattered  throughout  the  township. 
George  Stilson  built  the  first  frame  house  in  the  township  in  1805  and 
opened  a  tavern  there,  this  building  being  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
township.  Here  also  the  first  store  was  opened  by  Charles  Boardman 
and  William  Ingersoll.  The  first  grist  mill  was  located  on  Mill  Creek 
a  short  distance  above  the  falls.  The  first  sawmill  was  built  about  1808, 
southeast  of  the  center,  by  Richard  J.  Elliott  and  Elijah  Boardman. 
Later  Eli  Baldwin  conducted  a  sawmill,  grist  mill  and  cloth  mill  on  Mill 
Creek.  It  was  the  numerous  mill  sites  on  this  creek  that  gave  it  its 
name.  A  tannery  was  built  north  of  the  center  about  1805  by  James 
Moody.     Andrew  Webb  was  the  pioneer  blacksmith  of  the  township. 

James  D.  McMahon,  (or  McMahan)  born  October  31,  1799,  was  the 
first  native  white  child  of  the  township.  By  1806  the  population  had 
increased  until  Boardman  was  separated  from  the  civil  Township  of 
Youngstown  and  organized  with  a  township  government.  At  the  first 
election  held  on  April  7,  1806,  Haynes  Fitch  acted  as  chairman  of  the 
election  board  with  Henry  Brainard  and  David  Woodruff  as  clerks. 
Eli  Baldwin  was  chosen  township  clerk,  Henry  Brainard,  George  Stilson 
and  Adam  Simon,  township  trustees ;  Eleazer  Fairchild  and  Michael 
Simon,  overseers  of  the  poor;  James  Hull  and  Abner  Webb,  fence 
viewers;  Nathaniel  Blakely,  lister  and  appraiser;  Jedediah  Fitch,  ap- 
praiser; Isaac  Hankins,  Nathaniel  Blakely  and  David  Fitch,  supeYvisors 
of  highways;  David  Fitch,  constable;  James  Moody,  treasurer.  Eli 
Baldwin  was  also  the  first  justice  of  the  peace,  acting  likewise  as  post- 
master, captain  of  militia,  member  of  the  Legislature  and  man  of  prom- 
inence in  many  other  respects.  Members  of  the  Boardman  family 
achieved  national  prominence,  Miss  Mabel  Boardman  of  Washington, 
District  of  Columbia,  noted  for  her  great  work  in  connection  with  the 
Red  Cross,  being  one  of  the  leading  representatives  of  the  family  today. 

Because  of  its  large  population  Boardman  was  well  represented  in 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       573 

the  War  of  1812,  just  as  it  was  later  in  the  Civil  war.  Abraham  Simon, 
killed  in  the  Peninsula  battle  in  September,  18 12,  was  a  Boardman  man 
and  John  McMahan,  wounded  at  that  time  and  later  slain  by  Indians 
on  his  way  home,  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  township. 

Until  recently  the  "Boardman  Woods/'  located  in  the  southwestern 
part  of  the  township,  was  one  of  Ohio's  greatest  timber  tracts  and  a 
refuge  for  game,  but  the  sawmill  has  removed  much  of  this  wild  spot. 
Traversed  by  Mill  Creek  and  Yellow  Creek,  the  township  is  a  rich  one 
agriculturally. 

Boardman  Center  is  now  connected  by  a  brick  automobile  road  with 
Youngstown  and  has  been  made  almost  a  suburb  of  the  city.  It  is 
reached  also  by  the  Youngstown  &  Suburban  electric  line  with  a  station 
but  a  short  distance  from  the  center.  The  suburb  of  Pleasant  Grove, 
within  Boardman  Township,  was  annexed  to  Youngstown  in  1917.  In 
the  southern  part  of  the  township  part  of  the  village  of  Woodworth, 
formerly  Steamtown,  lies  in  Boardman  Township. 

The  first  schoolhouse  in  the  township  was  a  log  building  near  Board- 
man  Center,  opened  about  1803  with  Nathaniel  Blake ly  as  the  first 
teacher.  A  frame  schoolhouse  was  erected  in  1809  and  a  log  school- 
house  was  built  east  of  the  center  by  the  Simon  family  before  this 
frame  building  was  erected.  Boardman  had  unusually  good  educational 
facilities  in  the  early  days,  the  first  schools  being  private,  or  tuition, 
schools: 

Prior  to  centralization  Boardman  had  a  number  of  one-room  schools, 
including  the  Shady  Hollow  school  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
township;  Gault  School,  west-central;  Yankee  Street,  or  Kiper's  gram- 
mar school;  the  present  Indianola  school;  Pleasant  Grove,  northeast- 
ern; Rice  district,  southeastern;  Center  school  and  Chambers  district, 
abandoned  when  the  modern  brick  building  was  erected  at  Woodworth, 
then  Steamtown,  in  1883.  A  school  at  Cornersburg  was  removed  to 
Youngstown  Township  in  1893.  President  McKinley,  it  is  said,  once 
taught  in  the  Rice  district  school.  . 

Boardman  Township  was  a  pioneer  in  centralization,  this  being  done 
in  1904  when  the  present  frame  building  was  erected.  Coincident  with 
this  all  the  schools  except  the  Shady  Hollow  and  Woodworth  buildings 
were  abandoned  and  a  third  grade  high  school  was  established  with 
W.  B.  Randolph  as  superintendent  of  the  district. 

In  1909  the  Shady  Hollow  school  was  abandoned,  and  in  191 1  the 
Woodworth  building  was  closed  and  the  pupils  brought  to  the  centralized 
school.  The  same  year  the  board  of  education  purchased  the  present 
school  site,  moved  the  frame  building  thereon  and  constructed  a  four- 
room  brick  addition.  The  present  high  school  building  was  erected  in 
1916.  In  1914  the  four-room  Pleasant  Grove  school  was  built  but  this 
was  included  in  the  annexation  of  that  suburb  to  Youngstown  in  1917. 

Boardman  Township,  with  its  1,434  pupils,  has  a  heavy  school  en- 
rollment. It  is  a  "4740"  district,  with  G.  M.  Barton  as  superintendent. 
The  teachers  include  A.  L.  Henderson,  Carrie  L.  Walker  and  Mary 
Agnes  Stewart  in  the  high  school,  and  J.  M.  Minteer,  Ruth  Keen,  Pearl 


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574       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Lonsinger,  Freda  Bohn,  Esther  Heintzleman,  Ruth  C.  Duncan,  Myrtle 
Johnston,  Nellie  Koch  and  Estella  Heintzleman  in  the  grade  schools. 

Religiously,  Boardman  Township  is  especially  dear  to  members  of 
the  Episcopal  faith,  for  this  was  the  cradle  of  that  creed  west  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains.  As  early  as  1807  Episcopal  services  were  held 
here  and  on  September  4,  1809,  an  Episcopal  Society  was  formally 
organized.    In  1817  St.  James'  Episcopal  parish  came  into  being. 

A  more  complete  story  of  this  pioneer  Episcopal  parish  will  be  found 
in  the  history  of  Youngstown  churches,  in  Chapter  XVI  of  this  volume. 
St.  James'  Church  is  still  located  at  Boardman  Center,  with  Rev.  W.  H. 
Pond  as  rector  since  December  1,  191 5. 

The  first  Methodist  Episcopal  services  were  held  in  a  log  school- 
house  on  the  Oswald  Detchon  farm.  About  1835  a  church  was  built 
at  Boardman  Center  and  later  this  was  replaced  by  a  more  modern 
structure.  The  Boardman  Center  Church  is  attended  by  Rev.  O.  B. 
Jones  of  Poland. 

The  Presbyterian,  or  Congregational  Church,  was  established  in 
Boardman  Township  as  early  as  1813.  For  a  number  of  years  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  was  located  at  Boardman  Center  but  the  former  church 
structure  was  later  given  over  to  other  purposes.  At  present  a  Presby- 
terian mission  some  distance  from  the  center  is  attended  from  Poland 
Village. 

The  United  Brethren  maintain  a  church  at  Woodworth  on  the 
Boardman-Beaver  line.     The  church  has  no  resident  pastor  at  present. 

The  Bethlehem  Church,  the  first  church  organization  in  Boardman 
Township,  dates  back  to  the  opening  years  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
It  was  made  up  of  members  of  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  churches 
and  in  1810  built  a  log  church  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  township. 
In  1845  another  church  building  was  erected  and  still  later  a  modern 
structure  was  put  up  just  across  the  line  in  Youngstown  Township. 
With  the  extension  of  the  city  limits  in  1913  this  became  a  Youngstown 
city  church. 

The  Disciples  of  Christ  Church  was  organized  in  1854  but  later  went 
out  of  existence,  members  of  this  denomination  attending  Youngstown 
churches. 

Boardman  Center  and  Woodworth  are  small  settlements,  the  former 
being  really  a  Youngstown  suburb  today,  and  distinguished  by  its  pretty 
homes.  Two  miles  southeast  of  Boardman  Center,  on  the  Youngstown 
&  Suburban  line,  is  Southern  Park,  with  its  beautiful  grove,  picnic 
grounds  and  splendid  race  track  that  is  used  as  a  summer  race  meeting 
place. 

The  present  officers  of  Boardman  Township  are,  C.  T.  Geiger,  I.  H. 
McClurg  and  O.  H.  Stafford,  trustees;  George  H.  Davidson,  clerk;  H. 
Heintzleman,  treasurer;  C.  L.  Baldwin  and  Paul  A.  Simon,  constables; 
Charles  W.  Martin,  justice  of  the  peace;  W.  W.  Wirt,  assessor. 

AUSTINTOWN 

Austintown  Township,  lying  directly  west  of  Youngstown  and 
through  which  the  main  road  west  to  the  Milton  reservoir  and  to  Port- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       575 

age  County  passes,  was  first  settled  in  1800  when  John  McCollum  re- 
moved his  family  there  from  New  Jersey  and  took  up  his  residence  in  a 
cabin  he  had  erected  on  a  previous  visit  in  1798.  Originally  Austintown 
and  the  adjoining  township  of  Jackson  had  been  owned  by  Oliver  Phelps 
and  Gideon  Granger,  original  members  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Com- 
pany, the  former  being  the  heaviest  shareholder  in  the  company.  Pre- 
vious to  this,  however,  parts  of  Austintown  and  Jackson  townships  were 
included  in  the  General  Parsons  purchase  of  the  Salt  Spring  tract  in 
1786,  and  this  land  was  not  included  in  the  draft  of  January,  1798. 

John  McCollum  was  born  in  New  Jersey  on  December  25,  1770,  and 
married  Jane  Ayers  on  June  10,  1798.  Mrs.  McCollum  was  born  in 
New  Jersey  on  September  27,  1767,  and  married  Robert  Hansom,  by 
whom  she  had  five  children.  By  her  marriage  to  McCollum,  after  the 
death  of  Hansom,  she  had  eight  children.  This  pioneer  family  of  Austin- 
town  that  came  into  the  wilds  of  the  Western  Reserve  is  yet  extensively 
represented  and  most  prominent  in  affairs  of  the  township  and  of  Ma- 
honing County. 

Wendell  Grove  of  Pennsylvania  was  a  settler  of  1801,  Henry  Ohl  and 
Frederick  Moherman  located  herein  1803,  and  among  other  early  set- 
tlers were  Jacob  Parkhurst,  John  Carlton,  Edward  Jones,  Caleb  Jones, 
John  Lane,  David  Dillon,  John  Duncan,  George  Gilbert,  John  Truesdale, 
Robert  Fullerton,  Robert  Russell,  James  J.  Russell,  Anthony  Weather- 
stay,  Henry  Weatherstay,  Jacob  Harding,  Archibald  Ewing,  Joshua 
Cotton,  captain  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  other  members  of  this  family; 
James  Henry,  Thomas  Reed,  Henry  Strack,  Henry  Crum,  Jacob  Har- 
roff,  Abraham  Wolfcale,  Henry  Brunstetter,  George  Foulk,  Frederick 
Shively  and  others.  William  Bayard,  Benjamin  Bayard,  Nathaniel 
Britton,  Matthew  Guy,  William  Hayes,  Samuel  Ferguson,  Robert  Kirk- 
patrick,  Samuel  Moore,  Alexander  McCallister,  Thomas  Morgan,  John 
Musgrove,  Thomas  Packard,  Daniel  Packard,  Gilbert  Roberts,  James 
Sisco,  Benjamin  Sisco,  William  Sisco,  William  Templeton,  Nathaniel 
Walker  and  William  Withington  were  landholders  as  early  as  1803.  The 
township  was  named  for  Judge  Austin  of  Warren,  agent  for  the  owners 
of  the  township. 

John  McCollum,  son  of  the  first  settlers,  was  the  first  white  child 
born  in  the  township.  Agriculture  was  the  leading  industry,  as  it  is  to- 
day. The  first  grist  mill  was  built  by  William  Irvin  at  Four  Mile  Run 
at  an  early  day  but  it  was  well  toward  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury before  there  were  any  sawmills  in  the  township,  Andrew  J.  Brick- 
man  and  Harvey  McCollum  being  pioneers  in  this  industry.  Iron  ore, 
coal  and  limestone  were  found  in  plentiful  quantities  in  Austintown,  and 
coal  mining  was  for  many  years  an  industry  that  gave  Austintown  much 
prominence,  but  is  of  less  consequence  today.  A  small  iron  furnace  was 
built  along  Meander  Creek  in  the  early  days,  and  toward  the  latter  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century  a  mill  for  crushing  limestone  for  fertilizer  was 
erected.    Tanneries  and  small  distilleries  also  flourished. 

Austintown  Center  was  founded  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century  and  was  the  business  center  of  the  township  until  the  village 
of  West  Austintown  was  founded  on  the  Niles  and  Lisbon  branch  of 
the  Erie  Railroad  when  that  line  was  constructed  in  1869.    The  first  store 


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576       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

was  opened  at  the  center  about  1822  by  Alexander  Thompson,  while  Dr. 
Alfred  Packard,  Caldwell  Porter,  Judge  William  Rayen  of  Youngstown, 
John  Cotton,  Austin  Corll,  Isaac  Hoover,  William  Crum  ancL  John 
Lanterman  were  early  merchants.  Alexander  McKinney,  Robert  Ful- 
lerton  and  others  were  early  tavern  keepers.  Dr.  Alfred  Packard  was 
also  an  early  practitioner  and  remained  for  many  years.  The  postoffice 
at  the  center  was  founded  about  1820. 

A  part  of  the  village  of  Mineral  Ridge  lies  in  Austintown  Township. 
For  many  years  this  was  an  incorporated  municipality  but  recently  the 
village  charter  has  been  surrendered. 

Austintown  Center  now  has  a  population  of  250,  with  two  stores, 
conducted  by  Mrs.  Joseph  Smith  and  August  Kroeck.  The  postoffice 
was  abandoned  in  1916,  Mrs.  Jacob  Reel  being  the  last  one  in  charge 
there.  West  Austintown  also  has  a  population  of  about  250,  with  a 
general  store  conducted  by  Postmaster  G.  W.  DeHoff  and  a  grocery  con- 
ducted by  Charles  Decker.  Its  industries  include  a  clay  and  paint  works 
conducted  by  the  Davis  Mining  and  Manufacturing  Company,  the  out- 
put being  shipped  to  Cleveland.  West  Austintown  is  on  the  Lisbon 
branch  of  the  Erie  Railroad.  Other  villages  in  the  township  are  Smiths 
Corners  and  Ohlton. 

The  first  schools  in  the  township  were  taught  in  log  buildings  prior 
to  1810.  Under  the  union  school  system  the  schools  included  the  Grove, 
Perkins  Corners,  Four  Mile  Run,  Ohl  School,  Center  School,  Smiths 
Corners,  Stony  Ridge,  West  Austintown  and  Taylor's  Corners.  All  of 
these  were  in  use  except  the  Ohl  School  when  the  19 14  school  code  was 
adopted,'  but  centralization  came  into  demand  at  this  time  and  in  Novem- 
ber, 1914,  a  bond  issue  of  $40,000  was  voted  for  a  centralized  building. 
An  eight-acre  site  at  West  Austintown  was  donated  by  John  H.  Fitch 
and  the  present  centralized  building  was  put  up  and  equipped,  subse- 
quent bond  issues  increasing  the  expenditure  to  $50,000. 

A  high  school  was  organized  in  the  fall  of  191 5  and  in  January,  1916, 
the  centralized  building  was  occupied.  In  191 7  this  was  made  a  second 
grade  high  school.  G.  C.  Boyd  was  the  first  principal  and  was  succeeded 
by  C.  G.  Potts  who  gave  way  to  J.  C.  Eschliman,  the  present  principal. 
The  present  enrollment  of  the  school  is  350,  the  instructors  being  J.  C. 
Eschliman,  Ada  Dorris  Cain,  M.  M.  Roudebush,  Walter  Heller,  Ada 
Printz,  Bernice  Buck,  Emma  Kilpatrick,  Mrs.  Allen  Flickinger,  Fay 
Ripley  and  Viola  Ripley.  Austintown  is  in  the  second  county  super- 
visory district  under  Superintendent  F.  D.  Myers. 

The  first  church  in  Austintown  Township  was  a  log  building  erected 
by  the  Presbyterians  on  the  Webb  farm  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town- 
ship. Later  Presbyterian  activities  were  transferred  to  Ohlton,  but  the 
church  here  was  eventually  abandoned. 

The  Evangelical  Church  was  organized  in  184 1  and  the  first  church 
erected  in  1853.  The  present  Evangelical  Church,  located  at  West 
Austintown,  is  attended  by  Reverend  Rieff. 

The  United  Evangelicals  and  members  of  the  Reformed  Church 
also  maintain  churches  at  West  Austintown  but  have  no  regular  pastors 
at  present. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       577 

The  Disciples,  or  Christian  Church,  had  its  origin  in  the  Baptist 
congregation  that  was  organized  in  1828.  A  house  of  worship  was 
erected  at  Four  Mile  Run  in  i860  and  activities  of  this  church  in  the 
township  are  still  centered  there.  A  commodious  parsonage  belonging 
to  the  congregation  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  December,  19 19.  The 
church  has  no  resident  pastor  now. 

The  Covenanters  began  services  in  a  building  at  Austintown  Center 
in  1844.  This  structure  was  a  union  building,  other  denominations  hav- 
ing assisted  in  building  it.  Subsequently  the  church  was  abandoned  and 
the  services  held  in  the  schoolhouse,  but  even  these  have  ceased  in  recent 
years. 

The  United  Brethren  Church  was  organized  in  1859  and  a  church 
built  in  1863. 

The  present  officials  of  Austintown  Township  are,  William  Brickley, 
W.  J.  Knight  and  Thomas  Hardy,  trustees ;  Willis  Wingert,  clerk ;  Wil- 
liam Kroeck,  treasurer;  R.  H.  Shoffner,  constable;  David  Anderson, 
justice  of  the  peace,  J.  M.  Wayman,  assessor.- 

JACKSON 

Jackson  Township  fell  to  the  ownership  of  Oliver  Phelps  and  Gideon 
Granger  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  when  the  January,  1798, 
draft  was  made,  and,  like  Austintown  Township,  part  of  the  old  Par- 
sons Salt  Spring  claim  was  within  its  borders. 

It  was  not  until  five  years  later  that  the  first  settlement  was  made 
within  the  township,  the  pioneers  in  this  instance  being  Samuel  Calhoun 
(or  Calhoon)  and  his  son  Andrew  Calhoun.  They  were  followed  soon 
after  by  Samuel  Calhoun's  wife,  Nancy  Calhoun,  and  the  remaining  two 
sons  and  ten  daughters  of  the  family. 

In  the  same  year  William  Orr,  from  Washington  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, Andrew  Gault  and  John  Ewing,  the  latter  a  native  of  Ireland, 
located  in  Jackson.  In  1804  they  were  joined  by  Samuel  Riddle,  a 
Pennsylvanian,  in  1805  by  John  and  Eleanor  Morrison  and  Nicholas 
Van  Emmon.  Robert  Kirkpatrick,  who  first  located  in  Austintown 
Township,  and  the  Osborne  family,  originally  settlers  in  Youngstown 
and  Canfield  townships  in  the  neighborhood  later  known  as  Cornersburg, 
were  early  settlers. 

The  settlement  of  Jackson  Township  was  extremely  slow  until  about 
1818  when  homebuilders  began  to  come  with  greater  frequency.  This 
delay  was  due  to  the  swampy  character  of  much  of  the  land  in  Jackson, 
this  ground  being  susceptible  to  flood  and  being  considered  poor  farm- 
ing land.  The  original  owners  of  the  land  also  delayed  putting  it  on  the 
market  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  validity  of  the  Parsons  claim  was 
also  a  drawback. 

Improvements  were  also  made  slowly.  The  present  improved  high- 
way running  through  Jackson  Township  from  Youngstown  was  laid 
out  at  an  early  day,  but  was  a  poor  road  for  many  years.  It  was  about 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  before  any  real  road  improvement 
began. 

Vol.  1—37 


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578       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Jackson  Center  was  founded  about  1828  with  Robert  Turnbull  as  the 
original  settler  and  a  dozen  years  later  had  but  seven  or  eight  houses. 
About  1834  Caldwell  Porter  of  Austintown  opened  the  first  store  there 
and  perhaps  a  little  later  Dr.  Isaac  Powers  located  at  the  Center.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Dr.  James  F.  Porter  who  remained  for  some  years. 
Turnbull,  the  original  settler,  kept  a  stopping  place  for  travelers,  but 
Jacob  Probst  was  probably  proprietor  of  the  first  tavern  which  was 
supplanted  in  1844  by  a  hotel  erected  by  Benjamin  Wannamaker.  Prior 
to  1810  Samuel  Riddle  erected  a  gristmill  along  Meander  Creek  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  township,  and  later  built  a  sawmill  just  across 
the  line  in  Ellsworth  Township.  A  sawmill  was  built  within  the  town- 
ship about  1830.  It  was  1834  before  a  postoffice  was  established  at  the 
village  of  Jackson  Center. 

Andrew  Gault,  son  of  the  second  settler  in  the  township,  was  the 
first  native  white  child  of  Jackson,  his  birth  taking  place  on  December 
7,  1804.  The  first  marriage  was  solemnized  in  1805  when  John  Ewing 
and  Margaret  Orr  were  united  in  wedlock. 

The  pioneer  school  of  Jackson  Township  was  opened  at  an  early  date 
in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  township  in  a  log  house.  John  Fullerton, 
for  many  years  teacher  in  Jackson  Township,  was  probably  the  first 
master.  As  Jackson  Township  had  a  large  German  population  that 
language  was  taught  in  the  schools  in  conjunction  with  English  until 
1840  when  it  was  discontinued. 

Describing  Jackson  Township  schools  as  they  were  between  1842  and 
1850,  John  Gault,  one  of  the  oldest  living  residents  of  the  township,  says: 

"The  school  buildings  in  those  days  were  made  of  logs.  The  desks 
consisted  of  broad  boards  laid  on  pins  which  were  driven  into  the  log 
wall.  The  seats  were  benches  of  a  uniform  height,  which  allowed  the 
feet  of  the  smaller  children  to  dangle  in  the  air.  Altogether  the  school 
arrangement  was  poor,  but  the  greatest  hardship  of  all  was  the  poor  in- 
struction given  by  the  teachers.  It  often  occurred  that  a  class  in  arith- 
metic would  be  memorizing  rules  and  definitions  for  interest  while  they 
did  'sums'  in  multiplication.  Thus  rules  and  definitions  were  memo- 
rized that  meant  nothing  t6  the  student.  Of  the  nine  districts  in  the 
township  at  this  time  district  number  two  was  considered  the  leading,  or 
model,  school,  due  to  the  interest  which  the  Mohermans,  the  Johnsons 
and  the  others  in  the  district  expressed  by  a  wise  selection  of  teachers. 
This  intelligent  effort  for  improvement  resulted  in  giving  the  county 
such  men  as  Judge  W.  S.  Anderson,  Judge  J.  R.  Johnston  and  others." 

In  1856  the  school  at  the  center,  now  part  of  the  town  hall,  was  made 
into  a  select  school,  where  such  studies  as  algebra,  philosophy,  physical 
geography,  etc.,  were  taught.  In  i860  this  developed  into  an  academy 
with  O.  P.  Brockway  as  the  first  teacher.  The  academy  continued  for 
an  indefinite  period  and  in  1899  was  converted  into  the  Jackson  Town- 
ship High  Schbol.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  centralization  plan  first 
appeared  in  Ohio,  and  Jackson  decided  upon  centralization,  being  a 
pioneer  in  this  respect.  This  led  to  the  discontinuing  of  several  of  the 
sub-districts,  still  leaving  the  districts  at  the  four  corners  of  the  town- 
ship as  they  originally  were. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        579 

In  1914  the  board  of  education  completed  a  fine  new  six-room  fire- 
proof building  at  a  cost  of  $23,000,  this  building  being  the  present  home 
of  the  Jackson  centralized  school,  housing  all  the  children  of  the  town- 
ship. The  high  school  continued  as  third  grade  until  1916  when  it  was 
advanced  to  the  second  grade. 

In  1918  the  school  population  of  Jackson  had  increased  and  two 
additional  teachers  were  hired.  These  instructors  are  now  teaching  in 
the  old  two-room  building  that  is  part  of  the  town  hall,  but  the  township 
will  soon  complete  its  eight-room  layout.  The  present  teaching  staff 
consists  of  David  Duff,  Lela  Orr,  J.  N.  Gallaher,  Elizabeth  Wilson, 
Edith  Andrews,  Wilhelmina  Lucas,  Ruth  Weikart  and  Edna  Thomas. 
The  district  superintendent  is  Fred  D.  Myers, 

The  first  church  building  in  Jackson,  a  log  structure  in  the  western 
part  of  the  township,  was  built  about  1818  and  used  by  the  Presbyterians 
of  Jackson  and  Austintown.  Prior  to  this  the  Covenanters  had  held 
religious  services  in  Jackson  and  in  that  year  a  congregation  was  formed 
in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  township  with  Rev.  Robert  Gibson  as  the 
first  pastor.  A  frame  church,  afterwards  dismantled,  was  built  in  1830. 
About  1833  a  division  occurred  in  the  church,  the  pastor  going  with  the 
dissenters  into  a  new  congregation.  About  1848  a  new  church  building 
was  erected.  The  Presbyterian  Church  was  formally  organized  in  187 1 
and  a  church  building  was  put  up  at  North  Jackson  and  dedicated  on 
December  28,  1871.  Rev.  J.  F.  Kirkbride  is  the  present  pastor,  the 
membership  being  seventy-seven. 

Methodism  in  Jackson  dates  from  1823,  the  actual  organization  of 
the  church  taking  place  a  year  later  when  eight  members  met  at  the 
home  of  John  Erwin.  Early  preaching  was  done  by  circuit  riders.  Rev. 
Guy  Hoover  is  now  pastor  of  the  church  which  has  a  membership  of 
sixty-seven. 

Lutherans  and  Reformed  residents  of  Jackson  met  originally  at  their 
homes  for  services  but  in  1835  organized  and,  by  their  joint  efforts, 
erected  a  church  building  that  stood  for  many  years.  Its  first  pastor 
was  Rev.  F.  C.  Becker  who  labored  there  for  several  decades.  A  new 
church  was  put  up  at  North  Jackson  in  1903-04  at  a  cost  of  $5,000.  The 
Reformed  Church,  with  a  membership  of  eighty-four,  was  supplied  by 
Rev.  J.  M.  Kendig  until  his  death  in  November,  1919.  The  United 
Lutheran  congregation  has  not  had  a  resident  pastor  for  the  last  year 
but  is  supplied  by  Reverend  Smith  of  Niles. 

The  Disciple,  or  Christian  congregation,  was  organized  in  1852  by 
Rev.  C.  Smith,  with  a  membership  of  fifty-two,  although  earlier  activities 
dated  back  to  1829.  A  modern  church  structure  was  erected  at  North 
Jackson  and  the  congregation  now  has  a  membership  of  100  with  Rev. 
J.  A.  Brown  as  pastor. 

Jackson  Township  was  originally  included  in  the  civil  township  of 
Youngstown.  On  its  separate  organization  Andrew  Gault  was  the  first 
justice  of  the  peace.  The  present  township  officials  are,  H.  H.  Harkel- 
rode,  George  Ewing  and  Wesley  Williams,  trustees;  J.  Ford  Gault, 
clerk;  John  Fullerton,  treasurer;  R.  E.  Handwork,  constable;  E.  A. 
Buck,  assessor;  John  Gault,  justice  of  the  peace. 


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580       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Jackson  Township  is  fertile  farming  territory,  traversed  by  Meander 
Creek,  and  is  on  the  main  east  and  west  road  to  Youngstown.  North 
Jackson,  or  Jackson  Center,  is  the  railroad  station  for  much  surrounding 
territory,  being  on  the  Pennsylvania  line  from  Niles  to  Alliance.  The 
village  has  a  population  of  about  400.  The  storekeepers  include,  Friend 
Jones,  hardware;  Nathan  Shipley,  general  merchandise;  E.  M.  Russell, 
general  merchandise;  Guy  McMillen,  confectionery  and  grocery; 
Shroeder  and  Kimmel,  implement  dealers.  Alva  Jones  is  the  village 
postmaster.  There  are  two  blacksmith  shops  and  two  garages.  The 
industries  include  the  H.  H.  Lynn  sawmill  and  the  flour  mill  of  the 
Mahoning  Improvement  Company,  a  farmers'  organization.  There  is  a 
Knight  of  Pythias  Lodge,  a  lodge  of  the  Pythian  Sisters,  and  Jackson 
Grange  with  F.  A.  Eckis  as  master.  A  hotel  is  one  of  the  improvements 
in  sight  for  North  Jackson. 

MILTON 

Milton  Township  is  the  northwesterly  subdivision  of  the  county, 
bordering  on  the  north  on  Trumbull  County  and  on  the  west  on  Portage 
County.  It  was  drawn  originally  by  Ralph  Pomeroy,  Nathaniel  C. 
Ingraham,  Ozias  Marvin,  Stephen  Lockwood,  Taylor  Sherman,  Phineas 
Miller,  Joseph  Borrell,  William  Edwards,  Ezekiel  Williams,  Jr.,  Pier- 
l>ont  Edwards,  Samuel  P.  Lord,  Ebenezer  King,  David  King,  Fidelia 
King,  Elijah  Wadsworth,  Frederick  Wolcott,  Uriel  Holmes,  Ephraim 
Root  and  Ichabod  Ward.  Pomeroy  was  the  owner  of  about  two-thirds 
of  the  township,  while  most  of  the  shareholders  possessed  but  nominal 
holdings. 

The  original  settlements  in  Milton  County  were  made  in  1803  when 
Nathaniel  Stanley  settled  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  just  above  Price- 
town,  Aaron  Porter,  later  a  famous  hunter,  located  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river,  and  John  Van  Netten  and  family  located  in  the  west  part  of 
the  township.  In  probably  the  same  year  Samuel  Bowles  located  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Milton.  Other  early  residents  were  Samuel  Linton, 
Isaac  Winans,  James  Winans,  Jacob  Winans  and  Daniel  Stewart,  who 
came  about  1804,  Reuben  S.  Clarke,  John  DeLong,  Joseph  Depew.  James 
Craig,  John  Craig,  Thomas  L.  Fenton,  George  Snyder,  John  McKenzie, 
Samuel  Daniels,  John  Pennel,  Peter  DeCourcey,  Alexander  French, 
Thomas  Reed,  William  Parshall,  John  Johnston,  Judge  Robert  Price  and 
Calvin  Shepard. 

In  the  first  thirty  years  or  more  after  its  settlement  Milton  Town- 
ship flourished.  Fertile  and  well  drained  lands  made  it  a  desirable 
place  in  which  to  live,  it  is  a  country  of  much  natural  beauty  in  the 
winding  Mahoning  River  Valley,  and  it  is  located  but  a  short  distance 
from  the  village  of  Deerfield,  Portage  County,  which  was  one  of  the 
most  thriving  settlements  on  the  Western  Reserve  in  the  early  days. 
Price's  Mills,  later  Pricetown,  became  one  of  the  busy  hamlets  of  West- 
ern Trumbull  County  after  the  first  settlement  was  made  there.  Jesse 
Holliday  appears  to  have  been  the  pioneer  of  Pricetown,  having  erected 
a  grist  mill,  sawmill  and  carding  mill  there  as  early  as  1804.    The  grist 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       581 

mill  was  an  unusually  pretentious  one  and  was  visited  by  grain  growers 
from  miles  around.  Judge  Robert  Price  became  the  owner  of  these 
mills  about  1817  and  gave  his  name  to  the  settlement.  Later  they  were 
owned  by  Dr.  Jonathan  I.  Tod,  who  also  built  a  foundry  at  Pricetown. 
Later  industries  were  a  linseed  oil  plant,  flax  mill  and  woolen  factory. 
Thomas  L.  Fenton  was  the  first  tavern  keeper,  Booth  &  Elliott  probably 
the  first  merchants,  Dr.  Tracy  Bronson  and  Dr.  George  Ewing  the  first 
practicing  physicians,  and  Fenton,  the  tavernkeeper,  was  also  the  first 
blacksmith.  A  postoffice  was  established  there  about  1808.  There  were 
also  early  tanneries  and  distilleries  scattered  throughout  the  township. 

Pricetown  had  reached  its  best  days  by  1840.  Today  there  is  little 
left  of  that  part  of  the  old  village  that  lay  in  Milton  Township.  Even 
more  tragic  was  the  fate  of  Fredericksburg,  once  a  flourishing  village  on 
the  Mahoning  River  above  Pricetown.  Once  a  stage-stop  on  the  Cleve- 
land-Pittsburgh route  and  a  place  of  taverns,  stores  and  mills,  Fred- 
ericksburg is  now  buried  beneath  the  waters  of  Lake  Milton.  Today 
there  is  not  a  postoffice  or  even  sizeable  village  in  Milton  Township. 

Schools  were  established  in  Milton  Township  before  1810,  Daniel 
Depew  being  probably  the  first  teacher.  James  Johnston  taught  from 
181 1  to  1813  in  a  log  house  near  the  Jackson  Township  line,  this  building 
being  used  until  1818  when  a  structure  of  hewn  logs  was  erected. 

When  the  school  code  of  1914  was  adopted  Milton  Township  had 
seven  schools,  the  Shrader*s  Corners,  in  the  southeastern  part;  Orr's 
Corners,  in  the  eastern  part;  Tiger  School  in  the  northeastern  part; 
Center  School;  River  Bank,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  and  south  of 
the  center ;  Fredericksburg  School  and  Patterson  School,  on  the  west  side 
of  the  river  and  north  of  the  Center.  This  code  eliminated  all  btft  the 
Shrader's  Corners,  Tigers,  River  Bank  and  Patterson  schools.  The 
Pricetown  special  district  was  formed  some  years  ago  and  maintained 
a  two-room  school  as  long  as  attendance  warranted  it.  The  children 
from  the  schools  that  had  been  closed  were  transported,  of  course,  to 
one  of  these  four  schools.  Later  the  Patterson  School  was  closed,  leav- 
ing only  the  three  one-room  schools  with  an  attendance  of  seventy-five. 
The  teachers  are  Francis  Johnston,  Mrs.  Ray  Kime  and  Jennie  Gardner. 
Milton  Township  is  in  No.  2  county  supervisory  district,  under  Superin- 
tendent Fred  D.  Myers.  The  township  has  not  yet  been  convinced  that 
it  can  afford  one  centralized  school,  a  movement  toward  this  having  been 
defeated  by  popular  vote  in  1916. 

The  earliest  church  in  the  township  was  the  Presbyterian,  founded 
about  1807.  A  church  structure  was  erected  soon  afterwards  at  Price- 
town,  with  Rev.  James  Boyd  as  first  pastor  and  later  activities  were 
transferred  to  Orr's  Corners,  but  eventually  abandoned.  The  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  was  organized  in  1812,  services  being  held  at  homes 
and  in  schoolhouses  by  circuit  riders.  Subsequently  a  church  was  erected 
at  Baldwin's  Corners,  but  Methodists  in  Milton  are  now  identified  with 
the  Milton-Newton  church  at  Pricetown,  the  building  being  on  the  New- 
town Township  side  of  the  line.  The  Disciples  Church  was  organized  in 
Milton  about  1830  and  flourished  for  a  generation  but  finally  dissolved. 
Newton  Township  has  no  organized  church  of  any  denomination  today, 


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582       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

the  one  religious  body  being  a  Union  Sunday  School  that  meets  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  township. 

Governmentally,  Milton  Township  was  originally  united  with  New- 
town Township,  but  about  1815  Milton  Township  was  separately  organ- 
ized. The  present  township  officers  are:  Lewis  Hawkins,  C.  J.  Shrader 
and  William  Stitle,  trustees ;  Harry  E.  Kale,  clerk ;  Glen  R.  Creed,  treas- 
urer; E.  J.  Middletown,  constable;  Floyd  E.  Weisner,  assessor. 

While  Milton  Township  is  the  most  sparsely  populated  of  all  Mahon- 
ing County  townships  it  is  destined  to  become  a  most  important  sub- 
division with  the  development  of  the  Milton  Lake  property.  Originally 
the  site  of  this  reservoir  was  a  wild,  deep  and  remarkably  picturesque 
gorge  in  the  Mahoning  River  Valley.  With  its  purchase  by  the  City  of 
Youngstown  and  the  erection  of  a  giant  concrete  dam,  Milton  Lake  was 
created  as  an  industrial  water  supply  for  Youngstown.  The  lake  covers 
1,700  acres  and  impounds  10,000,000,000  gallons  of  water.  The  use  of 
this  place  as  a  pleasure  resort  is  now  restricted  since  the  water  is  used 
for  domestic  as  well  as  industrial  purposes,  but  with  the  acquisition  of  a 
separate  domestic  supply  for  Youngstown,  Milton  Lake  will  become  a 
mecca  for  fishermen  and  other  lovers  of  the  outdoors. 

Milton  Township  has  one  of  the  most  active  granges  in  the  county 
and  owns  a  grange  hall  of  its  own.    L.  W.  Flick  is  the  present  master. 

ELLSWORTH 

Ellsworth  Township  lies  just  west  of  Canfield  Township,  near  the 
center  of  Mahoning  County  and  is  one  of  the  southernmost  townships 
of  the  Western  Reserve,  being  township  one  of  range  four.  Meander 
Creek  flows  through  the  township  and  on  into  Austintown. 

The  first  actual  settlers  of  Ellsworth  were  James  Reed  of  Westmore- 
land County,  Pennsylvania,  Joseph  Coit  and  Joseph  Arner,  all  of  whom 
came  to  Ellsworth  and  located  lands  in  1803,  building  cabins  at  that 
time.  Coit  and  Arner  were  also  Pennsylvanians,  and  all  three  returned 
to  that  state  after  the  first  season  in  Ohio.  In  the  spring  of  1804  Reed 
and  Arner  brought  their  families  on  to  Ellsworth  and  Coit,  who  was  then 
unmarried,  came  at  the  same  time. 

In  1804  Thomas  Jones  and  family  came  from  Maryland  and  settled 
in  Ellsworth  Township  and  in  1806  William  Ripley,  Harvey  Ripley  and 
Elisha  Palmer  were  among  the  settlers.  Philip  Borts  came  from  Penn- 
sylvania in  the  same  year.  Settlers  in  1806  were  Daniel  Fitch  and  wife, 
Richard  Fitch,  William  Fitch,  Charles  Fitch,  John  Leonard  and  Nicholas 
Leonard,  and  in  1807,  John  Houston. 

Thomas  Jones,  Jr.,  born  in  1806,  was  the  first  native  white  child  in 
the  township,  and  the  first  wedding  took  place  in  1807  -when  Lydia  Buell 
and  Hezekiah  Chidester  of  Canfield  were  united  in  marriage  at  the  home 
of  Richard  Fitch.  The  bride  was  a  sister  to  Mrs.  Fitch.  Fitch  at  this 
time  conducted  a  tavern,  the  first  in  the  township  and  opened  a  year 
previously.  The  first  grist  mill  was  built  by  Gen.  Simon  Perkins  of 
Warren  and  Eli  Baldwin  of  Boardman  and  about  the  same  time  these 
mill  owners  also  put  up  a  sawmill.    The  first  store  was  built  about  1822 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       583 

in  a  log  house  at  Ellsworth  Center.  Dr.  Chauncey  C  Cook,  who  later 
removed  to  Youngstown,  was  the  first  resident  physician  in  the  town- 
ship, living  here  from  1824  until  about  1827.  Thomas  Fitch  was  the 
pioneer  blacksmith,  locating  the  Center  with  his  shop  about  1814. 

A  small  log  schoolhouse  east  of  the  Center  was  the  pioneer  educa- 
tional building  of  Ellsworth  Township,  the  first  classes  here  being  taught 
by  Miss  Clara  Lanson  of  Canfield.  For  some  time  this  was  the  only 
school  building  in  the  township,  and  at  no  time  were  there  as  many  as  in 
the  average  Mahoning  County  township.  After  the  union  school  system 
was  adopted  there  were  five  schools,  Germany  School,  in  the  southeastern 
part;  Geeburg,  in  the  northeastern  part;  the  Center  School;  Ellsworth 
Station  School  and  Prospect  Hill,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township. 
The  Rosemont  School  was  maintained  by  both  Jackson  and  Ellsworth 
townships  but  was  managed  by  the  Jackson  Board  of  Education.  This 
school  was  abandoned  with  the  completion  of  centralization  in  Jackson 
Township. 

About  1905  the  school  attendance  had  increased  until  the  old  Weaver 
school  in  Berlin  Township  was  purchased  and  removed  to  a  point  near 
Ellsworth  Center.  The  first  four  grades  were  taught  in  this  building 
while  the  four  grammar  grades  were  taught  in  the  original  Center  build- 
ing. In  1916  the  Prospect  Hill  and  Ellsworth  Station  schools  were 
abandoned  and  the  children  transported  to  the  Center,  but  in  1919  an 
increasing  enrollment  made  the  reopening  of  the  Prospect  School  a  neces- 
sity. Ellsworth  Township  has  never  attempted  to  maintain  a  high 
school.  The  present  enrollment  in  the  schools  is  120,  the  teaching  corps 
consisting  of  Wilma  Gallagher,  Ruth  Yoxtheimer,  Ralph  Dressel,  Flossie 
Boyer  and  Hazel  Manchester.  Fred  D.  Myers  is  the  superintendent  of 
the  Ellsworth  district. 

Rev.  John  Bruce,  who  ministered  to  the  Presbyterians,  was  the  first 
minister  in  Ellsworth  Township,  locating  here  in  1809  and  remaining  for 
five  years.  A  log  building  north  of  the  Center  was  the  first  Presbyterian 
meeting  house,  but  services  were  held  at  various  places  until  181 8  when 
a  Union  Presbyterian-Congregational  Church  was  organized  and  ar- 
rangements were  made  for  holding  services  in  the  town  hall.  A  church 
building  was  erected  in  1833.  The  present  Presbyterian  congregation 
has  a  membership  of  sixty-three,  Rev.  G.  W.  Brown  being  pastor. 

The  Methodists  of  Ellsworth  Township  organized  about  1824  with 
Rev.  Nicholas  Gee  as  pastor.  About  1835  a  church  was  built  but  this 
congregation  went  out  of  existence  in  1856.  Seventeen  years  previously, 
in  1839,  another  congregation  had  been  organized  at  the  Center  and  this, 
body  erected  a  frame  church  in  1840.  A  neat  brick  structure  supplanted 
this  forty  years  later,  the  dedication  taking  place  on  February  17,  1881. 
Rev.  Guy  Hoover  is  the  present  pastor,  the  congregation  having  a  mem- 
bership of  sixty. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Rosemont  was  founded  in  ,1899 
and  organized  the  same  year.  The  church  building,  put  up  in  1909,  is 
controlled  by  the  hall  association.  Rev.  Guy  Hoover  ministers  to  this 
church  as  well  as  to  the  Jackson  and  Ellsworth  Center  churches. 

Ellsworth    Township    was    organized    from    Canfield    and    Newton 


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584       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Townships  in  1810,  and  at  that  time  included  what  is  now  known  as 
Berlin  Township.  At  the  first  election  on  April  2,  1810,  Joseph  Coit  was 
elected  township  clerk;  Andrew  Fitch,  Daniel  Fitch,  Hugh  Smith,  trus- 
tees ;  William  Ripley,  James  Parshall,  overseers  of  the  poor ;  John  Leon- 
ard, Robert  McKean,  fence  viewers;  Daniel  Fitch,  lister;  Daniel  Fitch, 
William  Fitch,  appraisers;  Jesse  Buell,  constable;  Peter  Watts,  George 
Painter,  James  McGill,  supervisors;  Harvey  Ripley,  treasurer.  The 
present  township  officials  are,  Harry  Brown,  Eli  Spencer  and  J.  M. 
Yeager,  trustees;  Forest  Hammond,  clerk;  C.  L.  Manchester,  treasurer; 
J.  C.  Gordon  and  Emory  Winans,  constables;  W.  W.  Miller,  assessor; 
Scott  Winans,  justice  of  the  peace. 

There  are  three  villages  in  the  township,  Ellsworth  Center,  Ellsworth 
Station  and  Rosemont,  the  last  named  being  on  the  Ellsworth- Jackson 
line.  Herman  Creed  is  postmaster  at  Rosemont  and  proprietor  of  the 
general  store  there.  The  village  has  a  population  of  seventy-five,  one 
sawmill,  one  cider  mill  and  two  coal  mines.  Like  Ellsworth  Station,  it 
is  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  Ellsworth  Township  has  a  thriving 
grange,  with  Hugh  Bowman  as  master. 

BERLIN 

Berlin,  one  of  the  westerly  townships  of  Mahoning  County,  was 
probably  the  last  township  in  the  county  to  undergo  permanent  settle- 
ment. This  was  due  not  to  any  unattractiveness  on  the  part  of  Berlin 
Township  but  to  the  delay  of  the  original  owners  in  placing  the  lands  of 
the  township  on  sale. 

This  township  was  drawn  in  the  draft  of  1798  by  Samuel  Mathers, 
Jr.,  Richard  W.  Hart,  William  Hart  and  George  Blake,  the  first  named 
being  the  heaviest  landowner.  The  land  is  generally  fertile  and  well 
watered.  The  upper  Mahoning  River  traverses  part  of  the  township 
and  the  river  valley  here  is  one  of  remarkable  beauty,  Berlin  Township 
being  in  fact  one  of  the  most  picturesque  spots  in  Mahoning  County. 
Before  the  site  for  Milton  Lake  had  been  selected  the  city  of  Youngs- 
town  had  purchased  a  basin  in  Berlin  Township  of  almost  equal  dimen- 
sions and  this  is  still  the  property  of  the  metropolis  of  Mahoning  County. 
A  second  lake  at  this  Berlin  site  is  a  possibility  of  the  future. 

While  other  parts  of  Mahoning  County  had  become  fairly  well  set- 
tled in  the  first  decade  that  elapsed  after  the  opening  of  the  Western 
Reserve,  it  was  not  until  1809  that  a  settlement  was  made  in  Berlin 
Township.  The  first  settler  was  a  Virginian,  Garrett  Packard,  who  came 
to  Austintown  in  1803,  located  at  Deerfield  in  1805  ar,d  *n  l&°9  settled 
on  a  farm  on  Mill  Creek  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Berlin  Township. 
Packard  was  accompanied  by  his  family,  and  on  March  27,  1809,  a  son, 
Thomas  Packard,  was  born,  being  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  town- 
ship. 

Jacob  Weldy  located  in  Berlin  Township  soon  afterwards  and  about 
the  same  time  George  Baum  became  a  resident  there.  In  181 5  he  mar- 
ried Betsy  Packard,  this  being  the  first  wedding  among  residents  of 
Berlin.    Other  early  settlers  were  Abraham  Hawn,  Joseph  H.  Coult,  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       585 

first  settler  at  Berlin  Center,  Matthias  Glass,  Reuben  Gee,  Joseph  Davis, 
David  Parshall,  Jonathan  King,  John  Cline,  George  Ripple,  Salmon 
Hall,  Henry  Houck,  David  Hartzell,  Tobias  Hartzell,  William  Kirk- 
patrick,  Emanuel  Hull  and  John  Kimmel,  all  of  whom  came  prior  to 
1830.  Real  settlement  began  about  1824  and  in  the  next  ten  years  Berlin 
Township  gained  many  residents. 

The  early  settlers  of  Berlin  Township  numbered  many  of  German 
blood  and  it  was  one  of  these,  Matthias  Glass,  who  gave  it  its  name. 
Previous  to  that  it  was  known  as  "Hart  and  Mather's"  after  its  original 
owners.  Glass  was  the  original  miller  of  the  township,  having  erected  a 
grist  mill  and  sawmill  on  Turkey  Broth  Creek  in  1825.  Later  a  second 
grist  mill  was  built  on  the  same  site  by  Isaac  Wilson.  The  first  store 
was  started  at  the  Center  by  Joseph  Edwards  about  1833,  while  Peter 
Musser  kept  the  first  tavern,  this  being  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town- 
ship. Dr.  James  W.  Hughes,  practicing  physician  at  the  Center  from 
1834  to  1869,  was  the  first  resident  doctor.  In  1828  a  postoffice  was 
opened  at  Amity,  where  Musser's  tavern  was  located,  and  in  1833  Berlin 
Center  was  made  a  postoffice  station.  Berlin  Center  is  the  one  village 
in  the  township.  Schilling's  Mills,  site  of  the  first  mill  in  the  township, 
attained  the  dignity  of  a  village  name  under  the  title  of  Belvidere. 

The  first  school  was  built  near  Berlin  Center  in  the  early  '20s  and  in 
1828  the  township  was  divided  into  four  school  districts.  Schools  were 
also  established  early  in  the  northern  and  southern  parts  of  the  town- 
ship. In  later  years  there  were  seven  schools,  Shelltown,  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  the  township;  Weaver,  east-central;  Hornet's  Nest, 
southeastern ;  Center  School ;  Dutch  School,  near  the  Lutheran  Church ; 
Oak  Hill,  near  Schilling's  mill ;  Fumbletown,  west-central ;  Christytown, 
southwestern.  Centralization  was  attempted  at  an  early  date,  the  four 
schools  in  the  corners  of  the  township  being  allowed  to  remain  while 
Weaver,  Dutch  School  and  Fumbletown  Building  were  removed  to  the 
Center,  one  of  these  being  used  for  the  first  four  grades,  another  for 
the  grammar  grades  and  the  third  for  the  high  school,  organized  about 
1905.  When  the  school  code  of  1914  became  effective  Berlin  had  a 
splendid  high  school  under  Principal  Evan  C.  Dressel. 

On  February  2,  191 5,  the  township  voted,  after  a  warm  campaign, 
to  vote  $22,000  in  bonds  for  a  new  school  building,  completing  centraliza- 
tion. The  building,  completed  and  occupied  on  October  4,  1916,  is  a 
most  modern  structure  with  seven  class  rooms  and  an  auditorium- 
gymnasium.  The  high  school  was  raised  to  the  second  grade  in  1919. 
Berlin  Township  now  has  a  school  enrollment  of  163,  with  E.  E.  Horton 
and  Ruth  Malmsberry  as  high  school  teachers  and  Ira  J.  Myers,  Nora 
Altwater  and  Minnie  Myers  as  grade  school  teachers,  Miss  Malmsberry 
also  teaching  the  eighth  grade.  R.  L.  Druhot  is  the  present  superin- 
tendent. 

German  residents  of  Berlin  Township  held  religious  services  at  an 
early  date,  probably  at  the  home  of  Abraham  Hawn,  and  in  1828  the 
Lutherans  and  Reformed  Church  adherents  united  and  built  a  small 
church  two  miles  north  of  the  center.  A  frame  church  was  put  up  in 
1836  and  replaced  by  a  better  church  in  1872.    Rev.  Henry  Hewett  .was 


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586       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

the  first  pastor.  Gradually  this  church  became  Lutheran  owing  to  the 
preponderance  of  members  of  this  denomination  and  is  now  an  active 
Lutheran  organization. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  congregation  was  organized  in  1830  and  in 
1839  erected  its  first  church  at  Berlin  Center.  This  congregation  is  still 
active  but  without  a  resident  pastor. 

Other  early  congregations  were  the  Mount  Carmel  Evangelical 
Church,  the  Zion  Church  and  the  Christian  Church. 

Berlin  Township  was  originally  part  of  Milton  Township  and  in 
1 810  was  organized  as  part  of  Ellsworth  Township.  In  1828  it  was 
separately  organized,  and  at  the  first  election,  on  April  7,  1828,  Nathan 
Minard,  Thompson  Craig  and  Samuel  Kauffman  were  chosen  trustees; 
Salmon  Hall,  treasurer;  Joseph  H.  Coult,  clerk;  John  Stuart,  constable; 
William  Kirkpatrick  and  Christian  Kauffman,  overseers  of  the  poor; 
Joseph  Davis  and  Joseph  Leonard,  fence  viewers;  Edward  Frankle, 
Benjamin  Misner  and  Abraham  Craft,  supervisors. 

The  proposed  Milton  reservoir  land,  owned  by  the  City  of  Youngs- 
town,  is  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  township  and  includes  the  site 
of  the  one-time  village  of  Schilling's  Mills. 

The  present  Berlin  Township  officials  are,  John  Hartzell,  Emory 
Stallsmith  and  H.  J.  Woolf ,  trustees ;  Carl  Florence,  clerk ;  M.  H.  Gun- 
der,  treasurer;  M.  A.  Hawn,  constable;  I.  J.  Smith,  justice  of  the  peace; 
B.  E.  Durr,  assessor. 

Berlin  Grange  is  well  organized  with  C.  A.  Cover  as  master.  There 
is  also  a  flourishing  Knights  of  Pythias  lodge  at  Berlin  Center. 

BEAVER 

Major  Jacob  Gilbert,  a  Maryland  man  and  later  a  soldier  in  the  War 
of  1812,  was  the  pioneer  settler  of  Beaver  Township,  locating  here  about 
1802.  About  the  same  time  Adam  Wieland,  who  married  a  daughter  of 
Gilbert,  came  to  the  township  and  in  perhaps  the  same  year  John  Shane- 
felt  located  on  a  farm  near  the  one  owned  by  Gilbert. 

In  1803  Christopher  Mentzer  and  Christian  Clinker  settled  near 
where  North  Lima  now  stands  and  a  year  later  Frederick  Dutterer  and 
Michael  Dutterer  located  near  them.  In  1804  also  John  Coblentz  from 
Frederick,  Maryland,  came  to  Beaver  Township.  Among  the  other 
pioneers  were  Adam  Little,  Peter  Stevens,  John  Harman,  Henry  Neidigh 
and  Frederick  Sponseller.  By  1830  the  township  had  several  hundred 
inhabitants,  settlement  having  been  rapid  from  the  beginning. 

The  first  mill  in  the  township  was  erected  by  Mathias  Glass  about 
1805,  but  it  was  soon  replaced  by  one  built  by  Jacob  Crouse.  Jacob 
Detweiler  built  probably  the  first  sawmill  and  later  steam  mills  and  tan- 
neries were  built  at  North  Lima.  Coal  mining  was  once  a  prominent 
industry  in  Beaver  Township,  as  it  was  in  Springfield  and  several  other 
Mahoning  County  townships,  but  while  mining  is  still  being  done  at 
country  banks  the  importance  of  this  industry  has  been  greatly  reduced. 

The  Village  of  North  Lima  was  founded  about  1826  by  James  Simp- 
son and  became  a  local  trading  point  for  Beaver  Township.     Trading 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       587 

was  done  there  in  a  small  way  soon  after  the  village  was  located  but  the 
first  store  of  any  size  was  opened  by  the  Neill  brothers,  probably  after 
1830.  A  village  hall  was  built  in  1876,  or  rather  rebuilt  from  what  had 
formerly  been  an  Evangelical  Church.  The  first  hotel  was  opened  about 
1830  by  John  Glass,  while  North  Lima  became  a  postoffice  station  in 
1828  with  Maj.  Jacob  Gilbert  as  postmaster.  Dr.  Nathan  Hawn  was 
the  first  permanent  physician. 

North  Lima  has  perhaps  lost  in  commercial  importance  in  late  years 
but  is  still  an  important  stop  on  the  main  automobile  highway  running 
from  Youngstown  to  Pittsburgh  by  way  of  Beaver  and  Springfield  town- 
ships. The  village  has  a  population  of  about  500,  with  four  stores. 
These  include  general  merchandise  stores  conducted  by  L.  M.  Toot, 
H.  W.  Painter  and  Mentzer  and  Entrikin,  and  a  confectionery,  drug 
store  and  barber  shop  conducted  by  R.  R.  Wood.  Troyer  Bros,  are 
proprietors  of  the  village  feed  mill,  while  there  are  oil  wells  and  a  dozen 
gas  wells  in  the  vicinity  of  the  village ;  also  four  garages  and  one  black- 
smith shop  within  the  town.    Miss  Hattie  Sells  is  postmistress. 

The  North  Lima  societies  include  Manitou  Lodge  No.  383,  Knights 
of  Pythias,  and  Beaver  Grange,  with  Frank  Crouse  as  master.  Incor- 
poration of  the  village  has  been  proposed  from  time  to  time  but  has 
never  been  carried  out. 

East  Lewistown  is  located  two  miles  west  of  North  Lima  and  was 
founded  in  1830  by  Peter  Goder,  John  Nold,  Henry  Thoman  and  George 
Houck.  It  was  several  years  before  the  village  had  any  appreciable 
growth,  the  first  store  being  opened  in  1839  by  Henry  Thoman.  A 
tavern  was  opened  in  1843  and  a  postoffice  established  in  185 1  with 
Philip  Fetzer  as  the  first  postmaster.  Dr.  Ethan  A.  ,Hoke  was  the  first 
resident  doctor. 

Woodworth,  formerly  known  as  Steamtown,  is  located  on  the  Beaver- 
Boardman  line  and  is  largely  a  residence  place.  It  was  near  here  that 
the  notorious  "Morgantown  Gang,"  operated  between  1882-85.  The 
story  of  this  organization  is  unique  in  the  history  of  Mahoning  County, 
which  has  long  been  credited  with  being  a  most  law-abiding  community. 
Arson,  thefts,  terrorism  and  almost  daily  attempts  at  assassination  char- 
acterized the  reign  of  the  "Morgantown  Gang"  until  its  leaders  were  run 
down  and  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary. 

Beaver  Township  was  given  its  name  when  organized  as  a  township 
in  181 1.  The  first  election  was  held  on  April  1st  of  that  year,  the  town- 
ships officials  chosen  being:  trustees,  John  Crumbacher,  Christian  Clinker 
and  Frederick  Sponseller;  clerk,  George  Hoke;  treasurer,  John  Har- 
man;  lister,  Adam  Little;  house  appraiser,  John  Coblentz;  constable, 
Maj.  Jacob  Gilbert;  overseers  of  the  poor,  Balzar  Mowen  and  David 
Gerringer;  fence  viewers,  Jacob  Neidigh  and  Christopher  Mentzer;  road 
supervisors,  Christian  Crebs  and  Jacob  Crouse;  justices  of  the  peace, 
Peter  Eib  and  Adam  Little. 

The  first  church  in  Beaver  Township  was  a  log  meeting  house  erected 
in  1808  by  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  congregations. 

The  Mount  Olivet  Reformed  Church  at  North  Lima  was  organized 
in  1 8 10,  and  the  church  built  in  1862  was  rebuilt  in  19 12  at  a  cost  of 


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588        YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

$21,000.  The  church  has  a  $5,000  parsonage  and  a  flourishing  member- 
ship of  317,  with  Rev.  L.  J.  Rohrbaugh  as  pastor. 

The  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  mentioned  above  was  formally 
organized  in  1810  and  a  newer  church  erected  in  1870  with  a  parsonage 
subsequently  added.  Rev.  John  Henry  Graf  is  pastor,  the  congregation 
having  a  membership  of  125. 

The  Evangelical  Association  at  North  Lima  was  organized  in  1840 
as  the  Calvary  Church,  and  the  present  church  built  in  1876.  There  is  a 
parsonage  attached.  Rev.  L.  E.  Hill  is  pastor.  The  church  has  sixty- 
six  members. 

The  Oberholtzer  Mennonite  congregation  was  organized  about  1825. 
A  church  built  the  same  year  was  replaced  in  1871.  The  church  has 
115  members,  with  Rev.  A.  J.  Steiner  as  bishop  and  minister. 

The  Paradise  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  three  miles  northwest 
of  North  Lima,  was  founded  in  1825  and  organized  in  1850.  This 
church  is  attached  to  the  North  Lima  Church  and  is  attended  by  Rever- 
end Graf. 

A  Methodist  Episcopal  congregation  was  organized  at  North  Lima 
in  1840  but  there  is  no  resident  pastor  at  present. 

Beaver  Township  has  three  school  districts,  North  Lima  Rural, 
Beaver  No.  1  Rural  and  Beaver  No.  2  Rural.  By  1914  the  one-room 
schools  in  existence  in  the  No.  1  and  No.  2  districts  included  Webster 
Hall  on  the  east  side  of  Pine  Lake,  Pine  Hill  School  on  the  west  side  of 
the  lake,  Eureka  School  at  Eureka  Station,  Germantown  School  in  the 
Mennonite  settlement  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  township,  Boyer 
School  on  the  west  side  of  the  township  and  the  Beard  School  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  township.  The  present  enrollment  in  these  two 
School  districts  is  155,  with  Grace  Hamilton,  Martha  Gilmore,  Katherine 
McKinley,  Lucille  Longanecker  and  Naomi  Miller  as  teachers  in  No.  1 
district  and  Matilda  Hopper  and  John  I.  Byler  as  teachers  in  No.  2.    R. 

E.  Elser  is  superintendent  of  this  district. 

The  earliest  school  in  North  Lima  was  orjganized  about  1810  by  the 
Reformed  and  Lutheran  churches.  The  first  school  was  at  the  west  end 
of  the  village,  the  second  at  the  east  end,  while  the  present  school,  a  four- 
room  building  erected  in  1885,  is  located  near  the  center  of  the  village. 
In  1893  a  third  grade  high  school  was  established,  the  first  class  being 
graduated  in  1895.  The  school  was  advanced  to  the  second  gracle  in 
1910  and  made  a  first  grade  high  school  in  191 1.  Superintendents  in- 
cluded H.  W.  Phillips,  Roy  Thomas,  B.  T.  Rinehart,  E.  R.  North  and 

F.  H.  McVay,  the  present  superintendent.  The  four-room  building  was 
increased  in  size  to  eight  rooms  in  1914  at  a  cost  of  $33,000.'  The  build- 
ing is  modern  in  every  respect  and  houses  275  scholars. 

Centralization  began  in  1910  when  the  Erb  School  was  brought  in. 
The  Morgantown  School  was  brought  in  in  1911,  and  in  1914  the  East 
Lewistown  School,  then  in  district  No.  2,  was  joined  to  the  North  Lima 
District.  In  addition  to  Superintendent  McVay  the  teaching  staff  in- 
cludes Mary  Rinkenberger  and  Mary  Adams  in  the  high  school  and  G;  T. 
DeWitt,  Corene  Musser,  Alta  Albright,  Miss  Garver  and  Edna  Dutter, 
grade  school  teachers. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       589 

The  present  officials  of  Beaver  Township  are:  Samuel  Elser,  Jeffer- 
son Dutrow  and  Ray  Coler,  trustees;  Rollin  Crouse,  elerk;  J,  T.  Shel- 
lenberger,  treasurer;  Edward  Peters,  constable;  Joseph  Williams,  as- 
sessor; W.  E.  Mentzer,  justice  of  the  peace. 

Beaver  Township  is  rich  farming  territory,  being  watered  by  Mill 
Creek,  Yellow  Creek  and  the  headwaters  of  Beaver  Creek.  Formerly 
there  was  much  swamp  land  in  the  township  but  this  has  largely  been 
drained.  One  of  the  large  swamps,  a  mile  and  a  half  below  North  Lima, 
was  converted  in  1913  into  a  400-acre  lake,  owned  by  the  Mahoning 
Valley  Water  Company.  Pine  Lake  is  a  favorite  fishing  spot  for 
Youngstown  anglers. 

GREEN 

Green  Township,  like  the  adjoining  townships  in  Southern  Mahoning 
County,  was  settled  largely  by  people  from  Pennsylvania  and  from  the 
border  states  of  the  south. 

The  first  settler  was  probably  Elisha  Teeters,  who  came  in  180 1  and 
located  where  the  Village  of  New  Albany  now  stands.  Baltzer  Roller 
came  in  1802,  John  Roller  in  1803,  Michael  Roller  in  1804,  and  Samuel 
Davis,  Henry  Pyle  and  wife,  Henry  Beard  and  family,  Peter  Weikert, 
Elias  Adgate,  William  Callahan,  James  Callahan,  John  Zimmerman  and 
Michael  Durr  also  in  1804.  David  Bowman  came  in  1806.  Others  who 
came  about  the  same  time  were  James  Webb,  Philip  Bauman,  John  D. 
Cook,  Jacob  Cook,  Philip  Cook,  George  Countryman,  Jacob  Country- 
man, John  Hafeley  and  Philip  Houts.  Lewis  Baker  came  in  1808,  James 
Wilson  in  1810,  and  after  this  date  settlement  was  rapid. 

Green  Township  was  organized  on  June  3,  1806,  and  became  a  part 
of  Mahoning  County  in  1846.  Green  village,  or  Greenford,  was  laid  out 
by  Lewis  Baker,  Jacob  Wilhelm  and  Jacob  Cook.  Abraham  Stauffer 
opened  a  store  here  soon  after  the  village  was  founded,  and  a  postoffice 
was  established  about  1831.  William  I.  Hahn  is  the  present  postmaster 
and  is  also  proprietor  of  a  general  store.  Similar  stores  are  operated  by 
L.  Fred  Dwily  and  G.  L,  Bush.  The  industries  include  a  grist  mill, 
operated  by  the  Rose  Milling  Company;  sawmill  and  planing  mill,  run 
by  D.  M.  Charlton;  Kop  Klay  Ko.,  manufacturers  of  clay  products. 
The  village  has  a  population  of  200  and  six  lodges,  Lodge  No.  1085, 
Patrons  of  Husbandry;  Greenford  Grange,  A.  B.  Couborn,  master; 
Knights  of  Pythias  Lodge  No.  514;  Foresters  No.  196;  Maccabees  No. 
533  J  Pythian  Sisters  No.  474. 

New  Albany  lies  west  of  Greenford  and  was  founded  by  Wilson 
Teeter  and  Edwin  Webb,  who  put  up  there  the  first  steam  mill  in  the 
county.  The  postoffice  was  established  about  1850,  with  Henry  Thullen 
in  charge.    Calla  is  north  of  Greenford. 

Washingtonville  lies  partly  within  this  township,  on  the  Mahoning- 
Columbiana  line  and  was  a  settlement  in  the  early  days  of  the  town- 
ship. Peter  and  John  Miller  were  blacksmiths  here  in  the  early  '20s, 
but  it  was  1832  before  the  village  was  actually  laid  out.  In  1833  ^e 
railroad  tavern  was  opened  by  Michael  Frederick,  and  this  building  also 


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590       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

housed  the  first  postoffice,  established  in  1836.  The  coal  mining  industry 
has  been  maintained  at  Washingtonville.  It  is  located  on  the  Lisbon 
branch  of  the  Erie  Railroad. 

The  first  schoolhouse  in  Green  Township  was  a  log  building  put  up 
on  land  donated  by  Elisha  Teeters,  the  school  being  taught  by  Edward 
Bonsall.  Before  1810  a  school  was  opened  on  the  Lisbon  road  and 
about  1815  another  was  opened  at  Green  Village,  while  a  school  was 
conducted  on  the  site  of  Washingtonville  as  early  as  1818.  By  1844 
there  were  twelve  schools  in  the  township. 

Green  was  one  of  the  first  Mahoning  County  townships  to  act  under 
the  Union  School  Act.  On  April  18,  1853,  the  school  directors,  Jesse 
Flickinger,  Levi  Toot,  Comfort  C.  Bowman,  Samuel  Cox,  James  M. 
Hole,  Richard  Templin,  Jr.,  Simon  Roller,  Thomas  Callahan  and  James 
L.  Cooke,  divided  the  township  into  nine  sub-districts.  These  districts 
were,  No.  1,  Calla,  school  erected  1882;  No.  2,  Ridge,  school  erected 
1 881 ;  No.  3,  Swamp  College,  school  erected  1884;  No.  4,  New  Albany, 
school  erected  1908;  No.  5,  Gettysburg,  school  erected  1885;  No.  6, 
Greenford,  school  erected  1888;  No.  7,  Locust  Grove,  school  erected 
1883;  No.  8,  Oakdale,  school  erected  1886;  No.  9,  school  erected  1893. 
The  tenth,  or  Millville,  sub-district  was  added  later  and  a  school  built 
there  in  1901.  The  Greenford  school  and  six  of  the  one-room  buildings, 
all  brick  structures,  are  still  in  use,  No.  5  school  having  been  closed  in 
1913,  No.  9  in  1914  and  No.  2  in  1917.  No.  3  was  closed  in  1913  but 
reopened  in  191 6. 

The  high  school,  or  graded  school,  of  the  township  was  opened  in 
1880.  It  became  a  second  grade  school  in  191 7  and  received  a  first  grade 
charter  in  1918.  Prior  to  the  passage  of  the  school  code  of  1914  there 
was  no  district  superintendent,  but  since  that  time  the  district  has  been 
organized  under  section  4738  of  the  code  with  County  Superintendent 
Jerome  Hull  in  direct  charge  as  supervisor.  The  teaching  staff  includes : 
Prudy  Freese,  Mrs.  Lynn  Davis,  Mary  Archer,  Tressie  Reed,  Iva 
Badger,  W.  H.  Hoover,  Lenore  Fell,  Marcelene  Wolfe,  Arthur  Seran, 
Olive  Sheneman,  Esther  Bush  and  Ola  Strong.  The  enrollment  is  281. 
Prof.  L.  U.  Hulin,  one  of  the  best  known  educators  in  Mahoning  County 
and  now  a  member  of  the  Youngstown  City  Board  of  Education,  is  a 
product  of  the  Green  Township  schools. 

Religious  services  were  held  by  the  Evangelical  Lutherans  shortly 
after  the  settlement  of  the  township,  early  as  1810  and  perhaps  prior  to 
that  date.  There  are  now  two  churches  of  this  denomination  in  Green. 
The  Washingtonville  Church  is  in  charge  of  Rev.  H.  A.  Richardson  and 
has  a  modern  church  building  erected  in  1896  at  a  cost  of  $4,250  and  a 
parsonage  built  for  $2,500.  This  church  has  a  membership  of  120.  The 
Greenford  Evangelical  Lutheran  congregation  has  a  brick  church  built 
at  a  cost  of  $5,000,  a  parsonage  and  a  membership  of  132.  Rev.  W.  H. 
Naffziger  was  pastor  of  this  church  from  1916  to  1920  and  resigned  but 
recently,  having  removed  to  Alliance. 

The  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Washingtonville  was  or- 
ganized in  the  *6os  and  in  1912  built  a  substantial  church  at  a  cost  of 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       591 

$4,250.  A  parsonage  is  attached.  Rev.  Lawrence  Reed  is  pastor  of  the 
congregation,  which  has  a  membership  of  eighty. 

The  Christian  Church  congregation  at  Greenford  was  organized  in 
1839  and  the  present  church  was  built  in  1916  at  a  cost  of  $5,000.  The 
church  has  a  membership  of  no  and  is  attended  by  Rev.  Herbert  T. 
Blue.  i         j 

Other  churches  in  the  township  include  an  Evangelical  Church  at 
Calla  and  a  Baptist  Church,  one  and  one-half  miles  east  of  Greenford, 
neither  of  which  has  a  resident  pastor,  also  a  union  church  on  section 
four  in  the  northern  part  of  the  township. 

Township  officials  of  Green  Township  include:  Jacob  B.  Calvin, 
G.  R.  Crutchley  and  Joseph  Kindig,  trustees;  L.  E.  Coy,  clerk;  S.  J. 
Bush,  treasurer;  W.  C.  Clay,  constable;  I.  W.  Coy  and  J.  A.  Matzen- 
baugh,  justices  of  the  peace;  G.  S.  Bush,  assessor. 

Village  officials  of  Washingtonville  are:  E.  C.  Bartolette,  mayor; 
Albert  Culler,  clerk;  H.  L.  Mcintosh,  treasurer;  Wilbur  Depane,  mar- 
shal; F.  H.  Stauffer,  Arthur  Johnson,  Charles  Taylor,  Frank  Warner, 
W.  E.  Roller  and  S.  P.  Moore,  councilmen. 

Washingtonville  has  a  Knights  of  Pythias  lodge  and  a  lodge  of  the 
Pythian  Sisters. 

GOSHEN 

Goshen  Township  was  settled  originally  in  1804  by  Anthony  Morris 
and  wife,  and  about  the  same  time  Brazilla  French,  a  relative,  settled  in 
another  part  of  the  township.  Thomas  French  settled  on  the  site  of 
Damascus  in  1805,  and  Elijah  French  and  David  Venable  in  the  same 
year.  In  1806  Isaac  Votaw,  Thomas  Votaw,  Stacy  Shreeve,  Joseph 
Kindele,  Stacy  Stratton,  James  Brooks  and  Isaac  Ellison  .located  in 
Goshen.  Aaron  Stratton  and  Henry  Hinchman  came  in  1808,  William 
Cottell,  James  Cottell  and  Joshua  Morris  in  1810.  After  1810  there  was 
much  immigration  from  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  Virginia.  Rob- 
ert Armstrong  was  another  settler  who  came  prior  to  that  year. 

The  first  mill  in  the  township  was  built  by  members  of  the  Stratton 
family.  Goshen  Township  was  formally  incorporated  on  September  n, 
1810,  but  no  record  exists  of  the  first  officers  of  the  township  except  that 
Thomas  Watson  was  named  constable.  Political  office,  in  fact,  was  not 
eagerly  sought,  for  there  is  record  showing  that  in  1813  thirty  persons 
were  summoned  to  fill  the  position  of  constable,  twenty-eight  of  whom 
refused  to  serve  and  were  fined. 

The  village  of  Damascus  was  platted  by  Horton  Howard  in  1808  and 
was  made  a  postoffice  in  1828.  It  is  now  a  thriving  place  of  500  popula- 
tion, with  two  stores,  one  conducted  by  J.  J.  Pettit,  the  other  by  Harris 
O.  Stanley,  the  village  postmaster.  There  is  one  garage  and  one  black- 
smith shop  and  a  sawmill  operated  by  E.  L.  Heestrand,  a  contractor. 
There  is  a  lodge  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  here,  and 
Goshen  Township  is  also  the  home  of  Goshen  Grange,  with  Thomas 
Doutt  as  master.  Damascus  is  located  on  the  Mahoning-Columbiana 
line. 


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592       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  other  villages  in  the  township  include  Goshen  Center,  Boswell 
and  Patmos,  the  latter  place  having  been  settled  by  Benjamin  Regie, 
John  Templin,  William  Ware  and  Levi  A.  Leyman,  Templin  opening 
the  first  store  in  1850. 

Garfield,  on  the  Pennsylvania  lines  west,  was  founded  in  1875.  W. 
D.  Armstrong  is  the  village  storekeeper  and  there  is  also  a  feed  and 
fertilizer  establishment  owned  by  the  Salona  Company.  It  is  the  rail- 
road station  for  considerable  surrounding  territory. 

The  early  population  of  Goshen  Township  was  made  up  largely  of 
Friends  from  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey.  This  religion  predomi- 
nated and  the  early  schools  were  also  conducted  by  this  denomination. 
The  first  school  was  opened  in  1812  in  a  log  house,  with  Samuel  Votaw 
as  teacher.  Shortly  afterward  a  school  was  opened  at  Stratton's  mills, 
and  taught  by  Stratton.  In  1825  a  subscription  school  was  started  at 
Hickory. 

The  interest  taken  by  the  Friends  in  education  is  evident  from  the 
fact  that  at  a  comparatively  early  day  there  were  nine  schools  in  the 
township  under  care  of  the  visiting  committee  appointed  by  the  monthly 
meeting  of  the  church.    Several  of  these  were  family  schools. 

The  present  schools  include  the  Damascus  High  School  and  the 
Meadow  Brook,  Damascus,  Patmos,  Boswell,  Greenwood,  Goshen  Cen- 
ter and  Millville  grade  schools  in  the  Goshen  rural  district,  and  the 
Garfield  special  school. 

In  1857  Jacob  Hole  and  Prof.  Israel  P.  Hole  opened  a  school  in 
a  two-room  brick  building  at  Damascus,  selling  their  property  three  or 
four  years  later  to  the  Friends  for  school  purposes.  This  became  the 
Damascus  Academy,  an  institution  that  was  regularly  incorporated  by 
the  Friends  in  1885.  The  academy  became  an  excellent  and  high  grade 
institution  under  this  management,  Walter  Williams,  now  a  Friends' 
missionary  in  China,  and  Professor  Goddard,  now  in  Columbus,  being 
among  the  principals  of  the  school.  In  19 10  the  academy  became  the 
Goshen  Township  High  School  with  Prof.  L.  U.  Hulin  as  principal. 
Supervision  was  instituted  in  the  township  in  1914  and  the  schools  are 
now  in  the  first  supervisory  district  under  Superintendent  R.  L.  Druhot. 

The  Garfield  Special  School  was  founded  in  1875  as  a  high  school 
and  made  a  special  school  district  in  1893.  Superintendent  L.  E.  York 
of  Massillon  was  a  teacher  there  at  one  time. 

The  Friends  established  the  first  church  in  the  township  and  wor- 
shiped in  the  original  meeting  house  until  it  was  burned  down  in  1842. 
This  loss  was  soon  replaced.  The  present  meeting  house  of  the  Friends 
at  Damascus  is  one  of  the  important  gathering  places  of  Goshen.  Rev. 
Isaac  Stratton  is  the  present  pastor.  There  is  a  branch  of  the  Friends 
Church  at  Garfield. 

A  Methodist  Episcopal  society  was  organized  in  1820  by  John  Temp- 
lin, Joseph  King,  Newton .  French,  Joseph  Keeler,  William  Cassaday, 
William  Stratton,  N.  K.  Gunder  and  others.  This  is  a  flourishing  con- 
gregation today  with  Rev.  Stanley  Smith  as  pastor,  the  church  building 
being  located  at  Damascus. 

The  present  township  officials  of  Goshen  are:    O.  V.  Delzell,  W.  P. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       593 

Clemson  and  R.  L.  Burton,  trustees;  W.  A.  Kirtland,  clerk;  J.  H.  Rupert, 
treasurer;  R.  B.  Watters,  constable;  W.  B.  Walters,  justice  of  the  peace; 
W.  F.  Whiteleather,  assessor. 

SMITH 

Smith  Township  lies  in  the  extreme  southwestern  part  of  Mahoning 
County,  bordering  on  Stark,  Portage  and  Columbiana  counties  as  well  as 
on  the  townships  of  Berlin  and  Goshen  in  Mahoning  County.  The 
Mahoning  River  crosses  the  township  in  the  southwestern  corner-  and 
it  is  traversed  by  the  Pittsburgh,  Fort  Wayne  and  Chicago  branch  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  andthe-'Salem-Canton  electric  line. 

The  first  permanent  settler  in  Smith  Township  was  William  Smith, 
who  came  here  in  1804,  although  a  year  previously  James  Carter  oi 
Pennsylvania  had  built  a  cabin  and  located  in  the  township.  Carter  it 
appears  had  purchased  land  in  what  is  now  Berlin  Township  and  by 
mistake  settled  too  far  south.  The  land  on  which  he  located  was  that 
actually  purchased  by  Smith,  who,  on  his  arrival,  recompensed  Carter 
for  the  work  he  had  done  and  the  latter  moved  on  to  his  own  land. 

James  •  C.  Stanley  of  Hanover  County,  Virginia,  came  to  Smith 
Township  in  1805.  In  181 1  Edmund  Stanley  came  from  Virginia  and 
he  was  joined  early  in  1812  by  Thomas  Stanley,  his  father.  The  latter 
was  accompanied  by  his  six  children.  It  was  several  years  later  before 
settlement  of  Smith  Township  became  general,  many  of  the  settlers 
coming  then  from  the  neighboring  townships  of  Goshen  and  Green. 

Smith  Township  was  organized  in  1821  on  petition  of  William -Smith, 
its  founder,  and  James  C.  Stanley  was  the  first  township  »plerk. 

The  Village  of  Westville,  Smith  Township,  was  named  and  laid  out 
in  1831  by  Aaron  Coppack  and  the  plat  recorded  in  1835.  North  Ben- 
ton was  laid  out  in  March,  1834,  under  the  supervision  of  William 
Smith,  Dr.  John  Dellenbaugh  and  James  Smith,  although  there  had  been 
a  small  village  on  this  site  for  some  years  previously.  The  village  was 
named  after  Thomas  Benton,  the  great  Missouri  senator,  who  was  at  that 
time  a  popular  idol  of  the  democrats.  The  Benton  Exchange,  the  first 
hotel,  was  opened  in  1832,  two  years  before  the  village  was  formally 
platted. 

The  village  now  has  a  population  of  300  and  is  a  postoffice  station, 
with  O.  R.  Iden,  proprietor  of  a  general  merchandise  store,  as  post- 
master. A.  E.  Strong  and  A.  J.  Hartzell  also  conduct  general  stores 
there.     There  is  a  grist  mill  conducted  by  Moore  and  Matthews. 

Beloit,  an  incorporated  village,  was  originally  Smithfield  station,  and 
owes  its  origin  to  the  Pittsburgh,  Fort  Wayne  &  Chicago  Railroad  in 
1849.  The  present  name  was  given  the  village  in  1863.  It  has  a  popula- 
tion of  589  and  is  a  thriving  place  with  a  postoffice,  with  Cora  M.  Burns 
as  postmistress,  and  five  stores,  J.  D.  McKinzie.  general  merchandise; 
Heacock  and  Weizneckers,  groceries  and  meats;  T.  J.  Cobbs,  groceries 
and  general  merchandise ;  Beloit  Hardware  Company  Store,  conducted 
by  Rice  and  Jones ;  Brannons  Hardware  Store.  Frank  Brannons,  propri- 
etor.     The    industries    include   the    Beloit    Flour    Mill,    A.    J.    Stanley, 

Vol.  1—38 


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594        YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

proprietor;  Stanley  Lumber  Company,  Ira  Stanley,  proprietor;  Acety- 
lene Gas  Machine  Company,  I.  O.  Courtney,  owner.  C.  N.  Dixon  is  a 
dealer  in  fertilizer,  coal,  machinery,  flag  stone,  etc.  The  lodges  are 
Beloit  Camp,  No.  11395,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  and  Beloit 
Tent,  No.  143,  Knights  of  the  Maccabees.  Smith  Township  is  the  seat 
of  Smith  Grange  with  Emylon  Taylor  as  master. 

East  Alliance  Jies  in  Smith  Township  and  has  shared  in  the  general 
growth  of  Alliance.  Snodes  is  located  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the 
township  and  Westville  in  the  southeastern.  Sebring,  one  of  the  infant 
municipalities  of  Mahoning  County  but  the  largest  outside  the  Mahoning 
Valley  proper  was  platted  in  1899.  A  more  complete  sketch  of  this 
municipality  is  given  in  another  chapter  of  this  volume. 

The  first  school  in  Smith  Township  was  located  on  the  site  of  North 
Benton  and  was  opened  about  1810.  The  present  schools  in  Smith  are, 
Quaker  Hill,  North  Benton,  Fish  Creek,  Westville,  Uniontown,  Bandy's, 
Brocktown,  Beech  Ridge  Model  and  Peru  schools  in  the  Smith  rural 
district  and  the  Beloit  High  School  and  Beloit  Grade  School  in  the  Beloit 
special  district.  These  are  in  the  first  supervisory  district  under  Super- 
intendent R.  L.  Druhot.  The  Sebring  schools  are  in  a  separate  super- 
visory district  organized  under  section  4740  of  the  school  code  of  1914. 

The  earliest  church  in  Smith  Township  was  that  of  the  Friends, 
established  in  1829,  the  church  building  erected  at  that  time  being  also 
used  as  a  school. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  at  North  Benton  was  organized  in  Deer- 
field  and  the  members  worshiped  first  at  North  Benton  in  a  church  built 
in  1851.  Later  the  congregation  purchased  a  union  church  building 
erected  in  1859  and  the  congregation  now  worships  in  another  and 
more  modern  building. 

The  Friends  denomination,  well  represented  in  this  township,  has  a 
church  at  Beloit. 

Church  activities  in  Smith  Township  are  also  centered  in  Sebring 
where  there  are  churches  representing  the  Presbyterian,  United  Presby- 
terian, Methodist  Episcopal,  Roman  Catholic,  Christian,  Protestant 
Episcopal,  Baptist  and  Evangelical  Lutheran  denominations. 

Smith  Township  officials  are:  C.  A.  Israel,  Samuel  S.  McCamon 
and  Albert  J.  Eden,  trustees;  T.  D.  Keenan,  clerk;  John  M.  Horton, 
treasurer ;  H.  R.  Ewing  and  W.  P.  Martin,  justices  of  the  peace ;  Frank 
Timmer,  constable;  Walter  D.  Miller,  assessor. 

The  Beloit  municipal  officials  include,  Walter  Stanley,  mayor;  H.  R. 
Israel,  clerk;  T.  W.  Jones,  treasurer;  J.  McLaughlin,  marshal;  L.  J. 
Earley,  Harry  Smith,  William  Hicks,  A.  I.  Heacock,  A.  J.  Stanley  and 
William  Hemingway,  councilmen. 

SPRINGFIELD 

Springfield  Township  is  the  most  easterly  of  the  southern  tier  of 
Mahoning  County  townships,  bordering  on  the  east  on  Pennsylvania 
and  on  the  south  on  Columbiana  County. 

Like  its  neighboring  townships  of  Beaver,  Goshen,  Green  and  Smith, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        595 

Springfield  Township  was  never  part  of  the  Connecticut  Western  Re- 
serve. Originally  all  this  stretch  of  territory  was  included  in  Columbiana 
County  when  that  unit  was  formed.  The  distinction  between  this  part 
of  Mahoning  County  and  the  remaining  parts  is  easy  to  note.  The 
Connecticut  and  New  England  influence  was  less  vital  here  in  the  early 
days  and  the  Pennsylvania  element  stronger.  The  townships  in  this 
lower  tier  are  also  of  different  size.  Instead  of  the  township  five  miles 
square  that  is  common  on  the  Western  Reserve,  Beaver,  Springfield 
and  Smith  townships  are  six  miles  square,  while  Goshen  and  Green 
townships  are  slightly  smaller  owing  to  the  projection  of  Perry  Town- 
ship, Columbiana  County,  into  these  townships.  All  five  of  these  lower 
townships  were  part  of  Columbiana  County  until  Mahoning  County 
was  formed  in  1846. 

Apparently  the  first  settlers  in  Springfield  Township  were  Peter 
Musser  and  Israel  Warner  who  came  from  York  County,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1801  and  located  just  north  of  the  present  Village  of  Petersburg. 
Musser  built  a  sawmill  and  grist  mill  and  farmed  on  a  large  scale. 
Adam  Hohn  located  in  the  township  in  1801,  Daniel  Miller,  from  Adams 
County,  Pennsylvania,  C.  Seidner  and  C.  Menztzer  from  Maryland, 
John  Summers  of  York  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  George  Stump  and 
his  three  sons  in  1802.  Henry  Myers  came  in  1803,  John  Shoemaker  in 
1804,  and  from  this  year  until  1810  immigration  was  fairly  rapid.  Penn- 
sylvanians,  many  of  them  "Pennsylvania  Dutch,"  were  pioneers  in 
Springfield. 

Petersburg  was  founded  by  Peter  Musser  about  1805  and  after  his 
death  it  was  named  in  his  honor.  Musser  was  the  original  storekeeper 
as  well  as  the  first  miller  and  sawyer,  the  original  grist  mills  being  sup- 
planted in  1874  by  a  modern  steam  sawmill.  Under  the  name  of  Mus- 
ser's  Mills  a  postoffice  was  established  at  Petersburg  in  181 1  with  Jacob* 
Musser  as  postmaster  and  in  1815  James  Wallace  opened  a  store  there, 
although  a  pioneer  tavern  had  been  kept  earlier  by  Peter  Musser  at  his 
farm  house.  A  foundry,  carriage  shop  and  other  small  industries  were 
later  established  at  Petersburg.  The  first  physician  was  Dr.  Luther 
Spellman. 

The  big  mill  of  the  Petersburg  Milling  Company  is  the  principal  in- 
dustry of  this  village  today.  The  merchants  include:  Knesal  Bros., 
hardware,  slating  and  tinning;  J.  G.  Swisher,  general  merchandise; 
Richard  Winters,  groceries,  auto  accessories  and  gasoline,  and  the  Schil- 
ler Drug  Company's  store.  Carl  Schiller  is  postmaster  and  C.  C.  Has- 
brouck  proprietor  of  the  village  hotel.  Petersburg  is  also  the  home  of 
Starlight  Lodge,  No.  224,  Knights  of  Pythias.  The  population  is  ap- 
proximately 300. 

New  Springfield  was  laid  out  in  the  early  '20s  by  Abraham  Christ 
and  a  small  store  was  opened  there  by  Joseph  Davis.  Later  a  postoffice 
was  established  and  small  hotels  opened  while  a  number  of  small  in- 
dustrial plants  were  built.    Dr.  Louis  Zeigler  was  the  first  physician. 

The  present  industries  of  New  Springfield  include  the  Reesch-Printz 
Basket  Factory,  Star  Basket  Factory,  W.  H.  Shoup  Ladder  Works,  and 
Clark  Reesch  Cider  Mill.    H.  O.  Brown  is  the  proprietor  of  a  large  gen- 


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596       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

eral  merchandise  store  and  J.  D.  Seeger  a  meat  dealer.  The  Moyer  Inn 
is  the  village  hotel.  There  are  three  garages,  conducted  by  the  May 
Sales  Company,  Geiger  Motor  Company  and  New  Springfield  Garage. 
H.  O.  Brown  is  the  postmaster.    The  population  of  the  village  is  250. 

New  Middletown  was  laid  out  by  Samuel  Moore  about  the  same 
time  that  New  Springfield  was  founded,  and  about  1830  a  store  was 
opened  by  Joshua  Dixon.  David  Shearer  was  probably  the  first  post- 
master and  Dr.  Elisha  Murray  the  first  physician.  The  first  tavern  was 
opened  in  connection  with  the. founding  of  the  village  in  1830,  Samuel 
Moore  being  the  proprietor.  New  Middletown  also  had  its  complement 
of  small  industries,  among  these  being  a  distillery.  It  is  worthy  of  note 
that  this  distillery,  conducted  of  late  by  Wire,  Welsh  &  Company,  was 
the  last  distillery  in  Mahoning  County,  remaining  in  operation  until  the 
distillation  of  liquors  was  prohibited  in  the  Unted  States  in  September, 
1917. 

New  Middletown  had  a  population  of  168  in  1920.  The  former  dis- 
tilling company*  operates  two  sawmills  and  several  farms  and  John 
Schaade  is  the  proprietor  of  a  grist  mill,  but  the  nearby  oil  wells  con- 
stitute the  principal  industry.  The  merchants  include,  Campbell  and 
Eich,  general  merchandise;  W.  B.  Spitler,  groceries;  D.  E.  Summers, 
drugs  and  Kinkela-Chernyar  Company,  meats.  There  is  one  garage, 
conducted  by  Smith  and  Raub  and  an  auto  paint  shop  owned  by  Harry 
Schaade.     J.  N.  Campbell  is  the  present  postmaster. 

The  oil  wells  of  Springfield  Township  are  an  extension  of  the  Bes- 
semer oil  fields,  oil  being  found  in  Berea  sand  about  seven  hundred  feet 
from  the  surface.  There  are  about  150  wells,  flowing  one-half  barrel 
to  one  barrel  a  day,  the  oil  being  pumped.  It  is  the  best  grade  of  Penn- 
sylvania crude  oil.  The  West  Penn  Oil  Company  extracts  the  gasoline 
and  ships  the  residue  to  other  refineries,  although  a  refinery  for  this 
field  is  now  being  built  in  Poland  Avenue,  Youngstown.  The  field  was 
opened  in  1910,  and  new  wells  are  being  added  as  the  western  limits  of 
the  oil  territory  have  not  yet  been  defined.  There  is  about  $500,000 
invested  in  this  field  by  the  Prosperous  Oil  Company,  Kennedy  Oil 
Company,  Schwing  and  Knupp,  Bruce  Campbell,  Mahoning  Oil  Com- 
pany and  Lawrence  Oil  Company. 

The  early  schools  in  Springfield  Township  were  much  better  than 
those  found  in  most  of  the  townships  of  this  county,  being  of  brick 
construction,  although  one-room  buildings,  and  designed  as  social  centers 
as  well  as  schools.  When  the  school  code  became  effective  in  1914  there 
were  ten  schools  in  the  township,  the  Haas  School,  northeastern  corner; 
Esterly,  west  central;  a  large  two-room  building  at  New  Springfield; 
College  Hill  School,  southern;  Center  School;  Harper's  Ferry  School, 
northern;  Jerusalem  School,  northeastern  corner;  New  Middletown 
School;  Stony  Point  School  and  Petersburg  School.  The  first  Center 
School  was  a  log  building,  replaced  by  a  frame  structure  that  stood 
until  1870,  when  a  brick  building,  discarded  in  1898  and  now  used  as  a 
sugar  camp,  was  built.    The  frame  building  now  in  use  was  built  in  1898. 

The  present  New  Middletown  School,  built  in  1890,  replaced  a  frame 
building  a  little  north  of  the  one  now  in  use.     The  Haas  School  is  a 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       597 

brick  building,  erected  in  1877,  replacing  a  log  building  on  the  same 
site.  At  times  two  teachers  are  employed  in  this  one-room  building. 
The  present  Petersburg  School  was  built  in  1876  and  replaced  a  one- 
room  building  put  up  in  1854.  The  Springfield  Township  School  Board 
attempted  to  put  up  a  school  in  1875,  but  when  this  building  was  burned 
down  in  the  spring  of  1876  the  township  board  pleaded  inability  to 
finance  another  school  and,  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  the  Petersburg 
school  district  was  formed  and  the  school  erected  by  the  village.  Many 
noted  men  and  women  acted  as  instructors  here,  E.  H.  Moore,  prominent 
Youngstown  attorney,  being  one  of  these.  In  1897  a  third  grade  high 
school  was  established  at  Petersburg  with  J.  J.  Mackintosh  as  principal, 
and  in  1914  this  became  a  second  grade  school.  In  1917  it  received  a 
charter  as  a  first  class  high  school.  Proposals  for  the  construction  of  a 
new  high  school  building  for  the  township  have  been  defeated  because 
of  inability  to  agree  on  the  location  of  the  institution.  The  school 
instructors  now  include :  Samuel  T.  Burns  and  E.  Pearle  Lennox,  high 
school;  Florence  Felger,  Frances  Edler,  Guy  Raney,  Hannah  Basler, 
Joseph  Snyder,  O.  A.  Ferner,  E.  W.  Erney,  Estella  Burke  and  Ethel 
Wolbodt,  grade  schools.  Springfield  Township  is  in  the  fourth  super- 
visory district  under  Superintendent  R.  E.  Elser. 

Springfield  Township  is  unusually  prolific  in  churches.  The  earliest 
religious  denominations  were  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  and  Reformed 
and  these  churches  are  still  dominant  in  the  township. 

At  Petersburg  are  the  Reformed  Church,  Rev.  J.  D.  Hunsicker, 
pastor,  and  the  Lutheran  congregation  of  which  Rev.  M.  L.  Eich  is 
pastor.  The  church  buildings  of  these  denominations  are  located  some 
distance  outside  the  village.  Within  the  village  are  Methodist  Episcopal 
and  Presbyterian  churches.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Society  was  or- 
ganized about  1830  and  a  church  building  erected  in  the  same  year. 
Reverend  Illingworth  is  the  present  pastor.  The  Presbyterian  Society 
was  organized  on  June  29,  1872,  by  Rev.  A.  S.  McMaster  of  Poland 
and  Rev.  Y.  P.  Johnson  and  a  church  was  put  up  in  1873.  Rev.  S.  R. 
Morton  coming  that  year  as  the  first  pastor  and  remaining  until  1881. 
Reverend  Schillinger  is  pastor  now. 

The  Emmanuel  Lutheran  Church  is  located  within  the  village  of 
New  Springfield,  with  Rev.  Charles  F.  Faust  as  pastor.  Reverend  Faust 
also  attends  the  Zion  Lutheran  Church  at  New  Middletown.  St.  Peter's 
Lutheran  Church  is  also  located  near  New  Springfield  and  is  attended  by 
Reverend  Eich  of  Petersburg.  Reverend  Eich  also  attends  the  Shroy 
congregation.  The  Evangelical  Association  of  New  Springfield  was 
organized  in  i860  and  the  present  church  built  in  1870.  It  is  attended 
by  Rev.  L.  E.  Hill  of  North  Lima. 

The  Church  of  God  congregation  is  located  in  New  Springfield  and 
the  I>unkards,  Church  in  the  northerfi  part  ^f  the  township. 

Springfield  Township  was  organized  in  1803  and  became  part  of 
Mahoning  County  in  1846.  Politically  Springfield  Township  has  al- 
ways been  the  Democratic  stronghold  in  otherwise  Republican  Mahoning 
County.  The  present  township  officers  are :  J.  Franklin  Schaffer,  Wil- 
liam   Bentzel    and   Jonathan    Beight,    trustees;    S.    T.    Rummel,    clerk; 


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598       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Edward  Miller,  treasurer ;  K.  C.  Flickinger  and  Albert  C.  Grise,  justices 
of  the  peace;  Albert  Barber,  John  Barber  and  John  L.  Rauch,  con- 
stables; Frank  Barger,  assessor.  The  municipal  officers  of  the  incor- 
porated village  of  New  Middletown  include,  E.  C.  Welsh,  mayor ;  Morse 
Knesal,  clerk;  A.  G.  Welsh,  treasurer;  Frank  Metts,  marshal;  John 
Ilgenfritz,  E.  L.  Knesal,  D.  Livingstone,  William  Smith,  Clark  H.  Wire 
and  L.  V.  Wire,  councilmen. 

Springfield   Township  also  has  a  thriving  organization  in  Lincoln 
Farmers'  Grange  with  Lloyd  McNutt  as  master. 


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CHAPTER  XXXI 

TOWNSHIPS  OF  TRUMBULL  COUNTY 

Story  of  the  Settlement  and  Early  Activities  in  the  Pioneer 
County  of  Northeastern  Ohio — Growth  of  the  County  I)uring 
the  Nineteenth  Century — Agricultural,  Religious  and  Edu- 
cational history — Village  of  the  County. 

Trumbull  County,  as  originally  organized  on  July  10,  1 800,  was  iden- 
tical with  the  Connecticut  Western  Reserve,  a  small  empire  in  itself. 
Within  the  first  dozen  years  of  its  existence  the  comparatively  rapid 
growth  of  Northeastern  Ohio  and  Northern  Ohio  had  resulted  in  the 
creation  of  new  counties  out  of  Trumbull  County  territory  until  it  was 
reduced  to  a  territory  numbering  thirty-five  townships,  the  twenty-five 
that  are  still  included  in  the  county  and  the  ten  upper  townships  of  what 
is  now  Mahoning  County.  The  act  of  February  16,  1846,  that  took  away 
these  ten  townships,  was  the  last  partition  of  Trumbull  County  territory. 

In  spite  of  its  territorial  losses  Trumbull  County  is  still  the  fifth 
county  of  Ohio  in  area.  With  its  J&63  square  miles  it  is  exceeded  in 
size  only  by  its  neighboring  county  of  Ashtabula — the  largest  county 
in  Ohio — and  by  Licking,  Muskingum  and  Ross  counties.  Due  to  Trum- 
bull County's  size  and  to  the  fact  that  it  lies  on  the  high  ground  of 
Northeastern  Ohio,  the  country  is  located  within  ,three  great  drainage 
basins.  The  two  lower  tiers  of  townships  lie  within  the  Mahoning  River 
basin,  while  Mecca,  Bazetta  and  Greene  townships  are  in  the  valley 
of  Mosquito  Creek,  the  chief  tributary  of  the  Mahoning  that  traverses 
Trumbull  County  from  the  Ashtabula  County  line  to  Niles.  Here  Mos- 
quito Creek  empties  into  the  Mahoning.  Eastern  and  Northeastern  Trum- 
bull County  are  in  the  Shenango  River  basin,  Brookfield,  Hartford, 
Vernon  and  Kinsman  townships  being  drained  wholly  by  tributaries  of 
this  stream.  Northwestern  Trumbull  County  is  in  the  basin  of  the  Grand 
River,  a  stream  that  flows  north  into  Lake  Erie.  Mesopotamia  and 
Farmington  townships  are  entirely  within  this  area,  Bristol  and  Bloom- 
field  virtually  so.  Branches  of  the  New  York  Central  and  Pennsyl- 
vania systems  traverse  the  county  from  north  to  south,  the  Erie  Rail- 
road follows  the  Mahoning  River  Valley  and  crosses  the  southwestern 
part  of  the  county  and  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  runs  somewhat 
north  of  this,  entering  Geauga  County  from  Farmington  Township. 

Outside  the  Mahoning  River  Valley  the  county  is  largely  agricultural 
and  much  progress  has  been  made  recently  toward  modern  farming 
methods.     Granges  are  organized   in   many  of  the  townships,   and   in 

599 


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600       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

addition  to  this  there  is  a  Trumbull  County  Farm  Bureau,  a  body  formed 
in  1919  to  take  the  place  of  the  Trumbull  County  Improvement  Associa- 
tion, then  existing.  This  new  organization  is  affiliated  with  the  State 
and  National  Farm  Bureau  Federation.  The  officers  of  the  Trumbull 
County  Bureau  are,  President,  C.  F.  Kreitler,  Lordstown ;  vice  president, 
W.  J.  Van  Wye,  Weathersfleld ;  secretary,  D.  L.  Hower,  Howland; 
treasurer,  J.  H.  Bollinger,  Liberty.  These  officers,  with  D.  R.  McCon- 
nell  of  Hubbard  and  F.  W.  Mack,  Bloomfie!d,  make  up  the  bureau's 


!  - 

* 

..*%to» 

XJt#X4BK-~     y 

Chalker  High  School  at  Southington 

executive  committee.     The  advisory  committee  is  made  up  of  two  dele- 
gates from  each  township. 

The  Trumbull  County  School  system  of  today  is  a  gradual  outgrowth 
of  the  primitive  schools  that  sprung  up  with  the  settlement  of  each 
township.  Sometimes  the  first  school  was  taught  in  a  pioneer  home, 
but  in  most  instances  a  log  schoolhouse  of  the  20  by  30  feet  type  common 
on  the  Western  Reserve  was  one  of  the  first  structures  to  arise  in  con- 
nection with  each  settlement.  In  these  earliest  schools  the  teacher  was 
paid  directly  by  the  parents  of  the  pupils,  or  "subscribers,"  and  "boarded 
'round. "  The  district  school  and  the  union  school  systems  later  came 
into  being  and  in  19 14  the  county  supervisory  system  was  adopted  in 
Ohio. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        601 

Under  this  system  all  the  schools  outside  Warren,  Niles  and  Girard 
are  included  in  the  county  school  system  under  County  Superintendent 
J.  E.  Boetticher,  who  has  most  capably  discharged  the  duties  of  this 
office  since  his  appointment.  The  county  district  is  sub-divided  into 
three  supervisory  districts  and  nine  "4740"  districts.  A  "4740"  district 
is  a  district  with  a  first  grade  high  school  completely  centralized,  and  re- 
ceives this  appellation  from  the  fact  that  section  4740  of  the  Ohio  school 
code  provides  for  a  separate  school  district  in  such  instance. 

Supervisory  District  No.  1  includes  Champion,  Mecca,  Bloomfield, 
Mesopotamia,  Farmington,  Bristol  and  Southington  townships,  all  cen- 
tralized.    A.  L.  Carter  is  district  superintendent. 

Supervisory  District  No.  2  includes  Liberty  Township,  consolidated ; 
Weatherfield  Township,  including  the  Mineral  Ridge  and  McDonald 
school  districts ;  Warren  Township,  centralized  and  Braceville  Township, 
centralized.     S.  W.  Partridge  is  superintendent. 

Supervisory  District  No.  3  includes  Bazetta  Township,  Fowler  Town- 
ship, centralized,  Vienna  Township,  centralized,  Howland  Township, 
Brookfield  Township  and  Orangeville  school  district  in  Hartford  Town- 
ship.   C.  F.  Stewart  is  superintendent  of  the  third  district. 

The  "4740"  districts  include  Lordstown,  Greene,  Johnston,  Vernon, 
•Hartford,  Gustavas  and  Kinsman  townships,  centralized,  and  Cortland, 
Newton  Falls  and  Hubbard  village  districts. 

The  County  Board  of  Education  numbers  D.  H.  Richards,  Hub- 
bard; W.  E.  Kreitler,  Warren;  H.  J.  Fobes,  Kinsman;  L.  C.  Wolcott, 
Farmington;  Charles  Brooks,  Niles. 

The  Trumbull  County  Health  Board  organized  on  January  17,  1920, 
under  the  Hughes  act  with  Mayor  Thomas  G.  Blackstone  of  Girard 
as  president.  The  other  members  are,  A.  B.  Case,  Greene;  Dr.  B.  G. 
McCurley,  Cortland;  W.  R.  Riley,  Brookfield;  G.  F.  Carson,  Newton 
Falls. 

WEATHERSFIELD 

Weathersfield  Township  is  one  of  the  historic  townships,  not  alone 
of  Trumbull  County  and  the  Mahoning  Valley  but  of  the  Western 
.Reserve.  In  a  sense  it  antedates  even  Youngstown  and  Warren  in  occu- 
pation, for  as  early  as  1755  it  was  a  gathering  place  for  Pennsylvania 
settlers  who  came  to  extract  salt  from  the  springs,  or  "salt  lick/'  located 
within  its  borders.  This  spot  is  marked  in  Lewis  Evans'  map  published 
in  the  above  year.  Hunters  from  Pennsylvania  were  also  frequent 
visitors,  for  the  salt  lick  was  a  mecca  for  animals  of  the  forest  seeking 
this  necessary  product. 

This  famous  salt  springs,  or  spring,  was  located  in  Weathersfield 
Township,  south  of  the  Mahoning  River  and  about  a  mile  west  of  Niles. 
Its  presence  made  the  land  so  desirable  that  when  Connecticut  first 
offered  its  western  lands  for  sale  Gen.  Samuel  Holden  Parsons  pur- 
chased the  tract  inclosing  it,  this  sale  taking  place  in  1788.  This  land 
was  reserved  to  the  Parsons  heirs  when  the  eastern  part  of  the  Western 
Reserve  was  apportioned  among  stockholders  in   1798  and  it  was  not 


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602       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

distributed  for  several  years  afterwards,  although  General  Parsons  him- 
self was  drowned  at  the  falls  of  the  Beaver  River  in  1789,  before  he 
had  a  chance  to  make  a  permanent  settlement  on  his  lands.  Even  before 
his  purchase,  however,  Pennsylvanians  had  established  salt  works  at  the 
Salt  Spring  tract. 

Later  a  road  leading  from  Youngstown,  south  of  the  Mahoning  River, 
was  built  to  this  tract,  but  today  the  historic  springs  are  Out  of  existence, 
lying  under  the  roadbed  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad.  The  Salt 
Spring  tract  has  a  gory  history.  Here  a  storekeeper  for  Duncan  &  Wil? 
son,  traders,  was  murdered  in  1786  by  the  Indians.  Here  occurred  the 
McMahon-Captain  George  tragedy  of  1800  that  resulted  in  the  one 
threat  of  an  Indian  uprising  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  Here  a  saltmaker 
was  murdered  by  Indians  in  1804,  the  guilty  men  being  trailed  and 
brought  to  trial  at  Youngstown  by  Col.  James  Hillman. 

In  the  apportionment  of  1798  all  Weathersfield  Township  outside 
the  Salt  Spring  tract  was  awarded  to  James  Lathrop,  J.  P.  Kirtland, 
Turhand  Kirtland,  Daniel  Lathrop,  Daniel  Holbrook,  John  Kinsman, 
Caleb  Atwater,  Levi  Tomlinson  and  Lynda  McCurdy.  In  1796,  however, 
Reuben  Harmon,  Jr.,  of  Vermont  purchased  500  acres  of  land  from 
the  Parsons'  heirs,  including  Salt  Springs,  and  in  1797  came  to  Weathers- 
field  as  a  saltmaker.  He  returned  to  Weathersfield  each  winter  and  in 
1800  effected  a  permanent  settlement  at  the  salt  springs,  bringing  his 
family  on.  He  died  in  1806,  but  his  family  afterward  became  one  of 
the  most  prominent  in  Trumbull  County. 

Actually  the  salt  springs  were  a  detriment  to  the  township  since  they 
made  much  of  the  land  swampy,  but  at  that  early  day  they  were  con- 
sidered a  great  asset  and  attracted  numerous  settlers,  largely  from  Penn- 
sylvania. John  Tidd  and  Peter  Reel  came  in  1801  or  1802,  and  John 
Bolen,  Miller  Blackly,  Andrew  Trew,  William  Carlton,  Aaron  Love- 
land,  Nathan  Draper,  Robert  Fenton,  William  Dunlap,  John  McConnell, 
James  Hunter,  John  White  and  James  White  at  an  early  date. 

A  family  that  contributed  much  to  the  early  history  of  Weathers- 
field Township  were  the  Heatons.  There  were  five  brothers  of  these, 
Daniel,  James,  Bowen,  Reese  and  Isaac,  but  the  two  first  mentioned 
were  the  most  prominent.  They  were  the  original  iron  makers  of  the 
Mahoning  Valley,  having  built  a  charcoal  furnace  on  Yellow  Creek  in 
Poland  Township  in  1802  or  1803,  and  mills  on  Mosquito  Creek,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Niles,  a  few  years  later.  A  more  complete  record  of  the 
Heaton  activities  will  be  found  in  the  chapter  on  Niles,  the  chapter  on 
Industries  and  a  sketch  of  Daniel  and  James. 

Daniel  Eaton  was  probably  the  leading  member  of  the  family  and 
the  oddest  character  on  the  Reserve  in  his  day.  He  had  pronounced 
political  views,  and  decidedly  original  ones  too,  and  that  he  was  a  man 
of  ability  in  spite  of  his  rough  ways  is  apparent  from  his  business  career 
and  from  the  fact  that  he  represented  Trumbull  County  in  the  State 
Legislature.  In  religion  he  was  most  unorthodox,  even  designing  a  creed 
of  his  own,  just  as  he  evolved  a  federal  currency  system  of  his  own, 
and  was  sufficiently  liberal  in  his  views  that  he  even  permitted  Mormon 
services  in  his  home.    The  initial  letter  in  his  name  was  removed  by  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       603 

Legislature  at  his  request  because  he  said  nobody  pronounced  it  anyway. 
He  was  open  and  frank,  and,  most  curious  of  all  for  those  days,  a 
prohibitionist.  It  is  recorded  that  on  one  occasion  when  he  raised  a 
barn  he  refused  to  permit  whisky  to  be  distributed  at  the  ceremony. 
Such  a  revolutionary  procedure  caused  a '"strike,"  which  Eaton  settled 
by  hiring  men  to  put  up  the  structure,  paying  them  in  cash  instead  of 
giving  them  whisky.  On  the  tombstone  over  his  wife's  grave  he  dis- 
carded the!*  Christian  system  of  reckoning  years  and  substituted  the  year 
of  the  "U.  S."  instead  of  the  year  A.  D.  There  are  no  representatives 
of  this  family  bearing  the  family  name  in  the  township  today. 

Weathersfield  was  formally  organized  into  a  township  in  1809  and 
the  first  postoffice  was  established  about  1825  with  Andrew  Trew  as 
postmaster.  The  earliest  schoolhouse  was  located  south  of  Niles.  An- 
other school  located  near  Heaton's  furnace,  later  Niles,  was  taught  by 
Heman  Harmon.. 

The  village  of  Mineral  Ridge  is  of  comparatively  recent  origin,  dating 
from  the  discovery  of  coal  in  the  early  '50s,  and  it  was  not  until  i860 
that  there  was  a  postoffice  there.  With  the  opening  of  the  mines  and 
the  advent  of  the  railroad  in  1869  Mineral  Ridge  became  a  thriving  and 
prosperous  town.  Early  Welsh  residents  were  responsible  for  much 
of  this  business  activity,  they  being  the  leaders  in  all  branches.  Coal 
had  been  mined  on  a  small  scale  as  early  as  1835,  but  the  discovery  of 
the  famed  "blackband"  iron  ore  in  1854  made  this  industry  forge  rapidly 
forward,  and  for  the  next  thirty  years  the  mines  were  freely  developed. 
The  first  store  was  opened  for  the  miners  by  James  Ward  &  Co.,  Ward 
being  the  pioneer  maker  of  wrought  iron  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  In 
J859  Jonathan  Warner  and  Capt.  James  Wood  erected  the  Ashland 
blast  furnace  there,  using  Mineral  Ridge  coal  and  the  native  blackband 
ore  for  the  production  of  pig  iron.  In  1866  the  Mineral  Ridge  Iron  & 
Coal  Company  took  over  this  stack.  This  concern  later  sold  out  to  Wil- 
liam H.  Brown  of  Pittsburgh.  Later  the  furnaces  were  owned  by 
James  Ward  and  by  Jonathan  Warner,  but  went  out  of  existence  after 
the  panic  of  1873. 

Mineral  Ridge  has  not  the  activities  of  its  former  days  but  is  still 
an  important  village  with  industrial  plants,  including  the  Ohio  Steel  Prod- 
ucts Company,  a  concern  whose  plant  was  considerably  enlarged  in  1920. 
Chartered  as  a  village  in  1871,  the  municipal  charter  was  surrendered 
in  191 7,  and  Mineral  Ridge  is  now  unincorporated. 

Mineral  Ridge  has  five  churches.  The  Presbyterian  Sunday  School 
was  organized  in  1858,  formed  into  a  church  in  1862  and  erected  a 
church  edifice  in  1864,  with  Rev.  B.  F.  Sharp  as  pastor.  The  church 
now  has  a  membership  of  80,  with  Rev.  T.  F.  Kirkbride  as  pastor. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  formally  organized  in  1870 
and  a  church  built  in  1875.  It  has  now  an  attendance  of  in,  Rev.  P. 
L.  Carter  being  pastor. 

The  Disciples,  or  Christian,  Church,  was  founded  on  January  2,  1870, 
and  a  church  was  erected  and  dedicated  in  1872.  Rev.  L.  E.  Hoskins 
is  the  present  pastor. 

The  Congregational  Church  was  founded  in  1856,  during  the  coal 


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604       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

mining  and  industrial  era  of  Mineral  Ridge,  and  a  church  building  was 
erected  the  same  year.    This  church  is  attended  by  Rev.  H.  R.  Hughes. 

St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic  Parish  was  founded  in  1858  by  Rev. 
William  O'Connor  of  Youngstown,  and  the  parish  church,  built  in  1872, 
was  completely  remodeled  in  1899.  The  parish  was  attended  from 
Youngstown,  Brier  Hill  and  Girard  for  many  years,  but  is  now  a  mis- 
sion attached  to  Our  Lady  of  Mt.  Carmel  Church  at  Niles  and  is  attend- 
ed  by  Rev.  Nicholas  Santoro. 

Mineral  Ridge  has  an  estimated  population  of  1,200  and  has  several 
good  stores,  including  the  general  merchandise  establishments  conducted 
by  Byron  Williamson,  C.  W.  Brill  and  Koch  and  Smith,  with  drug  and 
delicatessen  stores  owned  by  A.  L.  Johnson  and  T.  J.  Thomas.  There 
are  two  fraternal  societies,  Mineral  Ridge  Lodge,  No.  497,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  Anoka  Tribe,  No.  60,  Improved  Order  of 
Red  Men.    Perry  M.  Maurer  is  postmaster  of  the  village. 

Ohltown,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Weathersfield  Township,  was 
laid  out  by  Michael  Ohl,  who  built  a  mill  there  about  181 5.  Ohl  was  also 
the  first  storekeeper.  An  oil  mill  was  an  early  day  industry  and  during 
the  coal  mining  era  Ohltown  prospered,  and  was  a  trading  center  for  a 
good  part  of  Weathersfield  and  Austintown  townships.  James  A.  Camp- 
bell, president  of  the  Youngstown  Sheet  and  Tube  Company,  is  a  native 
of  this  village. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Ohltown  was  founded  in  1838, 
reorganized  in  1870,  and  has  a  church  building  erected  in  1907.  The 
church  has  a  membership  of  118  and  is  attended  by  Rev.  P.  L.  Carter. 
German  Reformed,  Presbyterian  and  Methodist  Protestant  churches  that 
existed  there  at  one  time  have  gone  out  of  existence. 

McDonald,  on  the  west  and  south  sides  of  the  Mahoning,  is  the  young- 
est of  Mahoning  Valley  municipalities.  Ten  years  ago  the  site  of  this 
village  was  farm  lands  and  picnic  grounds,  but  with  the  construction  of 
the  great  mills  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company  a  busy  industrial  town 
sprang  into  existence.  The  village  has  good  through  railroad  connec- 
tions and  has  also  a  Carnegie  company  line,  the  Youngstown  and  North- 
ern, connecting  the  McDonald  and  the  Youngstown  mills.  An  electric 
line  from  Youngstown  to  Warren,  passing  through  McDonald  is  about  to 
be  built,  and  when  completed  this  will  be  actually  a  Youngstown-Cleve- 
land  through  line  by  reason  of  its  northern  connections. 

McDonald  now  has  a  population  of  approximately  1,000,  all  depend- 
ent upon  the  steel  mills.  The  Carnegie  Company  has  done  much  work 
here  in  the  way  of  housing  and  caring  for  its  employes  so  that  McDonald 
is  a  well-built  village.  The  leading  stores  are  conducted  by  J.  A.  Gault, 
Victor  Nesca  and  Anstrum  and  Friel  while  the  McDonald  Inn,  the  village 
hotel,  is  operated  by  Mrs.  G.  L.  Sykes.  The  village  officials  include, 
James  A.  Freed,  mayor ;  Earl  W.  Jackson,  clerk ;  John  C.  Simpson,  treas- 
urer ;  Edgar  A.  Deibert,  marshal ;  A.  C.  Schultz,  Harry  R.  Mercer,  Rob- 
ert J.  Mullally,  Clorena  Miller,  P.  L.  Bates,  Ernest  F.  McDonald,  coun- 
cilmen.  M.  J.  Meek  is  the  village  postmaster.  The  religious  bodies  com- 
prise the  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission,  attended  by  Rev.  C.  B.  Hess  of 
Girard,  and  the  Union  Christ  Mission. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       605 

The  Weathersfield  schools  comprise  high  school  and  grades  at  Mc- 
Donald and  at  Mineral  Ridge,  a  four-room  school  at  McKinley  Heights, 
two-room  school  at  Summit  and  four  one-room  schools.  The  teaching 
staff  comprises  A.  E.  Sanderson,  principal,  Josephine  Steinhoff,  high 
school  teacher,  Violet  Perks,  Rachel  Shriver,  Nora  Huston  and  Mrs. 
I.  N.  Deffler,  grade  teachers,  and  Mary  Ewing,  instructor  in  music  at 
McDonald ;  C.  W.  Harshman,  principal ;  Margaret  Campbell,  high  school 
teacher;  J.  C.  Woodward,  Helen  Turner,  Matilda  Payne  and  Bertha 
Stevens,  grade  teachers  at  Mineral  Ridge;  Mildred  Brooks,  Alice  Criter 
and  Daisy  Feight,  McKinley  Heights ;  Lottie  Oatley  and  Mary  Kamerer, 
Summit ;  Lura  Fenton,  No.  7  school ;  Emma  B.  Hamilton,  No.  8  school ; 
Jacob  Foulk,  Ohltown,  and  Myrtle  Bollinger  at  the  remaining  one-room 
building. 

The  present  township  officials  of  Weathersfield  include,  C.  R.  Helton, 
Charles  S.  Mason  and  H.  Williams,  trustees;  Arthur  R.  Thomas,  clerk; 
James  Andrews,  treasurer;  George  Tiefel,  assessor. 

LIBERTY 

Liberty  Township,  Trumbu!l  County,  lies  across  the  line  just  north  of 
Youngstown  and  in  early  history  these  two  subdivisions,  are  closely  as- 
sociated. Primarily  it  is  an  agricultural  township,  and  yet  at  various 
times  other  industries  have  supplanted  farming  in  Liberty. 

The  settlement  of  the  township  was  not  long  delayed  after  Youngs- 
town was  founded.  The  original  proprietors  of  the  tract  were  Daniel 
Lathrop,  Moses  Cleaveland,  Samuel  Huntington  and  Christopher  Leffing- 
well,  none  of  whom  settled  on  his  land,  although  Huntington  located 
at  Youngstown  and  later  removed  to  Cleveland  and  was  elected  governor 
of  Ohio.  The  first  actual  settlers  in  the  township  were  Jacob  Swager 
and  Henry  S wager,  who  came  in  1798  and  located  near  Church  Hill. 
The  S wagers  purchased  their  lands  from  the  original  owners,  or  from 
their  successor,  the  Erie  Company,  and  were  also  landowners  in  Youngs- 
town Township  about  the  same  time. 

Other  early  settlers  were  James  Matthews  and  John  Stull,  who  came 
in  1798;  Valentine  Stull,  1799;  John  Ramsey  who  came  in  1800  and  John 
Thorn  and  William  Stewart  who  came  about  the  same  time;  George 
Campbell,  James  Applegate  and  John  Dennison,  1801 ;  Archie  Ralston, 
1802;  John  Nelson,  Abraham  Nelson,  James  Tully  and  John  B.  Tully, 
1804;  William  McClellan  and  Nehemiah  Scott,  1805;  Robert  Walker, 
Andrew  Boyd  and  Neil  McMullen. 

Early  activities  in  Liberty  Township  centered  to  some  extent  about 
what  is  now  known  as  Church  Hill.  East  of  here  a  grist  mill,  the  first 
industry  in  the  township,  was  established  shortly  after  1800;  here  James 
Matthews  opened  the  first  public  house.  The  village  became  known  as 
Liberty,  but  when  a  postoffice  was  established  in  1833  a  change  of  name 
became  necessary  because  there  was  already  one  Liberty  postoffice  in 
Ohio,  and  Church  Hill  was  selected  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Presby- 
terian Church  was  then  being  erected  on  an  elevation  in  the  village,  mak- 
ing it  a  conspicuous  building  and  visible  for  a  long  distance.    Dr.  Robert 


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606       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

H.  Walker  kept  a  store  at  Church  Hill  about  the  time  the  postoffice  was 
established. 

While  Church  Hill  was  an  important  place  even  in  the  early  days,  it 
was  the  discovery  of  coal  and  the  opening  of  the  coal  mines,  or  "banks," 
that  gave  it  its  greatest  impetus.  The  presence  of  coal  in  the  township 
was  known  at  an  early  date  but  it  was  not  until  i860  that  mining  was 
earnestly  begun.  In  that  year  the  first  bank  was  opened  on  the  Alexander 
McCleery  farm  and  was  worked  for  two  or  three  years.  The  Church 
Hill  Coal  Company  was  organized  in  1864  and  opened  a  bank  at  the 
village.  In  1867  a  fine  grade  of  coal  was  discovered  on  the  Peter  Kline 
farm  at  Church  Hill  and  the  next  year  the  Brier  Hill  Coal  Company 
opened  up  this  vein.  Governor  David  Tod  was  active  in  launching  this 
venture,  the  Stambaughs  of  Youngstown  being  associated  with  him.  In 
the  '7os  additional  "banks"  were  opened  about  Church  Hill. 

From  i860  to  about  1890  Church  Hill  thus  prospered.  It  was  a  place 
of  shops  and  stores  and  of  much  business  activity,  having  also  in  its  latter 
days  ten  saloons,  which  were  offset  by  five  churches.  With  the  exhaus- 
tion of  the  coal  supply,  however,  the  importance  of  Church  Hill  dimin- 
ished and  today  it  is  but  a  crossroads  settlement.  It  had  survived  even 
the  construction  of  the  canal  and  railroad  at  Girard,  but  its  life  blood  went 
out  with  the  abandonment  of  the  mines. 

Coal  mining  is  today  an  industry  of  no  great  importance  in  any  part 
of  Liberty  Township.  That  this  industry  once  thrived  is  shown,  how- 
ever, by  the  large  population  of  Welsh  descent.  Many  natives  of  this 
little  old  world  land  came  between  1840  and  1880  with  the  opening  of  the 
mines  in  this  and  surrounding  townships,  as  the  Welsh  were  probably  the 
most  skillful  and  best  trained  of  coal  miners.  Many  of  these  families 
later  located  on  farms  while  even  more  are  found  in  Warren,  Niles  and 
Girard. 

Liberty  Township  was  originally  a  part  of  the  civil  township  of 
Youngstown,  but  in  1806  was  separately  organized  with  a  township  form 
of  government.  This  old-time  link  is  being  revived  today,  not  alone 
industrially,  but  by  the  fact  that  Youngstown  is  now  built  up  to  the 
Liberty  Township  line  and  the  southern  part  of  this  township  is  being 
adopted  by  wealthy  Youngstown  people  as  a  residence  place  and  ultimately 
part  of  this  township  will  be  included  in  the  city. 

Aside  from  Church  Hill  and  Girard — the  latter  being  treated  in  a 
separate  chapter  of  this  work — Sodom,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the 
township,  and  Seceder  Corners,  in  the  eastern  part,  were  once  thriving 
villages.  Like  Church  Hill,  both  these  places  received  their  names  from 
church  associations.  Sodom,  so  it  is  related,  was  so  called  because  an 
early  missionary  failed  to  convert  the  village  to  temperance  as  rapidly  as 
he  had  expected  to  and  gave  up  the  attempt  in  despair.  The  name  was 
given  in  jest  and  accepted  with  customary  American  lightheartedness  and 
good  humor.  Seceder  Corners  received  its  name  from  the  "Seceder" 
church  erected  there.  It  is  often  erroneously  referred  to  as  Cedar 
Corners. 

The  first  religious  services  in  the  township  were  held  by  members 
of  the  Associated  Presbyterian  Church — the  "Seceder"  Church  above  re- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        607 

ferred  to,  and  so  called  because  it  was  made  up  of  seceders  from  the  old 
line  Presbyterian  Church — about  1803  when  the  Rev.  James  Duncan  of 
the  Mahoning  Associated  Presbyterian  Church  preached  to  assembled 
communicants  of  this  creed.  In  1805  the  Liberty  Associate  Presbyterian 
congregation  was  organized  with  William  Stewart  and  James  Davidson 
as  elders.  When  the  question  of  a  church  site  selection  came  up  the 
congregation  accepted  the  offer  of  a  lot  by  Alexander  McCleery,  located 
at  a  crossroads  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township.  Pending  the  con- 
struction of  the  church  building  a  tent  was  put  up,  and  even  after  the 
erection  of  a  small  log  church  the  tent  was  much  used.  In  181 1  a  larger 
log  church  was  built.  In  1836  a  frame  was  built,  this  being  remodeled  in 
1869. 

Rev.  Duncan  acted  as  pastor  of  the  church  until  181 5  and  Rev.  Robert 
Douglass  from  1820  to  1823,  both  of  these  serving  Poland  as  well.  In 
April,  1826,  Rev.  David  Goodwillie  began  a  pastorate  that  lasted  ap- 
proximately fifty  years,  or  until  1875.  For  a  few  vears  he  was  pastor 
also  at  Deer  Creek  and  until  1859  served  the  Poland  church  but  from 
this  time  until  his  retirement  in  1875  he  gave  all  his  attention  to  the  Lib- 
erty church. 

In  1858,  with  the  union  of  the  Associate  and  Associate  Reformed 
churches,  the  Liberty  church  became  the  Liberty  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  from  this  organization  sprang  the  Youngstown  church  of 
the  same  denomination.  The  Liberty  Rural  United  Presbyterian  Church 
is  still  a  flourishing  organization  with  ninety-two  members,  under  the  pas- 
torate of  Rev.  F.  S.  Wright. 

Church  Hill  once  had  five  churches.  The  Presbyterian  Church  was 
organized  in  1832  and  the  church  building  was  erected  in  1832-33,  this 
being  the  structure  from  which  the  village  received  its  name.  The  Welsh 
Methodist,  Welsh  Baptist  and  Welsh  Independent  churches  came  into 
existence  during  the  coal  mining  days. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  congregation  at  Church  Hill  was  organized 
in  1 82 1  by  Rev.  Dillon  Prosser,  the  initial  membership  being  sixty.  •  A 
church  building,  later  used  as  the  town  hall,  was  erected  the  following 
year  and  in  1872  the  present  edifice  was  completed.  The  Church  Hill 
Methodist  Church  is  still  a  vigorous  congregation,  its  membership  being 
no.    Rev.  E.  E.  Sparks  is  the  present  pastor. 

The  Evangelical  Association  of  Liberty  Township,  of  which  more  ex- 
tended mention  is  made  in  the  chapter  on  Girard,  dates  back  to  1822.  At, 
or  near,  Girard,  too,  are  located  churches  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal, 
Lutheran,  Presbyterian,  Baptist,  Christian,  Roman  Catholic  and  Apos- 
tolic Christian  denominations.  The  Methodist  Protestant  Church  of 
Liberty  Township  was  organized  on  February  22,  1862,  by  Rev.  Henry 
Palmer  and  a  church  building  was  erected  at  Sodom  in  1872,  services  hav- 
ing been  held  previously  in  the  district  schoolhouse. 

At  an  early  day  a  schoolhouse  was  erected  near  the  present  site  of 
Church  Hill,  this  school  being  taught  by  John  Taylor.  Another  building 
was  put  up  later  east  of  Church  Hill  and  in  1818  a  more  pretentious  struc- 
ture was  erected.    In  1871  a  union  school  building  was  put  up  at  Church 


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608       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Hill,  this  school  being  erected  jointly  by  the  people  of  three  school  dis- 
tricts and  opened  under  the  superintendency  of  William  Barrett 

The  Church  Hill  building  now  houses  high  and  grade  schools,  with 
Earl  Mathews  as  principal,  Opechee  Johnson,  high  school  instructor, 
and  Bessie  Jennings,  Mrs.  J.  Baird,  Jr.,  Elizabeth  Thomas,  Coral  Boyd 
and  Beulah  Leeder,  grade  school  teachers.  Outside  the  Girard  school 
district  and  the  Church  Hill  building  the  only  school  in  the  township  is  a 
two-room  structure  at  Holmes  Road,  taught  by  Mabel  Williams  and  Cora 
Shively. 

The  township  officials  of  Liberty  are,  Walter  Morgan,  Isaac  B. 
Jacobs  and  James  S.  Rodgers,  trustees ;  William  S.  Phillips,  clerk ;  Rich- 
ard L.  Evans,  treasurer;  D.  D.  Jones,  justice  of  the  peace.  Liberty 
Township  is  the  seat  of  the  thriving  Liberty  Grange. 

NEWTON 

Lying  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Trumbull  County,  Newton  Town- 
ship is  a  favored  locality  being  watered  by  several  small  streams  and  by 
the  east  and  west  branches  of  the  Mahoning  River.  The  flow  of  the 
river  is  rapid  here  and  within  the  township  are  the  falls  from  which  the 
town  of  Newton  Falls  takes  it  name. 

Owned  originally  by  Justin  Ely,  Elijah  White  and  Jonathan  Brace 
of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  Newton  Township  was  first  settled 
about  1802  by  Alexander  Sutherland  and  Ezekiel  Hover  who  located 
along  Duck  Creek.  The  township  was  at  that  time  a  favorite  camping 
ground  for  the  Indjans  of  the  valley.  Sutherland  and  Hover  built  a 
path  from  their  cabin-to  the  nearest  grist  mill  at  Youngstown  and  soon 
after  his  arrival  Hover  built  a  sawmill.  About  the  same  time  the  set- 
tlement was  made  at  Pricetown  on  the  Newton-Milton  line,  some  of  the 
settlers  residing  in  each  township.  Other  e&rly  settlers  along  Duck 
Creek  were  James  Gilmer  and  family,  Thomas  Reed,  Peter  Decourcey, 
John  Sutherland,  George  Sheffleton,  John  Mashman,  Alexander  Mash- 
man  and  Jacob  Custard.  Isaac  Hutson  and  John  Hutson  located  along 
the  Mahoning  River. 

The  earliest  settlement  in  the  Pricetown  neighborhood  was  made 
about  1805  or  1806  when  Jesse  Halliday,  Robert  Caldwell,  William  Stan- 
ley, Nathaniel  Stanley,  David  Carlile,  Daniel  Dull  and  Benjamin  David- 
son and  families  located  there.  At  this  place  Halliday  built  a  grist  mill. 
Later  the  mills  there  became  the  property  of  John  Price  and  Robert 
Price,  a  circumstance  that  gave  the  settlement  the  name  of  Price's 
Mills,  or  Pricetown.  Later  other  industries  came,  including  a  foundry, 
flax  mill,  woolen  factory,  sawmill  and  carding  mill  and  Pricetown  be- 
came an  important  trading  center  and  stage  stop.  Much  of  the  business 
was  on  the  Milton  Township  side  of  the  village.  Gradually,  however, 
the  importance  of  Pricetown  vanished. 

The  Duck  Creek  settlement  was  also  important  in  its  early  days, 
although  it  never  attained  the  prominence  of  Pricetown  and  Newton 
Falls. 

Newton  Township  was  organized  in  1808,  including  at  that  time  Mil- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       60.9. 

ton  and  Lordstown  townships.     Benjamin  Davison  was  the  first  justice 
of  the  peace. 

Newton  Falls 

Judson  Canfield,  owner  of  the  lands  about  the  small  falls  in  the 
Mahoning  River  in  Newton  Township,  proposed  a  settlement  at  this 
point,  and  in  1806  a  town  plat  was  surveyed  for  him  by  Ezekiel  Hover. 
John  Lane  became  the  first  settler  at  this  place  and  shortly  afterwards 
Bildad  Hine  and  family  arrived.  In  1808  Mr.  Canfield  built  a  sawmill 
at  the  falls  and  two  or  three  years  later  erected  a  grist  mill.  Additional 
settlers  came,  larger  mills  were  erected  and  in  18 13  a  distinct  improve- 
ment was  made  with  the  building  of  a  bridge  across  the  west  branch  of 
the  river.  Later  a  woolen  mill  and  foundry  were  put  up  and  Newton 
Falls  became  the  trade  center  of  Newton  Township.  The  advent  of*  the 
railroad  made  it  still  more  important. 

Growth  of  population  in  the  village  was  slow,  however,  and  after 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  it  advanced  but  little.  With  age  it 
became  a  beautiful  country  village,  with  shaded  streets,  stores  and  coun- 
try business  activity,  but  far  away  from  city  bustle.  But  within  a  little 
more  than  a  year  all  this  has  changed.  Newton  Falls  is  now  the  "won- 
der city"  of  the  Mahoning  Valley* 

Absence  of  industrial  plant  sites  down  the  Mahoning  River  turned 
attention  to  Newton  Falls  in  1919,  and  almost  in  a  moment  the*  village 
awakened  to  find  itself  in  the  midst  of  a  "boom/"  The  Akron  Maderite 
Tire  and  Rubber  Company  and  the  Newton  Steel  Company  were 
formed,  the  former  to  build  a  rubber  works  and  the  latter  a  steel  plant 
at  Newton  Falls.  Today  the  erstwhile  quiet  little  village  has  become  a 
busy  industrial  center.  Its  quaintness  is  partly  gone  but  prosperity  has 
come;  it  is  an  odd  combination  of  rural  village  and  manufacturing  city 
with  the  latter  certain  to  predominate  in  the  end.  This  transformation 
was  not  accomplished  without  work  on  the  part  of  Newton  Falls  people, 
however.  It  was  the  banding  together  of  energetic  residents  two  years 
ago  and  their  decision  to  make  their  town  an  industrial  center' that 
started  the  movement  forward  and  showed  prospective  plant  builders  the 
advantages  of  their  location. 

These  are  but  two  of  Newton  Falls"  industries.  The  Newton  Falls 
Boiler  Works  was  started  in  191 7  and  transferred  later  to  the  Hetzel 
Form  and  Iron  Company.  This  constituted  the  nucleus  of  the  Ohio 
Structural  Steel  Company,  organized  in  1919,  that  has  constructed  a 
plant  of  greatly  increased  size.  Klingensmith  and  Griffith  operate  the 
grist  mill,  employing  a  number  of  men.  The  Harmony  Creamery  has  a 
force  of  a  dozen  and  the  Akron-Newton  Furnace  and  Machine  Com- 
pany and  the  Cleveland  Cut  Flower  Company  employ  a  half  hundred 
each.  The  Newton  Cement  Products  Company  and  the  Newton  Manu- 
facturing, makers  of  wearing  apparel,  were  incorporated  in  1920. 

The  Newton  Falls  Board  of  Trade  that  started  the  movement  for  a 
greater  town  was  reorganized  in  1919  under  the  name  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  Improvement  Association.    It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  it  is 


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610        YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

an  active  body.  Its  record  speaks  for  itself,  but  under  its  new  organ- 
ization it  is  equipped  to  do  even  greater  things.  W.  C.  Bate  is  president 
of  this  organization. 

Newton  Falls  has  two  financial  institutions,  the  First  National  Bank 
and  the  Newton  Falls  Savings  and  Loan  Association.  Thfc  officers  of 
the  First  National  Bank  are,  C.  W.  Smith,  president;  Adolph  Weiss, 
vice  president;  Henry  Herbert,  cashier.  The  savings  and  loan  associa- 
tion officers  are,  A.  W.  Hart,  president;  W.  C.  Bate  and  Frank  E.  Corey, 
vice  presidents;  C.  W.  Smith,  treasurer;  Rees  B.  Jones,  secretary.  The 
bank  has  recently  erected  a  splendid  new  fireproof  structure  at  Broad 
and  Canal  streets.  Its  old  building  is  used  by  the  Savings  and  Loan 
Association. 

The  handsome  new  community  building  and  school,  recently  erected 
at  the  head  of  Bridge  Street  adjoining  the  old  school  building  at  a  cost 
of  $125,000  is  one  of  the  show  places  of  Newton  Falls.  It  is  a  most 
modern  structure  in  every  respect,  including  a  great  auditorium,  gymna- 
sium and  other  up-to-date  features  as  well  as  school  rooms. 

The  village  has  good  railroad  connections,  being  on  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio  high  grade  line,  with  connections  to  the  Erie  and  Pennsylvania 
and  is  also  traversed  by  the  C.  A.  and  M.  V.  electric  line.  It  has  a  good 
hotel  in  the  Newton  Falls  Inn,  conducted  by  Miss  Velma  Boyd,  and 
recently  enlarged  to  seventy  rooms.  There  are  lodges  of  the  Masonic 
order,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Moose,  a  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  Post  and  Women's  Relief  Corps  Post. 

The  village  has  a  thriving  and  exceptionally  well-edited  weekly  news- 
paper in  the  Newton  Falls  Herald,  founded  in  1881  as  the  Echo.  A  few 
years  later  it  was  purchased  by  Frank  Mattes  and  made  the  News, 
and  afterwards  bought  by  David  Williams,  who  changed  the  name  to 
the  Tri-County  News.  J.  H.  Green  came  into  ownership  of  the  paper 
in  1899  and  retained  control  until  July,  1919,  when  it  was  purchased  by 
E.  R.  Smith  who  made  the  paper  the  Newton  Falls  Herald.  Mr.  Smith 
is  publisher  of  the  paper  with  George  U.  Marvin  as  editor. 

Newton  Falls  became  an  incorporated  village  on  March  10,  1872, 
at  the  first  election,  on  April  1,  1872,  J.  N.  Ensign  became  mayor;  Ly- 
man T.  Soule,  Henry  Taylor  and  James  F.  Porter,  trustees;  C.  G. 
Graham,  clerk  and  treasurer ;  H.  S.  Robbins,  marshal.  The  present  vil- 
lage officers  number,  E.  W.  McClure,  mayor;  C.  E.  Tinker,  H.  E.  Grif- 
fith, Samuel  Klingensmith,  Jay  Remaley,  Arthur  Smith  and  Frank 
Smith,  councilmen;  C.  C.  Jarvis,  Cal  Scott  and  Charles  Finnical,  mem- 
bers of  the  board  of  control.  James  Beard  is  postmaster  and  Perry  M. 
Robison  village  solicitor. 

The  village  has  a  municipal  water  supply  from  drilled  wells  of  more 
than  ample  capacity.  Lighting  is  furnished  by  the  Trumbull  County 
Public  Service  Company,  which  furnishes  domestic  and  street  lights  and 
power  and  has  two  power  stations  on  the  Mahoning  River  here,  plants 
that  supply  other  municipalities  of  the  upper  Mahoning  Valley  as  well. 

Newton  Falls,  in  short,  is  on  the  "go  ahead."  Land  sales  are  being 
made  rapidly,  new  plats  are  being  opened,  grain  fields  are  becoming  home 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       611 

sites  and  farms  are  becoming  industrial  plant  locations.    The  population 
goal  is  10,000  instead  of  the  less  than  1,000  found  two  years  ago. 

Schools 

Educational  institutions  in  Newton  Township  date  back  to  about 
1 812  when  a  schoolhouse  was  opened  on  Duck  Creek  and  a  second  one 
at  Newton  Falls.  Miss  Collar  was  the  first  teacher  at  the  latter  school, 
and  Judge  Eben  Newton  was  afterwards  a  teacher  here.  In  later  years 
a  good-sized  union  school  building  with  high  school  and  grade  depart- 
ments was  built  at  Newton  Falls.  The  present  village  school,  described 
before,  was  completed  but  this  year. 

The  Newton  Falls  village  school  district  now  has  a  first  grade  high 
school  and  grade  classes  under  Superintendent  J.  C.  Skaggs,  with  A.  F. 
Bender  as  high  school  principal,  Minnie  Shaffer  and  Blanche  Turnbull 
as  high  school  teachers  and  J.  M.  Justice,  Alice  Butts,  Bessie  Curtis, 
Mabel  Bender,  Pauline  Hindman,  Ethel  Barcas  and  Gladys  Sinn,  grade 
school  teachers,  and  Nellie  Davis,  instructor  in  music.  The  school  board 
members  are  A.  W.  Hart,  president ;  Leroy  Griffith,  Harry  Smith,  Wil- 
liam Snyder  and  E.  R.  Conklin. 

Churches 

The  First  Congregational  Church  of  Newton  Falls  was  organized 
on  September  4,  1836,  as  a  union  Presbyterian-Congregational  Church, 
the  original  gathering  being  held  at  the  home  of  Horace  Stephens,  with 
Rev.  John  Treat,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  presiding.  The  Congrega- 
tional form  of  worship  was  decided  upon.  In  1842  a  church  edifice  was 
erected  and  dedicated.  In  1868  the  church  became  Presbyterian  in 
creed,  but  in  1879  again  became  a  Congregational  body.  It  is  now  a 
flourishing  congregation  of  180  members.  Rev.  W.  A.  Elliott,  the  pres- 
ent pastor,  is  one  of  the  prominent  ministers  of  Trumbull  County  and 
supervised  the  county  rural  church  survey  in  1919-20  for  the  Inter- 
Church  World  Movement,  a  great  task  that  was  well  done. 

The  Christian  Church  at  Newton  Falls  is  an  outgrowth  of  a  Baptist 
congregation,  organized  in  1820  by  Rev.  Thomas  Miller,  Marcus  Bos- 
worth  being  of  the  founders  of  this  body,  its  first  deacon  and  later  a 
minister.  In  1825  Rev.  Jacob  Osborn  brought  the  Disciples  tenets  to 
Newton  Falls,  and  on  March  12,  1828,  the  church  was  reorganized  and 
became  a  Disciples  body.  The  first  church  building  was  erected  in  1839. 
This  congregation  has  progressed  since  that  time  and  is  now  under  the 
pastorate  of  Rev.  M.  J.  Grable. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Newton  Falls  was  organized  in 
1837  by  Rev-  Arthur  Brown  and  Rev.  E.  J.  L.  Baker,  the  original  mem- 
bership being  seven.  In  1840  the  church  membership  was  greatly  aug- 
mented by  a  revival  and  a  church  building  was  put  up  that  year.  Until 
T875  Newton  Falls  and  Braceville  formed  one  circuit,  but  in  that  year 
Newton  Falls  became  a  separate  organization.  Rev.  C.  L.  Warrick  is  the 
present  pastor. 


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612        YOUNGSf  OWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  joint  Lutheran  and  Reformed  congregation  of  Newton  Falls 
was  organized  in  1835,  under  the  supervision  of  Rev.  F.  C.  Becker,  a 
Lutheran  pastor  and  pioneer  clergyman  in  what  is  now  Southern  Trum- 
bull and  Northern  Mahoning  counties.  The  first  church*  was  built 
in  1837.  This  is  now  a  Lutheran  body,  with  Rev.  Charles  L.  Rush  as 
pastor. 

An  Associate  Reformed  congregation  was  formed  at  Newton  Falls 
in  the  early  days  and  ap  Episcopal  congregation  in  later  years.  These 
organizations,  and  a  regular  Baptist  congregation,  have  passed  out  of 
existence. 

The  Milton-Newton  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Pricetown  was 
organized  in  1880  and  the  present  church  built  in  1900.  Rev.  C.  L.  War- 
rick attends  this  church. 

The  present  officials  of  Newton  Township  include,  G.  F.  Carson, 
S.  W.  Sigler  and  George  B.  Shade,  trustees;  B.  B.  Jones,  clerk;  John 
Johnson,  treasurer;  Robert  Scott,  justice  of  the  peace. 

LORDSTOWN 

Lordstown  Township,  unlike  the  remaining  townships  in  the  south- 
ern-most tier  of  Trumbull  County,  is  purely  an  agricultural  community. 
The  industrial  plants  that  follow  the  river  and  have  created  busy  cities 
and  towns  in  Hubbard,  Liberty,  Weathersfield  and  Newton  are  missing 
here. 

Likewise  Lordstown  was  the  last  of  the  Trumbull-Mahoning  counties 
township  to  undergo  settlement,  being  wild  land  when  farm  and  villages 
dotted  neighboring  townships.  It  was  originally  the  sole  property  of 
Samuel  P.  Lord  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  who  drew  the  entire 
township  in  1798,  excepting  the  Salt  Spring  tract  portion  that  was  re- 
served. Lord  named  the  township  after  himself  and  decided  to  hold 
the  ground  for  advanced  prices,  although  part  of  the  township  is  said  to 
have  been  sold  in  1806  for  delinquent  taxes.  Previous  to  this,  however, 
the  owner  had  deeded  5,000  acres  to  his  son,  Samuel  P.  Lord,  Jr. 

This  decision  of  the  elder  Lord  to  hold  the  land  for  higher  prices 
prevented  any  settlement  until  1822  when  Henry  Thorn  of  Virginia 
located  about  two  and  one-half  miles  east  of  the  center.  William  Thorn 
came  about  the  same  time  and  John  Tait  and  Robert  Tait  settled  north 
of  the  Center  in  1824.  In  1826  Thomas  Pew,  William  Moore,  Lyman 
Lovell,  Peleg  Lewis,  John  Lewis,  Samuel  Bassett,  Peter  Snyder,  Leon- 
ard Miller,  Thomas  Longmore,  Andrew  Grove  and  James  Preston  came 
and  settlement  thereafter  was  fairly  rapid. 

About  1830  John  Carlton  built  a  sawmill  northeast  of  the  Center  and 
a  steam  sawmill  was  later  built  south  of  this.  The  first  village  was  lo- 
cated at  the  Center  and  is  still  known  by  the  same  name  as  the  township. 
The  first  store  there  was  conducted  by  Burke  &  Siddell  and  the  first 
hotel  by  Jehu  Woodward.  This  tavern  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present 
Neughberger's  Inn,  a  favorite  stopping  place  for  automobile  parties. 

Lordstown  Township  was  originally  a  part  of  the  Township  of  New- 
ton, incorporated  in  1808,  but  on  June  21,  1827,  Lordstown  was  separate- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       613 

ly  organized  when  a  township  election  was  held  and  the  following  offi- 
cers chosen:  Peleg  Lewis,  Samuel  Crum  and  Thomas  Pew,  trustees; 
James  Kennedy,  treasurer;  Moses  Haskell,  township  clerk;  John  Lewis, 
constable;  James  Preston  and  Alexander  Campbell,  overseers  of  the 
poor;  Ira  Lovell  and  David  Lewis,  fence  viewers;  Roswell  M.  Mason, 
justice  of  the  peace. 

Lordstown  was  the  scene  of  much  temperance  activity  during  the 
wave  that  swept  over  Ohio  between  1830  and  1850,  and  this  sentiment 
persisted.  Forty  years  ago  it  was  without  a  saloon,  a  most  unusual 
record  for  an  Ohio  township  in  1880. 

The  first  school  district  in  Lordstown  Township  was  laid  out  in  1828 
and  the  first  school,  a  log  house,  was  erected  near  the  Center.  About 
1830  a  school  was  built  at  the  Center,  this  being  replaced  by  a  frame 
building  in  1840.  Much  attention  was  given  to  education  later,  arid  in 
1875  tne  Lordstown  Educational  Society  was  organized  at  the  Center  to 
hire  and  retain  competent  teachers.  Lordstown  Township  schools  are 
now  centralized,  with  a  first  grade  high  school  and  grade  classes.  B.  R. 
Jones  is  district  superintendent;  Eva  Beil,  high  school  principal;  Dale 
Johnson,  high  school  teacher  and  Olive  Moser,  Margaret  Duer,  La- 
Verne  Young  and  Eleanor  Kreitler  grade  school  teachers.  An  audito- 
rium with  a  seating  capacity  of  1,000  is  now  being  added  to  the  Lords- 
town  school. 

The  First  Christian  Church,  Lordstown  Center,  was  organized  on 
March  20,  1830,  and  was  an  outgrowth  of  revival  services  held  in  Janu- 
ary, 1828,  by  Rev.  Walter  Scott  and  Rev.  James  P.  Mitchell,  this  being 
the  pioneer  religious  organization  of  the  township.  Rev.  John  Henry 
was  the  organizer  of  the  congregation.  In  1844  tne  first  church  building 
was  put  up,  and  in  1868  a  more  modern  structure  was  erected.  This 
church  now  has  a  membership  of  150. 

The  United  Brethren  Church,  at  East  Lordstown,  was  organized  in 
J8S5  by  Rev.  Hiram  Knight.  In  i860  a  church  edifice  was  erected 
under  the  supervision  of  Reverend  Excell,  the  site  for  this  building 
being  donated  by  Charles  Ohl.  The  church  has  sixty-five  members, 
Rev.  J.  E.  Porter  being  pastor. 

Methodists  also  held  services  in  Lordstown  at  an  early  date,  and 
in  1834  organized  a  congregation  and  held  services  in  a  schoolhouse, 
Rev.  J.  W.  Hill  being  the  first  minister.  They  afterwards  located  at 
1  ordstown  Center  with  the  building  of  a  church  there. 

In  1832  a  union  of  Lutheran  and  Reformed  congregations  was  ef- 
fected by  Rev.  P.  Mahnenschid  and  Rev.  H.  Huett,  and  a  log  church 
was  built.  Later  a  frame  structure  was  erected,  this  being  replaced  by 
a  second  frame  building  when  destroyed  by  fire  in  1848.  Out  of  this 
union  also  sprang  the  General  Synod  Lutherans  and  a  Methodist 
Episcopal  congregation,  who  erected  a  church  jointly  at  Bailey's  Cor- 
ners. This  structure  later  came  into  the  ownership  of  the  Lutherans 
rJone,  and  the  English  Lutheran  Church  came  into  being.  A  large  frame 
church  was  built  by  this  congregation  in  1881. 

The  Eden  Grange  is  made  up  of  Lordstown  Township  agriculturists. 
Present  township  officials  are,  James  Dunlap,  J.  C.  Grimm  and  A.  A. 


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614        YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

McCorkle,   trustees;   C.   S.   Fullerton,   clerk;   M.   J.   Kisler,  treasurer; 
George  Moser,  justice  of  the  peace. 

BROOKFIELD 

In  1798  Samuel  McMullen  came  to  Brookfield  Township  and  located 
on  a  tract  of  160  acres  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township.  Until  this 
time  the  entire  township  was  the  property  of  Samuel  Hinckley  who  had 
drawn  it  in  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  apportionment  of  January, 
1798. 

McMullen  built  a  cabin  for  his  family.  Rev.  Thomas  G.  Jones  came 
in  1802,  and  other  early  settlers  were  Johnson  Patrick,  Jacob  Ulp,  Dr. 
Thomas  Hartford,  Thomas  Thompson,  John  Briggs,  Benjamin  Bentley, 
Anthony  Patrick,  Ethan  Newcomb,  Thomas  Patten,  Samuel  Patrick, 
Judge  Robert  Hughes,  Matthew  Thompson,  Robert  Montgomery,  Isaac 
Flower,  Jacob  Hummason,  Benjamin  Jones,  William  Chatfield,  and  Con- 
stant Lake.  Reverend  Jones  was  a  Baptist  minister  and  in  addition  to 
being  a  pioneer  settler  was  the  first  man  to  hold  divine  services  in  the 
township  and  likewise  the  first  storekeeper.  With  his  brother,  Benja- 
min Jones,  he  opened  a  store  in  his  log  cabin  in  1802.  Likewise  he  per- 
formed the  first  marriage  ceremony,  uniting  in  marriage  Samuel  Mc- 
Mullen and  Elizabeth  Chatfield.  William  McMullen  was  the  first  white 
child  born  in  the  township. 

The  usual  sawmills  and  grist  mills  common  in  pioneer  communities 
were  built  and  in  1826  John  Myers  and  Franklin  Peck  constructed  a 
woolen  mill.  In  1836  Lawrence  Smith  built  a  small  blast  furnace  near 
the  Center  and  opened  a  foundry  where  the  product  of  the  stack  was 
converted  into  family  utensils.  The  furnace  was  operated  for  but  a 
few  years. 

Although  coal  was  less  plentiful  in  Brookfield  Township  than  in 
some  of  its  neighboring  townships,  mining  of  this  product  became  a 
leading  industry  here  at  one  time.  The  first  mine  was  opened  about 
T838  by  Gen.  Joel  E.  Curtis,  although  coal  previously  had  been  taken 
out  on  a  smaller  scale.  During  the  active  mining  days  of  the  '60s  to  the 
'80s  the  industry  became  far  more  important  but  grew  steadily  of  less 
consequence  as  the  veins  became  exhausted. 

Brookfield  Township  was  originally  included  governmentally  with 
Vienna  Township,  but  on  May  14,  1810,  was  separately  organized.  The 
first  election  was  held  at  the  home  of  Constant  Lake  when  William  Cun- 
ningham, Anthony  Patrick  and  John  D.  Smith  were  elected  trustees; 
Isaac  Flower,  treasurer  and  constable ;  Jacob  Hummason,  clerk  and  lister ; 
Henry  D.  Gandy,  appraiser;  Diament  Whittier,  Timothy  Alderman  and 
Clark  Rathbun,  supervisors;  Robert  Hughes  and  Benjamin  Bentley, 
overseers  of  the  poor;  Johnson  Patrick  and  James  Montgomery,  fence 
viewers. 

Brookfield  Center  is  the  political  and  business  center  of  the  town- 
ship. It  is  a  small  rural  village.  Brookfield  Station,  a  short  distance 
west  of  the  Center  is  the  railroad  station  for  the  Center,  being  located  on 
the  Franklin  division  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad.    The  Pennsyl- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       615 

vania-Ohio  Electric  Company's  line  traverses  the  southeastern  part  of 
the  township,  a  section  that  is  reached  also  by  branches  of  the  New 
York  Central  and  the  Erie  railroads.  The  comparatively  new  village  of 
Masury  is  located  on  these  roads.  This  settlement  sprang  up  around 
the  Masurite  Company's  plant,  an  industry  built  to  manufacture  a  special 
brand  of  explosive.  Later  this  plant  came  into  the  ownership  of  the 
Standard  Tank  Car  and  Construction  Company  and  this  concern  has 
since  operated  it  successfully. 

Another  industry  that  has  sprung  up  recently  in  Brookfield  Town- 
ship is  oil  production.  That  oil  and  gas  may  underlie  this  township 
has  been  believed  for  some  time  and  in  1920  extensive  drilling  was 
started  for  the  former  product.  The  Yankee  Run  Oil  and  Gas  Company 
has  gone  into  this  industry  on  a  comparatively  large  scale,  having  leased 
1,000  acres  in  the  Yankee  Run  neighborhood. 

The  first  school  in  Brookfield  Township  was  opened  in  a  cabin  on 
Yankee  Run  and  was  taught  by  Miss  Lois  Sanford.  Several  other  small 
schools  were  opened  later  at  scattered  points  and  the  district  school  sys- 
tem was  gradually  adopted.  The  township  now  has  four  schools,  a 
high  school  and  grades  at  the  Center,  one-room  school  in  the  Bell 
District  and  modern  schools  at  Masury  and  Brookfield  Avenue.  C.  E. 
Hoskinson  is  principal  and  Martha  Crawford  and  W.  B.  Maughman 
teachers  in  the  high  school;  Edith  Noland,  Nelle  Wanamaker,  Anna 
Dzunda,  Minnie  Kulow,  Alice  Christy  and  Norah  Hayes  grade  school 
teachers  at  the  Center;  Mary  E.  McKay,  Mary  E.  Cunningham,  Freda 
Jones,  Eletta  Krehl  and  Mary  E.  Offensend  teachers  at  the  Masury 
School ;  Clara  Befle  Ison,  Lydia  Elgin,  Mrs.  Eva  Hake  and  Clyde  Hake, 
teachers  at  Brookfield  Avenue,  T.  P.  McCorkle  teacher  of  the  Bell  Dis- 
trict School  and  Winnigene  Wood  instructor  in  domestic  science  in  all 
schools. 

The  earliest  of  Brookfield  religious  organizations  was  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  organized  on  April  2,  1816,  although  Rev.  Thomas  G. 
Jones,  a  Baptist,  had  held  services  in  the  township  probably  as  early 
as  1800,  and  ministered  to  a  Baptist  congregation  just  over  the  line  in 
Pennsylvania.  In  1817  a  Presbyterian  Church  was  built  and  Rev. 
Thomas  Core  became  pastor  of  the  Brookfield  and  Vienna  churches. 
The  church  later  languished,  and  in  1866  the  Brookfield  Congregational 
Church  was  founded.  The  church  building  still  in  use  was  erected  in 
1870.  Rev.  Alfred  E.  Woodruff  is  pastor  of  this  congregation  of  sixty- 
five  members. 

A  Methodist  Episcopal  society  was  organized  in  Brookfield  at  an 
early  date.  The  Disciples,  or  Christian  Church  congregation,  was  or- 
ganized on  February  22,  1874,  by  Rev.  N.  N.  Bartlett  and  held  services 
at  first  in  the  town  hall  at  Brookfield,  but  a  church  building  was  erected 
in  1876.     This  is  still  an  active  country  congregation. 

Brookfield  Grange  meets  at  the  Center.  The  township  officials  of 
Brookfield  include,  John  S.  James,  John  L.  Litman  and  W.  C.  Knival, 
trustees;  Glen  Hart,  clerk;  Robert  W.  Luse,  treasurer;  F.  M.  Mc- 
Kay, justice  of  the  peace. 


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616       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

VIENNA 

Vienna  Township,  originally  the  property  of  Urial  Holmes,  Timothy 
Burr,  A.  Hitchcock  and  Ephraim  Root,  was  surveyed  in  1798  by  a 
party  in  charge  of  Mr.  Holmes.  Members  of  this  party  returned  to 
Connecticut  in  the  fall  of  1798  and  in  the  spring  of  1799  were  back  on 
the  Reserve.  Accompanying  them  were  Isaac  Flowers  and  Dennis 
Palmer  and  families,  the  first  actual  settlers  of  the  township. 

Palmer  was  a  member  of  Holmes'  surveying  party  of  the  previous 
year  and  it  is  probable  that  Flowers  was  also  one  of  the  number.  An- 
other member  of  the  party  was  Samuel  Hutchins,  who  was  given  100 
acres  of  land  near  what  is  now  Payne's  Corners  for  his  work.  Here  he 
located,  and  in  1802  married  Freelove  Flowers,  this  being  the  first  wed- 
ding in  the  township.  The  first  white  child  born  in  the  township  was 
Lavinia  Flowers,  a  daughter  of  Isaac  Flowers  and  his  second  wife, 
Bathsheba  Flowers.     Lavinia  Flowers  was  born  in  1801. 

In  1802  Isaac  Woodford  and  family  and  Joel  Humason,  Isaac  Hum- 
ason,  Seth  Bartholemew,  Simeon  Wheeler,  and  Sylvester  Woodford 
and  families  located  in  Vienna.  They  were  joined  in  1803  and  1804 
by  Samuel  Lowrey,  Sr.,  Samuel  Lowrey,  Jr.,  Joseph  Bartholemew, 
Abiel  Bartholemew,  Isaac  Scott,  William  Qinton  and  Calvin  Munson 
and  in  1805  by  John  Clark,  Sheldon  Schofield,  Andrew  Mackey,  James 
Mackey,  Samuel  Clinton,  Hugh  Mackey,  William  Lafferty,  John  Hickox, 
Chauncey  Hickox  and  Darius  Woodford.  Epenetus  Rogers  and  Jesse 
Munson  came  in  1807. 

Samuel  Lowery  built  the  first  sawmill  in  the  township  on  the  bank 
of  Squaw  Creek  and  the  first  store  was  opened  at  Vienna  Center  in 
1820  by  Isaac  Powers.  The  first  school  was  opened  south  of  Vienna 
Center  in  1805  with  Miss  Tamar  Bartholemew  in  charge.  A  frame 
school  building  was  erected  at  the  Center  in  the  following  year,  Andrew 
Bushnell  being  the  first  teacher  in  this  building.  • 

Vienna  and  Brookfield  townships  were  organized  under  the  name 
of  Vienna  in  1806  and  on  March  6,  1806,  an  election  was  held  at  the 
home  of  Simeon  Wheeler.  Isaac  Woodford,  Isaac  Flowers,  Jr.,  and 
William  Clinton  were  elected  trustees;  Robert  Hughes,  treasurer;  Isaac 
Humason,  constable;  Dennis  C.  Palmer,  clerk;  Samuel  Hutchins  and 
Robert  Hughes,  fence  viewers ;  Joseph  Bartholemew,  Slevin  Higby, 
overseers  of  the  poor;  Isaac  Lloyd,  lister;  Isaac  Lowrey,  appraiser; 
Joel  Humason  and  Jacob  Middleswatch,  supervisors.  In  1810  Vienna 
and  Brookfield  townships  were  organized  separately. 

For  many  years  Vienna  was  an  important  agricultural  township, 
but  about  1866  the  mining  of  coal  began  there  on  a  large  scale.  Vienna 
coal  was  of  a  high  grade  and  found  in  plentiful  quantities  and  with 
the  opening  of  the  Vienna  branch  of  the  Erie  Railroad  this  industry 
flourished.  The  principal  operators  were  the  Vienna  Coal  Company 
and  C.  H.  Andrews  and  Company.  Several  hundred  men  were  em- 
ployed, busy  villages  sprang  up  about  the  mines  and  the  agricultural 
community  assumed  a  new  aspect.  By  1880.  however,  the  best  of  the 
mines  had  been  worked  out,  although  mining  was  continued  for  some 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       6i7 

years- thereafter.  With  the  closing  of  the  mines  Vienna  became  largely 
an  agricultural  township  again.  The  Erie  Railroad  discontinued  its 
passenger  service  and  finally  was  abandoned,  although  the  Franklin 
branch  of  the  New  York  Central  road  still  cuts  across  the  northeastern 
corner  of  the  township.  Brookfield  is  the  railroad  station  for  this  town- 
ship as  well  as  for  Brookfield  Township. 

Vienna,  as  the  center  village  is  called,  is  a  country  village  at  a  cross- 
roads on  main  highways  and  is  the  trading  center  of  the  township. 
Payne's  Corners,  on  the  Vienna-Brookfield  line  received  its  name  from 
the  Payne  family,  descendants  of  Solomon  Payne,  an  early  settler  in 
that  neighborhood. 

The  pioneer  school,  as  has  been  noted  before,  was  erected  south  of 
the  Center  in  1805,  and  in  the  following  year  a  school  was  opened  at 
the  Center.  Later  a  school  was  built  in  the  north  part  of  the  township 
and  the  Murry  School  in  the  west  part.  The  "Block  Schoolhouse"  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  township  was  one  of  the  landmarks  of  Vienna 
Township.  It  received  its  name  from  the  fact  that  it  was  built  of  hewed 
log  blocks.  The  original  building  was  replaced  in  1858  but  the  old  name 
was  retained  and  the  building  was  used  until  the  township  schools 
were  centralized.  The  ground  on  which  it  stood  reverted  to  heirs  of 
the  original  owners  with  its  abandonment  and  the  unused  building  was 
finally  burned  down  on  March  18,  1920. 

School  activities  in  Vienna  Township  are  now  centralized  at  the 
Center  where  there  is  a  high  school  with  J.  L.  Riggs  as  principal  and 
Mrs.  C.  D.  Marston  as  instructor  and  grades  taught  by  I.  F.  Mathews. 
Mazie  Meikle  and  Lucille  Kiddle.  Vienna  Township  is  in  the  second 
supervision  district. 

Simeon  Wheeler  located  at  the  four  corners  on  the  Vienna-Brook- 
field line  in  1802.  At  that  time  he  owned  all  four  corners,  but  in  1817 
sold  the  two  corners  lying  in  Vienna  Township  to  Solomon  Payne,  and 
from  this  ownership  the  village  of  Payne's  Corners  received  its  name. 
This  land  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  Payne  family. 

The  Payne's  Corners  Christian  Church  was  organized  in  May,  1858, 
the  first  services  being  held  in  a  schoolhouse.  The  same  year  a  lot  was 
purchased  from  Alfred  Wheeler,  Sylvester  Merriam  paying  for  the  lot 
and  also  giving  $50  toward  the  church  building.  Henry  Lane  gave  $60, 
these  two  being  the  largest  contributors.  Matthias  Christy  was  the 
founder  of  this  church,  being  assisted  by  Theobald  Miller.  Rev.  W.  P. 
Murray  is  now  pastor  of  this  congregation. 

The  Presbyterian  congregation  of  Vienna  Township  is  one  of  the 
oldest  in  Trumbull  County,  having  been  organized  on  March  22,  1805 
by  Rev.  Thomas  Robbins,  the  organization  meeting  being  held  at  the 
home  of  Samuel  Clinton.  Originally  this  was  a  union  Presbyterian- 
Congregational  body.  A  church  building  was  put  up  soon  after  and  in 
1810  Rev.  Nathan  B.  Darrow  was  installed  as  the  first  pastor.  With  a 
short  intermission,  he  remained  until  1828.  The  old  church  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  1853,  and  a  new  building  was  dedicated  on  May  3, 
1854.  In  1 87 1  this  congregation  became  strictly  Presbyterian  in  creed 
and  is  now  an  active  organization. 


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618       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Methodist  Episcopal  gatherings  were  held  at  Methodist  Comers,  in 
the  southwestern  part  of  the  township,  as  early  as  1810,  and  in  1820 
Vienna  became  a  circuit  with  regular  attendants.  In  1850  a  church  was 
built  at  Vienna  Center. 

A  Roman  Catholic  Church  was  opened  at  Vienna  during  the  coal 
mining  days,  but  languished  with  the  closing  of  the  mines  and  the  removal 
of  much  of  the  population. 

Vienna  Grange  is  an  active  farmers'  organization.  The  township 
officials  of  Vienna  include,  Ira  Greenwood,  L.  D.  Scott  and  John  Wil- 
liams, trustees;  William  Griffis,  clerk;  Merill  Griffis,  treasurer;  J.  B. 
Hanson,  justice  of  the  peace. 

HOWLAND 

This  township,  lying  just  east  of  Warren,  was  drawn  by  Joseph  How- 
land  in  the  draft  of  1798  and  was  named  after  him.  Howland  did  not 
locate  here  himself,  but,  in  1799,  sold  1,600  acres  in  the  township  to  John 
Hart  Adgate  for  $1,600. 

Adgate,  who  later  became  prominent  in  Trumbull  County,  serving  as 
its  first  coroner,  came  to  Howland  Township  in  the  summer  of  the  same 
year,  bringing  his  family  with  him.  Between  1800  and  1803  he  was 
joined  by  Michael  Peltz,  John  Earl,  John  Reeves,  John  Dally,  James 
Ward,  Jesse  Bowell,  John  Ewalt  and  Joseph  Quigley,  all  of  whom  came 
from  Pennsylvania,  although  Adgate  was  a  Connecticut  man.  John  Wil- 
liams, Uriah  Williams  and  William  Medley  came  about  the  same  time, 
and  William  Kennedy,  Barber  King,  Dr.  John  W.  Seely,  Abraham 
Drake,  William  Wilson,  Thomas  Crooks  and  Isaac  Heaton  and  James 
Heaton  came  in  1805  and  1806. 

The  two  latter  were  members  of  the  Heaton  family,  so  prominent 
in  early  days  in  Trumbull  County.  James  Heaton  remained  only  a 
short  time  in  Howland,  locating  then  in  Weathersfield,  but  Isaac  Heaton 
remained  and  was  for  many  years  a  justice  of  the  peace.  The  first 
white  child  born  in  the  township  was  Samuel  Q.  Reeves,  born  on 
March  10,  1804.  The  first  store  was  opened  at  the  Center  by  John 
Collins  about  1831.  In  18 12  the  township  was  organized  into  a  sep- 
arate township  and  voting  district,  Isaac  Heaton  being  the  first  justice 
of  the  peace  and  for  many  years  the  only  one  in  the  township. 

Pioneer  industries  were  limited  to  sawmills  and  gristmills,  the  first 
mill  of  the  former  kind  being  built  in  1814  by  Samuel  Kennedy.  This 
was  located  on  a  branch  of  Mosquito  Creek.  A  gristmill  was  located 
on  the  same  stream  by  Septimus  Cadwallader  in  181 5. 

Located  so  near  the  City  of  Warren,  that  municipality  long  ago  over- 
lapped into  Howland  Township  and  is  certain  to  spread  further  into 
the  township  with  the  revival  now  under  way  in  the  Trumbull  County 
capital. 

Howland  Springs,  opened  as  a  health  resort  at  an  early  day,  became 
a  popular  summer  resort  and  Sunday  gathering  place  for  people  of 
Warren  and  Youngstown  during  the  days  of  good  driving  horses  and 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       619 

smart  "rigs."  Recently  Howland  Springs  has  lost  much  of  this  old- 
time  prestige. 

Coal  mining  was  carried  on  to  some  extent  in  Howland  and  the 
quarrying  of  flagstone  also  became  an  important  industry,  extensive 
deposits  of  good  stone  having  been  uncovered  more  than  forty  years 
ago.  With  the  industrial  growth  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  the  township 
is  destined  to  become  more  of  a  manufacturing  district.  It  is  well 
watered,  in  fact  exceptionally  so.  The  Mahoning  River  crosses  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  township  and  Mosquito  Creek,  the  largest 
tributary  of  the  Mahoning,  traverses  its  full  length  from  north  to  south, 
running  through  the  middle  of  the  township. 

The  first  schoolhouse  in  the  township  was  opened  in  1804  with  Ruth 
Alford  as  teacher.  The  number  of  schools  increased  until  the  town- 
ship was  centralized  when  school  work  was  centered  in  two  buildings, 
the  Center  and  the  Bolindale  schools.  At  the  Center  is  a  high  school 
with  J.  M.  May  as  principal  and  Bertha  Varner  as  instructor,  and  grades 
with  Henry  Wohlgamuth,  Lorena  G.  Royer,  Edna  Logston,  Mary  C. 
Ferrin  as  grade  school  teachers.  The  Bolindale  grades  are  taught  by 
Alice  Cozad,  Mary  Case,  Martha  Hazlett  and  Ralph  Zeltman.  Adah 
Sigler  is  instructor  in  music  for  both  schools.  A  $40,000  annex  to  the 
Howland  centralized  school  is  now  being  built. 

Apparently  the  first  religious  services  in  Howland  Township  were 
held  at  the  home  of  John  Reeves  .in  1803,  a  Baptist  minister,  probably 
Rev.  Thomas  G.  Jones,  officiating.  Rev.  Joseph  Curtis  of  Warren  or- 
ganized the  Presbyterian  congregation  in  1815,  and  in  1820  a  log  church 
was  built  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  township,  this  building  serving 
as  a  school  as  well  as  a  church.  A  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
organized  in  1821  and  the  Christian  Church  in  1828.  Many  Howland 
Township  residents  are  now  identified  with  Warren  churches. 

The  township  officials  of  Howland  are:  E.  A.  King,  G.  A.  Haible 
and  I.  McLaren,  trustees;  A.  C.  Griffing,  clerk;  Z.  T.  Ewalt,  treasurer; 
J.  H.  P.  Payne,  justice  of  the  peace.  Howland  has  a  farmers'  organiza- 
tion in  Howland  Grange. 

BRACEVILLE 

Braceville  Township  derives  its  name  from  Jonathan  Brace,  prom- 
inent member  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  and  one  of  the  original 
owners  of  this  township.  Associated  with  him  were  Enoch  Perkins 
and  Roger  Newberry. 

Braceville  Township  is  drained  by  the  Mahoning  River  and  by  Eagle 
Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Mahoning.  The  first  settler  was  Ralph  Free- 
man, who,  with  William  Mossman,  located  in  July,  1803,  on  'and  that 
had  been  purchased  by  Francis  Freeman,  brother  of  the  former.  Moss- 
man  in  turn  purchased  land  from  Freeman.  Previously  a  settler  named 
Millan  had  located  in  Braceville  but  remained  only  a  short  time.  Within 
a  short  time  Mossman  sold  out  to  Ralph  Freeman  and  removed  to 
Warren. 

In   1804  Samuel  Oviatt,  Jr.,  and   Stephen  Oviatt,  and  their  wives 


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620       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

located  in  Braceville.  Jacob  Earle  came  the  same  year.  The  first  white 
child  of  the  township  was  a  son,  William  J.  Oviatt,  born  to  Stephen 
Oviatt  and  wife.  These  first  settlers  underwent  the  hardest  of  privations 
the  first  winter  as  there  were  neither  provisions  nor  mills  in  the  town- 
ship. 

In  February,  1805.  the  settlers  were  joined  by  Joshua  Bradford  and 
his  three  sons  and  by  Samuel  Oviatt,  Sr.,  and  his  remaining  three  sons 
and  two  daughters. 

In  1816  the  first  postoflRce  was  established  at  Braceville  Center  and 
placed  in  charge  of  Auren  Stowe  who  remained  until  1850.  The  Center 
is  the  chief  business  point  in  the  township. 

In  181 1  Eli  Barnum  erected  a  gristmill  on  Eagle  Creek  where  Pha- 
lanx now  stands,  a  sawmill  being  built  in  Connection  with  this.  In  1846 
the  Trumbull  Phalanx  Company  purchased  the  Barnum  holdings  and 
erected  a  tannery,  bow  factory,  wagon  shop,  shoe  shop  and  kindred  in- 
dustries and  founded  a  co-operative  community.  The  settlement  be- 
came an  active  place  for  a  time  but  in  1850  the  company  dissolved, 
although  the  name  was  retained  when  the  Cleveland  and  Mahoning  Val- 
ley Railroad,  now  the  Erie  Road,  built  a  station  and  gave  it  that  name. 
The  railroad  station,  however,  is  located  some  d: stance  from  the  village 
of  the  same  name.     Phalanx  is  also  a  postoflfice. 

Braceville  Township  was  organized  about  181 2  with  Robert  Freeman 
as  the  first  justice  of  the  peace:  Harvey  Allen  served  as  constable  from 
1820  to  1845,  an  unusually  long  tenure  of  office. 

Braceville  Village,  also  on  the  Erie  Railroad,  is  an  important  freight 
and  trading  center  for  the  township  with  stores  and  small  industries. 

An  event  that  will  long  be  chronicled  in  the  annals  of  Braceville  Town- 
ship is  the  tornado  of  July  23,  i860,  that  caused  deaths  and  untold  de- 
struction. The  occurrence  was  remarkable,  and  Northeastern  Ohio  is 
usually  pleasingly  free  from  visitations  of  this  kind. 

The  first  school  in  the  township  was  located  at  the  Center  and  was 
taught  by  Harvey  Stow.  Eventually  the  number  of  schools  was  in- 
creased to  eight  or  ten,  these  being  of  the  plain  rural  school  type,  but  in 
recent  years  the  schools  have  been  centralized  and  include  a  good  high 
school  as  well  as  lower  grades.  James  Guthrie  is  principal  of  the  high 
school  with  Martha  E.  Fox  as  an  instructor.  The  grade  school  teachers 
are  Madison  F.  Cook,  Lois  Buckingham,  Jennie  Crouch,  Hazel  M.  Guth- 
rie and  Vera  Gillette. 

In  Braceville  Township  is  found  the  "Center  of  the  World,"  so  called 
by  Randall  Wilmot,  who  came  to  Braceville  from  Pennsylvania  about 
1845.  Wilmot  was  eccentric,  although  a  man  unusually  well-informed 
on  public  happenings  of  the  day  and  of  a  high  degree  of  intelligence,  and 
is  said  to  have  insisted  that  this  place  was  the  center  of  the  world.  In 
the  stage  coach  days  Wilmot  did  a  thriving  business  as  a  merchant  and 
inn-keeper.  In  his  later  years  he  removed  to  Cortland,  where  he  engaged 
in  the  grocery  business,  calling  this  store  the  "End  of  the  World/'  The 
old  covered  bridge  that  crosses  the  Mahoning  River  at  the  place  where 
Wilmot  originally  located  is  still  known  as  the  "Center  of  the  World 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       621 

Bridge,"  and  is  one  of  the  few  covered  bridges  in  use  in  this  part,  of 
the  country.    Recently  heavy  traffic  has  been  forbidden  over  it. 

The  first  religious  organization  in  Braceville  Township  was  the  Bible 
Christian  Church,  a  body  that  later  passed  out  of  existence.  The  Con- 
gregational Church  was  organized  in  1814,  meetings  being  held  in  the 
building  that  was  later  the  town  hall  until  1835  when  a  church  was 
built.  This  church  split  later  over  the  slavery  question  and  sold  its 
properties. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  in  1816,  and  prom- 
inent Methodist  missionaries  ministered  to  this  congregation.  The  first 
church  was  a  log  building.  This  was  replaced  by  a  better  structure  in 
1838,  this  latter  building  being  remodeled  in  1874.  Until  1875  Brace- 
ville and  Newton  Falls  were^on  one  circuit,  but  since  that  time  have 
been  distinct. 

The  Christian,  or  Disciples,  Church  attained  much  strength  in  1869, 
when  a  revival  was  held  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  J.  N.  Smith,  and  on 
January  31,  1869,  a  church  congregation  was  formally  organized.  A 
church  was  put  up  in  1874. 

The  township  officials  of  Braceville  include,  William  Gintert,  R.  M. 
McConnell  and  J.  T.  McGibbon,  trustees;  C.  R.  Davis,  clerk;  Robert 
Jewell,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Mentzer,  justice  of  the  peace. 

HARTFORD 

Hartford  Township,  one  of  the  important  farming  townships  of 
Trumbull  County,  was  originally  the  property  of  Ephraim  Root  and 
Urial  Holmes  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company.  Their  investment  was 
made  at  the  rate  of  about  seventy-five  cents  an  acre,  but  the  first  sale  of 
land  made  by  them  was  to  Edward  Brockway,  who  purchased  3,194 
acres  for  $500,  or  for  less  than  sixteen  cents  an  acre. 

This  was  not  a  profitable  deal  directly  for  the  owners  of  the  town- 
ship, but  was  a  paying  one  in  the  end  as  it  induced  early  settlement.  In 
the  summer  of  1799  Brockway  came  to  the  township,  accompanied  by 
Isaac  Jones  and  Asahel  Brainard.  The,  settlers  built  a  cabin  and  planted 
crops.  Brainard  remained  through  the  following  winter,  while  Brock- 
way and  Jones  journeyed  east  and  came  back  with  their  families  in  the 
spring  of  1800. 

Jones  settled  at  Burg  Hill  and  Brainard  located  south  of  Hartford 
Center.  In  1800,  too,  Titus  Brockway  came  as  agent  for  Root  and 
Holmes,  the  land  owners,  and  Holmes  himself  was  here  at  that  time. 
Charles  Merry  located  on  the  present  site  of  Orangeville  about  the  same 
time,  William  Bushnell  and  Aaron  Brockway  came  in  1801,  William  C. 
Jones  in  1802,  Daniel  Bushnell,  Capt.  Thomas  Thompson  and  Robert 
McFarland  in  1803,  and  between  1804  and  1806  Richard  Hayes,  Thomas 
Bushnell,  Asahel  Borden,  Andrews  Bushnell,  Asa  Andrews,  Jehiel  Hurl- 
burt,  Samuel  Tuttle,  Capt.  Alexander  Bushnell,  Shaler  Fitch,  Asahel 
Borden,  Jr.,.  Elam  Jones,  Chester  Andrews,  Samuel  Spencer,  Jehiel  Hurl- 
burt,  Jr.,  William  Rathburn,  of   Connecticut,  and  John  Kepner,  John 


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622       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Pfouts,  Frederick  Shull,  Michael  Quiggle,  George  Snyder  and  John  Sny- 
der of  Cumberland  County,  Pennsylvania,  located  in  Hartford. 

The  township  was  named  after  the  city  of  Hartford,  capital  of  Con- 
necticut, and,  in  keeping  with  Western  Reserve  custom,  a  village  was 
located  at  the  center  of  the  township,  although  Burg  Hill  was  apparently 
even  an  earlier  settlement.  Jeffrey  Bentley  built  mills  near  the  south 
line  of  the  township  about  1802,  although  a  mill  had  been  erected  at 
Orangeville  a  year  or  two  previously  by  Jacob  Loutzenhiser,  the  founder 
of  that  village.  Loutzenhiser  resided  on  the  Pennsylvania  side  of  the 
line,  however,  and  his  mill  was  in  Mercer  County,  Orangeville  being  on 
the  state  line.  Harriet  Merry,  born  at  Orangeville  in  1801,  was  the  first 
native  white  child  in  the  township.  The  first  marriage  was  that  of  Linus 
Hayes  and  Jerusha  Bushnell,  the  ceremony  being  performed  on  Septem- 
ber 11,  1805.  The  first  tavern  was  conducted  at  Burg  Hill  by  Aaron 
Brockway  and  was  opened  about  1802.  Titus  Brockway  was  the  first 
postmaster  at  Hartford  Center  and  Erastus  Olin  in  charge  of  the  first 
office  at  Burg  Hill.  James  Heslep  opened  a  store  at  Burg  Hill  in  1814, 
while  Dr.  Daniel  Upson  was  the  first  physician.  Originally  Hartford 
Township  was  included  in  the  civil  township  of  Vernon,  and  the  date  of 
its  separate  organization  is  undetermined,  but  must  have  been  prior  to 
1 810.    Titus  Brockway  was  the  first  justice  of  the  peace. 

The  first  residence  at  Hartford  Center  was  built  by  Seth  Thompson, 
Sr.,  in  1810,  and  it  was  almost  twenty  years  later  before  the  village 
boasted  a  store  and  a  hotel. 

Hartford  Township  played  an  important  part  in  military  affairs  in 
the  early  days  of  Trumbull  County  and  also  in  the  War  of  1812,  when 
it  furnished  upward  of  half  a  hundred  men.  The  men  from  this  part 
of  the  county  were  enlisted  in  the  Third  Regiment  of  the  Third  Brigade, 
the  regiment  being  commanded  during  the  war,  as  it  had  been  previously, 
by  Col.  Richard  Hayes,  a  member  of  one  of  the  pioneer  and  leading 
families  of  the  township.  The  Jones  family,  also  among  the  early  set- 
tlers, also  produced  prominent  men,  among  these  being  Asa  W.  Jones, 
a  prominent  Youngstown  lawyer  and  lieutenant  governor  of  Ohio  from 
1896  to  1900,  who  retired  from  the  practice  of  the  law  to  spend  his  last 
years  as  a  farmer  and  cattle  breeder  in  the  Burg  Hill  neighborhood. 

Hartford  Township  is  drained  by  Pymatuning  Creek  and  Yankee 
Run,  both  of  which  are  Shenango  Valley  streams,  and  is  traversed  by  the 
Erie  Railroad  in  the  extreme  northeastern  part  and  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral in  the  southwestern. 

The  Burg  Hill  referred  to  in  this  chapter  was  distinct  from  the  Burg 
Hill  station  of  today.  The  original  settlement  was  located  in  Hartford 
Township,  but  business  activities  were  removed  to  the  present  location 
in  Vernon  Township  with  the  construction  of  the  Erie  Railroad  line. 
There  are  three  villages  in  the  township,  Orangeville,  Hartford  Center 
and  Brockway,  the  last  named  being  in  the  southern  part. 

Orangeville,  in  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  township  and  on  the 
Pennsylvania  line,  grew  to  importance  with  the  construction  of  the  Erie 
Railroad  and  the  opening  of  the  coal  mines.  It  was  incorporated  in  1868 
and  R.  E.  Grey  was  elected  mayor  and  A.  M.  Brockway,  N.  E.  Austin, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       623 

E.  B.  Jones,  Dr.  A.  C.  Brainard  and  S.  H.  Spear  were  named  councilmen. 
It  is  but  a  small  village,  located  on  Pymatuning  Creek,  but  remains  an 
incorporated  municipality  with  stores,  a  hotel  and  two  flour  mills,  the 
Hewitt  mill,  on  the  Ohio  side  of  the  line,  and  the  Fell  mill,  on  the  Penn- 
sylvania side.  E.  C.  Boyd  is  the  present  mayor;  R.  Dabney,  clerk; 
W.  H.  Langley,  treasurer;  George  Gear,  marshal;  George  W.  Powell, 

F.  W.  Brockway,  Clyde  Hodgson,  E.  N.  Hyde,  R.  H.  Morrison,  H.  P. 
Fell  and  E.  G.  Fell,  members  of  council. 

Hartford  Township  has  two  granges,  Hartford  Grange  and  the 
Union  Grange,  the  latter  at  Orangeville. 

In  1804  the  first  school  in  the  township  was  taught  by  a  Miss  Bar- 
tholemew  at  Burg  Hill  and  in  1805  a  frame  school  building  was  put  up. 
This  was  attended  by  scholars  for  many  miles  around,  and  in  addition 
to  being  used  for  a  school  the  building  served  as  a  public  meeting  place 
and* church.  In  1827  a  two-story  brick  school  was  built  at  Burg  Hill 
and  in  1828  a  like  building  was  erected  at  Hartford  Center.  Hartford 
also  boasted  a  circulating  library  before  1810,  a  novel  and  much-prized 
institution  in  that  day  when  books  were  scarce  in  Ohio. 

Hartford  Township,  in  fact,  had  unusual  educational  facilities  in  the 
eajrly  days.  An  academy  was  opened  by  John  Crowell  about  1824  and 
in  1840  a  young  ladies'  select  school  was  started  by  Miss  Caroline 
Billings. 

In  1849  ^e  Hartford  High  School  was  incorporated  by  a  special  act 
of  the  Legislature  and  opened  in  September,  1849,  w^h  J°hn  Lynch  as 
teacher.  In  1871  the  old  church  building  was  converted  into  a  school 
and  this  institution  was  incorporated  as  the  Hartford  Academic  Institute. 

A  special  Orangeville  Village  school  district  was  incorporated  in  1868 
and  a  school  erected  there  about  that  time.  It  is  still  a  separate  district 
in  the  third  supervisory  district  with  Margaret  Hughes  and  Frank  Neal 
as  teachers  of  the  school. 

Hartford  Township  outside  Orangeville  is  a  "4740"  school  district, 
or  a  township  with  a  first  grade  high  school  wholly  centralized.  Mrs. 
Lettie  Chapman  is  district  superintendent.  Marie  Ohl  is  principal  of 
the  high  school  and  Thelma  Rachel  Shaw,  high  school  instructor,  M.  M. 
Fell,  Hazel  Hawkins,  Mildred  Baldwin  and  Twila  Bair  being  the  grade 
school  teachers.     The  school  is  located  at  Hartford  Center. 

Early  settlers  in  Hartford  found  the  curious  formation  known  as 
the  "Old  Road,"  the  origin  of  which  has  never  been  explained.  It  is 
located  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  township  and  is  perhaps  a  half 
mile  in  length  and  has  the  appearance  of  having  been  thrown  up  like 
a  highway.  Pioneers  found  it  covered  with  a  growth  of  timber  as  large 
as  the  timber  on  the  surrounding  lands,  and  yet  this  earthwork  was 
undoubtedly  of  artificial  construction.  Boulders  and  gravel  beds  for- 
eign to  this  locality  were  also  found  when  the  white  men  came,  also  a 
number  of  excavations  resembling  wells  that  had  apparently  been  aban- 
doned many  years  before  settlement. 

Jerusalem  Lodge  No.  19,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  is  a  notable 
Hartford  organization.  Its  first  meeting  was  held  on  February  15,  181 2, 
under  a  dispensation  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ohio.    Under  this 


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624       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

dispensation  the  following  officers  were  appointed  and  installed  by 
George  Tod,  of  Erie  Lodge  at  Warren,  as  proxy  for  Grand  Master 
Lewis  Cass:  Martin  Smith,  W.  M.;  Daniel  Bushnell,  S.  W.;  Samuel 
Spencer,  J.  W. ;  Joseph  DeWolf,  treasurer;  Richard  Hayes,  secretary; 
Sterling  G.  Bushnell,  S.  D.;  Libeus  Beach,  J.  D.;  Thomas  McMillen, 
lyler.  The  first  meeting  was  held  under  this  dispensation  on  May  28, 
1812.  On  January  5,  1814,  a  charter  was  granted  the  lodge.  Jerusalem 
Lodge  is  a  thriving  one  after  more  than  one  hundred  years  of  existence 
and  now  owns  its  own  lodge  building  at  Hartford. 

The  Hartford  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organizel  in  1801 
as  the  Vernon-Hartford  Methodist  Episcopal  Society,  but  eventually 
became  a  Hartford  congregation  and  worshiped  in  the  schoolhouse  at 
Burg  Hill  until  1836,  when  a  church  building  was  erected  at  Hartford 
Center.  In  1874  this  building  was  remodeled.  The  Hartford  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  now  has  a  membership  of  100,  with  Rev.  William 
Lloyd  as  pastor.  The  Brock  way  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
formed  in  1822  and  in  1857  tne  present  church  building  was  put  up. 
This  congregation  has  a  membership  of  thirty  and  is  attended  by 
Reverend  Lloyd.  The  Orangeville  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
organized  in  1837.  A  small  meeting  house  erected  at  that  time  was 
replaced  by  a  larger  church  in  1872. 

Rev.  Joseph  Badger  visited  Hartford  Township  late  in  1800,  and  on 
September  17,  1803,  a  Congregational  Church  was  organized.  A  year 
later  this  became  a  union  congregation  of  Congregationalists  and  Presby- 
terians of  Hartford,  Vernon  and  Kinsman.  In  1819  the  first  church 
building  was  erected  at  the  Center,  remaining  until  1846.  Rev.  Harvey 
Coe,  who  was  stationed  at  Vernon,  was  the  first  pastor.  In  1823  Hart- 
ford was  organized  into  a  separate  congregation.  In  1840  the  Presby- 
terians withdrew  from  the  union  but  in  1852  the  plan  of  the  union  was 
again  adopted. 

The  Baptist  Church  was  organized  about  1816,  and  on  May  1,  1830, 
a  Disciples  Church  was  formed  from  this,  locating  at  the  Center  in 
1853.  The  Baptist  Church  was  reorganized  in  1835  and  erected  a 
building  at  Orangeville  in  1845.  The  United  Brethren  Church,  was 
originally  a  Pennsylvania  organization,  locating  at  Orangeville  in  1872. 

Township  officials  of  Hartford  include,  D.  S.  McElrath,  A.  V. 
Bates  and  Edgar  Mott,  trustees;  A.  D.  Banning,  clerk;  R.  J,  McDowell, 
treasurer. 

FOWLER 

Originally  the  sole  property  of  Samuel  Fowler  of  Westfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, this  township  was  settled  by  Abner  Fowler,  a  brother  of  the 
owner,  who  had  received  100  acres  of  land  at  the  center  of  the  township 
in  return  for  his  work  in  surveying  the  land. 

Fowler,  a  widower,  came  alone  and  built  a  cabin  at  the  Center.  In 
addition  to  being  a  pioneer  settler  he  was  a  land  agent  and  had  much 
to  do  with  bringing  early  homesteaders  here.  He  died  at  Fowler  in 
1806,  his  death  being  the  first  in  the  township. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        625 

In  1801  Levi  Foote  and  family  of  Westfield  came  to  Fowler  and 
located  near  the  Center.  Here  their  daughter  Lydia,  the  first  native 
white  child  of  Fowler  Township,  was  born  on  July  5,  1805.  Settlement 
of  the  township  up  to  1805  was  slow,  those  locating  here  in  the  first 
five  or  six  years  after  the  original  settlement  was  made  numbering 
Lemuel  Barnes,  John  Morrow,  Hillman  Fisher,  the  Drake  family  and 
Abner  Fowler,  Jr.,  in  addition  to  the  elder  Fowler  and  Foote.  In  1806 
Chester  Fowler,  and  a  Connecticut  party  that  included  Elijah  Tyrrell 
and  wife.  Clarissa  Meeker,  Justice  Meeker,  Daniel  Meeker,  Lyman 
Meeker,  William  Meeker,  John  Vaughn  and  Wakeman  Silliman  located 
near  what  is  now  known  as  Tyrrell  Hill.  It  received  its  early  name  of 
Tyrrell's  Corners  from  the  Tyrrell  family.  Esther  Jennings  was  another 
of  this  party,  and  John  Kingsley  and  Matthias  Gates  were  early  settlers. 
Others  who  came  at  an  early  day  were  Seth  Perkins,  Enoch  Perkins, 
Richard  Houlton,  Toseph  Pittman,  Solomon  Dundee  and  Abraham  Far- 
row.   After  the  War  of  1812  immigration  was  more  plentiful. 

A  sawmill,  gristmill  and  machine  shop  were  located  at  Tyrrell's  Cor- 
ners soon  after  the  Connecticut  settlers  arrived  there  and  this  made 
the  settlement  a  most  important  one  as  many  imp'ements  used  by  the 
pioneer  farmers  were  manufactured  here.  The  first  store  in  the  town- 
ship was  also  opened  at  Tyrrell's  by  Elijah  Barnes  and  stores  were 
opened  later  at  McClurg  and  at  Fowler  Center. 

The  first  wedding  in  the  township  was  in  August.  1807,  when  Abner 
Fowler,  Jr.,  was  united  in  marriage  to  Esther  Jennings. 

Fowler  Township  was  originally  part  of  the  Township  of  Vernon, 
created  in  1800.  Subsequently  it  became  part  of  the  smaller  Township 
of  Vernon,  and  in  1807  was  separately  organized.  John  Kingsley  was 
the  first  justice  of  the  peace. 

Fowler  Center  and  TyrreM.  the  latter  on  the  Fowler-Vienna  line, 
are  both  thriving  villaees.  Nutwood  Station,  about  three-quarters  "of 
a  mile  east,  is  the  railroad  point  for  Fowler  Center.  Nutwood  and 
Tyrrell  are  both  located  on  the  Franklin  Division  of  the  New  York 
Central  Line  that  passes  through  the  eastern  part  of  the  township. 
Fowler  Township  is  an  agricultural  section  with  its  trading  centers  at 
the  above  villages. 

The  first  school  in  the  township  was  opened  in  1806  in  Wakeman 
Silliman's  cabin,  with  Miss  Fsther  Jennings,  afterwards  Mrs.  Abner 
Fowler,  Tr.,  as  teacher.  This  school  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  children 
of  recently  arrived  Connecticut  settlers  and  it  was  1814  before  a  town- 
ship school  was  built.  This  school,  located  about  a  mile  south  of  the 
Center,  was  taueht  bv  Miss  Pollv  Nichols.  The  previous  winter  New- 
man Tucker  had  taught  a  school  in  the  home  of  John  Vaughn.  Fowler 
Township  schools  are  now  centralized.  H.  T.  Finsterwald  being  princi- 
pal of  the  hi>h  schoo1.  Frances  Houston  high  school  teacher,  Madlean 
Clark.  Myrl  Groves.  Edna  Bascom  and  Alberta  Cratsley,  grade  school 
teachers  and  Mrs.  Daisy  Currie  instructor  in  music. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Fowler  was  organized  in  1815 
by  Rev.  Alfred  Bronson.  with  a  membership  of  seven.  A  small  church 
was  built  south  of  the  Center,  but  in   1873  tne  former  Congregational 

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626       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Church  building  was  purchased  and  has  since  been  used  as  a  Methodist 
Church.  The  congregation  has  ioo  members,  Rev.  William  Lloyd  being 
pastor. 

The  Christian  Church  was  organized  in  1832  and  for  some  years 
services  were  held  in  private  houses  and  other  quarters  but  in  1852  a 
church  building  was  erected.  The  congregation  now  has  a  member- 
ship of  about  sixty-five  Rev.  Joseph  Badger  preached  in  Fowler 
Township  in  1807,  and  a  few  years  later  a  Congregational  Church  was 
formed.  A  church  building  was  put  up  in  1835  that  was  built  by  popu- 
lar subscription  and  was  open  to  other  creeds.  Eventually  the  Congre- 
gational organization  disbanded  and  the  church  building  passed  into  pos- 
session of  the  Methodists.  The  United  Brethren  followers  organized 
in  the  western  part  of  the  township  in  1840. 

Township  officials  of  Fowler  are,  William  Bettiker,  W.  M.  Cleland 
and  W.  G.  Tyrrell,  trustees;  H.  W.  Scheiddiger,  clerk;  W.  A.  Gale, 
treasurer;  John  Cratsley,  justice  of  the  peace. 

BAZETTA 

Edward  Schofield,  later  a  member  of  the  Legislature  from  Trum- 
bull County,  was  the  first  settler  in  Bazetta  Township,  locating  here  in 
1804.    John  Budd  and  family  came  the  same  year. 

The  settlement  of  Bazetta  Township  was  made  but  slowly.  The 
above  settlers,  with  Henry  K.  Hulse,  Joseph  Pruden,  John  Godden, 
Joshua  Oatley  and  Moses  Hampton  were  the  only  residents  on  the 
township  in  1810.  Shortly  afterwards  came  William  Davis,  Benjamin 
Rowley,  the  Dixon  family,  James  Parker  and  Moses  McMahan  and 
families. 

Edward  Schofield  had  built  a  gristmill  about  1812.  In  1816  Samuel 
Bacon  and  family  moved  from  Warren  to  land  he  had  purchased  in 
Bazetta  Township,  including  the  Bentley  &  Brooks  sawmill  site.  The 
Bacon  family  increased  their  holdings  and  in  1829  Enos  Bacon  opened 
a  store  at  the  settlement.  With  considerable  foresight  the  ground  was 
platted  into  lots  and  a  healthy  -settlement  resulted.  Originally  this  was 
known  as  Baconsburgh,  but  with  the  completion  of  the  Erie  Railroad 
branch  through  the  township  became  Cortland.  Cortland,  the  only 
village  in  the  township,  was  formally  incorporated  in  1874. 

The  township  lies  in  the  Mosquito  Creek  Valley,  this  stream  travers- 
ing it  from  north  to  south  almost  through  the  middle  of  the  township. 
Its  chief  tributary  is  Confusion  Creek,  so  called  from  the  fact  that  in 
the  early  days  Benjamin  Rowley,  Henry  Hulse  and  a  companion  were 
lost  in  the  woods  near  here  and  in  their  many  attempts  to  get  out  invari- 
ably returned  to  the  creek,  turning  in  a  circle  as  those  do  who  are  not 
trained  woodsmen. 

The  Erie  Railroad,  or  the  Shenango  division  of  that  road,  crosses 
the  township  from  northeast  to  southwest. 

The  usual  custom  of  Western  Reserve  settlers  in  founding  the  lead- 
ing settlement  at  the  center  of  the  township  was  not  followed  in  the 
case   of   Bazetta   Township.     Cortland   is   in  the  extreme  northeastern 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       627 

part  of  the  township  and  has  remained  the  business  center  of  the  com- 
munity, its  early  predominance  being  strengthened  with  the  construction 
of  the  railroad,  for  Cortland  is  located  on  the  Erie  Line.  It  is  a  pleasing 
village,  with  a  good  business  center,  pretty  residences,  small  rural  in- 
dustries, good  stores,  a  hotel  and  a  financial  institution  in  the  Cortland 
Savings  and  Banking  Company.  The  Cortland  Steel  Tube  Company 
is  about  to  begin  the  erection  of  a  plant  for  the  manufacture  of  pipe. 
This  company  was  organized  in  August,  1920,  with  a  capital  of  $50,000. 

Cortland  originally  had  two  newspapers,  the  Gazette  and  the  Era, 
and  now  has  a  thriving  and  well-edited  weekly  in  the  Cortland  Herald, 
an  independent  Democratic  paper  published  by  C.  C.  Hadsell  and  Son. 

On  the  incorporation  of  the  village  in  1874  Asa,  Hines  was  elected 
mayor;  W.  W.  Post,  clerk;  E.  A.  Faunce,  treasurer;  John  Young,  mar- 
shal; A.  S.  Gilbert,  R.  D.  Larned,  J.  H.  Post,  M.  Bacon,  M.  Craft  and 
A.  G.  Miller,  councilmen.  The  village  officers  for  1920-21  are,  H.  L. 
Hutton,  mayor;  D.  D.  Kellogg,  clerk;  G.  L.  Sigler,  treasurer;  W.  H. 
Wechbacher,  marshal;  F.  D.  Thoyer,  L.  E.  Post,  A.  O.  McLaughlin, 
John  Wannamaker,  R.  D.  Kelloff  and  George  McKelvey,  councilmen. 

Cortland  is  also  the  seat  of  Union  Grange,  the  township  organization 
of  farmers.  Klondike  is  a  small  settlement  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
township. 

The  first  school  in  Bazetta  Township  was  opened  about  1810  on 
Walnut  Creek,  this  original  structure  being  replaced  by  a  better  build- 
ing in  1814.  With  the  settlement  of  the  township  better  schools  were 
established,  especially  at  Cortland  Village. 

The  Cortland  High  School,  a  pioneer  among  rural  Ihigh  schools,  was 
established  by  a  special  act  of  the  Legislature  and  opened  for  the  Sep- 
tember term  of  school  in  1877.  An  unusually  well-equipped  and  well- 
located  school  building  had  been  constructed  and  the  Cortland  school  has 
ranked  high  since  that  time. 

Under  the  county  school  system  Cortland  Village  is  a  school  district 
of  itself,  with  A.  L.  Bascom  as  superintendent.  The  high  school,  now  a 
first  grade  institution,  is  under  Lena  Johnson,  as  principal  and  Hazel 
Workman  as  instructor,  with  Christa  Craft,  Hazel  Ensign,  Grace  Durr 
and  Vera  Veits  as  grade  school  teachers.  The  founding  of  other  high 
schools  in  adjoining  townships  has  made  the  high  school  a  home  insti- 
tution, although  originally  it  was  a  place  of  higher  instruction  for 
youths  of  surrounding  parts  of  Trumbull  County. 

Outside  Cortland  there  are  four  one-room  schools,  included  in  the 
third  supervision  district  under  Superintendent  C.  F.  Stewart.  These 
schools  are  taught  by  Ethel  Fink,  Mrs.  Edythe  Leonard,  Mrs.  Verna 
Caldwell  and  Dollie  Cozad. 

The  Cortland  Disciple,  or  Christian,  Church  was  founded  as  a  Bap- 
list  organization  in  1818,  Edward  Schofield,  first  resident  of  the  town- 
ship, being  one  of  the  leaders.  About  1832  the  congregation  went  over 
to  the  Disciples  creed,  and  in  1835  erected  a  church  building  at  Cortland. 
This  structure  was  remodeled  in  1875.  The  congregation  now  has  a 
membership  of  225.     Rev.  G.  Webster  Moore  is  pastor  of  this  church. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Cortland  was  organized  in  1820 


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628       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

and  the  same  year  built  the  first  church  edifice.  This  was  replaced  by 
a  large  brick  edifice  in  1880.  The  church  has  an  attendance  of  275,. 
Rev.  Dustin  Kemble  being  the  pastor  until  his  death  in  November,  1919. 

A  Presbyterian  Society  was  organized  on  March  10,  1841,  with 
J.  W.  Headley  as  moderator.  This  organization  was  formed  under  the 
plan  of  the  union  and  a  church  built  at  the  Center.  The  United  Breth- 
ren organized  at  an  early  day  in  the  township. 

Township  officials  of  Bazetta  include,  Harry  A.  Grub,  F.  F.  Baldwin 
and  Burke  Oatley,  trustees;  C.  K.  Abbott,  clerk;  C.  M.  Wildman, 
treasurer;  II.  H.  Roe.  justice  of  the  peace. 

CHAMPION 

This  township  was  divided  among  ten  stockholders  in  the  Connecti- 
cut Land  Company  draft  of  January,  1798,  but  by  successive  purchases 
became  the  sole  property  of  Henry  Champion  in  December  1798.  The 
township  was  slow  in  filling  up  with  settlers  as  the  owner  held  much 
of  it  for  higher  prices,  and  it  was  not  until  his  death,  twenty-five  years 
after  the  land  had  been  apportioned,  that  rapid  settlement  began. 

The  first  permanent  settler  was  William  Rutan  of  Pennsylvania,  who 
came  in  1806.  John  Rutan,  his  brother,  came*  shortly  afterwards  but 
did  not  remain  long.  Asa  Lane  and  William  Woodrow  came  in  1807 
and  Andrew  Donaldson,  William  Croninger,  John  Chambers  and  Ste- 
phen Reeves  about  the  same  time,  or  a  little  later.  Yet  in  1826  when  the 
actual  survey  and  opening  of  the  township  for  settlement  was  ordered 
there  were  only  four  families  in  Champion,  the  Woodrow,  Chambers, 
Donaldson  and  Rutan  families.  It  was  1828  before  the  family  of  Ed- 
ward Pierce,  the  fifth  one  in  the  township,  came  from  Armstrong  County, 
Pennsylvania.  Up  to  this  time  Champion  Township  was  forest  and 
swamp,  the  haunt  of  deer,  bears  and  wolves,  although  the  Mahoning 
River  Valley  to  the  south  was  a  thickly  settled  neighborhood. 

Champion  Township  was  organized  in  December,  183 1,  and  at  an 
election  at  the  home  of  William  Woodrow  on  December  26  the  follow- 
ing township  officers  were  chosen :  John  Chambers,  Benjamin  Ross  and 
John  WToodrow,  judges;  William  Woodrow  and  Joseph  Cook,  clerks; 
George  Foulk,  William  Rutan  and  William  Woodrow,  trustees;  Henry 
Rutan,  clerk;  Joseph  Cook,  treasurer;  Samuel  Pierce,  constable;  Fred- 
erick Myers  and  Edward  Pierce,  overseers  of  the  poor;  John  Thompson, 
Samuel  Booth  and  Taylor  Bradfield,  fence  viewers;  Joseph  Pierce,  su- 
pervisor; William  Woodrow,  justice  of  the  peace. 

Sabina  Lane,  born  in  1807,  was  the  first  native  white  child  of  the 
township. 

The  first  sawmill  in  Champion  was  built  by  William  Durst  on 
Young's  Run,  but  no  attempt  was  made  to  start  a  gristmill.  Champion 
Township  lies  on  the  watershed  land  and  for  this  reason  has  no  large 
streams  or  waterpower,  although  the  land  is  not  especially  high,  much 
of  it  in  fact  being  originally  swamp  land.  Isaac  Lane  conducted  the 
first  11111  about  1845,  Thomas  Hood  opened  a  store  about  1850  and  a 
post  office  was  established  about  the  same  time  with  John  Harper  as  post- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       629 

master.  This  was  later  discontinued,  although  eventually  a  postoffice 
was  located  at  Champion  with  the  building  of  the  railroad. 

Champion  Center  is  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  west  of  the  rail- 
road station,  located  on  the  P.  Y.  and  A.  division  of  the  Pennsylvania 
System.  It  is  a  small  village.  State  Line  is  a  railroad  station  in  the 
western  part  of  the  township  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad. 
Champion  is  entirely  a  farming  community  and  its  industries  are  only 
those  relating  to  agriculture. 

In  1839  the  commissioners  of  Trumbull  County  purchased  200  acres 
of  land  in  the  southern  part  of  Champion  Township  and  a  county 
infirmary  site.  Later  150  acres  were  added  and  today  the  county  has 
a  fine  institution  on  these,  surrounded  by  a  county  reservation.  Originally 
the  township  was  heavily  timbered  with  valuable  woods  but  little  cut- 
ting is  done  now.  The  woods  and  swamps  made  the  township  a  favorite 
hunting  place  even  after  big  game  has  disappeared  from  surrounding 
townships. 

The  first  school  in  Champion  was  taught  about  181 5  in  a  log  building, 
with  Catherine  Church  as  schoolmistress.  This  school  was  abandoned 
as  the  population  was  too  sparse  to  support  it  and  for  some  years  pupils 
were  sent  to  schools  in  nearby  townships.  A  brick  school,  built  in  1830, 
served  the  township  for  many  years  and  later  other  schools  sprang  up, 
but  gave  way  a  few  years  ago  to  the  centralized  school  at  Champion 
Center.  Frank  Morris  is  principal  of  the  high  school  here  and  Lillian 
Moore  and  Julia  J.  Lawyer  high  school  instructors,  the  grade  school 
teachers  being  Nana  Woodworth,  Lucile  Rich,  Mildred  Crooks  and 
Marjorie  Downs. 

In  1838,  on  request  of  members  of  the  Presbyterian  denomination, 
Rev.  W.  O.  Stratton  was  sent  to  Champion  to  organize  a  church.  No 
organization  resulted  from  this  visit,  but  on  November  18,  1839,  a  con- 
gregation was  formed  under  the  supervision  of  the  New  Lisbon  Pres- 
bytery. Rev.  William  McCombs  was  the  first  visiting  pastor.  A  church, 
built  in  1842  and  dedicated  in  1843,  is  still  in  use.  This  congregation 
has  sixty-five  members,  Rev.  Stanley  Bright  being  the  present  pastor. 

The  United  Brethren  Church  was  organized  about  1855.  Early 
services  were  held  on  the  Champion-Bazetta  line,  but  in  1878  a  modern 
church  building  was  erected.  Rev.  C.  Lee  Hoffman  is  the  present  pastor, 
the  church  having  an  attendance  of  no. 

The  Champion  Disciples,  or  Christian  Church,  was  organized  in  the 
early  '90s  and  the  present  church  was  built  in  1893.  The  church  has 
ninety-one  members. 

A  Methodist  Episcopal  congregation  was  organized  in  Champion  in 
the  early  '40s,  and  in  1848  built  a  church  in  the  western  part  of  the 
township.  This  congregation  was  replaced  about  1870  by  one  organized 
at  Champion  Center  where  a  church  was  built  in  1875. 

Champion  Township  is  the  home  of  Champion  Grange.  The  town- 
ship officials  include,  W.  II.  Downs,  E.  E.  Durst  and  A.  B.  Lenney,  trus- 
tees; F.  R.  Boyd,  clerk;  J.  H.  Kerr,  treasurer;  L.  W.  Pierce,  justice  of 
the  peace. 


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630        YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

SOUTHINGTON 

This  township  was  originally  the  property  of  Solomon  Cowles,  Wil- 
liam Ely,  Ephraim  Robbins,  Joseph  Borrell  and  William  Edwards,  but 
eventually  came  into  the  ownership  of  Cowles,  Ely  and  John  Bowles 
before  any  settlement  was  made. 

It  was  in  1805,  seven  years  after  the  first  partition  was  made,  that 
a  party  of  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  residents  took  up  their  homes  in 
Southington.  Included  in  this  assemblage  were  Luke  Viets  and  wife, 
James  Chalker,  Roderick  Norton,  Horace  Norton,  then  but  a  child,  and 
David  Viets,  father  of  Luke  Viets.  James  Nutt  followed  them  in  1806 
and  in  1807  he  was  married  to  Polly  Viets,  this  being  the  first  wedding 
in  the  township.  Seth  Hurd,  Smith  Hurd,  Henry  White  and  wife,  Jo- 
seph Rice  and  Elisha  Brunson  came  in  1808  and  Joshua  Osborn  and 
Charles  May  and  families  in  1809.  The  first  white  child  born  in  the 
township  was  James  Chalker,  Jr.,  born  May  30,  1807.  His  death  on 
October  8,  1808,  was  also  the  first  death  in  the  township. 

Other  families  came  .between  18 10  and  1820,  and  in  1834  there  was 
a  heavy  immigration  of  "Pennsylvania  Dutch." 

Southington  Township  has  no  creeks  or  waterpower  of  any  impor- 
tance and  for  this  reason  there  were  no  early  gristmills  in  the  township. 
Samuel  Haughton  built  a  small  sawmill  in  the  north  part  of  the  township 
and  another  one  was  built  on  Dead  Run,  but  these  industries  were 
launched  some  years  after  the  founding  of  the  township.  Luke  Viets,  who 
was  the  leading  figure  in  the  township  in  early  days,  built  a  tannery  that 
ran  for  a  number  of  years.  A  Mr.  Ackley  was  the  first  storekeeper  and 
James  Hatch  was  the  first  postmaster,  although  there  was  no  postoffice 
in  the  township  until  about  1825. 

Southington  Township  was  organized  on  June  12,  1817,  with  the 
election  of  the  following  township  officers:  Joshua  Osborn,  Seth  Hurd 
and  Roderick  Norton,  trustees;  Lemuel  Frisbie,  clerk;  James  Chalker 
and  Elisha  Brunson,  overseers  of  the  poor;  Gilbert  Osborn,  constable; 
Jay  Hurd  and  Leonard  Osborn,  appraisers;  Jay  Hurd,  lister;  Levi 
Ormsby  and  Joseph  Rice,  supervisors;  John  James  and  Elisha  Walden, 
fence  viewers;  Joseph  Rice,  treasurer.  James  Nutt  was  the  first  jus- 
tice of  the  peace. 

Southington  Township  is  purely  agricultural  and  dairy  country  with 
no  large  villages.  Southington  Center  is  the  political  trading  point  for 
the  township  and  Delightful  is  a  small  village  in  the  southeastern  part 
of  the  township.  Both  of  these  are  on  the  Parkman  Highway  that  is 
to  be  made  a  high  grade  improved  road  between  Cleveland  and  the 
Mahoning  Valley,  and  with  this  improvement  both  will  become  more 
important  centers.  Stroup  is  a  station  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road, that  passes  through  the  northeastern  part  of  the  township,  although 
State  Road,  in  Champion  Township,  is  the  railroad  station  for  much  of 
Southington. 

The  absence  of  any  large  streams  in  the  township  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  Southington  is  on  the  watershed  between  the  Mahoning  Valley  and 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       631 

Lake  Erie.  The  greater  part  of  the  township  drains  northward  into 
the  Grand  River. 

The  first  school  in  the  township  was  built  about  ten  years  after  the 
earliest  settlement  was  made.  It  was  located  southeast  of  the  Center 
and  was  taught  by  James  Nutt,  who  was  also  the  first  justice  of  the  peace 
in  the  township.  Nutt  was  a  prominent  and  useful  resident  in  the  early 
days, 'but  ended  his  life  by  hanging  himself  when  he  succumbed  to 
despondency  in  his  later  years. 

School  classes  were  also  held  in  the  home  of  Joseph  Rice,  a  leading 
citizen  of  early  days,  and  in  1825  a  school  building  was  erected  east  of 
the  Center,  this  being  replaced  later  by  a  brick  building.  Recently  the 
several  rural  schools  have  been  centralized  at  the  village  where  there  is 
a  high  school  and  three  grade  class  rooms.  M.  G.  Viets  is  principal  of 
the  high  school,  Ivan  Herner,  Esther  McConnaughy  and  Helen  McClel- 
land, grade  school  teachers. 

Centralization  of  schools  in  Southington  was  hastened  by  the  action 
of  Newton  Chalker,  resident  of  Akron  but  a  Southington  native,  who, 
in  1905,  offered  to  purchase  land  and  erect  a  high  school  at  his  own  ex- 
pense if  the  people  of  the  township  would  centralize  their  grade  schools 
and  erect  a  building  for  them,  and  also  maintain  the  high  school  after  it 
was  built.     Naturally  this  offer  was  gratefully  accepted. 

Mr.  Chalker  thereupon  purchased  twenty-two  acres  of  land  at  the 
Center,  enough  to  furnish  not  only  a  site  for  schools  but  to  provide  a 
park  and  playgrounds'  as  well,  and  in  1906-07  built  one  of  the  finest  rural 
high  school  structures  in  Ohio.  A  banquet  hall,  library  room  and  audi- 
torium are  features  of  the  building.  On  the  same  school  grounds  the 
township  has  erected  a  fine  brick  building  for  the  centralized  schools. 

The  stately  monument  at  Southington  to  Civil  war  veterans  was  also 
a  gift  from  Mr.  Chalker. 

The  Disciples  faith  predominates  in  Southington  Township,  there 
being  two  active  churches  of  this  denomination.  The  origin  of  this 
creed  was  in  a  Baptist  congregation,  founded  at  an  early  day  and  that 
worshiped  in  the  Union  Church  Building  near  the  Center.  Later  a 
church  edifice  was  erected  north  of  the  Center.  In  1828  most  of  the 
congregation  went  over  to  the  Disciples'  teaching.  The  present  church 
building  at  Gwillington  was  erected  in  1878.  The  congregation  has  a 
membership  of  150,  Rev.  S.  B.  Culp  being  pastor.  Another  Disciple 
Church  was  organized  in  1840  and  a  church  built  in  i860.  This  congre- 
gation has  a  membership  of  seventy-five,  with  Rev.  A.  P.  Holden  as 
pastof. 

The  United  Evangelical  Church  was  organized  in  1852,  largely 
through  the  efforts  of  Dr.  J.  C.  Bowman.  The  first  church  was  built  in 
1854,  a  second  one  in  1872  and  the  present  building  in  1902.  The  con- 
gregation was  formally  organized  as  a  church  in  1894,  and  its  meeting 
house  is  located  at  Delightful,  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  township. 
Rev.  P.  F.  DeVaux  is  the  pastor  of  this  congregation  of  eighty  members. 

The  Union  Church  Building  at  the  Center  was  built  upon  a  two- 
acre  tract  donated  by  William  Ely  in  181 7.  Baptists,  Methodists  and 
Presbyterians  worshiped  here,  all  three  denominations  also  holding  serv- 


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632       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ices  even  before  the  construction  of  this  building.  Later  a  Presbyterian 
Church  was  built  on  the  site  of  the  Union  Building.  The  first  Methodist 
Episcopal  Society  in  Southington  was  formed  about  1820  and  meetings 
were  held  at  the  homes  of  Joseph  Rice  and  Luke  Viets  and  at  the  town- 


Soldier's  Monument  at  Southington 

ship  schoolhouse  until  the  erection  of  a  church  in  1838.  The  Reformed 
and  Lutheran  church  members  formed  a  joint  congregation  in  1837  and 
built  a  church  the  same  year,  this  being  replaced  by  a  better  edifice  in 
1856.  Rev.  Peter  Mahnensmith  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  Reformed 
Church  and  Rev.  F.  C.  Becker  the  first  Lutheran  minister. 

Southington  Grange   is  the    farmers'  organization  of  the  township. 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       633 

The  officials  include,  Howard  Snively,  Edward  Baxter  and  R.  A.  Os- 
born,  trustees;  W.  H.  Harshman,  clerk;  B.  H.  Hurd,  treasurer;  L.  J. 
Hurd,  justice  of  the  peace. 

VERNON 

Thomas  Giddings  and  Martin  Smith  were  the  pioneer  settlers  of 
Vernon  Township,  reaching  there  in  1798  after  a  trip  from  Connecticut 
to  Pittsburgh,  and  a  canoe  ride  from  Pittsburgh  by  way  of  Pymatuning 
Creek  that  flows  through  this  township.  Their  boat  was  laden  wilh 
simple  provisions  and  the  usual  barrel  of  whisky. 

Their  journey  brought  them  to  the  south  line  of  the  township  where 
they  built  a  log  house  on  land  they  had  purchased  from  Jeremiah  Wilcox, 
one  of  the  original  owners  of  the  township.  This  was  but  a  temporary 
structure.  Soon  afterwards  Aaron  Brockway  and  family  and  two  other 
settlers  came  and  a  permanent  cabin  wTas  erected  for  the  Brockways. 
In  the  spring  of  1799  Smith  brought  his  family  on  from  Connecticut 
and  Joseph  DeWolf  and  Paul  Rice  accompanied  him.  Caleb  Palmer 
came  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  and  Rev.  Obed  Crosby  and  Abner  Moses 
in  1800.  Percy  Sheldon,  Plumb  SutlifT,  Morgan  Banning  and  Ewing 
Wright  were  also  early  settlers. 

The  first  wedding  in  the  township  was  that  of  Jesse  Pelton  and 
Ruhamah  DeWolf.  Josiah  Pelton  of  Killingsworth,  Connecticut,  father 
of  Jesse  Pelton,  had  offered  100  acres  of  land  in  Gustavus  Township  to 
the  first  woman  who  would  make  her  home  there,  and  won  a  daughter- 
in-law  as  a  result.  The  first  birth  in  the  township  was  a  child  that  came 
to  Aaron  Brockway  and  wife  but  it  died  soon  after  birth. 

Joseph  DeWolf  built  a  sawmill  on  Mill  Creek  near  the  Center  in  1X00. 

The  original  civil  township  of  Vernon  was  created  in  August, 
iFco,  and  included  at  that  time  Greene,  Mecca.  Gustavas.  Johnston. 
Fowler.  Vienna,  Brookfield,  Hartford  and  Vernon  townships  in  wrrt  is 
now  Trumbull  County  and  Andcver,  W  lliamsfield,  Cherry  Valley, 
Wayne,  New  Lyme  and  Colebrook  townships  in  Ashtabula  County. 
Martin  Smith  was  at  that  time  named  justice  of  the  peace  for  this  town- 
ship and  Titus  Brockway,  constable.  Vernon  Township  as  now  con- 
stituted was  organized  in  1806. 

Vernon  is  an  agricultural  township  and  a  most  thriving  one.  It  is 
drained  by  the  Pymatuning  Creek  and  has  railroad  connections  in  the 
I  .eavittsburg  branch  of  the  Erie  road  and  the  New  York  Central  branch 
line  from  Ashtabula  to  Youngstown.  Vernon  Center  is  the  political 
center  of  the  township  as  well,  and  Burg  Hill,  on  the  Erie  road,  the 
chief  railroad  station.  Both  are  small  villages.  Burg  Hill  is  located 
some  distance  north  of  the  original  settlement  of  Burg  Hill,  the  latter 
having  been  a  Hartford  Township  village. 

The  first  school  in  Vernon  Township  was  opened  in  1802,  with  Miss 
Electa  Smith  as  teacher.  Later  district  schools  were  established  and  a 
graded  school  was  founded  at  Burg  Hill.  Vernon  Township  schools  are 
now  centralized,  with  a  first  grade  high  school  at  Vernon  Center.  A. 
H   Troxell  is  the  township,  or  district,  superintendent,  Emma  G.  Meyers. 


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634       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

principal  of  the  high  school;  Julia  Clarke,  high  school  instructor,  and 
Lucy  Meikle,  Olive  Bascom,  Emily  Dorman  and  Glora  M.  Wysner, 
grade  school  teachers. 

Rev.  Obed  Crosby,  a  settler  of  1800,  was  a  Methodist  minister,  and 
in  1801  he  organized  a  Methodist  society  consisting  of  himself,  his  wife, 
Ewing  Wright  and  Eunice  Bushnell.  This,  it  is  said,  was  the  first  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  organization  on  the  Western  Reserve.  The 
congregation  met  at  Reverend  Crosby's  house  and  at  the  home  of  Col. 
Richard  Hayes,  in  Hartford  Township,  until  1809.  After  that  services 
were  held  in  schoolhouses  until  a  church  was  put  up  in  Hartford  Town- 
ship. 

This  was  a  Vernon-Hartford  congregation.  About  1816  a  Vernon 
Township  class  was  formed,  this  class  afterwards  using  the  church  at 
the  Center.  The  Burg  Hill  class  was  organized  in  1866  and  a  church 
erected  there  in  1872.  The  Vernon  Methodist  Episcopal  congregation 
was  organized  in  1879,  reorganized  in  1897  and  a  church  was  erected 
at  Vernon  Center  the  same  year.  It  now  has  seventy-five  members, 
Rev.  W.  H.  Norman  being  pastor. 

A  Congregational  Church  was  organized  on  September  16,  1803, 
under  the  plan  of  the  union  and  a  brick  church  was  built  at  Vernon 
Center  in  1825.  This  was  later  allowed  to  fell  into  decay.  The  Baptist 
Church  was  organized  in  1840  and  a  small  church  built  that  was  replaced 
by  a  structure  at  Burg  Hill  in  1871.  The  United  Brethren  Church  was 
organized  about  i860  by  Rev.  Silas  Casterline  and  a  church  erected  the 
following  year  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  township.  The  Disciples 
Church  was  organized  in  1870  and  a  Universalist  congregation  about 
1880. 

Township  officials  of  Vernon  include,  E.  R.  Crocker,  J.  D.  Everitt 
and  W.  C.  Jewell,  trustees;  D.  L.  Hum,  clerk;  H.  G.  Smith,  treasurer. 

JOHNSTON 

Johnston  Township  was  drawn  by  practically  the  same  shareholders 
in  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  who  drew  Canfield  Township  in  Ma- 
honing County.  It  was  surveyed  by  Nathaniel  Moore  in  1802  and  named 
for  Capt.  James  Johnston  of  Salisbury,  Connecticut. 

The  first  settler  was  Capt.  James  Bradley  who  was  accompanied  by 
his  wife  and  their  three  sons.  Leaving  Salisbury,  Connecticut,  in  June, 
1803,  they  reached  Canfield,  where  they  stopped  for  a  few  days  and 
journeyed  on  to  Johnston,  locating  on  a  farm  a  slight  distance  west  of 
the  Center. 

The  Bradleys  were  alone  in  the  township  for  a  year  when  they  were 
joined  by  Jared  Hill  and  James  Skinner  who  put  up  a  sawmill  in  the 
summer  of  1804  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  township.  The  sawmill 
was  opened  in  1805  and  a  gristmill  added  soon  afterwards,  Hill  and 
Skinner  having  previously  married  at  Canfield.  In  1805  Zebulon  Walker, 
Daniel  Hine,  Erastus  Carter,  Howard  Fuller  and  Benjamin  Andrews 
and  families  and  Augustus  Adams.  Josiah  Finney  and  a  youth  named 
B reman  located  in  the  township.     They  were  joined  in  1806  by  Daniel 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       635 

Hine,  Sr.,  David  Webb,  William  McKay  and  Morris  Smith.  An  early 
settler  of  about  1804  was  a  Mr.  Jaqua.  The  wedding  of  his  daughter, 
Charity  Jaqua,  to  Solomon  Brainard,  in  1806,  was  the  first  marriage  in 
the  township. 

Johnston  Township  was  originally  part  of  the  civil  township  of 
Vernon  and  was  not  separately  organized  until  1816.  At  the  first  elec- 
tion, held  on  October  9,  1816,  Samuel  Hine,  Jr.,  David  Jackson  and  John 
Jackson  were  named  trustees,  and  Jared  Hill,  clerk. 

The  township  responded  well  to  the  call  for  men  in  the  War  of  181 2, 
although  sparsely  settled  at  that  time.  When  the  call  for  men  came  in 
that  year  to  repulse  a  rumored  approach  of  British  by  way  of  Lake  Erie, 


\  Johnston  Township  Centralized  School 

virtually  all  the  able  bodied  men  in  the  community  responded.  This 
was  a  false  alarm  that  stirred  the  greater  part  of  the  Western  Reserve. 

Johnston  Township  has  no  large  waterways,  the  chief  stream  being 
Sugar  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Pymatuning.  It  is  reached  by  both  the 
Erie  and  the  New  York  Central  railroads.  Latimer,  in  the  extreme 
southeastern  part  of  the  township,  is  located  on  both  these  railroads. 

Johnston  Village  is  a  small  settlement  but  does  a  thriving  agricul- 
tural trade.  Corinth  is  located  on  Sugar  Creek  in  the  northeastern  part 
of  the  township. 

The  first  school  in  the  township  was  taught  in  Zebulon  Walker's 
house  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Hine,  afterwards  Mrs.  Thaddeus  Bradley.  A 
schoolhouse  and  church  was  later  erected  at  the  center  and  gradually 
district  schools  were  established  throughout  the  township.  These  are 
now  centralized,  Johnston  having  a  first  grade  high  school  and  grade 


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636       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

school  classe?  with  H.  G.  Drinkwater  as  superintendent.  William  Tre- 
ioar  is  principal  of  the  high  school,  Ruby  Schaad,  high  school  teacher, 
and  Elmer  Groppenbacher,  Edna  Bixler,  Mrs.  Clawson  and  Mary  Kistler, 
grade  school  teachers. 

The  first  religious  services  in  Johnston  Township  were  held  at  the 
home  of  Daniel  Hine  about  1806.  Open  services  were  held  for  some 
time  and  were  variously  addressed  by  Methodist,  Presbyterian  and  Con- 
gregational speakers. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  congregation  was  formally  organized  in 
1812,  and  Rev.  James  McMahan,  a  circuit  rider,  was  probably  the  first 
attending  minister.  This  congregation  now  has  100  members,  Rev.  F.  C. 
Land  fear  being  pastor. 

The  Johnston  Congregational  Church  was  organized  on  October  16, 
1814,  by  Rev.  William  Hanford  of  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society. 
A  log  schoolhouse  was  the  first  meeting  place.  A  frame  church  was 
built  about  1830  and  the  present  church  was  erected  in  1894.  The  con- 
gregation now  has  about  forty  members.    Rev.  W.  G.  Morris  is  pastor. 

The  officials  of  Johnston  Township  are,  O.  A.  Tyrrell,  G.  M.  Bascom 
and  S.  J.  Elder,  trustees;  L.  A.  Sadler,  clerk;  Warren  Clapp,  treasurer; 
Lee  Sadler,  justice  of  the  peace.  Ideal  Grange  of  Johnston  Township 
is  a  flourishing  organization. 

MECCA 

Mecca  Township,  traversed  by  Mosquito  Creek,  is  almost  entirely 
farming  territory  and  contains  rich  agricultural  land.  Its  settlement  was 
somewhat  later  than  that  of  most  of  its  sister  townships,  the  land  re- 
maining in  its  primeval  state  until  181 1  when  Joseph  Dawson  removed 
from  Poland  Township  and  located  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township. 
Mecca  Township  is  unique  in  that  its  first  settler  came  from  another 
part  of  Ohio  rather  than  from  New  England,  Pennsylvania  or  the 
South. 

John  Rose,  father-in-law  of  Dawson,  located  in  Mecca  in  181 3,  and 
by  1820  the  residents  included  Lemuel  Hickock,  Peter  Row,  Samuel 
Phillips,  Sylvester  Taylor,  Martin  Daniels,  Joseph  Phillips,  Daniel 
Tucker,  Joseph  Headley,  Joseph  Barstow,  Seymour  Hunt  and  two  other 
settlers,  Ballard  and  Sturgis  by  name. 

The  first  mill  of  which  there  is  any  record  was  built  in  1834  on 
Mosquito  Creek,  the  miller  utilizing  a  dam  that  had  already  been  built 
by  beavers.  As  Mecca  Township  was  heavily  timbered,  lumbering  be- 
came at  one  time  a  prominent  industry  here.  In  1867  the  firm  ?f  J.  F. 
Klumpp  erected  a  sawmill  and  planing  mill  and  turned  out  plow  beams 
and  sawed  lumber  in  great  quantities.  Later  the  firm  built  another  mill 
in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  township. 

The  first  store  was  opened  at  East  Mecca  by  Babcock  &  Bradley. 
Daniel  Sheehy,  Jr.,  of  Youngstown  was  a  merchant  here  for  some  time. 
Lemuel  Hickock  was  the  first  postmaster.  The  first  tavern  was  kept  by 
Isaac  Powers.  The  first  white  child  born  in  the  township  was  Nancy 
Dawson.     Dr.  Isaac  D.  Powers  was  the  first  resident  physician. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       637 

West  Mecca  owes  its  origin  to  the  "Mecca  Oil"  boom  of  the  early 
'(Sos.  The  presence  of  oil  was  known  at  an  early  date  but  it  was  con- 
sidered a  disadvantage  until  professional  oil  men  precipitated  a  boom. 
Immediately  the  neighborhood  went  oil  crazy.  Land  soared  to  unheard 
of  prices,  a  new  town  was  laid  out  and  saloons,  gambling  houses  and 
everything  else  that  goes  with  an  oil  discovery  afflicted  Mecca.  The 
boom  collapsed  in  the  early  days  of  the  Civil  war,  West  Mecca  returned 
to  sanity  and  the  "Oil  Diggins"  vanished.  The  oil  business  thereafter 
was  carried  on  in  a  rational  manner.  The  diminution  of  enthusiasm  was 
not  due  to  disillusionment  regarding  the  quality  of  the  oil  as  "Mecca 
Oil"  became  famed  for  its  high  grade.  It  was  merely  that  the  oil  de- 
posits were  never  great  enough  to  warrant  the  frenzy  that  beset  this  part 
of  the  township  for  a  year  or  two. 

Gas  has  also  been  discovered  in  the  township,  and  in  its  early  days 
it  was  heavily  timbered  with  a  fine  growth  of  hardwoods.  The  entire 
township  is  drained  by  Mosquito  Creek,  a  stream  that  flows  through 
its  length  from  north  to  south.  Much  of  the  land  is  swampy  but  has  been 
generally  well  drained  and  is  fertile  and  productive.  Mecca  Township 
was  originally  part  of  Vernon  Township,  later  part  of  the  civil  town- 
ship of  Greene  and  was  separately  organized  in  1821. 

East  Mecca  and  West  Mecca  are  small  villages,  located,  as  their 
names  would  imply,  on  main  highways  east  and  west  of  the  center.  They 
are  about  the  same  size. 

The  first  schoolhouse  in  the  township  was  located  at  East  Mecca  with 
Salome  Fuller  as  teacher,  this  building  being  used  for  religious  as  well  as 
educational  purposes.  Later  a  school  was  built  at  West  Mecca  and  also 
schools  in  other  parts  of  the  township,  but  later  these  were  centralized 
until  now  the  only  schools  are  located  in  the  two  villages.  Grades  only  are 
taught  here,  Mecca  Township  having  no  high  school.  The  instructors  at 
East  Mecca  are  Aaron  Russel,  James  Moser  and  Helen  Hogan ;  at  West 
Mecca,  R.  S.  Kettlewell,  Frank  Benton  and  Myrna  Byham. 

The  pioneer  religious  organization  of  Meccca  is  the  Congregational 
Church,  established  on  December  6,  1822,  by  Rev.  Ephraim  T.  Wood- 
ruff. John  Rose,  Friend  Buttles,  Sterling  Adkins,  Mary  Adkins,  Ru- 
hamah  Tucker,  Orilla  Hickcock,  Almira  Buttles  and  Eunice  Rose  were 
the  original  members.  A  frame  church  was  erected,  this  being  replaced 
by  a  church  at  East  Mecca,  built  by  the  Congregationalists  and  Free 
Will  Baptists.  The  present  church  was  built  in  1857.  The  congregation 
now  has  a  membership  of  about  sixty-five. 

The  Free  Will  Baptists  organized  a  church  in  1832,  uniting  with  the 
Congregationalists,  as  above  stated,  in  building  a  church  at  East  Mecca. 
The  Baptist  Church  was  organized  on  February  13.  1833,  and  in  1841 
reorganized  and  put  up  a  church  £t  East  Mecca.  A  Methodist  Society 
was  in  existence  at  East  Mecca  as  early  as  1837  and  in  1838  was  removed 
to  West  Mecca.  The  Disciples,  or  Christian  Church,  was  organized  on 
March  22.  1851,  and  a  church  building  was  dedicated  at  East  Mecca 
in  1868. 

Township  officials  of  Mecca  include,  Clint  Irwin,  J.  Dabney  and  J. 
Hayden,  trustees;  W.  R.  Ellston,  clerk;  Guy  Irwin,  treasurer;  L.  B. 


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638       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

David,  justice  of  the  peace.    Mecca  Grange  is  a  flourishing  agricultural- 
ists' organization. 

BRISTOL 

In  1802  William  Sager  and  William  Barb,  residents  of  the  Shenan- 
doah Valley,  Virginia,  visited  this  township  with  a  view  to  locating. 
They  selected  land  for  their  future  homes  and  on  the  return  trip  to  Vir- 
ginia, stopped  at  Youngstown  and  purchased  this  land  from  Alfred 
Wolcott,  who  had  been  given  160  acres  of  ground  in  payment  for  his 
services  in  surveying  the  township.  Wolcott  had  been  employed  by 
Nathaniel  Gorham  and  Worham  Parks,  original  owners  of  the  land. 

Before  Sager  and  Barb  returned  to  the  Western  Reserve  a  perma- 
nent settlement  had  been  made  in  Bristol  Township  by  Andrew  Baugh- 
man,  a  brother-in-law  to  Sager,  who  arrived  in  1804  and  built  a  cabin 
on  Baughman's  Creek  in  the  northern  part  of  the  township.  Baughman 
was  accompanied  by  his  family.  In  1805  Sager  and  Barb  came  to  Bris- 
tol with  their  families  and  in  that  year  Sager  and  his  wife  became  the 
parents  of  Jacob  Sager,  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  township.  John 
Fansler,  John  Hammon  and  wife  and  Jacob  Norton  came  in  1806.  These 
immigrants  were  Virginians  of  German  blood,  Bristol  Township  being 
unique  in  Western  Reserve  history  in  that  it  was  founded  by  southern- 
ers. In  1805  Aaron  Fenton  came  to  Bristol.  John  Cox  came  the  same 
year,  Emmor  Moore  in  the  same  year,  or  a  year  later,  while  William 
Cummings,  John  Cummings,  Thomas  Cummings,  James  Cummings, 
Joseph  Cummings  and  their  sisters,  Betsy,  Anna,  Polly  and  Sally  and 
Robert  Miller  arrived  about  the  same  time. 

Bristol  Center,  or  Bristolville,  became  an  active  village  only  after  the 
stage  road  between  Lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio  River  was  opened  in  1828. 
Samuel  Swetland  was  the  first  storekeeper  there  and  Lyman  Potter  the 
first  tavernkeeper.  The  postoflke  was  established  about  1825  with 
Gideon  Sprague  as  the  first  postmaster.  It  was  1870  before  a  postofHce 
was  established  at  North  Bristol.  Industries  were  scarce  at  this  time, 
although  a  sawmill  and  grist  mill  had  been  built  as  early  as  1806  by 
Abraham  Baughman  on  Baughman's  Creek. 

The  civil  township  of  Bristol  was  organized  in  1807,  and  at  the  first 
election  in  1808  Lyman  Potter  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace;  Abra- 
ham Baughman,  John  Martin  and  William  Wilson,  trustees ;  John  Cum- 
mings, clerk;  William  Reed,  constable;  Robert  Miller  and  George  Barg- 
er,  overseers  of  the  poor ;  Thomas  Martin,  treasurer ;  William  Cummings 
and  Abraham  Daley,  fence  viewers;  Emmor. Moore  and  Henry  Baugh- 
man, supervisors;  Joseph  Cummings,  lister  of  property 

Bristolville  is  the  political  center  of  the  township,  but  the  railroad 
station  is  located  at  Bristolville  Station  on  the  Pennsylvania  line,  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  to  the  east.  Bristolville  Station  also  has  a  post- 
office  under  the  name  of  Spokane. 

North  Bristol,  on  a  main  highway  north  of  Bristolville,  is  a  small 
village  that  dates  back  almost  as  far  as  the  center  settlement.  This 
village  was  affected  by  the  temperance  wave  that  struck  Ohio  in  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       639 

'50s,  or  a  little  later,  and  on  one  occasion  the  women  of  the  village  at- 
tacked a  saloon  that  had  just  been  opened  there,  carried  out  the  barrels 
and  bottles  of  intoxicants  and  poured  the  liquor  into  a  mill  pond.  The 
incensed  proprietor  of  the  saloon  brought  suit  for  damages  against  the 
township  and  the  women. 

The  suit  was  heard  in  the  Methodist  Church  and  was  famed  for  the 
array  of  legal  talent  that  appeared  to  fight  the  case.  Among  these  were 
John  Hutchins.  afterwards  a  member  of  Congress;  Jacob  Dolson  Cox, 
later  a  noted  Warren  lawyer,  major  general  in  the  Civil  war  and  gov- 
ernor of  Ohio  from  1866  to  1868;  William  Augustus  Otis  Forrest,  a 
famous  trial  lawyer ;  Robert  Wilson  Ratliff ,  later  an  able  Warren  lawyer 
and  colonel  of  the  Twelfth  Ohio  Cavalry  in  the  Civil  war. 

The  first  school  class  in  the  township  was  a  family  affair,  members 
of  the  Sager  family  being  taught  in  the  winter  of  1810-11  by  Gabriel 
Sager.  A  year  later  a  schoolhouse  was  built  at  North  Bristol  by  the 
Sager  family.  The  Sager  school  was  a  German-language  one.  The 
first  English-language  school  was  taught  in  18 12- 13  by  Seth  I.  Ensign, 
the  schoolhouse  being  a  log  cabin  north  of  Bristolville.  A  log  school- 
house  was  built  shortly  afterwards  at  Bristolville.  The  one-room  schools 
later  built  in  Bristolville  Township  were  eventually  centralized  at  Bris- 
tolville, where  there  is  a  high  school  with  C.  H.  Allwardt  as  principal 
and  Beatrice  Hurd  and  Beulah  Mahan  as  high  school  teachers.  Nancie 
Ellwood,  Adelle  Davis,  Mabel  Caldwell  and  Hilda  Gaines  are  the  grade 
school  teachers. 

The  early  Virginian  settlers  of  Bristol  township  were  Mennonites 
in  religion,  and  in  1810  they  organized  a  school  in  which  instructions 
were  given  in  German,  and  also  organized  a  Mennonite  Church  society. 
Both  organizations  were  short-lived. 

Methodist  Episcopal  services  were  held  in  Bristol  as  early  as  1809, 
and  in  1818  a  Methodist  Episcopal  Society  was  organized  by  Dr.  Ira 
Eddy,  with  John  Norton  and  wife,  John  Hammon,  Sarah  Hammon, 
Magdalena  Cline  and  Margaret  Cline  as  members.  Meetings  were  held 
in  various  places  until  1845  when  a  church  edifice  was  erected  at  Bris- 
tolville. This  building  was  rebuilt  in  1881.  The  Bristolville  church 
now  has  a  membership  of  300,  Rev.  J.  P.  Wiseman  being  pastor. 

The  Christian  Church  had  its  origin  in  a  society  of  Bible 
Christians,  formed  in  1820/  the  congregation  eventually  joining  the 
Christian,  or  Disciple,  denomination.  Services  were  held  at  Bloomfield 
and  attended  by  Bristol  Township  members  until  1868,  when  the  pres- 
ent Christian  congregation  at  North  Bristol  was  organized  and  a  church 
building  erected.    The  church  now  has  165  members. 

A  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized  in  the  township  at  an  early 
day,  and  on  June  14,  181 7,  a  Presbyterian-Congregationalist  Church  was 
formed.  In  1845  a  modern  church  was  built.  Eventually  this  became  a 
Congregationalist  organization.  The  Dunkards  organized  a  church  in 
1866. 

Township  trustees  of  Bristol  include,  Mike  Horch,  S.  P.  Seeley  and 
C.  A.  Clyborn,  trustees ;  H.  W.  Hillman,  clerk ;  C.  J.  Shaffer,  treasurer ; 
W.  H.  Messick,  justice  of  the  peace. 


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640       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

FARMINGTON 

Farmington  Township,  lying  in  the  Grand  River  Valley,  was  origi- 
nally owned  by  Joseph  Borrell,  William  Edwards,  Samuel  Henshaw, 
Joseph  Pratt,  Luther  Loomis,  David  King,  John  Leavitt,  Jr.,  Ebenezer 
King,  Jr.,  Timothy  King,  Fidelio  King  and  Sylvester  Griswold  of  the 
Connecticut  Land  Company. 

Lewis  Wolcott,  who  came  in  the  spring  of  1806,  and  Zenas  Curtis, 
David  Curtis  and  Elihu  Morris,  who  came  in  the  summer  of  the  same 
year,  were  the  first  settlers  in  Farmington  Township.  Josiah  Wolcott 
and  other  members  of  the  Wolcott  family,  Gad  Hart,  Dennis  Lewis,  John 
Young,  Daniel  Taft,  Orin  Taft,  Capt.  John  Benton,  Eben  Wildman 
and  Chauncey  Brockett  were  other  early  settlers.  Farmington  Town- 
ship was  settled  slowly  and  it  was  after  1825  before  it  attained  any  great 
population. 

The  first  marriage  in  the  township  took  place  on  December  1,  1808, 
when  Miss  Nancy  Higgins  was  wedded  to  Lewis  Wolcott.  The  first  white 
native  of  the  township  was  Caroline  Wolcott,  born  September  12,  1808. 

William  Wilson  opened  the  first  tavern  in  1810  and  Farmington  had 
the  unique  record  in  early  days  of  being  a  township  of  temperance 
taverns.  The  first  store  was  opened  at  the  Center  about  1825  and  at 
West  Farmington  in  1834.  Dr.  Abiel  Jones,  minister  and  doctor,  was 
the  first  physician.  In  1831  Farmington  postoffice  was  opened  at  the 
State  Road,  but  in  1847  was  removed  to  West  Farmington.  In  1834  a 
postofifice  was  established  at  the  Center  with  Daniel  Wilcox  as  post- 
master.    The  first  sawmill  was  built  about  1816  by  Josiah  Wolcott. 

Farmington  Township  was  organized  on  July  4,  181 7.  Theodore 
Wolcott  was  elected  clerk ;  David  Belden,  Orin  Taft  and  John  Benton, 
trustees;  Gad  Hart  and  Jacob  Bartholemew,  overseers  of  the  poor; 
Joseph  Wolcott,  Gad  Bartholemew,  fence  viewers;  Erastus  Wolcott  and 
Ezra  Curtis,  appraisers;  Ezra  Curtis,  lister,  Whitney  Smith,  Zenas 
Curtis  and  Joseph  Wolcott,  supervisors  of  highways;  Erastus  Wolcott, 
constable:  Horace  Wolcott,  treasurer;  Josiah  Wolcott,  justice  of  the 
peace. 

Farmington  Township  lies  in  the  Grand  River  Valley,  the  headwaters 
of  the  river  being,  in  fact,  in  this  township.  This  stream,  together  with 
Coffee  Creek,  Branch  Creek  and  other  waterways  gives  it  a  liberal  water 
supply.  The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  crosses  the  township  in  a 
northwesterly  direction. 

Farmington  Center  is  a  small  place,  the  business  activities  of  the 
township  being  centered  largely  in  West  Farmington,  on  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio  road,  about  a  half  mile  west  of  the  Center.  West  Farmington 
has  a  population  of  perhaps  600,  with  general  merchandise  stores  con- 
ducted by  C.  E.  Stevens  &  Sons.  C.  C.  Creaser  and  J.  H.  King;  a  hard- 
ware store  conducted  by  H.  W.  Wilcox,  drug  store  by  E.  A.  Bowles  and 
a  meat  market  and  grocery  by  J.  Townsend  &  Sons.  Industries  include 
the  Harmony  Creamery  Company,  grist  mill  and  feed  and  coal  yard, 
conducted  by  J.  H.  Elwell;  D.  Maranhout  basket  works;  Never-Slip 
Wire  Stretcher  Company  plant,  machinery  firm  of  B.  W.  Huntley,  Stand- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       641 

ard  Oil  Service  Station,  West  Farmington  Auto  Shop,  and  blacksmith 
shops  operated  by  Ralph  Hurd  and  F.  B.  Harshman.  The  Luther  Hotel 
is  the  village  inn. 

Fraternal  and  other  organizations  include  Knights  of  Pythias  Lodge 
No.  333,  Pythian  Sisters  No.  185,  .Woman's  Relief  Corps  No.  104, 
Western  Reserve  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Eastern  Star 
Lodge  No.  44,  Maccabees  Lodge  and  Farmington  Grange. 

West  Farmington  is  the  postal  headquarters  of  the  township,  Jessie 
B.  Little  being  postmistress.  The  village  officers  for  19202 1  include, 
F.  S.  Hart,  mayor;  R.  A.  Little,  clerk;  C.  E.  Stevens,  treasurer;  F.  S. 
Hart,  assessor;  H.  H.  Reynolds,  treasurer;  C.  C.  Creaser,  John  Town- 
send,  Elton  D.  Stevens,  Ralph  Hurd,  Orris  Newcomb  and  W.  L.  Erdice, 
councilmen. 

The  first  school  in  Farmington  Township  was  opened  at  the  Center 
about  1816  and  was  taught  by  Miss  Almira  Hannahs.  Soon  afterwards 
a  school  was  located  at  West  Farmington.  Early  educational  interest, 
however,  centered  in  the  Western  Reserve  Seminary. 

This  institution  was  founded  as  the  Farmington  Academy  in  183 1 
and  was  located  in  a  West  Farmington  building  afterwards  used  as  a 
hotel.  In  1849  a  substantial  three-story  building  was  erected  to  care 
for  additional  needs  and  the  school  became  the  Farmington  Normal. 
In  1854  control  was  transferred  to  the  Erie  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  with  the  understanding  that  the  school  should  be  open 
to  pupils  of  all  denominations  and  the  institution  became  the  Western 
Reserve  Seminary.  Although  it  had  periods  of  reverses  the  school  in 
the  main  flourished  under  this  arrangement,  having  well  equipped  library 
and  laboratories,  dormitories  arid  an  excellent  literary  course.  For  many 
years  it  was  a  most  valuable  educational  adjunct.  The  seminary  build- 
ing was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1900.  In  more  recent  years  higher  educa- 
tion in  Farmington  Township  has  been  provided  in  a  high  school  in  con- 
nection with  the  centralized  school  system,  Beulah  Eason  being  principal 
of  this  school  and  J.  Z.  Sloan  and  Lucille  Hurd,  instructors.  The  in- 
structors of  the  Farmington  grade  classes  are,  Burnece  Wade,  Lucille 
Woodford,  Burdell  Taylor,  Mabel  Gates  and  Mabel  Reynolds, 

The  Congregational  Church  at  Farmington  Center  was  organized  on 
October  8,  1817,  by  Rev.  Joseph  Badger  and  had  an  initial  membership 
of  eleven.  The  congregation  was  organized  on  the  Union  Congrega- 
tional-Presbyterian plan,  became  wholly  Presbyterian  in  i860  and  wholly 
Congregational  in  1874.  The  first  church  building  was  put  up  in  1828 
and  the  present  one  in  1844.  Rev.  Hiram  F.  Thompson  is  the  present 
pastor  of  this  church.  A  Congregational  Church  at  West  Farmington 
was  organized  on  April  12,  1834,  from  the  Farmington  Center  congrega- 
tion. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  in  1818  and  in  1830 
a  frame  church  was  built  at  the  Center.  Subsequently  congregations 
were  formed  at  West  Farmington  and  in  the  southeast  part  of  the  town- 
ship, these  being  united  now  in  one  flourishing  congregation  of  ninety 
members  with  Rev.  I.  R.  Griffith  as  pastor.    The  Christian  Church  was 

Vol.  1—41 


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642       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

founded  in  1830,  and  in  connection  with  the  Methodists  erected  a  church 
building  at  the  Center  in  1874. 

The  present  township  officials  of  Farmington  are,  J.  R.  Linville,  M.  A. 
Sutliff  and  H.  R.  Hathaway,  trustees ;  R.  A.  Little,  clerk ;  C.  E.  Stevens, 
treasurer.  t 

KINSMAN 

Kinsman  Township,  lying  in  easterly  Trumbull  County,  is  watered 
by  the  Pymatuning,  Stratton  and  Sugar  creeks  and  is  in  rich  farming  ter- 
ritory. It  apparently  was  a  favorite  camping  ground  for  the  Indians 
before  the  advent  of  the  white  man  and  scattering  parties  of  Indians 
visited  here  as  late  as  1820  after  they  had  deserted  most  of  the  Reserve 
east  of  the  Cuyahoga  River. 

This  township  was  drawn  by  Uriah  Tracy,  Joseph  Coit  and  John 
Kinsman,  in  1798,  but  the  last  named  eventually  purchased  the  interests 
of  his  partners,  although  not  until  after  sales  of  land  had  been  made  to 
David  Randall,  Ebenezer  Reeves  and  Martin  Tidd.  In  1799  Kinsman 
came  to  the  Western  Reserve  and  at  Youngstown  retained  Alfred  Wol- 
cott  to  survey  the  township  for  him.  During  the  summer  he  built  a  cabin 
where  the  town  of  Kinsman  now  stands  but  did  not  remain  as  a  settler. 

In  1801  Kinsman  and  a  party  numbering  Calvin  Pease,  Simon  Per- 
kins, George  Tod,  John  S.  Edwards,  Ebenezer  Reeves,  Josiah  Pelton, 
Turhand  Kirtland,  Tared  Kirtland  and  others,  came  to  the  Reserve  and 
Kinsman  and  Reeves  came  on  to  Kinsman's  Township.  They  built  a 
cabin  here  but  in  the  fall  returned  to  Connecticut,  leaving  John  Cum- 
mings,  John  Matthews  and  Isaac  Matthews  at  Kinsman. 

In  1802  Kinsman  and  Reeve  came  back  to  Kinsman  Township  to  re- 
main, but  a  few  months  previously,  David  Randall,  Martin  Tidd  and 
Tidd's  son-in-law,  James  Hill,  Pennsylvanians,  came  on  from  Youngs- 
town and  settled  on  land  they  had  purchased  from  Kinsman.  In  1802 
also  came  Paul  Rice,  Alexander  Clark  and  Urial  Driggs;  in  1803  came 
Capt.  Charles  Case,  William  Tidd,  John  Wade,  John  Little,  Walter 
Davis,  Isaac  Matthews,  John  Matthews,  Betsy  Matthews,  Robert  Laugh- 
lin,  Peter  Yeoman,  George  Gordon  Dement,  George  Matthews,  Joseph 
McMichael,  Joshua  Bidwell,  Henry  Bidwell,  William  Knox;  in  1804, 
Plumb  Sutliff,  William  Scott  and  William  Matthews,  and  between  1805 
and  1810  many  more  families. 

In  1802  John  Kinsman  opened  a  small  store  in  the  township  and  the 
same  year  James  King  built  a  sawmill  for  Kinsman.  The  mill  dam 
built  in  connection  with  this  industry  caused  several  years  of  controversy 
since  there  was  considerable  typhus  fever  and  other  diseases  in  the  early 
days  of  the  township  and  it  was  believed  that  the  stagnant  water  im- 
pounded bred  this  sickness.  The  mill  dam  remained,  however,  until 
1806,  but  not  until  after  attempts  had  been  made  to  wreck  it  and  John 
Kinsman  had  whipped  one  of  those  implicated  in  the  attempt.  In  1806 
a  sawmill  was  built  on  Stratton  Creek  and  later  a  grist  mill  was  put  up 
on  this  same  stream. 

The  first  birth,  or  births,  occurred*  in  the  township  in  1802  when  twin 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       643 

daughters  were  born  to  David  Randall  and  wife.  The  same  year  the 
first  wedding  took  place  when  Robert  Henry  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Betsey  Tidd. 

Kinsman  is  the  northeasternmost  township  of  Trumbull  County, 
bordering  on  Pennsylvania  on  the*  east  and  Ashtabula  County  on  the 
north.  The  territory  is  generally  level  and  thoroughly  tilled,  although 
Kinsman  was  originally  covered  with  a  good  growth  of  timber  except  in 
one  cleared  spot  of  1,000  acres,  known  as  "the  prairie,"  that  had  evi- 
dently been  an  Indian  planting  ground. 

Kinsman  Village,  the  one  town  in  the  township,  is  located  southeast 
of  the  Center  and  has  a  population  upwards  of  1,000.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  attractive-appearing  towns  on  the  Western  Reserve,  with  its  well- 
shaded  streets,  neat  homes  and  clean  business  district.  It  has  a  number 
of  good  stores,  a  good  financial  institution  in  the  Kinsman  bank  that 
does  a  large  business  with  residents  of  the  surrounding  country  and  a 
live  weekly  newspaper  in  the  Kinsman  Journal.  In  1919  the  Kinsman 
Board  of  Trade  was  organized  to  bring  industries  to  the  village  and  to 
make  Kinsman  even  a  more  important  place  than  it  is  now.  G.  H.  Piatt 
is  president  of  this  organization;  A.  G.  Birrell,  vice  president;  J.  A.  Root, 
secretary  and  treasurer.  With  good  railroad  connections  and  an  ample 
water  supply  the  proposal  to  make  Kinsman  an  industrial  village  should 
be  realized.  The  railroad  stop  is  at  Kinsman  Station,  some  distance  out 
of  the  village,  this  being  the  postoffice  station  too,  under  the  name  of 
Farmdale. 

The  first  school  in  the  township  was  opened  about  1805  when  Leonard 
Blackburn  taught  a  class  in  a  log  cabin  on  the  Yeoman  farm.  The  first 
schoolhouse  was  built  on  St  rat  ton  Creek  and  was  opened  on  January  I, 
1806,  with  Jedediah  Burnham  as  the  first  teacher.  Burnham  was  for 
many  years  one  of  the  leading  residents  of  the  township,  serving  as  a 
captain  in  the  War  of  181 2,  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  more  than  twenty 
years  and  as  collector  and  assessor  of  the  township  for  years.  In  1820  a 
frame  school  was  built  at  Kinsman  Village  and  was  taught  by  Daniel 
Lathrop,  afterwards  a  minister.  Kinsman  Academy  was  organized  in 
1842  and  the  academy  building  erected  in  1842  on  land  donated  by  John 
Kinsman.  It  was  later  remodeled  and  became  a  most  useful  institution 
for  Kinsman  and  surrounding  townships.  Kinsman  Township  schools 
were  eventually  centralized  and  the  township  now  has  a  first  grade  school 
and  constitutes  a  school  district  by  itself,  with  I.  Clifford  Roll  as  super- 
intendent. E.  Gordon  Boster  is  principal  of  the  high  school  and  Isabel 
Bacon  high  school  teacher.  The  grades  are  taught  by  Pauline  Sigler, 
Harold  Wilson,  Gertrude  Bates,  Lois  Wilson  and  Mildred  Giddings. 
Frank  Simpkins  is  instructor  in  music. 

The  Union  Congregational-Presbyterian  Church  at  Kinsman  was 
founded  in  1830  and  the  first  church  built  in  1833.  This  congregation 
now  has  a  membership  of  235. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Kinsman  was  founded  in  1832 
and  a  small  church  building  was  put  up  soon  afterwards.  The  present 
modern  structure  was  erected  in  1917.  The  Kinsman  church  has  176 
members,  Rev.  J.  H.  Ellis  being  pastor.     Reverend  Ellis  also  attends 


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644       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

the  Methodist  Episcopal  congregation  at  Farmdale,  organized  in  later 
years.    This  church  has  thirty  members. 

The  officials  of  Kinsman  Township  include,  F.  A.  Roberts,  W.  L. 
Sawdy  and  N.  W.  Thompson,  trustees ;  L.  G.  Bidwell,  clerk ;  R.  H. 
Wallace,  treasurer;  G.  H.  Griswold",  justice  of  the  peace.  Kinsman 
Grange  is  the  farmers'  organization  of  the  township. 

GUSTAVUS 

This  township  was  drawn  originally  by  eight  members  of  the  Con- 
necticut Land  Company  but  in  1800  became  the  property  of  Lemuel 
Storrs.  Storrs,  in  1800,  sold  a  tract  of  more  than  five  thousand  acres 
to  Josiah  Pelton,  having  previously  visited  the  township  himself,  sur- 
veyed it  and  named  it  Gustavus  in  honor  of  his  son. 

Anxious  to  see  a  settlement  made,  Josiah  Pelton  offered  100  acres 
of  land  to  the  first  woman  who  would  locate  in  the  township.  The  of- 
fer was  accepted  by  Ruhamah  DeWolf  who  wedded  Pelton's  son,  Jesse 
Pelton.  They  came  to  Gustavus  in  1802  and  a  cabin  was  erected  that 
summer  although  the  bride  remained  with  her  parents  at  Vernon  until 
December.  Elias  Pelton  located  in  Gustavus  in  1802  also,  and  his  daugh- 
ter, Barbara  Pelton,  was  the  first  white  child  bora  in  the  township.  Soon 
after  Josiah  Pelton,  the  father,  came  with  his  remaining  four  sons. 

In  1804  the  township  population  was  increased  by  the  settlement  of 
Obediah  Gildersleeve  and  family,  Thaddeus  Selby,  Calvin  Cone,  Asa 
Case  and  Dosey  Case.  John  Lane  came  in  1805.  Other  early  settlers 
were  Jehiel  Meacham,  a  blacksmith,  Joseph  Hart,  Riverius  Bidwell, 
Aaron  Lynn,  Lemuel  Newton,  William  Linsley  and  Rufus  Beman. 

The  first  store  in  the  township  was  opened  at  the  Center  by  George 
Hezlep  in  1828.  Josiah  Pelton  built  the  first  sawmill.  A  postoffice  was 
opened  between  1825  and  1828  with  Riverius  Bidwell  as  postmaster. 
This  was  located  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township,  but  on  protest 
of  the  inhabitants  the  postoffice  was  transferred  to  the  Center  and  Rev. 
Joseph  Badger  was  made  postmaster.  Previous  to  opening  of  stores  in 
the  towmhip  trading  was  done  at  John  Kinsman's  store  in  Kinsman,  this 
being  a  gathering  place  for  many  miles  around. 

For  some  years  Gustavus  Township  was  part  of  Greene  Township, 
but  in  182 1  was  separately  organized.  At  the  first  election,  on  Septem- 
ber n,  1821,  Ithemur  Pelton,  Asa  Case  and  Rufus  Beman  were  elected 
trustees;  William  Roberts  and  Abraham  Griswold,  overseers  of  the 
poor;  Ithemur  Pelton  and  Walter  W.  Thornton,  fence  viewers;  Jehiel 
Meacham,  Jr.,  and  Lester  Waters,  constables;  Joseph  Hart,  treasurer; 
Thaddeus  Selby,  clerk;  George  Moses,  lister;  Marcus  Andrews,  Zenas 
Pelton,  Thaddeus  Selby,  Joseph  Hart,  Harvey  Pelton,  Solomon  Waters 
and  Oliver  Crosby,  supervisors. 

Gustavus  Township  is  on  the  watershed  between  the  Mahoning  and 
the  Shenango  valleys,  the  eastern  part  draining  into -Pymatuning  Creek 
and  the  western  part  into  Mosquito  Creek.  The  township  has  no  large 
waterways  of  its  own.    A  branch  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  runs 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       645 

through  the  eastern  part  of  the  township  from  north  to  south  but  Kins- 
man is  the  township  railroad  station. 

Gustavus  Village  is  located  in  the  center  of  the  township  and  is  the 
chief  town.  Dilworth  is  located  at  a  crossroads  in  the  south  part  of 
the  township  and  Barclay  in  the  east  part.  All  are  rural  villages.  Gus- 
tavus is  the  seat  of  Gustavus  Grange  and  also  of  Gustavus  Lodge,  No. 
442,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

The  first  school  class  taught  was  in  the  home  of  Elias  Pelton  by 
Roxy  Brockway  who  tutored  the  Pelton  children.  In  1809  a  school  was 
opened  in  John  Lane's  bam  with  Sally  Wakeman  as  teacher.  The  first 
schoolhouse  was  built  on  the  Riverius  Bidwell  farm  in  1813.  Esther 
Bidwell  was  a  teacher  here. 

Gustavus  Academy  was  organized  in  1841  and  incorporated  in  1843. 
A  two-story  brick  academy  building  was  erected  and  in  1844  the  school 
was  opened  with  Franklin  B.  Hough  as  principal.  For  many  years  it 
remained  as  a  creditable  house  of  learning.  Gustavus'  schools  now  have 
a  high  standing  also,  the  township  being  in  a  school  district  by  itself 
with  a  first  grade  high  school.  M.  M.  Dray  is  the  district  superintend- 
ent, Hope  Logan  principal  of  the  high  school  and  Helen  Rodgers,  high 
school  instructor.  Fred  Puck,  Winifred  Braden,  Reba  Herrick  and 
Laura  Cowden  are  the  grade  teachers. 

The  Gustavus  Methodist  Episcopal  Society  was  first  organized  in 
1809  witn  several  members  of  the  Pelton  family  among  the  charter  mem- 
bers. The  Methodists  of  Gustavus  generally  worshiped  at  Kinsman 
until  a  log  church  was  built  north  of  Gustavus  Center.  In  1857  the 
church  was  reorganized,  the  present  church  being  built  the  same  year. 
This  congregation  now  has  100  members.  Rev.  F.  C.  Landfear  being 
pastor. 

Rev.  Thomas  Robbins  was  the  pioneer  clergyman  of  the  township, 
preaching  at  the  home  of  Jesse  Pelton.  Later  visits  were  made  by  Pres- 
byterian and  Congregationalist  ministers  and  on  April  2J,  1825,  a  Con- 
gregational Church  was  formed  by  Rev.  Joseph  Badger  and  Rev.  Eph- 
raim  T.  Woodruff.  Later  this  became  a  Presbyterian  Church,  but  in 
1852  split  on  the  slavery  question  and  a  separate  Congregational  Church 
was  formed.  The  Congregationalists  erected  a  church  building  of  their 
own  and  the  Presbyterians  erected  a  church  at  the  Center. 

Township  officials  of  Gustavus  are,  Ben  Lobaugh,  E.  Partridge  and 
R.  E.  Krahl,  trustees ;  D.  W.  Braden,  clerk ;  S.  L.  Stull,  treasurer. 

GREENE. 

Originally  the  property  of  Joseph  Howland  of  the  Connecticut  Land 
Company,  this  township  passed  in  181 1  to  the  ownership  of  Gardiner 
Greene,  from  whom  it  took  its  name.  It  is  drained  by  Mosquito  Creek 
and  by  a  tributary  of  the  Grand  River,  being  located  therefore  in  both 
the  Mississippi  and  the  St.  Lawrence  basins. 

Except  for  Lordstown,  Greene  Township  was  the  last  of  Trumbull 
County  subdivisions  to  undergo  settlement.  It  was  in  the  spring  of 
1817  that  John  Harrington,  William  Harrington,  John  Wakefield,  Eph- 


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646       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

raim  Rice,  Roswell  Bartlett  and  Ichabod  Merritt  came  to  the  township 
witn  a  view  to  locating  there.  The  outlook  being  favorable,  they  pur- 
chased three  sections  of  land  from  the  owner,  the  transaction  being  ar- 
ranged through  Gen.  Simon  Perkins  of  Warren,  land  agent. 

Merritt,  Rice  and  Wakefield  built  cabins  for  themselves  that  spring 
and  the  remaining  purchasers  put  up  homes  soon  afterwards.  In  the 
fall  of  1817  Ebenezer  Kee  located  on  land  near  that  owned  by  the  three 
original  settlers.  Settlers  in  181 8  were  David  Rice,  and  Ephraim  Kee. 
J.  B.  Spring,  H.  P.  Higgins,  James  Bascom  and  C.  P.  Hayford  came 
in  1819. 

In  1821-22  David  Rice  and  Noah  Bowen  built  a  grist  mill  on  Mos- 
quito Creek  and  a  year  later  a  sawmill  was  constructed  on  Merritt  Creek 
by  H.  P.  Higgins  and  Samuel  Hayford.  Rice  and  Bowen  also  built  a 
sawmill  in  connection  with  their  grist  mill  in  1824. 

This  first  Rice  and  Bowen  grist  mill  was  built  of  logs,  but  in  1845 
this  was  replaced  by  a  frame  mill  that  is  still  standing.  Steam  power 
was  substituted  for  the  waterwheel  in  1862  and  the  mill  was  operated 
until  1908  by  Myrtle  L.  Rice  and  Clark  and  Charles  Rice.  This  mill  site 
is  one  of  the  beauty  spots  of  Northern  Trumbull  County. 

The  first  white  child  born  in  the  township  was  Deborah  Harring- 
ton, daughter  of  John  Harrington  and  wife,  born  in  March,  1818.  The 
first  marriage  was  that  of  Charlotte  Bascom  and  John  M.  Jestin,  this 
wedding  taking  place  in  March,  1821. 

Greene  Township  was  originally  part  of  the  civil  township  of  Ver- 
non. Later  Kinsman,  Gustavus  and  Greene  were  organized  into  the 
township  of  Greene,  at  a  still  later  date  Gustavus  and  Greene  were  or- 
ganized as  Greene  Township,  and  finally  in  1820  Greene  Township  was 
organized  as  it  is  constituted  at  present.  The  first  election  was  held  on 
September  4,  1820,  when  Ephraim  Rice,  John  Harrington  and  Roswell 
Bartlett  were  elected  trustees;  Ebenezer  Kee,  clerk;  David  Rice,  treas- 
urer; Ephraim  Rice  and  John  Wakefield,  overseers  of  the  poor;  W.  A. 
Bascom,  constable;  William  Harrington,  David  Rice  and  Ephraim  Kee, 
road  supervisors;  Wyman  Wakefield,  fence  viewer.  .  Roswell  Bartlett 
was  the  first  justice  of  the  peace. 

Early  trading  was  done  at  villages  in  nearby  townships  and  the  trip 
was  made  through  almost  pathless  woods.  Later  a  trading  center  sprang 
up  at  the  crossroads  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township,  now  Kenil- 
worth,  but  later  Greene  Village  at  the  center  became  the  business  as 
well  as  the  official  headquarters  of  the  township. 

Mosquito  Creek  runs  through  the  township  from  north  to  south  and 
drains  the  greater  part  of  the  territory,  Mud  Creek  being  its  chief  tribu- 
tary. A  small  part  of  Greene,  however,  lies  in  the  Grand  River  Valley. 
Greene  occupies  a  peculiar  position  in  Trumbull  County  townships  as  it 
•has  no  railroad  line  within  its  borders. 

The  first  schoolhouse  in  Greene  was  built  near  the  present  site  of 
Kenilworth.  This  log  building  was  soon  replaced  by  a  frame  structure 
at  the  crossroads  near  the  south  cemetery.  Greene  never  followed  the 
example  of  some  of  its  neighboring  townships  by  starting  an  academy 


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YOUNGSTOWtf  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       647 

but  private  schools  for  the  higher  branches  were  taught  by  Rev.  S.  D. 
Bates,  Charles  Harrington  and  Lawrence  Coleman.  , 

Greene  Township  schools  are  now  thoroughly  centralized,  the  town- 
ship being  in  a  district  by  itself  with  Ernest  C.  Gray  as  superintendent. 
Wallace  Love  is  the  principal  of  the  high  school,  a  first  grade  institu- 
tion, and  Mrs.  Bertha  Sheldon  high  school  teacher.  The  grades  are 
taught  by  Lois  Thomas,  Ellen  Wolcott,  Elva  Davis  and  William  White. 

Greene  has  a  union  church  in  the  Federated  Churches  of  Greene 
Township,  organized  in  1917.  There  are  ninety  church  members  affili- 
ated with  this  organization,  services  being  held  in  a  building  put  up  by 
a  former  church  congregation  in  1870. 

The  Pentecostal  Church  was  organized  in  1919  and  has  twenty  mem- 
bers.   Rev.  R.  D.  Wise  is  pastor. 

The  first  church  in  the  township  was  built  largely  through  the  efforts 
of  Amzi  Churchill,  the  congregation  being  Congregationalist,  or  Presby- 
terian, in  creed.  In  the  '40s  the  Presbyterians  built  a  structure  later 
known  as  the  Hubbard  Church.  The  Methodists  organized  in  1825  and 
put  up  a  church  at  the  East  Corners.  A  Baptist  congregation  was  organ- 
ized in  1831,  and  a  Christian  congregation  formed  in  1850. 

Greene  Township  has  a  farmers'  grange  in  the  Royal  Grange  at  Kenil- 
worth.  The  township  officials  are:  M.  B.  Horton,  J.  L.  Jackson  and  R. 
W.  Rowles,  trustees;  J.  F.  Liddle,  clerk:  E.  W.  Smith,  treasurer;  U.  W. 
Sloan,  justice  of  the  peace. 

BLOOMFIELD 

Bloomfield  Township,  originally  the  property  of  Peter  C.  Brooks  and 
Nathaniel  Gorham,  adjoins  Ashtabula  County  and  lies  in  the  valley  of 
the  Grand  River.  Here  also  was  located  the  famed  Tamarack  swamp, 
once  a  favorite  resort  of  hunters  and  an  impediment  to  agricultural  de- 
velopment, but  whose  terrors  have  been  removed. 

The  early  owners  apparently  made  no  effort  to  dispose  of  their  lands 
so  that  it  was  not  until  181 5  that  a  settlement  was  made  in  Bloomfield 
Township.  The  swampy  nature  of  part  of  the  township  was  perhaps 
responsible  for  this  backwardness.  The  first  settler  was  Leman  Ferry 
of  Brookfield,  Vermont,  who  reached  the  township  in  February,  181 5, 
being  accompanied  by  his  wife,  two  sons,  three  daughters  and  a  hired 
man.  In  the  dead  of  winter  a  cabin  was  erected  and  the  family  pre- 
pared to  set  out  crops.  Shortly  afterwards  came  Ephraim  Brown  of 
New  Hampshire.  Another  visitor  in  181 5  was  Thomas  Howe  who  lo- 
cated permanently  in  Bloomfield  in  18 17.  In  the  spring  and  summer  of 
1815  Willard  Crowell,  Matthew  Crowell,  Iscael  Proctor,  Samuel  East- 
man and  David  Comstock  came  on  from  Vermont  and  Jared  Green  and 
Cyril  Green  located  in  the  township.  Lewis  Clisby  arrived  the  same 
year,  Jared  Kimball  and  Amasa  Bigelow  in  1816,  Aaron  Smith  in  the 
same  year  and  Thomas  Howe,  Hezekiah  Howe  and  Asa  Works  in  1817. 

The  first  white  child  born  in  the  township  was  Harriet  Crowell 
and  the  first  marriage  was  that  of  John  Teed  and  Jemima  Bigelow. 
Squire  Ephraim  Brown,  long  a  leader  in  Bloomfield  Township  affairs, 


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648       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

opened  the  first  store  in  1816  and  was  the  postmaster  when  a  postoffice 
was  established  at  Bloomfield  Center  in  1817.  Squire  Brown  also  con- 
ducted the  first  tavern  and  operated  the  first  sawmill,  an  industry  built  oil 
Grand  River  in  181 7.  Leman  Ferry  operated  the  first  grist  mill  on  the 
same  stream  in  181 9. 

Bloomfield  Township  was  organized  in  181 6  and  the  first  election 
was  held  on  April  9,  181 7.  Jared  Kimball,  David  Comstock  and  Le- 
man Ferry  were  elected  trustees;  Cyril  Green,  clerk;  Mayhew  Crowell  and 
Timothy  Bigelow,  overseers  of  the  poor;  Leman  Ferry,  Jr.  and  Lewis 
Clisby,  fence  viewers;  Jared  Green,  Jr.  and  John  Weed,  appraisers; 
Jared  Green,  Jr.,  lister;  Jared  Kimball,  treasurer;  Samuel  Teed,  con- 
stable; Mayhew  Crowell  and  Leman  Ferry,  supervisors. 

Bloomfield  Township  was  the  scene  of  the  slave  rescue  that  is  given 
in  detail  in  another  part  of  this  work.  Anti-slavery  sentiment  was 
strong  in  all  Trumbull  County  townships  for  three  decades  before  the 
Civil  war,  and  "Underground  Railroad"  stations  flourished.  Here,  too, 
temperance  agitation  that  resulted  in  nationwide  prohibition  almost  a 
hundred  years  later  may  be  said  to  have  had  its  birth,  temperance  socie- 
ties being  organized  soon  after  1830  when  temperance  was  almost  un- 
heard of — almost  ungodly  in  fact. 

Bloomfield  Township  is  well  watered,  in  fact  its  chief  drawback 
was  the  excessive  water  in  its  swamp  country.  This  low  lying  ground 
is  chiefly  in  the  valley  of  the  Grand  River,  which  stream  runs  through 
the  western  part  of  the  township,  and  in  the  northeastern  part.  Numer- 
ous creeks  traverse  this  low  area,  Baughman's  Creek  being  the  largest 
aside  from  the  river.  The  Ashtabula  branch  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road System  runs  through  the  eastern  part  of  the  township. 

North  Bloomfield,  located  about  half  mile  west  of  the  actual  center 
of  the  township,  is  the  chief  village,  being  the  trading  place  as  well  as 
the  governmental  center.  It  is  a  rural  village  of  singular  beauty,  with 
a  square,  good  business  houses  and  attractive  residences.  Lockwood, 
on  the  Pennsylvania  road,  is  the  railroad  station  for  North  Bloomfield 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  township.  Bloomfield  township  has  no  grange 
but  has  a  Masonic  lodge  in  Rural  Lodge  No.  328,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons. 

The  first  school  in  Bloomfield  was  taught  in  a  log  building  on  Leman 
Ferry's  farm,  Chester  Howard  being  instructor.  This  was  in  the  winter 
of  181 7- 18.  A  schoolhouse  was  built  at  the  center  soon  afterwards. 
Later  schools  were  built  throughout  the  township  and  in  1879  a  select 
school  of  three  grades  was  opened  at  North  Bloomfield,  giving  the  town- 
ship excellent  educational  facilities.  The  township's  schools  are  now 
centralized  and  located  in,  supervision  district  No.  1.  G.  H.  Adams  is 
principal  of  the  high  school  and  Lola  McFarland  instructor.  The  grades 
are  taught  by  Pauline  Patterson,  Lillian  Spellman,  Nellie  Douglas  and 
E.  Virginia  Venn. 

The  first  religious  services  in  Bloomfield  were  conducted  by  Rev. 
Giles  H.  Cowles  in  Leman  Ferry's  cabin  in  1815,  and  in  1821  Rev.  Cowles 
organized  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Later  this  became  a  Congrega- 
tionalist  body  and,  in  conjunction  with  the  Methodists,  built  a  church 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       649 

structure  in  1836.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  in 
1818  by  Rev.  Ira  Eddy,  The  original  church  built  by  the  Methodists  and 
•Congregationalists  was  replaced  by  a  larger  building  in  1857,  and  in 
1875  this  became  the  property  of  the  Methodists  alone.  The  Disciples, 
or  Christian,  Church  was  organized  about  1830  by  Benjamin  Alton.  On 
October  19,  1836,  a  more  formal  organization  was  formed  by  Marcus 
Bosworth  and  in  1849  a  church  was  built  at  Bloomfield  Center.  In  1875 
the  Congregational i st  body  became  part  owners  of  this  building.  Sub- 
sequently the  structure  was  remodeled  and  much  improved. 

Bloomfield  Township  officials  include,  J.  W.  Mitchell,  R.  J.  Craig 
and  G.  T.  Veney,  trustees;  O.  A.  Huntley,  clerk;  B.  A.  Russell,  treasurer; 
John  S.  McAdoo,  justice  of  the  peace. 

MESOPOTAMIA 

Mesopotamia  Township  lies  in  the  Grand  River  Valley  of  Northern 
Trumbull  County  and  was  originally  the  property  of  Pierpont  Edwards 
of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company.  His  son,  John  S.  Edwards,  later 
one  of  the  leading  men  of  Trumbull  County,  visited  the  township  in 
1799,  and  on  his  return  the  elder  Edwards  offered  a  bonus  of  100  acres 
of  land  in  Mesopotamia  to  each  of  the  first  five  men  who  would  pur- 
chase land,  bring  their  families  to  the  township  and  reside  there  for  a 
fixed  number  of  years,  also  fifty  acres  each  to  the  first  five  single  men 
who  would  settle  in  the  township. 

In  1800  Hezekiah  Speery,  his  son  Alpheus  and  daughters,  Martha 
and  Cynthia,  were  the  first  settlers  under  this  arrangement.  In  1801 
Otis  and  Lois  Guild  and  their  family,  Seth  Tracy  and  family,  Joseph 
Noyes  and  family  and  Dr.  Joseph  Clark  came.  Unlike  most  of  pioneers 
Tracy  and  his  family  made  the  journey  from  Massachusetts  by  way 
of  the  northern,  or  Lake  Erie,  route. 

Isaac  Clark  was  a  settler  of  1804  and  Gauger  Smith  and  Thomas 
Bowyer  came  in  1805.  A  dozen  other  families  came  before  1820  and 
after  that  year  settlement  was  fairly  rapid. 

The  first  native  white  child  in  the  township  was  a  daughter  born  to 
Dr.  Joseph  Clark  and  wife  and  the  first  wedding  was  that  of  Griswold 
Gillette  and  Clarissa  Tracy. 

John  S.  Edwards  built  the  first  sawmill  in  the  township,  on  Mill 
Creek,  in  1803  and  in  1805  a  grist  mill  was  added.  The  first  store  was 
opened  in  1818  by  Linus  Tracy  and  his  brother  Addison  Tracy.  Dr. 
D.  L.  Newcomb  built  and  operated  the  first  tavern  in  1823. 

In  the  War  of  181 2  Mesopotamia  Township  sent  eleven  men  from 
its  small  population.  Linus  Tracy,  Oliver  Guild,  Jairus  Guild  and  Whit- 
ney Smith  going  on  tlie  first  call  and  Matthew  Laird,  Elias  Sperry,  Gris- 
wold Gillette,  Ebenezer  Lampson,  Amadeus  Brooks,  Lucius  Sperry  and 
Isaac  Clark  on  the  second.  Elias  Sperry  was  wounded  in  the  Battle  of 
the  Peninsula  and  Lucius  Sperry  died  of  fever  contracted  in  the  service. 

Mesopotamia  Township  was  separately  organized  in  1819.  At  the 
election  on  April  5  of  that  year  Luther  Frisby,  Moses  Bundy  and  Elisha 
Sanderson  were  elected  township  trustees ;  Addison  Tracy,  clerk ;  Reu- 


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650       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ben  Joslin  and  Job  Reynolds,  overseers  of  the  poor;  John  Sanderson 
and  Amadeus  Brooks,  fence  viewers ;  Lucius  Frisby,  lister ;  Linus  Tracy, 
appraiser;  Matthew  Laird,  Job  Reynolds,  Zimri  Baker,  Noble  Strong 
Levi  Pinney,  Anson  Hatch  and  Guien  Crawford,  supervisors;  Lucius 
Frisby,  constable;  Luther  Frisby,  treasurer. 

The  Grand  River  flows  through  much  of  the  township  and  runs 
north  into  Ashtabula  County  as  Mesopotamia  is  the  northeasternmost 
township  of  Trumbull  County.  The  township  has  an  unusual  number  of 
smaller  streams,  including  Coffee,  Mill,  Swine,  Andrews,  Plum  and 
Garden  creeks,  giving  it  much  water  power  as  well  as  making  it  good 
agricultural  territory.     There  is  no  railroad  in  the  township. 

Mesopotamia  Center  is  the  only  village  and  is  the  trading  center  as 
well  as  the  seat  of  government  for  the  township.  It  is  a  pleasant  vil- 
lage with  good  stores  and  rural  industries.  The  village  square  is  adorned 
with  a  splendid  marble  shaft  erected  in  memory  of  the  soldiers  of  the 
Civil  war.    The  Center  is  also  the  headquarters  of  Mesopotamia  Grange. 

The  first  school  in  the  township  was  opened  in  a  room  in  Seth  Tracy's 
cabin  in  1803,  with  Samuel  Forward  as  the  teacher.  A  schoolhouse  was 
built  on  the  Tracy  farm  in  1806.  The  rural  schools  that  sprang  up  in 
later  years  were  finally  centralized  and  Mesopotamia  now  has  a  good 
high  school  and  grade  classes.  Jay  T.  Frampton  is  principal  of  the  high 
school  and  Cynthia  Northway,  Gem  Hanawalt,  Verl  Davis  and  Cora  Jen- 
kins grade  school  teachers. 

Rev.  Joseph  Badger  was  the  first  clergyman  to  visit  Mesopotamia 
Township,  and  a  Presbyterian  congregation  was  formed  in  1817.  The 
first  church  was  built  in  1822  and  replaced  by  a  larger  building  in  1843. 
Subsequently  this  became  a  Congregational ist  body.  The  first  Methodist 
Episcopal  body  was  formed  probably  prior  to  1820  and  the  first  house 
of  worship  built  in  1830.  The  Universalists  once  flourished  in  Meso- 
potamia, but  eventually  passed  out  of  existence. 

Township  officials  of  Mesopotamia  include,  Roy  Nye,  F.  E.  Bates 
and  W.  Barb,  trustees;  Cecil  Clark,  clerk;  H.  D.  Walker,  treasurer;  H.  J. 
Wilcox,  justice  of  the  peace. 


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CHAPTER  XXXII 

INDUSTRY  IN  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Its  Humble  Beginnings,  Early  Vicissitudes  and  Gradual  Develop- 
ment Along  Various  Lines 

Industry  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  may  be  said  to  have  had  its  begin- 
ning long  before  white  men  came  here  to  live.  The  native  Indians  had 
selected  spots  where  the  growth  of  trees  was  thin,  or  where  storms  had 
blown  the  timber  down  and  fires  had  burned  over  the  ground,  on  which 
they  planted  corn,  the  labor  being  performed  entirely  by  the  squaws, 
since  the  noble  Red  Man  disdained  all  forms  of  exertion  other  than  hunt- 
ing or  making  war,  or  perhaps  occupying  himself  occasionally  in  the 
fashioning  of  implements  for  these  purposes.  The  Indians  also  made 
sugar  in  the  maple  groves,  although  where  they  obtained  the  vessels  in 
which  the  boiling  was  done  has  never  been  satisfactorily  explained.  This 
was  not  civilized  industry,  however.  Industry  as  we  know  it  began  in 
the  Mahoning  Valley  with  the  making  of  salt  by  boiling  saline  water 
flowing  from  the  earth  at  springs  located  about  nine  miles  west  of  the 
present  City  of  Youngstown. 

Although  salt  had  been  made  at  these  springs,  perhaps  for  centuries, 
by  the  Indians,  the  first  work  of  this  kind  performed  by  white  men  there 
seems  to  have  been  done  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  adventurous  individuals  from  the  western  part  of  Pennsylvania 
began  making  trips  to  these  springs  and  boiling  the  water  to  secure  for 
personal  use  a  supply  of  salt,  now  so  abundant  and  cheap,  but  at  that 
time  exceedingly  scarce.  There  are  no  records  to  substantiate  the  as- 
sumption, but  it  is  probable  that  some  of  these  salt  manufacturers  re- 
tailed their  product  among  neighbor  pioneers  in  Washington  and  West- 
moreland counties,  Pennsylvania,  and  may  even  have  found  a  market  for 
some  of  it  at  Pittsburg,  although  that  settlement  seems  likely  to  have  had, 
even  at  that  early  day,  a  more  dependable  source  of  supply. 

At  any  rate,  the  infant  industry  in  the  wilderness  had  reached  the 
proportions  of  a  regular  enterprise  in  1785,  when,  in  order  to  satisfy  the 
Indians  and  carry  out  the  campaign  he  was  then  making  against  squat- 
ters in  territory  west  of  Pennsylvania  and  north  of  the  Ohio,  General 
Harmar  ordered  the  destruction  of  four  log  cabins  erected  at  the  Salt 
Springs,  together  with  that  of  some  wooden  vats  sunk  into  the  earth 
there  and  used  by  these  pioneers  of  industry  in  the  Mahoning  Valley. 
The  point  at  which  these  buildings  stood,  together  with  the  springs  from 
which  the  salt  came,  has  been  covered  by  a  fill  on  which  the  Baltimore  & 

651 


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652       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Ohio  Railroad  traverses  that  locality,  and  thus  a  really  historic  spot  is 
robbed  of  much  of  the  interest  it  might  otherwise  have  held  for  the 
visitor.  The  names  of  the  men  who  thus  began  the  manufacture  and 
commerce  which  have  since  sent  products  from  this  valley  in  tremendous 
volume  to  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world  are  nowhere  preserved,  nor  is 
anything  known  positively  as  to  whence  they  came,  what  were  their  ad- 
ventures among  the  objecting  savages,  or  what  became  of  them  in  the 
end. 


The  Celebrated  Salt  Springs,  in  Weathersfield  Township,  Where 
Salt  Was  Made  as  Early  as  1755 

This  illustration  is  from  a  painting  by  Joseph  N.  Higley,  from  a  photo- 
graph taken  by  him  about  1903,  just  before  the  springs  were  covered  by  a 
railroad  fill. 

The  next  industry  was  agriculture,  which  began  almost  immediately 
after  John  Young  had  laid  out  the  town  to  which  he  gave  his  name. 
Youngstown  was  founded  as  an  agricultural  community,  the  central  por- 
tion being  surveyed  into  lots  of  sufficient  size  for  houses  and  similar 
buildings,  with  a  circle  of  "out  lots"  somewhat  larger  in  size  and  prob- 
ably intended  for  gardens;  and  surrounding  all  the  principal  portion  of 
Young's  purchase  was  mapped  into  farms. 

It  appears  that  the  presence  of  either  coal  or  of  ore  was  not  sus- 
pected by  the  original  purchaser  of  the  land,  and  that  the  value  of  these 
minerals   was  undreamed  of  by   the   first   settlers.     Their  expectations 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       653 

were  confined  to  the  development  of  fertile  and  prosperous  farms  sur- 
rounding a  village  containing  only  such  small  factories  and  mechanics 
as  could  produce  the  simple  necessities  of  life  unobtainable  elsewhere 
because  of  the  lack  of  roads  and  not  to  be  had  from  the  soil.  Such  a 
situation  naturally  led  to  the  early  establishment  in  a  small  way  of  many 
industries,  such  as  grist  mills,  sawmills,  hat  factories,  boot  shops,  black- 
smith shops,  furniture  shops  and  similar  establishments  in  which  the  ideal 
economic  condition  of  the  laborer  and  capitalist  being  the  same  person 
was  realized  and  from  which  the  early  settlers  satisfied  their  simple 
wants  in  the  way  of  things  that  could  be  produced  only  by  skilled  labor 
and  could  not  be  made  in  the  home.  Youngstown  had  the  earliest  of 
these  industries.  Its  first  hatmaker  was  F.  Townsend,  whose  shop  was 
located  near  Spring  Common.  Abraham  was  the  name  of  the  first  chair- 
maker,  and  Kilpatrick  that  of  the  first  blacksmith.  A  Mr.  Bruce,  whose 
first  name  has  not  been  preserved,  was  the  original  manufacturer  of 
boots  and  shoes,  probably  only  of  boots,  for  that  was  the  style  of  foot- 
wear used  by  the  earliest  pioneers,  both  male  and  female,  almost  exclu- 
sively. Between  1805  and  1810,  according  to  the  recollections  of  Ros- 
well  Grant,  an  uncle  of  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  whose  boyhood  was  spent  in 
Youngstown,  there  were  in  the  village,  in  addition  to  the  establishments 
above-named,  two  hotels,  one  of  which  was  conducted  by  Ccl.  William 
Rayen  and  the  other  by  Samuel  Stuart  and  Col.  James  Hillman;  two 
stores,  one  kept  by  Henry  Wick  and  the  other  by  Hugh  Bryson;  one 
lawyer,  Homer  Hine,  and  one  doctor,  Chas.  C.  Dutton.  Youngstown  was 
at  that  time  the  largest  village  in  the  valley,  although  Warren,  Canfield 
and  Poland  were  already  established. 

Agriculture 

Farming  being  the  first  permanent  industry  to  gain  a  foothold  in  the 
Mahoning  Valley,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  in  the  conditions 
surrounding  its  beginning,  this  w'll  be  treated  first.  Practically  all  the 
original  settlers,  as  has  been  noted,  came  here  with  the  intention  of  be- 
coming farmers.  Their  first  task  after  selecting  a  piece  of  land  and  se- 
curing the  title  to  it,  which  was  usually  done  by  making  a  small  payment 
in  cash  and  executing  a  mortgage  for  the  remainder  of  the  price,  was  to 
erect  a  home.  Some  sort  of  shelter  must  be  found  at  once  for  the  family, 
but  there  being  as  yet  neither  crops,  machinery  nor  cattle,  the  barn  could 
wait.  Sometimes  the  settler  came  alone  and  built  a  cabin  before  his 
family  arrived,  but  more  frequently  they  came  together.  The  home- 
builder  selected  a  location,  usually  close  to  a  spring  and  on  well  drained 
land,  for  the  ground  was  more  inclined  to  be  marshy  than  that  found  in 
the  eastern  states  from  which  he  had  come.  His  next  step  was  to  clear 
away  the  trees  in  order  to  let  in  the  sunlight  and  prepare  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  ground.  In  this  process  the  most  suitable  timber  for  use  in 
building  a  cabin  was  selected  and  the  remainder  piled  in  heaps  for  burn- 
ing. No  one  at  that  date  thought  of  building  with  any  other  material 
than  logs.  These  lops  were  sometimes  hewn  flat  on  the  sides  with  a 
broadaxe,  sometimes  left  round,  with  the  bark  attached.    As  soon  as  a 


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654       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

sufficient  number  of  timbers  was  ready,  word  was  sent  to  the  neighbors 
in  every  direction  that  on  a  certain  day  the  "raising"  would  occur.  The 
mere  statement  of  this  fact  was  understood  as  an  invitation,  and  such  was 
the  neighborliness  of  the  times  that  anyone  accidentally  or  purposely  over- 
looked felt  aggrieved  at  being  denied  an  opportunity  to  assist.  Feuds  of 
long  standing  sometimes  arose  from  failure  to  notify  some  member  of  the 
community  of  such  an  affair. 

Some  of  the  pioneer  houses  are  still  standing,  having  defied  the  rav- 
ages of  time  for  more  than  a  century,  and  here  and  there  one  may  still  be 
found  in  use,  although,  of  course,  since  supplied  with  modern  floors  and 
windows  in  place  of  the  puncheon  floors  and  greased  paper  window  panes 
used  by  the  builders.  In  their  erection  the  settlers  seldom  used  nails,  the 
place  of  these  being  taken  by  pins  fashioned  with  axes  so  dexterously  as 
to  astonish  the  modern  resident,  whose  acquaintance  with  an  axe  may  be 
confined  to  its  occasional  use  in  his  own  woodshed.  These  axes  were, 
next  to  the  flintlock  rifle  owned  by  the  settler,  his  most  precious  posses- 
sion, and  in  the  use  of  them  he  acquired  astounding  skill. 

Clearing  of  the  land  proceeded  rapidly,  but  much  trouble  was  experi- 
enced with  the  stumps  and  roots,  which  had  to  be  burned  or  left  to  rot  in 
the  ground,  since  there  was  at  that  time  no  such  process  as  removing 
them  by  stump-pulling  machines  or  dynamite.  Fortunately  the  earth 
was  loose  and  very  fertile,  so  that,  while  nature  was  dealing  with  the 
stumps  and  roots  it  was  necessary  to  merely  scratch  the  surface  in  order 
to  secure  a  good  crop  from  the  virgin  soil.  The  universal  law  of  com- 
pensation operated  in  another  way  to  favor  this  infant  industry,  for  the 
pioneer  farmer  had  less  trouble  than  his  modern  successor  with  insect 
pests  and  seldom  suffered  much  from  drought  or  excessive  rain.  The 
earth  was  clothed  in  primeval  woods,  and  the  forests  contributed  much 
to  the  regular  rainfall  so  important  for  the  farmer.  Fences  were  built 
first  of  small  logs  and  later  of  rails  split  from  the  abundant  timber. 

It  seems  that,  even  from  the  first,  the  farmers  of  the  Mahoning  Val- 
ley were  equipped  with  iron-pointed  plows,  and  had  tools  with  cutting 
edges  for  various  purposes,  but  they  were  woefully  short  of  implements 
as  well  as  of  horses.  Oxen  were  therefore  generally  used  on  the  farms. 
It  is  rare  that  a  team  of  oxen  is  now  seen  anywhere  in  the  eastern  or 
middle  western  states,  and  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  the  horse  is  passing  as 
a  tractive  force  on  its  well  developed  farms.  But  there  was  a  time  when 
the  patient  ox  not  only  drew  the  plow,  but  also  trampled  out  the  corn, 
much  as  in  Scriptural  days.  The  first  agricultural  fair  in  the  Mahoning 
Valley  was  held  at  Youngstown  in  182 1,  the  grounds  being  along  the 
north  side  of  the  river  west  of  Market  Street.  At  this  fair  one  of  the 
chief  events  was  a  plowing  contest  between  two  teams  of  horses  and  one 
team  of  oxen,  in  which  the  oxen  won  the  prize  handsomely,  making 
straighter  furrows  and  breaking  up  more  ground  in  a  given  time  than  the 
horses. 

Reaping  was  done  with  the  sickle  and  the  scythe  and  threshing  with 
the  flail.  The  new  farmer  usually  took  care  to  bring  with  him  a  cow,  but 
at  first  there  were  few  really  domesticated  hogs,  animals  of  this  species 
being  confined  to  the  "razor-back"  variety  running  and  breeding  in  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       655 

woods  and  being  half  wild  in  nature.  Some  sheep  were  raised  almost 
from  the  beginning  in  order  to  provide  wool  for  use  in  making  hose  and 
woollen  cloth,  but  the  prevalence  of  wolves  made  sheep-raising  a  hazard- 
ous business  and  led  to  the  general  cultivation  of  flax,  from  which  linen 
could  be  made.  The  grains  grown  were  practically  the  same  as  those 
now  grown  most  successfully  in  this  locality.  Corn  came  first,  being 
raised  most  quickly  and  requiring  the  simplest  treatment  to  make  it 
edible.  Wheat  was  grown  for  flour,  but  little  of  this  was  sold  outside 
of  the  community.  Oats  grew  well  and  rye  was  raised  extensively  for 
the  stills,  which  were  numerous  beyond  belief,  no  less  than  thirteen  of 
these  now  prohibited  contrivances  being  in  operation  at  one  time  in 
Poland  Township  during  the  early  days.  Potatoes,  buckwheat  and  other 
foods  were  successfully  cultivated,  the  great  numbers  of  wild  bees  in- 
creasing the  fruitfulness  of  all  grains  and  fruits  requiring  pollenization. 
All  small  fruits  were  plentiful  in  the  woods,  but  the  larger  fruits  in 
domesticated  and  improved  varieties  were  almost  unknown,' there  being 
no  apples  in  the  valley  until  some  trees  brought  here  on  horseback  by 
one  of  the  first-comers  reached  the  bearing  stage.  It  was  at  first  thought 
that  grapes  would  grow  splendidly  in  this  climate,  but  efforts  to  propagate 
them  on  a  large  scale  failed,  and  the  grape,  probably  because  of  the 
irregular  moisture  and  humidity,  has  never  been  grown  to  any  great 
extent  as  far  south  as  the  Mahoning  Valley,  although  it  is  successfully 
cultivated  farther  north. 

The  early  farmers  had  their  trials  as  well  as  their  pleasures  and  ad- 
vantages. There  were  no  roads  and  practically  no  markets.  It  was 
necessary  to  hoard  carefully  every  cent  that  could  be  realized  in  order  to 
provide  money  for  the  payment  of  taxes,  contributions  toward  the  salary 
of  the  preacher  and  the  teacher  and  occasional  settlements  with  the  doc- 
tor, who  was  of  necessity  sometimes  summoned  from  a  distance.  There 
were  times  when  a  prosperous  farmer,  with  property  valued  at  thou- 
sands of  dollars,  would  not  have  cash  enough  to  pay  the  postage  on  a 
letter.  There  was  no  actual  want  and  little  discomfort  attending  these 
features  of  farm  life  because  the  things  really  necessary  could  always 
be  obtained  by  trading  farm  produce  at  the  stores,  but  the  luxuries  to  be 
had  in  that  way  were  few  and  even  some  of  the  necessities,  as  we  now 
regard  them,  were  not  available.  For  instance  the  first  lemon  brought 
to  the  Western  Reserve  was  used  with  great  eclat  at  a  Fourth  of  July 
celebration  at  Poland  some  years  after  the  founding  of  that  village  and 
lent,  we  are  informed  by  the  early  chronicler,  a  peculiar  and  most  enjoy- 
able flavor  to  the  huge  bowl  of  punch  which  was  a  feature  of  that 
occasion. 

In  modern  times  farming  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  has  developed  in 
the  same  degree  that  other  things  have  gone  forward.  There  are  now 
few  farms  without  a  tractor;  few  country  homes  without  a  telephone. 
Many  farmhouses  are  equipped  with  hot  and  cold  water,  bathrooms  and 
other  modern  features.  Automobiles  have  taken  the  place  of  the  horse 
and  buggy,  and  rural  mail  delivery  reaches  every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
district.  There  are  no  trees  to  fell,  no  stumps  to  remove,  no  wolves  to  ' 
prey  on  sheep,  no  bear  to  raid  the  hogpen.    But  also  there  are  no  wild 


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656       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

turkeys,  no  deer,  no  fish,  no  wild  bees  to  store  honey,  and  few  of  the 
wild  nuts  and  fruits  that  were  once  so  plentiful.  The  character  of  farm- 
ing has  changed  to  meet  the  change  in  conditions  and  to  supply  the  mar- 
kets most  available  and  profitable.  Much  dairying  is  done,  in  which  the 
fields  are  sown  to  furnish  crops  designed  as  fodder  for  the  milk  herd. 
Orchards  are  growing  rapidly  in  number,  and  flourish  under  the  scien- 
tific methods  modern  farmers  have  learned  from  the  state  experimental 
farms  and  are  adopting  everywhere.  There  is  no  longer  the  old-time 
happy-go-lucky  method  of  planting  wheat  or  corn  or  some  other  crop 
on  the  same  ground  on  which  it  had  grown  well  the  previous  year. 
Rotation  of  crops  and  scientific  fertilization  is  the  ordinary  practice. 

Both  Trumbull  and  Mahoning  counties  have  now  well  established 
and  energetically  managed  county  fair  associations,  and  the  annual  gath- 
ering of  choice  local  farm  products  at  these  is  not  excelled  in  many  coun- 
ties of  Ohio.  Much  fine  stock  is  to  be  found  on  the  farms,  and  while 
neither  Trumbull  nor  Mahoning  can  compete  with  the  magnificent  dairy 
herds  that  have  made  Geauga  County  famous  all  over  the  United  States, 
there  has  been  a  marked  improvement  in  recent  years  along  these  lines. 

In  191 5  the  agricultural  interests  of  Mahoning  county  were  advanced 
by  the  purchase  and  equipment  of  a  fine  experimental  farm  in  Canfield 
Township,  where  investigations  and  experiments  of  peculiar  value  are 
being  carried  out  under  the  direction  of  a  county  agricultural  agent 
provided  by  the  State.  Doubtless  similar  farms  will  be  soon  provided 
in  other  counties  of  the  district.  Full  details  concerning  this  movement 
together  with  other  information  concerning  modern  agriculture,  will  be 
found  in  the  chapter  dealing  with  township  histories. 

Farm  life  under  modern  conditions  is  much  less  lonely  and  children 
reared  in  the  country  have  a  far  better  opportunity  for  education  than 
was  formerly  the  case.  In  fact  the  system  of  graded  schools  now  in 
operation  in  most  of  the  townships  provides  instruction  almost  equal  to 
that  offered  in  cities  and  towns.  Many  townships  maintain  high  schools, 
or  central  schools  of  the  higher  grade,  and  provide  transportation  for 
children  to  and  from  their  studies.  Thus  life  on  the  farm  has  lost  its 
old-time  characteristics,  if  we  except  the  fact  that  it  is  still  and  probably 
will  always  be  a  life  of  labor  and  diligence  if  it  is  to  be  rewarded  with 
success.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  farmer  finds  it  impossible  to  offer  to 
his  children  the  same  allurements  to  be  found  in  the  city,  for  this  fact 
takes  away  from  the  farms  many  of  their  best  young  men  and  women. 
At  the  same  time  this  condition  reacts  to  the  advantage  of  urban  com- 
munities which  attract  these  youth.  It  is  surprising  how  many  of  the 
most  active,  able  and  successful  men  in  Mahoning  Valley  communities 
have  been  reared  on  farms,  securing  there  a  schooling  in  diligence  and 
self-denial,  as  well  as  a  rugged  health  and  vitality  that  have  given  them 
a  distinct  advantage  in    the  swifter  race  of  business  and  the  professions. 

At  the  time  this  work  is  written,  prosperity  attends  the  agricultural 
industry  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  as  it  does  everywhere  in  this  coun- 
try. Prices  of  food  stuffs  have  advanced  so  that  all  who  have  these  to 
sell  are  reaping  excellent  profits.  The  only  difficulty  is  the  scarcity  of 
labor,  which  is  attracted  away  from  the  farms  by  the  more  exciting  life 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       657 

of  the  city  as  well  as  by  the  extremely  high  wages  being  paid  for  labor 
of  all  kinds.  This,  however,  is  only  an  aggravation  of  a  condition  which 
has  always  affected  the  farmer,  and  is  probably  one  of  the  basic  results 
of  the  long  continued  policy  which  has  developed  our  manufacturing 
industries  more  rapidly  than  would  have  been  possible  under  any  other 
policy.  Indications  are  that  a  tendency  to  return  to  the  farm  is  begin- 
ning to  make  itself  felt  and  the  next  few  years  may  see  a  change  in  this 
situation. 

Flouring  and  Saw  Mills 

Among  the  most  urgent  needs  of  the  early  settlers  were  lumber  and 
flour.  At  first  they  made  these  entirely  by  hand,  skillfully  selecting  logs 
and  splitting  or  hewing  them  into  shape  or  grinding  grain  between  re- 
volving stones,  both  slow  and  laborious  methods.  The  natural  eagerness 
with  which  the  pioneers  sought  out  and  appropriated  points  suitable  for 
the  erection  of  mills  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  second  recorded  trans- 
action for  the  purchase  of  real  estate  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  was  the 
deed  for  a  mill  site  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow  Creek,  in  the  present 
Town  of  Struthers,  made  by  Turhand  Kirtland  to  John  Struthers,  Esq., 
August  30,  1798.  During  the  same  summer  Mr.  Kirtland  had  also  laid 
out  a  site  for  a  mill  in  Poland  and  planned  a  dam  across  Yellow  Creek 
at  the  point  in  that  village  where  a  mill  now  stands.  There  was  an 
abundance  of  timber  and  great  need  for  machinery  to  saw  it,  as  well 
as  for  mills  to  make  cornmeal  and  wheat  flour,  so  that  within  a  few  years 
after  white  men  came  to  reside  in  this  locality  there  were  numerous  grist 
mills  and  sawmills  erected  at  various  points  along  the  Mahoning  and 
on  streams  tributary  to  it.  The  early  flouring  mill  was  a  crude  struc- 
ture in  both  its  exterior  and  its  equipment.  It  was  Usually  located 
at  a  waterfall,  or  else  below  a  dam  from  which  water  was  conducted 
by  a  "race"  or  a  "forebay"  to  a  large  wheel  having  on  its  rim  buckets 
or  boxes  into  which  water  poured  when  these  were  at  the  highest  point 
and  by  its  weight  caused  the  wheel  to  revolve.  The  machinery  attached 
was  made  entirely  of  wood,  remarkable  skill  being  shown  in  the  forma- 
tion of  gear  wheels  and  similar  contrivances.  The  grinding  was  done 
between  two  stones,  known  as  "burrs."  The  best  quality  of  these  was 
imported  from  France,  but  at  first  most  of  those  used  in  this  locality 
were  of  native  stone.  In  these  were  cut  grooves  radiating  from  the 
center,  and  into  the  grooves  the  grain  was  fed  from  a  hopper  through 
a  hole  in  the  stone.  As  the  upper  stone  revolved,  the  lower  being  usu- 
ally fixed,  the  grain  worked  its  way  through  the  raidal  grooves  outward 
and  was  ground  between  the  two.  Flour  thus  produced  was  course,  but 
a  skillful  miller  could  make  a  surprisingly  good  grade  if  he  had  good 
grain.  Of  course  the  flour  was  dark  in  color,  since  the  hull  of  the  grain 
was  ground  with  the  rest  and  the  method  of  separating  this  from  the 
flour  itself  was  not  efficient.  All  of  these  mills  were  operated  on  a 
trade  basis,  the  miller  taking  "toll"  amounting  to  one-tenth  of  each  grist 
brought  in  by  the  farmer  and  returning  the  remainder  to  the  sack.  In 
addition  to  wheat,  these  mills  ground  corn  and  other  grains,  making  also 

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658       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

a  coarse  mixture  known  as  "chop,"  which  was  used  as  feed  for  stock. 
The  mills  were  often  equipped  to  saw  lumber,  the  machinery  for  this 
purpose  consisting  of  a  cross-head  saw  oscillated  up  and  down  as  the 
log  was  moved  forward  on  a  carriage  operated  by  a  ratchet  device.  The 
circular  or  band  saw  was  unknown  at  that  time.  When  there  was  no 
grain  to  grind  the  miller  would  saw  logs,  of  which  there  was  always  an 
abundance.  A  curious  custom,  growing  out  of  the  moral  duty  which 
the  first  millers  felt  they  owed  to  the  community,  to  provide  it  with 
food,  was  the  refusal  to  use  power  for  sawing  at  any  time  or  under  any 
conditions  if  there  was  grain  to  be  ground. 

The  first  grist  mill  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  was  erected  at  what  is 
now  known  as  Lanterman's  Falls,  in  Mill  Creek  Park,  Youngstown, 
by  John  and  Phineas  Hill,  in  1798  or  1799,  the  machinery  being  made 
on  the  ground  and  installed  by  Abraham  Powers,  who  came  here  for 
that  purpose  and  worked  with  the  two  brothers.  The  "burrs"  in  this 
mill  were  made  from  a  native  boulder  secured  at  a  point  which  is  now 
the  intersection  of  Lincoln  and  Holmes  streets,  in  the  City  of  Youngs- 
town. So  far  as  the  actual  construction  of  a  special  building  and  the 
installation  of  machinery  is  concerned,  this  mill  undoubtedly  deserves 
to  rank  as  the  first  manufacturing  establishment  in  the  Mahoning  Valley. 
A  curious  incident,  illustrating  not  only  the  wildness  of  the  locality,  but 
also  the  method  of  the  native  Indians  for  taking  care  of  their  children, 
is  recorded  by  the  builders  of  this  mill.  One  day  as  they  were  at  work 
two  Indian  women,  one  of  whom  had  a  "papoose," — a  baby — strapped 
to  a  piece  of  bark  and  hung  over  her  shoulders,  passed  close  by.  They 
were  in  pursuit  of  a  deer,  and  when  they  saw  the  white  men  at  the 
mill,  the  women  stopped  and  the  one  with  the  baby  removed  the  child 
and  stood  it,  with  its  bark  reinforcement,  against  a  tree  in  sight  of  the 
mill  builders.  The  huntresses  then  proceeded  on  their  way  and  came 
back  several  hours  later  with  a  deer  on  their  shoulders.  During  the  inter- 
val the  Indian  baby  had  not  made  a  sound  or  even  moved  an  eyelash,  so 
the  story  goes. 

Early  Ironmaking 

The  first  blast  furnace  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  if  not  indeed  the 
first  west  of  the  Allegheny  River,  was  erected  in  1802,  according  to 
the  best  information  obtainable,  although  there  has  been  some  dispute 
concerning  the  exact  date.  It  was  built  at  a  point  on  Yellow  Creek, 
near  its  junction  with  the  Mahoning  River,  and  about  500  feet  north 
of  the  dam  now  forming  Lake  Hamilton,  by  James  and  Daniel  Heaton. 
This  furnace  was,  as  may  be  easily  believed,  a  very  crude  and  inefficient 
contrivance,  although  its  erection  must  have  required  much  labor  and 
great  faith,  if  not  a  great  deal  of  capital.  The  contrast  between  it  and 
the  modern  blast  furnace  is  even  more  interesting  than  that  between 
the  first  grill  mill  and  the  large  establishments  of  that  kind  now  com- 
mon. This  furnace  was  about  twenty  feet  in  height  and  square,  the 
base  being  about  fourteen  feet  on  each  side.  Three  sides  were  of  native 
stone  found  on  the  ground,  and  the  fourth  was  formed  by  a  steep  bluff, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       659 

against  which  the  stack  was  built,  with  the  double  purpose  of  saving 
labor  and  furnishing  a  method  by  which  charcoal,  limestone  and  lean 
native  ores  could  be  hauled  to  its  top.    The  interior  was  roughly  lined 


,>**-      * 


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1.(5 


The  First  Blast  Furnace  Erected  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  as  it 

Appears  Today 

( Photo  by  H.  W.  Weisgerber. )  ' 

with  slabs  of  stone  and  on  one  side,  about  a  foot  above  the  bottom,  was 
an  opening  through  which  the  molten  iron  was  dipped  out  with  ladles. 
The  blast  was  furnished  by  what  was  known  as  a  "trompe,"  which  con- 
sisted of  a  wooden  tank  with  one  opening  at  the  top  and  another  some 


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660       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

distance  lower  down  and  at  one  side.  Into  the  top  of  this  tank  was 
conducted  the  water  from  Yellow  Creek,  which,  as  it  rushed  into  the 
tank,  carried  with  it  considerable  air.  This  air  rose  through  the  water 
into  a  dome  at  the  top,  being  compressed  by  the  weight  of  the  water 
and  thus  forming  a  continuous  pressure  for  the  blast.  The  apparatus 
required  careful  designing  and  a  steady  stream  of  large  volume,  neither 
of  which  seems  to  have  been  available.  Consequently  the  furnace  never 
worked  well  and  was  operated  for  only  a  brief  period.  Two  years  after 
it  was  built  the  Heaton  brothers  parted  company,  Daniel  buying  the 
interests  of  James  and  later  improving  the  furnace,  in  fact  rebuilding 
it.  This  rebuilt  furnace  was  named  "Hopewell,"  and  for  about  six  years 
produced  from  two  to  three  tons  of  iron  per  week.  Its  product  was 
used  in. the  manufacture  of  cast  iron  utensils,  stoves  and  similar  articles 
to  be  disposed  of  to  the  householders  and  farmers  of  the  vicinity.  This 
old  furnace  was  abandoned  after  1812,  at  which  time  the  men  employed 
at  it  were  all  drafted  into  the  army  and  the  few  Mahoning  Valley  citi- 
zens who  did  not  go  to  war  were  unable  to  buy  the  product.  Its  rough, 
massive  walls  still  stand,  although  they  have  not  been  warmed  for  more 
than  a  hundred  years.  Trees  grow  all  about  it,  as  the  illustration  shows, 
and  this  structure,  once  perhaps  the  greatest  center  of  industry  in  the 
Mahoning  Valley,  is  now  visited  only  by  the  curious  or  by  those  whose 
veneration  for  old-time  things  leads  them  to  explore  the  jungle  by  which 
it  is  surrounded. 

When  James  Heaton  became  discouraged  with  the  furnace  on  Yel- 
low Creek  he  did  not  lose  faith  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  Going  to 
Weathersfield  Township,  he  bought  a  tract  of  land  on  Mosquito  Creek, 
within  the  present  City  of  Niles,  on  which  he  saw  the  possibility  of 
developing  water  power,  the  only  form  of  mechanical  power  then  known. 
The  tract  he  purchased  there  secured  the  water  rights  on  both  sides 
of  the  creek  from  its  confluence  with  the  Mahoning  far  enough  north- 
ward to  permit  the  erection  of  a  dam,  and  in  the  succeeding  years  he 
constructed  there  a  mill  dam  which  has  been  repeatedly  enlarged  and 
rebuilt  and  is  still  in  use.  At  this  dam  was  soon  built  also  a  sawmill, 
and  later,  in  1809,  a  blooming  forge  in  which  was  manufactured  the 
first  bar  iron  made  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  From  these  two  industries, 
established  by  adventurous  and  energetic  pioneers,  have  sprung  the 
majestic  mills  and  furnaces  that  now  line  the  Mahoning  for  more  than 
twenty  miles  and  annually  produce  one-sixth  of  all  the  iron  and  steel 
made  in  America. 

The  second  blast  furnace  in  this  locality  was,  like  the  first,  located 
on  Yellow  Creek,  about  half  a  mile  north  of  the  Heaton  stack.  It  was 
begun  by  Robert  Montgomery,  who  came  from  Pennsylvania  in  1805, 
or  early  in  1806.  He  at  once  entered  into  a  contract  with  John  Struthers 
for  sufficient  land  for  a  furnace  site,  which  included,  as  usual,  wooded 
land  for  the  manufacture  of  charcoal  and  a  supply  of  ore  to  be  obtained 
from  deposits  along  the  banks  of  the  creek  at  points  where  it  had  been 
uncovered  by  the  action  of  the  water,  as  well  as  from  the  bed  of  the 
stream.  It  might  be  said  in  passing  that  the  ores  available  at  this  point 
were  even  leaner  than  the  native  ores  used  later  at  other  places  in  Youngs- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        661 

town,  and  that  neither  of  these  ores  averaged  more  than  25  to  28  per  cent, 
of  iron,  or  a  little  more  than  half  the  iron  content  of  Lake  Superior 
ores  now  used.  They  were,  however,  somewhat  easier  to  reduce  and 
liquify,  owing  to  their  lumpy  formation,  and  were  also  comparatively 
free  from  phosphorus,  although  they  carried  so  much  sulphur  that  it 
would  have  been  impossible  to  use  them  successfully  with  any  fuel  other 
than  charcoal. 

Before  the  Montgomery  furnace  was  Completed,  David  Clendennin 
came  from  the  vicinity  of  Baltimore  and  acquired  an  interest  in  the 
enterprise,  so  that  the  new  furnace  was  actually  started  by  Montgomery 
and  Clendennin.  Somewhat  later  James  Mackey  and  David  Alexander, 
who  had  been  employed  about  the  furnace  as  bookkeeper  and  superin- 
tendent, appear  to  have  secured  an  interest,  and  the  firm  then  became 
Montgomery,  Clendennin  &  Company.  The  second  furnace  was  a  great 
improvement  over  the  first.  It  was  blown  by  means  of  a  water  wheel 
and  walking  beam,  through  which  was  operated  a  crude  form  of  air 
compressor.  The  cold  blast  thus  produced,  while  it  was  very  low  in 
volume  and  pressure  compared  with  that  used  in  the  modern  furnace, 
was  at  least  not  laden  with  moisture,  as  was  the  air  blown  into  the  first 
Heaton  stack.  According  to  the  recollection  of  David  Loveland,  who 
was  born  in  1801  and  reared  on  the  Loveland  farm,  now  known  as  Love- 
land  Hill,  about  one  mile  from  the  Montgomery  furnace,  it  was  operated 
only  about  two  years  until  financial  difficulties  arose  which  were  instru- 
mental in  ending  its  usefulness  forever.  Mr.  Loveland,  in  a  statement 
made  in  1878  and  recorded  by  Robert  M.  Haseltine,  relates  that  Mont- 
gomery had  made  only  a  small  payment  on  the  land  he  purchased  from 
Struthers,  and  that  when  the  remainder  of  the  price  was  due  the  capi- 
tal of  the  company  had  all  been  used  up  and  it  was  unable  to  meet  the 
obligation.  Struthers  brought  action  to  compel  payment,  and  all  the 
teams,  wagons  and  implements  used  about  the  furnace  were  attached, 
making  its  operation  impossible.  Montgomery,  Clendennin  &  Company 
were  able  to  borrow  the  remainder  of  the  purchase  price  from  an  east- 
ern relative  of  the  Averills,  then  living  at  Poland,  and  immediately 
tendered  the  money  to  Struthers,  demanding  a  deed.  It  was  then  dis- 
covered that  Struthers  himself  had  never  received  a  deed  for  the  land 
and,  of  course,  could  not  comply  with  this  demand.  The  final  result 
was  an  action  for  damages  brought  by  the  furnace  company  and  a  ver-* 
diet  in  its  favor  for  $12,000.  This  verdict  was  compromised  later,  but 
in  the  meantime  the  War  of  1812  had  begun,  the  men  employed  about 
both  of  the  Yellow  Creek  furnaces  were  either  drafted  or  enlisted,  and 
neither  of  the  stacks  could  be  kept  in  operation. 

In  the  interval  Daniel  Heaton,  who  had  remodeled  the  original  Hea- 
ton furnace,  sold  it,  in  1808,  to  the  new  company,  which  operated  it  for 
some  time,  returning  it  to  Heaton  before  the  complications  of  war  had 
forced  suspension  of  furnace  operations.  There  is  a  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  reasons  for  the  failure  of  this  first  effort  to  consolidate  Mahoning 
Valley  industries.  The  Heatons  have  left  a  statement  attributing  it 
to  the  failure  of  Montgomery,  Clendennin  &  Company  to  make  pay- 
ment as  stipulated.     David  Loveland's  recollection  of  the  matter,  how- 


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662         YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ever,  is  that  the  Heaton   furnace  did  not  come  up  to  expectations  or 
representations  and  was  returned  to  the  original  owner  on  that  account. 

The  Napoleonic  wars  involved  England  for  many  years,  demanding 
all  of  her  iron  and  a  great  deal  of  her  other  manufactures,  so  that,  for 
a  period  of  about  twenty  years  before  the  War  of  1812  the  severe  com- 
petition which  American  industries  had  originally  suffered  from  across 
the  sea  was  greatly  reduced  and  many  of  these,  especially  the  manu- 
facture of  iron,  enjoyed  domestic  markets,  such  as  they  then  were,  with- 
out interference.  With  the  fall  of  Napoleon  in  181 5,  former  conditions 
were  soon  restored  and  the  infant  industries  of  America  languished  to 
such  an  extent  that  in  1824  Congress  was  forced  to  adopt  a  protective 
tariff  policy.  In  the  interim,  however,  the  pioneer  blast  furnaces  of 
the  Mahoning  Valley  could  not  be  profitably  operated  and  were  allowed  to 
lie  idle.    They  were  never  again  fired  up. 

The  closing  of  the  two  Yellow  Creek  furnaces  was  responsible  for 
the  erection  of  the  third  Mahoning  Valley  furnace,  which  was  built  by 
James  Heaton,  probably  with  the  cooperation  of  his  brother  Daniel,  at 
Niles,  in  1813.  James  Heaton  had  depended  on  the  Yellow  Creek  stacks 
for  iron  to  keep  his  bloomery  going,  and  he  was  not  the  sort  of  man 
to  allow  a  successful  enterprise  to  perish  if  it  could  be  saved.  He  bor- 
rowed, from  his  brother,  John  Heaton,  by  means  of  a  mortgage  on  all 
of  his  property  at  Niles,  the  sum  of  $1,448.00.  With  this  he  erected 
a  furnace  at  the  present  site  of  the  old  high  school  building  at  Niles. 
This  stack  was  of  about  the  same  size  as  those  previously  described  and 
constructed  in  about  the  same  manner.  It  was  operated"  on  ore  gathered 
in  the  creek  beds  around  Niles  and  hauled  to  the  furnace  in  wagons. 
This  had,  like  other  native  ores,  to  be  roasted  or  calcined  before  it  was 
fed  into  the  furnace  with  charcoal  as  fuel.  This  stack  had  a  capacity 
of  two  or  three  tons  of  iron  per  day,  and  the  product  was  run  out  into 
sand  beds  and  formed  into  pigs,  instead  of  being  dipped  from  the  hearth 
and  cast,  as  was  done  at  the  previous  furnaces.  Records  show  that  it 
was  usual,  ta  secure  about  30  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  calcined  ores  in 
iron,  and  the  operation  of  the  furnace  required  about  a  dozen  men,  all 
but  two  of  whom  were  engaged  in  providing  the  ore  and  charcoal. 

With  the  iron  made  from  this  furnace  James  Heaton  continued  the 
operation  of  his  bloomery  until  better  times  came  under  the  tariff  of  1823, 
*and  later,  with  his  son,  Isaac  Heaton,  provided  for  the  additional  sup- 
ply of  iron  needed  by  the  erection  of  a  furnace  on  Mill  Creek,  where 
water  power  and  ore  could  be  found  together. 

James  Heaton  called  his  Niles  furnace  "Maria,"  after  his  only  daugh- 
ter, who  applied  the  torch  that  lighted  it  for  its  first  run.  From  its  prod- 
uct he  made,  in  addition  to  blooms,  castings,  such  as  stoves,  kettles,  etc. ; 
but  the  greater  portion  of  the  iron  was  hammered  into  bars  with  a  drop 
hammer  operated  by  water  power.  These  bars  and  such  castings  as 
could  not  be  sold  or  traded  in  the  neighborhood,  were  shipped  down  the 
Mahoning  in  flat  -boats,  and  then  towed  up  the  Ohio  to  Pittsburg,  where 
they  Could  be  sold,  as  that  city  was  then  beginning  to  be  a  source  of  sup- 
ply for  the  eastern  markets. 

It  was  conditions  such  as  this  that  led  the  early  manufacturers  as 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       663 

well  as  the  merchants  and  farmers  to  take  steps  to  have  the  Mahoning 
River  declared  a  navigable  stream.  They  felt  it  necessary  to  reach  the 
outside  world  with  their  products,  for  there  was  no  other  way  to  obtain 
cash  for  the  payment  of  taxes  and  such  other  transactions  as  could  not 
be  carried  on  by  barter  and  trade.  They  could  pay  their  employes  in 
goods,  as  they  did,  and  give  them  a  dollar  at  the  Fourth  of  July  and 
another  at  Christmas,  without  provoking  a  strike;  for  industrial  condi- 
tions were  as  different  from  those  of  the  present  as  were  other  things. 
But  they  had  to  have  some  money  and  there  was  no  roadway  other  than 
the  river  to  where  money  could  be  obtained.  The  Mahoning  was  made 
a  navigable  stream  in  1806  from  its  mouth  to  some  distance  above  War- 
ren, although  anyone  could  secure  permission  to  dam  it  on  condition  that 
a  by-pass  or  chute  through  which  a  21 -ton  boat  could  pass  was  constructed 
at  the  same  time. 

James  Heaton  continued  to  operate  his  bloomery,  furnaces  and  other 
enterprises  at  Niles  until  1830,  when  he  sold  out  to  Heaton  &  Robbins, 
a  firm  of  which  his  son,  Warren  Heaton,  was  a  member.  Four  years 
later  Robbins  retired  and  Warren  Heaton  continued  the  business  until  his 
death  in  1842.  The  Maria  furnace  was  then  leased  to  different  parties, 
none  of  whom  succeeded  in  making  its  operation  profitable  owing  to 
the  changing  conditions  and  the  growing  scarcity  of  ore  and  charcoal. 
Finally,  during  the  time  it  was  being  operated  by  Robeson  &  Battles,  the 
discovery  of  black-band  ore  in  the  coal  mines  at  Mineral  Ridge  was 
made,  and  immediately  the  continued  operation  of  furnaces  in  the  Ma- 
honing Valley  became  not  only  feasible,  but  also  profitable.  Neverthe- 
less, the  old  Maria  furnace  became  obsolete  with  the  rapid  march  of 
events  and  was  torn  down.  Nothing  now  remains  to  remind  the  people 
of  Niles  of  the  industry  on  which  their  flourishing  city  was  founded, 
except  the^original  dam  and  mill  race  on  Mosquito  Creek,  and  the  old 
flouring  mill,  which  is  still  in  successful  operation,  although  the  present 
building  is  only  about  eighty  years  old. 

The  fourth  and  last  charcoal  furnace  to  be  erected  in  the  Mahoning 
Valley  was  built  by  Isaac  Heaton  on  Mill  Creek,  as  previously  men- 
tioned. Its  site  is  now  occupied  by  a  handsome  pavilion  in  Mill  Creek 
Park.  Isaac  Heaton  had  built  a  woolen  factory  on  Mill  Creek  in  1822 
and  operated  it  until  1830,  but  found  it  unprofitable.  He  then  under- 
took the  construction  of  a  furnace  and  got  it  into  blast  in  1832,  operat- 
ing it  for  ten  years  with  more  or  less  success  and  then  selling  it  to  Kirk 
&  Rockwell,  who  continued  to  run  it  for  some  years.  Its  fate  was  sealed 
even  sooner  than  that  of  other  contemporaneous  stacks  by  the  fact  that 
it  was  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  river  and  could  obtain  neither  canal  nor 
railroad  facilities  after  these  reached  the  locality.  Isaac  Heaton,  after 
selling  his  Mill  Creek  furnace,  purchased  a  furnace  in  Venango  County, 
Pennsylvania,  and  later  sold  that  and  went  to  Kinmundy,  Illinois,  at 
which  place  he  bought  a  quarter  section  of  land  and  lived  on  it  as  a 
farmer  until  his  death  on  March  12,  1872.  His  wife,  who  was  Eliza- 
beth R.  Robbins,  a  daughter  of  Alexander  Robbins,  builder  of  the  firsf 
flat  boat  launched  on  the  Mahoning,  was  living  in  1884  and  furnished  the 
above  facts  concerning  her  husband  and  the  Mill  Creek  furnace. 


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664       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

With  the  building  of  the  Mill  Creek  stack — 1831  to  1832 — it  seemed 
as  if  the  iron  industry  had  reached  its  zenith  in  this  locality.  So  far  as 
could  be  seen  there  was  no  logical  reason  for  the  erection  of  additional 
furnaces.  The  two  first  erected  had  been  idle  for  twenty  years  and  were 
already  overgrown  by  briers  and  trees.  There  was  no  more  ore  in  sight, 
and  this,  as  well  as  wood  for  making  charcoal,  was  beginning  to  be  found 
only  at  greater  distances.  The  growth  of  population  and  its  increasing 
needs  were  not  alone  sufficient  to  make  a  market  for  more  iron  and 


Pioneer  Pavilion.    Mill  Creek  Park 

Built  on  site  of  the  first  blast  furnace  erected  within  the  present  city  limits 

of  Youngstown 

there  was  no  means  of  transporting  it  elsewhere.  Apparently  the  local 
iron  industry  was  doomed.  As  a  matter  of  fact  no  additional  furnaces 
were  built  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  for  fifteen  years.  Two  incidents  then 
occurred  that  completely  changed  the  situation  and  laid  the  foundation 
for  the  enlargement  of  activity  in  this  line  and  for  a  period  of  prosperity 
that  did  not  end  until  it  had  established  the  industry  on  a  basis  which 
guaranteed  its  continued  growth,  even  in  the  face  of  competition  from 
other  localities  more  favored  in  some  ways. 

The  first  of  these  important  occurrences  was  the  discovery  that  a 
seam  of  material  supposed  to  be  slate  existing  under  the  coal  at  Mineral 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       665 

Ridge  was  really  iron  ore,  and  the  second  was  the  use  of  Mahoning 
block  coal  as  a  fuel  for  blast  furnaces. 

These  two  discoveries  were  made  within  a  few  months  of  each  other. 
The  black  band  ore  was  recognized  by  John  Lewis,  a  Welsh  miner,  early 
in  1845.  He  noticed  this  supposed  slate  rock  while  at  work  in  the  mine 
and  being  made  curious  by  its  weight  examined  it  more  closely,  coming 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  iron  ore  similar  to  what  was  known  as 
"black-band"  ore  in  Scotland,  where  he  had  worked  as  a  miner.  Some 
of  the  ore  was  taken  to  the  Maria  furnace,  then  owned  by  James  Ward 
&  Co.,  and  tested,  with  the  result  that  it  was  immediately  recognized  as 
a  valuable  find.  It  produced  a  fine-grained,  soft,  iron,  with  such  fluid- 
ity that  it  was  especially  suitable  for  casting  intricate  patterns,  then  the 
only  method  known  for  producing  such  forms  in  iron.  Later  this  ore, 
which  formed  the  bottom  in  mines  at  Mineral  Ridge  and  was  from 
eight  to  eighteen  inches  thick,  was  all  used,  even  that  in  abandoned 
workings  being  taken  out.  It  was  used  principally  at  Niles  and  Brier 
Hill,  although  some  of  it  was  mixed  with  Lake  Superior  ores  at  all  of 
the  furnaces  in  the  Valley.  At  Brier  Hill  and  the  Warner  furnaces  at 
Mineral  Ridge,  it  was  so  skillfully  mixed  with  other  ores  as  to  produce  an 
exceptionally  fine  grade  of  iron,  which  became  widely  known  as  "Amer- 
ican Scotch  Pig"  and  "Warner's  Scotch  Pig."  With  the  use  of  raw  coal 
as  a  blast  furnace  fuel,  the  charcoal  era  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  may  be 
said  to  have  closed  in  1846,  and  with  the  mining  of  black-band  ore,  a 
short  time  later,  the  use  of  native  ores  known  as  "kidney"  ores  was  at 
an  end. 

One  additional  furnace  was  erected  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  after 
that  at  Mill  Creek,  and  this  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  last  built  in 
the  charcoal  era,  although  it  was  intended  to  use  both  coal  and  charcoal. 
This  was  the  Eagle  furnace,  built  by  William  Philpot,  David  Morris, 
Jonathan  Warner  and  Harvey  Sawyer  in  1846.  It  was  located  at  the 
present  site  of  Heller  Brothers'  lumber  yards  in  the  western  end  of 
Youngstown.  This  stack  was  built  at  the  foot  of  a  bluff  and  on  the 
bank  of  the  canal.  It  was  a  famous  furnace,  achieving  a  reputation  by 
producing  twenty-eight  tons  of  iron  in  one  day,  a  record  never  before 
equalled  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  This  proud  distinction  continued  for 
nine  years,  when  the  Eagle's  plumes  were  drooped  to  the  Phoenix,  erected 
by  Crawford  &  Howard  in  1854  on  the  present  site  of  the  Republic  Iron 
&  Steel  Company's  Bessemer  plant.  The  Phoenix  had  a  capacity  of 
forty  tons  per  day,  and  this  was  soon  afterward  exceeded  by  the  Falcon, 
a  stack  erected  not  far  away  by  Charles  Howard,  who  had  in  the  mean- 
time disagreed  with  his  partner  in  the  Phoenix. 

The  Phoenix  was  not  only  the  first  furnace  to  make  forty  tons  of 
iron  a  day,  but  it  was  the  first  to  be  built  in  the  open,  away  from  a  bluff, 
its  owners  being  courageous  enough  to  defy  the  custom  of  using  a  hill  as 
a  skip  hoist  in  order  to  locate  it  near  the  canal,  from  which  they  doubt- 
less expected  to  obtain  transportation  of  at  least  a  part  of  their  ore  and 
fuel,  as  well  as  by  which  they  could  ship  the  product.  This  furnace  had 
a  skip  hoist,  of  course,  and  it  was  curious  enough  to  justify  a  short 
description.    Two  platforms  arranged  at  one  side  of  the  stack  were  con- 


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666       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

nected  by  a  rope  in  such  a  way  that  when  one  was  at  the  top,  the  other 
would  be  on  the  ground.  Each  platform  had  for  its  bottom  a  tank,  and 
a  large  pipe  carried  water  to  the  tanks  when  they  were  raised  to  a  level 
with  the  platform  at  the  top  of  the  furnace.  When  the  barrows  con- 
taining the  burden  were  wheeled  on  the  lower  platform,  the  pipe  was 
connected  to  the  tank  of  the  platform  then  at  the  top  and  this  tank  filled 
with  water.  The  weight  of  this  water  caused  the  tank  to  descend,  raising 
the  loaded  platform,  and  while  its  load  was  being  transferred  to  the 
furnace,  another  load  was  placed  on  the  empty  platform  and  the  water 
again  permitted  to  fill  the  upper  tank  and  escape  from  that  on  the 
ground,  when  the  lifting  operation  was  repeated.  Perhaps  in  the  light 
of  present  practice  this  was  a  slow  performance,  but  it  at  least  replaced 
men  and  mules  for  the  work  of  filling  the  furnace. 

The  Eagle  furnace  had  introduced  an  innovation  in  the  form  of 
stoves  for  heating  the  blast.  Hitherto  the  air  had  been  blown  into  the 
furnace  cold,  or  in  some  instances  slightly  warmed  by  passing  it  through 
cast  iron  pipes  located  in  the  tunnel-head ;  but  at  the  Eagle,  which  was  a 
wonderful  furnace  in  its  day,  the  blast  was  heated  in  cast  iron  stoves 
placed  on  the  ground  and  fired,  partly  with  coal  and  partly  with  gas 
caught  in  pockets  placed  in  the  walls  near  the  top  and  forced  down 
through  pipes  by  the  pressure  resulting  from  the  resistance  which  the 
burden  offered  to  their  escape  from  the  open  top.  The  air  compressor 
was  also  driven  by  a  steam  engine.  The  fact  that  this*  engine  had  been 
discarded  as  worn  out  by  a  Mississippi  River  steamboat  and  had  so  little 
power  that  when  it  broke  down,  as  it  often  did,  the  walking  beam  could 
be  kept  going  by  the  men  about  the  furnace,  did  not  prevent  it  from 
being  a  great  improvement  over  water  power.  This  furnace  was  the 
immediate  forerunner  of  the  majestic  stacks  of  today.  It  averaged 
about  seventy  tons  of  iron  per  week  and  was  regarded  as  about  the  last 
word  in  blast  furnace  engineering.  Later  the  use  of  charcoal  was 
abandoned  at  the  Eagle,  and  only  Brier  Hill  coal  used  for  fuel.  It  was 
at  this  furnace  that  the  first  effort  was  made  to  operate  continuously 
day  and  night. 

The  Raw  Coal  Fuel  Era 

The  discovery  that  Mahoning  Valley  coal  could  be  used  without 
coking  for  blast  furnace  fuel  was  made  in  July,  1845,  by  David  Himrod, 
later  a  prominent  Youngstown  ironmaster,  while  he  was  operating  a 
small  stack  called  the  Clay  furnace,  owned  by  Himrod  &  Vincent  and 
located  in  Mercer  County,  Pennsylvania.  It  was,  like  so  many  other 
important  discoveries,  largely  the  result  of  accident.  As  charcoal  was 
growing  scarce  and  a  supply  was  not  always  available,  Mr.  Himrod 
had  arranged  for  coking  coal  found  near  his  furnace,  which  is  much  the 
same  as  that  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  although  not  quite  so  rich  in  car- 
bon, and  using  this  coke  in  combination  with  charcoal.  The  coking  was 
done  in  what  were  known  as  "coke  ricks,"  the  coal  being  piled  with  wood 
and  covered  with  earth  during  the  process.  It  was  an  operation  requir- 
ing skill  and  when  some  trouble  occurred  with  the  men  who  were  carry- 
ing it  on  at  a  time  when  the  supply  of  charcoal  was  short,  Himrod  made 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       667 

the  experiment  of  using  raw  coal  in  order  to  prevent  the  stack  from 
"freezing  up."  To  his  surprise,  the  furnace  continued  to  work  fairly 
well,  although  producing  iron  of  a  rather  poor  quality.  It  seems  prob- 
able, however,  that  the  honor  of  bringing  about  the  use  of  Mahoning 
block  coal  as  a  blast  furnace  fuel  is  really  due  to  Hon.  David  Tod,  then 
engaged  in  mining  and  shipping  coal  from  his  mines  at  Brier  Hill,  for 
soon  afterward  Wilkes,  Wilkinson  &  Company,  a  concern  in  which  Tod 
was  interested  as  a  partner,  successfully  started  at  Lowellville  a  furnace, 
which  had  been  designed  to  use  this  coal  exclusively.  This  Lowellville 
stack,  the  original  of  the  present  Mary  Furnace  of  the  Sharon  Steel 
Hoop  Company,  was  under  construction  when  Himrod's  experiment 
was  made,  was  blown  in  on  block  coal  in  1846  and  used  this  fuel  suc- 
cessfully and  exclusively  for  many  years.  It  was  designed  by  William 
McNair  and  started  under  the  supervision  of  John  Crowther,  who  had 
been  in  charge  of  a  furnace  at  Brady's  Bend,  in  Pennsylvania. 

The  Himrod  Furnace  Company  was  at  one  time  among  the  most 
important  producers  of  pig  iron  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  It  was  in- 
corporated under  the  laws  of  New  York  in  1859  by  Vincent  C.  Himrod, 
A.  B.  Cornell  and  others,  Himrod  being  the  largest  local  owner.  This 
company  erected  three  furnaces  in  Crab  Creek,  Youngstown,  just  north 
of  Federal  Street,  the  first  being  completed  in  1859,  the  second  in  i860, 
and  the  third  in  1868.  The  company  got  into  financial  difficulties  in 
the  panic  of  1873  and  went  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  Robert  Walker, 
of  Poland,  then  connected  with  a  number  of  important  enterprises,  acting 
in  this  capacity.  He  leased  the  furnaces  to  the  Brier  Hill  Iron  & 
Coal  Company  in  1887,  which  operated  them  about  one  year,  after 
which  they  were  abandoned.  The  two  older  stacks  were  dismantled 
about  1888,  and  the  other  when  the  property  was  purchased  as  a  site 
for  its  new  works  by  the  William  B.  Pollock  Company  after  the  South 
Market  Street  plant  was  burned  in  1900. 

Although  the  native  ore  supply  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  had  always 
been  of  a  rather  precarious  sort,  being  confined  to  pockets  in  the  hills, 
bog  ore  found  along  the  creeks,  and  the  black-band  ore  mentioned  above, 
this  disadvantage  was  no  greater  than  that  suffered  by  most  other  fur- 
naces, for  until  the  discovery  of  the  great  ore  beds  in  the  Lake  Su- 
perior region  there  were  few  large  deposits  of  iron  ore  available  in  this 
country.  It  was  more  than  overcome  from  this  time  forward  by  the 
abundance  of  a  cheap  and  excellent  fuel,  and  the  establishment  of  trans- 
portation facilities  by  the  opening  of  the  canal  and  the  building  of  rail- 
roads, so  that  from  1845  onward  the  iron  industry  grew  rapidly.  In 
thirty  years  following  no  less  than  twenty-one  blast  furnaces  were  erected 
in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  These  furnaces,  with  the  names  of  their 
builders,  the  dates  of  their  erection,  and  the  capacity  claimed  for  them, 
were  as  follows: 

Capacity 
Name  Erected     Builder  and  Location  in  Tons 

Ada  (now  Mary) 1845     Wilkes,  Wilkinson  &  Co.,  Lowellville. .     20 

Eagle    1846     W.  M.  Philpot  &  Co.,  Youngstown 28 

Brier  Hill  No.  1 1847     James  Wood  &  Co.,  Youngstown 25 

Phoenix 1854     Crawford  &  Howard,  Youngstown. . .     40 


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668       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Capacity 

Name  Erected  Builder  and  Location  in  Tons 

Falcon    1856  Chas.  Howard,  Youngstown 50 

Ashland  No.  1 1858  Jonathan  Warner,  Mineral  Ridge 22 

Falcon   1859  Jas-  Ward  &  Co.,  Niles 28 

Himrod  No.  1 1859  Himrod  Furnace  Co.,  Youngstown...  35 

Grace  No.  1 1859  Brier  Hill  Iron  &  Coal  Co.,  Youngs- 
town   40 

Grace  No.  2 i860  Brier  Hill  Iron  Co.,  Youngstown 35 

Himrod  No.  2 i860  Himrod  Furnace  Co.,  Youngstown. . .  35 

Ashland  No.  2 1862  Jonathan  Warner,  Mineral  Ridge 21 

Haselton  No.  1 1867  Andrews  &  Bros.,  Youngstown 40 

Girard .' 1867  Girard  Furnace  Co.,  Girard 50 

Haselton  No.  2 1868  Andrews  &  Bros.,  Youngstown 60 

Hubbard  No.  1 1868  Andrews  &  Hitchcock,  Hubbard 50 

Himrod  No.  3 1868  Himrod  Furnace  Co.,  Youngstown. . .  40 

Anna    1869  Struthers  Iron  Co.,  Struthers 56 

Ward  1870  Wm.  Ward  &  Co.,  Niles 26 

Warren   1870  Richard  &  Sons,  Warren 30 

Hubbard  No.  2 1872  Andrews  &  Hitchcock,  Hubbard 60 

V 

These  twenty-one  furnaces  had  a  total  daily  capacity  of  796  tons, 
according  to  their  rating  by  their  owners.  Few  of  them  were  able,  how- 
ever, to  produce  iron  according  to  this  rating,  so  that,  in  1875,  it  is  prob- 
able the  entire  production  in  the  valley  was  not  much  over  250,000  tons 
per  year.  Great  as  had  been  the  expansion  of  the  blast  furnace  industry 
in  the  thirty  years  between  1845  and  1875,  it  was  still  more  remarkable 
during  the  succeeding  period  ending  IQ20.  This  growth  was  chiefly  in 
the  greater  capacity  of  the  stacks,  however,  as  their  number  increased 
during  this  period  only  from  twenty-one  to  twenty-five.  The  blast  fur- 
naces now  in  operation  in  the  Valley  are  located  and  owned  as  follows : 

Number  Daily 

Location    *    Owners  Owned  Capacity 

Niles — Carnegie  Steel  Co 1  150  tons 

Girard — A.  M.  Byers  Co 1  300  tons 

Youngstown — Carnegie  Steel  Co 6  500  tons 

Youngstown — Brier  Hill  Steel  Co 3  500  tons 

Youngstown — Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Co 6  500  tons 

Youngstown — Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Co 4  500  tons 

Struthers — Struthers  Furnace   Co 1  500  tons 

Lowellville — Sharon  Steel  Hoop  Co 1  400  tons 

Hubbard — Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Co 2  350  tons 

The  rated  capacity  of  these  furnaces  is  very  generally  exceeded  in 
practice,  and  their  total  production  of  iron  may  be  conservatively  stated 
at  4.000,000  tons  per  year,  or  sixteen  times  that  of  the  furnaces  in  opera- 
tion in  1875. 

Of  the  old  type,  only  one  remains,  the  small  furnace  at  Niles,  which 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       669 

is  still  charged  by  hand.  All  are  equipped  with  tops,  and  all  but  one  have 
modern  skip  hoists,  eliminating  the  necessity  for  men  at  their  tops.  Many 
of  these  furnaces,  however,  are  the  old  stacks  first  listed,  rebuilt  perhaps 
many  times,  and  improved  so  as  to  make  them  thoroughly  modern.  The 
Struthers  stack  is  the  only  merchant  furnace  left  in  the  Valley — that  is, 
it  is  the  only  one  that  sells  its.  product  in  the  open  market,  all  the  others 
being  owned  and  operated  by  corporations  having  steel  works  in  which 
the  iron  is  used,  generally  before  it  is  allowed  to  cool. 

There  are  but  two  puddling  furnace  plants  left  in  the  Mahoning  Valley 
— once  the  greatest  production  center  for  this  kind  of  iron  in  the  country, 
with  the  exception  of  Pittsburgh.  These  are  the  Byers  plant  at  Girard, 
which  operates  eighty-eight  puddling  furnaces,  and  the  Youngstown  Sheet 
&  Tube  Company's,  which  has  forty-six.  With  the  coming  of  the  Besse- 
mer converter  thfe  passing  of  the  puddling  or  "boiling"  furnace  was  trag- 
ically swift,  and  with  the  development  of  the  modern  blast  furnace  the 
old  type  of  stack  disappeared  almost  immediately.  The  iron  and  steel 
industries  never  tolerated  antiquated  or  inefficient  methods,  and  no  sooner 
had  something  better  been  discovered  than  old  equipment  was  scrapped. 
This  was  made  necessary  by  keen  and  merciless  competition,  but  it  was 
also  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the  industry,  which  has  always  been 
aflame  with  zeal  for  progress.  The  skies  overhanging  the  Valley  were 
lighted  by  the  glow  of  Bessemer  converters  almost  before  the  glare  from 
topless  furnaces  had  died  down.  The  puddling  furnace  has  been  sup- 
planted by  the  volcanic  open-hearth,  and  in  place  of  the  pioneer  hammer 
and  slow  muck  bar  train  we  have  thundering  blooming  mills,  rolling  down 
a  five-ton  ingot  in  a  few  seconds. 

When  it  was  learned  that  native  coal  could  be  used  as  fuel  in  place 
of  the  charcoal  which  was  becoming  costly  and  scarce,  it  was  thought  in 
Youngstown  that  cheap  and  efficient  fuel  was  assured  for  the  furnaces 
for  all  time,  as  the  coal  deposits  were  considered  inexhaustible.  The 
rapid  development  of  the  furnace  industry,  with  the  accompanying  growth 
of  transportation  and  the  iron-working  business,  soon  demonstrated  that 
this  was  an  error,  and  the  tremendous  demand  for  native  coal  led  to  its 
being  mined  at  such  a  rate  that  the  deposits  were  soon  exhausted.  Even 
before  this  occurred  the  price  of  this  coal  had  become  very  high.  By 
this  time  Connellsville  coke  was  to  be  had,  however,  and  once  again  the 
industrial  future  of  the  district  was  made  secure.  At  first  this  coke  was 
mixed  with  Brier  Hill  coal,  and  later  it  was  used  extensively.  This 
introduction  of  coke  began  about  1867,  and  by  1873  there  were  3,763 
beehive  ovens  in  the  Connellsville  district.  In  1875  very  little  coal  was 
used  in  any  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  stacks.  At  about  the  same  period 
black-band  ore  disappeared  and  was  supplanted  by  the  iron  oxides  of 
Lake  Superior  and  ores  from. other  fields. 

After  exhaustion  of  the  local  ore  supplies  became  an  accomplished 
fact,  a  considerable  quantity  of  iron  ore  was  imported  from  Missouri, 
the  greater  portion  of  this  coming  from  the  celebrated  "Iron  Mountain" 
mines.  Until  about  1875  it  1S  probable  that  about  half  of  the  ores  con- 
sumed in  this  locality  came  from  that  point  and  from  mines  in  the  vicinity 
of  Lake  Champlain,  in  New  York  State. 


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670       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

At  this  time  a  tremendous  quantity  of  coke  is  consumed  in  the  blast 
furnaces  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  and  almost  all  of  it  is  made  in  by- 
product ovens.  The  large  installations  necessary  for  this  operation 
involve  the  expenditure  of  millions,  but  they  are  highly  efficient  and 
economically  as  well  as  financially  very  profitable  investments.  In  the 
process  of  making  coke  for  blast  furnace  fuel,  the  companies  equipped 
with  such  facilities  are  enabled  to  recover  from  the  gases  driven  off  in 
carbonizing  the  coal  enough  valuable  by-products  to  cover  much  of  the 
expense  involved,  and,  after  these  products  are  extracted,  the  gas  is 
burned  in  furnaces  and  under  boilers,  making  a  convenient  and  highly 
efficient  fuel. 

The  Iron-Working  Industry 

Although  closely  related  to  the  making  of  iron,  the  working  of  this 
metal  is  and  was  an  essentially  different  proposition  and  should  be  de- 
scribed separately.  It  may  be  said  to  have  had  its  beginning  in  the  Ma- 
honing Valley  in  1809,  with  the  establishment  of  a  bloomery  at  Niles  by 
James  Heaton,  referred  to  in  previous  pages.  In  spite  of  the  crude  ap- 
pliances at  his  command,  Heaton  produced  excellent  iron,  using  a  process, 
or  rather  a  series  of  processes  of  sufficient  interest  to  merit  a  brief  de- 
scription here.  The  rough  pigs  cast  in  sand  beds  from  metal  as  it  flowed 
from  the  furnace  were  remelted  in  a  charcoal  fire  and  recast  into  plates 
one  inch  thick  and  about  two  feet  square.  These  plates  were  cooled  and 
broken  up,  the  pieces  being  reheated  until  the  metal  assumed  a  pasty 
form,  a  light  blast  being  used  to  assist  in  this.  Then  the  iron  was  worked 
and  gathered  in  balls  on  the  end  of  an  iron  rod,  and  these,  while  still 
hot,  were  hammered  into  blooms.  The  blooms  were  again  heated  and 
again  hammered,  the  product  this  time  being  a  finished  bar.  The  process 
was  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  puddling,  which  was  introduced  into 
this  country  from  England  about  1813.  It  was,  however,  much  slower 
and  much  more  expensive  because  of  the  repeated  operations  as  well  as 
because  the  furnaces  were  inefficient  and  it  was  difficult  to  secure  enough 
heat  to  conduct  the  work  rapidly.  The  product  was  iron  as  good  as  has 
ever  been  produced.  From  bars  formed  in  this  way  the  early  blacksmith 
hammered  many  articles  now  made  much  more  rapidly,  but  also  having 
a  much  shorter  life.  Some  of  the  work  of  these  old  time  blacksmiths 
was  really  remarkable,  but  it  was  no  more  remarkable  than  the  astonish- 
ing endurance  of  the  iron,  and  bolts,  nails,  and  other  articles  they  ham- 
mered into  shape  from  it  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago  are  often 
found  in  practically  the  same  condition  as  when  they  left  the  hands  of 
the  artisan. 

The  second  effort  to  work  iron  in  a  manufacturing  way  was  made  by 
Spencer  &  Company  in  1840.  They  installed  a  small  forge,  worked  by 
means  of  a  steam  engine,  in  a  building  located  on  the  ground  occupied 
at  this  time  by  Smith's  brewery,  in  the  western  section  of  Youngstown, 
where  they  operated  for  a  short  time.  Like  many  other  pioneers  in 
industry,  they  soon  got  into  financial  difficulties  and  their  forge  was 
sold  under  legal  process.    The  purchaser  was  Asahel  Tyrrell,  of  Tyrrell 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       671 

Hill.  He  removed  the  machinery  to  that  place.  When  he  proceeded 
to  take  down  the  stack,  however,  he  met  with  an  injunction  and  in  the 
resulting  litigation  Hon.  John  Crowell  and  Judge  Rufus  P.  Ranney, 
both  later  to  win  national  fame  as  lawyers,  were  the  opposing  counsel. 
The  plaintiff  against  Tyrrell  was  John  Stark  Edwards,  a  lineal 
descendant  of  his  namesake  in  Revolutionary  days.  The  court  decided 
that  the  stack  was  a  part  of  the  plant,  and  Youngstown's  first  iron  work- 
ing industry  passed  away  to  Tyrrell  Hill  and  oblivion.  The  third  rolling 
mill  in  the  valley  was  built  at  Niles  in  1841,  and  will  be  described  later. 

The  fourth  venture  of  this  kind  was  made  by  the  Youngstown  Roll- 
ing Mill  Company,  formed  by  a  group  of  local  capitalists  in  1846.  They 
built  a  small  mill  designed  to  roll  bars  and  bands,  nails,  sheets  and  a 
few  other  products  from  iron  refined  by  a  charcoal  fire  and  light 
blast.  The  plant  was  equipped  with  eight  nail  cutting  machines,  and 
contained  four  puddling  furnaces,  two  heating  furnaces,  one  annealing 
furnace,  one  muck  bar  train,  one  ten-inch  bar  train,  and  one  nail  plate 
mill.  This  was  quite  an  establishment  for  that  early  day  ancl  it  had  a 
rated  capacity  of  about  seven  tons  of  bar  iron  and  nails  daily,  but  this 
output  was  seldom  reached.  One  of  the  reasons  for  this  was  the  diffi- 
culty in  securing  skilled  workmen. 

This  was  the  first  finishing  mill  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  and  prob- 
ably the  first  in  the  Western  Reserve,  to  make  products  other  than  iron 
bars.  Its  projectors  were  Henry  Manning,  William  Rice,  Henry  Heas- 
ley,  Hugh  B.  Wick,  Henry  Wick,  Jr.,  Caleb  B.  Wick,  Paul  Wick,  James 
Dangerfield,  Harvey  Fuller,  Robert  W.  Tayler,  Isaac  Powers  and  James 
McEwen.  The  plant  was  located  north  of  the  canal  on  "The  Flat,"  in 
the  then  southwest  part  of  the  city,  on  land  now  occupied  by  the  Repub- 
lic Iron  &  Steel  Company.  In  spite  of  the  business  ability  and  energy 
of  these  incorporators,  among  whom  may  be  recognized  some  of  the 
ablest  of  original  pioneers,  the  enterprise  was  not  successful  and,  after 
being  operated  for  a  short  time,  it  was  shut  down  and  remained  idle 
until  1855.  The  plant  was  then  sold  for  $25,000  to  Brown,  Bonnell  & 
Company,  under  whose  management  it  became  not  only  the  leading 
industry  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  for  many  years,  but  one  of  the  great 
iron  works  of  the  world. 

Brown,  Bonnell  &  Company  was  a  firm  composed  of  Joseph  H. 
Brown,  William  Bonnell,  Richard  Brown  and  Thomas  Brown,  prac- 
tical iron  workers  who  had  been  employed  in  the  industry  at  New  Cas- 
tle, Pennsylvania,  had  accumulated  a  little  money,  were  possessed  of 
ambition  to  succeed,  and  were  equipped  with  the  experience  their  pre- 
decessors lacked,  while  Dame  Fortune  also  smiled  on  their  enterprise. 
This  firm  started  up  the  "Old  Mill,"  but  it  was  only  a  short  time  until 
additional  capital  was  secured  and  extensive  additions  made.  In  1864 
a  large  additional  mill  was  erected  to  meet  the  tremendous  demand  re- 
sulting from  the  Civil  war.  Soon  afterwards  the  Phoenix  and  Falcon 
furnaces  were  acquired,  together  with  coal  mines  providing  fuel.  In 
1875  the  firm  was  incorporated  under  its  original  firm  name  and-  still 
further  extensions  made  to  the  works.  At  this  time  the  equipment 
consisted  of  three  blast  furnaces,  fifty-four  puddling  furnaces,  eleven 


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672       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

heating  furnaces,  forty  nail  machines,  bar  mills  and  other  machinery. 
Railroad  facilities  had  been  provided  and  the  fuel  supply  was  obtained 
entirely  from  local  coal  mines  and  from  beehive  coke  ovens  at  Dunbar, 
Pennsylvania,  all  owned  by  the  company. 

In  1879  the  plant  of  Brown,  Bonnell  &  Company  was  sold  to  a  group 
of  capitalists  from  outside  of  this  district.  The  new  owners  were  repre- 
sented by  Herbert  C.  Ayers.  They  purchased  the  majority  stock  and 
retained  the  name  of  the  concern,  electing  the  following  officers:  Pres- 
ident, Herbert  C.  Ayers;  vice-president  and  treasurer,  F.  H.  Matthews; 
secretary,  Asa  W.  Jones;  general  superintendent,  John  I.  Williams; 
directors,  Herbert  C.  Ayers,  F.  H.  Matthews,  A.  W.  Jones,  John  I.  Wil- 
liams, Ralph  J.  Wick,  D.  P.  Ellis,  C.  A.  Otis,  Amasa  Stone  and  W.  H. 
Harris.  Some  changes  and  additions  were  made  in  the  mills  and  they 
were  operated  by  the  new  company  until  1899,  when  they  were  sold  to 
the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company. 

In  1863  a  plant  known  as  the  Enterprise  Iron  Works  was  erected 
in  Youngstown.  It  was  located  along  the  Mahoning  River,  on  the  site 
now  occupied  by  the  Lower  Union  Mills  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Com- 
pany. The  projectors  were  Shedd,  Clark  &  Company,  and  the  mills 
were  designed  chiefly  for  the  production  of  hoop  and  band  iron,  which, 
it  may  be  said  in  passing,  is  an  important  product  of  the  Union  mills 
today.  The  company  had  no  blast  furnaces  and  secured  its  iron  from 
the  merchant  furnaces  of  the  valley,  refining  it  in  forty  puddling  fur- 
naces, heated,  as  was  always  the  case  at  that  period,  with  coal  or  coke. 
In  1864  this  concern,  which  had  some  of  the  usual  difficulties  attending 
the  establishment  of  new  mills,  was  reorganized  and  became  Cartwright, 
McCurdy  &  Company,  a  firm  which,  like  Brown,  Bonnell  &  Company, 
was  destined  to  become  famous  among  ironmasters  and  to  add  to  the 
reputation  and  prosperity  of  Youngstown  in  no  small  degree.  The 
original  builders  of  this  mill  were  Samuel  K.  Shedd,  William  Clark, 
Edward  Clark,  James  Cartwright  and  Richard  Lundy.  The  firm  of 
Cartwright,  McCurdy  &  Company  was  composed  of  James  Cartwright, 
William  H.  McCurdy,  Charles  Cartwright,  Samuel  J.  Atkins,  William 
B.  Haseltine  and  William  E.  Parmelee,  all  names  honored  and  familiar 
to  Youngstowners  whose  memories  extend  backward  a  generation.  The 
new  owners  enlarged  this  plant  until  it  was  one  of  the  most  important 
in  the  country.  They  purchased  the  Eagle  furnace  and  installed  much 
rolling  mill  machinery.  When  the  plant  was  merged,  in  1892,  in  the 
Union  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  it  contained,  among  other  equipment,  two 
]  8-inch  muck  bar  trains,  one  16-inch  3-high  bar  mill,  and  one  8-inch 
band  mill.  This  mill  was  originally  known  as  "The  Little  Mill,"  and 
the  Brown,  Bonnell  plant  as  "The  Big  Mill,"  but  while  in  the  hands  of 
Cartwright,  McCurdy  &  Company,  it  outgrew  its  local  name  com- 
pletely, having  more  than  600  men  on  its  payroll  and  making  many 
different  products  in  large  tonnages.  In  1892  this  plant  was  con- 
solidated with  another,  built  in  1870  somewhat  farther  west  by  the 
Youngstown  Iron  Company,  and  the  two  were  operated  by  a  combina- 
tion known  as  the  Union  Iron  &  Steel  Company.  It  was  from  this 
that  the  names  now  used  to  distinguish  these  mills  from  one  another 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       673 

arose,  one  being  called  the  Lower  Union  Mill  and  the  other  the  Upper 
Union  Mill.  In  1899  the  Union  Iron  &  Steel  Company  sold  its  prop- 
erty to  the  National  Steel  Company,  which  operated  these  mills  under 
the  name  of  the  American  Steel  Hoop  Company  and  later  sold  them  to 
the  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  the  present  owner;  and  this  has  itself 
become  a  subsidiary  corporation,  being  owned  by  the  United  .States 
Steel  Corporation. 

The. Union  Iron  &  Steel  Company  was  organized  on  August  3,  1892; 
its  property  was  taken  over  by  the  National  Steel  Company  on  February 
27,  1899,  and  that  company  sold  out  to  the  American  Steel  Hoop  Com- 
pany on  April  15,  1899.  The  last  named  company  was  acquired  by  the 
Carnegie  Steel  Company,  with  the  National  Steel  Company,  in  1903. 

In  1871  the  Mahoning  Valley  Iron  Company,  afterward  Arms,  Wick 
&  Company  and  the  Wick  &  Ridgeway  Iron  Company,  built  a  rail  mill 
plant  on  Crab  Creek,  in  the  northwestern  section  of  Youngstown,  al- 
though at  that  time  it  was  not  within  the  city  limits.  This  firm  was  a 
joint  stock  company  officered  by  Caleb  B.  Wick,  president ;  George  Tod, 
vice-president ;  Ralph  J.  Wick,  secretary,  and  Myron  C.  Wick,  treasurer. 
This  mill  was  one  of  the  largest  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  and  was  excel- 
lently equipped,  having  a  capacity  of  1,000  tons  of  iron  rails  and  sim- 
ilar products  per  week.  It  was  finished  and  put  into  operation  just  in 
time  to  encounter  the  terrific  depression  of  1873,  which  caused  an  almost 
absolute  cessation  of  railroad  building  and  destroyed  the  market  for  its 
principal  product.  All  other  lines  of  iron  production  were  severely 
affected.  The  mill  was,  however,  operated  until  1875,  when  it  was 
closed  down  and  remained  idle  until  1879.  The  property  was  then  taken 
over  by  the  Brown-Bonnell  interests,  who  had  failed  in  a  bitter  legal 
fight  to  recover  control  of  the  plant  sold  to  Herbert  Ayers  and  his  friends, 
as  stated  in  a  previous  paragraph.  The  new  owners  abandoned  the 
production  of  iron  rails,  which  were  becoming  obsolete,  and  success- 
fully operated  the  plant  on  other  lines  until  it  was  sold  to  the  Republic 
Iron  &  Steel  Company,  along  with  other  properties  in  this  district. 

In  1878  Andrews  Bros.  &  Company,  who  had  erected  two  blast 
furnaces  at  Haselton,  in  Youngstown,  purchased  and  dismantled  a  roll- 
ing mill  which  had  been  operated  at  Niles  for  some  years  before  that 
date  by  Harris,  Blackford  &  Company,  and  removed  it  to  their  Youngs- 
town plant.  The  Andrews  firm  was  composed  of  Chauncey  H.,  Law- 
rence G.  and  Wallace  C.  Andrews,  Lucius  E.  Cochran  and  James  Niel- 
son,  the  last  two  having  been  interested  in  the  Niles  plant,  which  had 
not  proven  successful  in  its  original  location.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  what  is  now  the  Haselton  plant  of  the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Com- 
pany. In  1882  it  employed  about  500  men  and  was  being  rapidly  ex- 
panded, so  that  at  the  time  of  its  sale  to  the  last  named  corporation  it 
was  an  important  property. 

In  1885  Chauncey  H.  Andrews,  of  the  firm  of  Andrews  Bros.  & 
Company,  donated  a  tract  of  eight  acres  of  land  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Mahoning  River,  in  the  eastern  suburbs  of  Youngstown  at  that  time, 
to  the  American  Tube  &  Iron  Company,  of  Middletown,  Pennsylvania, 
in  consideration  of  the  erection  thereon  of  a  tube  mill  plant.    Doubtless 


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674       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Mr.  Andrews  was  more  or  less  influenced  by  his  desire  to  create  addi- 
tional markets  for  local  iron,  but  he  was  also  a  most  energetic  and  public 
spirited  citizen  and  his  donation  of  this  land,  now  worth  an  immense 
sum  of  money,  must  have  been  dictated  also  by  his  desire  to  benefit  his 
city.  The  company  built  a  tube  mill,  the  first  in  the  Mahoning  Valley, 
on  this  site,  beginning  the  production  of  pipe  on  October  16,  1886. 
Charles  H.  Mattheson  was  general  superintenfient  of  this  plant,  a  posi- 
tion which  was  later  held  by  Walter  H.  Kauffman.  The  American 
Tube  &  Iron  Company  was  absorbed  by  the  National  Tube  Company 
in  1899,  and  after  a  short  time  the  new  company  abandoned  this  mill, 
removing  the  machinery  to  McKeesport.  This  plant  was  one  of  the 
first,  if  not  the  first,  in  Youngstown  to  have  built  about  it  a  fence.  Up 
to  that  time  the  mills  had  been  open  to  the  public,  but  here  the  work- 
men were  required  to  use  employment  checks  to  gain  entrance  and  out- 
siders had  to  secure  a  pass  before  entering  the  plant.  It  was  a  new 
experience  and  we  are  told  by  old  residents  that  it  was  not  a  welcome 
arrangement  and  caused  some  dissatisfaction  among  the  employes. 

The  above  paragraphs  describe  the  important  iron  and  steel  works 
which  had  been  erected  in  the  lower  Mahoning  Valley  up  to  1890,  as 
nearly  as  is  possible  in  their  chronological  order. 

Reference  will  now  be  made  to  some  of  the  other  establishments 
which  had  to  do  with  the  growth  of  industry  in  the  Mahoning  Valley, 
most  of  these  having  been  located  in  and  about  Youngstown,  then  as 
now  the  principal  center  of  industry  in  the  Valley. 

In  1856  Homer  Hamilton  &  Company  established,  at  the  corner  of 
Boardman  and  Canal  Streets,  in  Youngstown,  a  foundry  and  machine 
shop,  which  became  an  important  institution  in  the  early  history  of  this 
city.  This  was  the  foundation  of  the  widely  known  engine  building 
establishment  of  the  William  Tod  Company,  now  owned  by  the  United 
Engineering  &  Foundry  Company.  It  was  purchased  by  William  Tod 
&  Company  in  1878,  and  by  that  corporation  sold  to  the  United  Engineer- 
ing &  Foundry  Company  in  191 5. 

The  Lake  Superior  Nut  &  Washer  Company  started  a  plant  at 
Youngstown  in  1864  and  operated  it  for  several  years.  This  plant  was 
located  among  the  trees  that  then  lined  the  north  bank  of  the  Mahoning 
east  of  Market  Street.  Its  original  owners  were  John  B.  Ayre,  Samuel 
Hale,  Gustavus  D.  Simonds,  George  W.  Simonds  and  Joseph  G.  Butler, 
Jr.  _This  plant  was  later  sold  to  Arms,  Bell  &  Company,  who  operated 
it  for  some  time.  The  machinery  was  later  sold  and  removed  to  another 
city. 

The  Youngstown  Bridge  Works  was  once  an  important  industry  at 
Youngstown.  Its  plant  was  located  east  of  the  Center  Street  bridge,  on 
land  now  owned  by  the  Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company.  This 
plant  was  sold  to  the  trust  about  1900,  and  was  dismantled,  the  equip- 
ment being  combined  with  that  of  some  other  plants  operated  by  the 
American  Bridge  Company. 

In  the  same  locality  the  Falcon  Foundry  and  Machine  Works  was 
operated  until  some  time  after  1872,  and  Arms,  Bell  &  Company  con- 
ducted a  nut  and  bolt  factory  in  Youngstown  at  about  the  same  period. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       675 

In  1870  George  Turner  &  Son  established  the  Youngstown  Spike 
Works  on  Crab  Creek. 

The  manufacture  of  gas  was  begun  in  Youngstown  in  January,  1867. 
The  mains  at  first  extended  only  the  length  of  Federal  Street.  In  1872 
the  mains  were  carried  over  the  river  to  the  south  side  and  served  a  row 
of  houses  along  that  side  of  the  river.  Electric  light  was  first  used  in 
Youngstown  in  1888,  at  which  time  a  private  plant  was  installed  by  the 
G.  M.  McKelvey  store.  It  was  used  to  illuminate  a  tower  on  the  build- 
ing and  was  a  great  curiosity.  Soon  afterward  a  plant  was  put  in  at 
the  Brown-Bonnell  works. 

One  of  the  industries  of  the  olden  time  that  brought  fame  if  not 
prosperity  to  Youngstown  was  the  William  Anson  Wood  Mower  & 
Reaper  Works,  which  sent  mowers  and  reapers  to  all  parts  of  this  coun- 
try and  even  abroad  until  the  late  '8os,  when  its  equipment  and  the 
design  of  its  product  failed  to  keep  up  with  the  times  and  it  was  no 
longer  successful.  The  plant  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1888,  and  was 
not  rebuilt,  the  business  being  transferred  to  Chattanooga,  Tennessee. 

Booth,  Millard  &  Company's  foundry  was  also  an  important  indus- 
try at  one  time.  It  later  became,  with  a  shop  started  by  Brocklen  & 
Jones,  a  part  of  the  United  Engineering  &  Foundry  Company,  and  that 
plant  occupies  the  original  site  of  both  these  old  industries. 

The  Morse  Bridge  Works,  the  Forsythe  Scale  Works,  Andrews  & 
Company's  Stove  WTorks,  Woodworth,  Lane  &  Company's  Glass  Roof- 
ing Works,  the  Youngstown  Carriage  Works,  the  William  Tod  Engine 
Company's  Works,  are  among  establishments  well  remembered  by  older 
citizens,  but,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Youngstown  Carriage 
Works,  utterly  gone  or  conducted  under  new  names.  The  last  named 
concern  has  survived  the  vicissitudes  of  more  than  half  a  century  and 
is  still  in  successful  operation  although,  like  Othello,  it  finds  its  occu- 
pation gone  and  has  turned  to  the  repairing  and  painting  of  automo- 
biles as  a  substitute  for  the  once  profitable  business  of  building  carriages. 

Doubtless  other  establishments  existed  and  were  once  of  interest  in 
Youngstown,  but  this  list  includes  about  all  that  had  enough  prominence 
to  be  remembered  through  the  years. 

Rolling  Mills  in  1880 

According  to  the  census  of  1880,  there  were  in  the  Mahoning  Valley 
at  that  time  the  following  rolling  mills,  producing  principally  bar  iron, 
made  in  many  different  kinds  and  sizes,  with  a  number  of  other  products, 
among  which  were  nails  and  spikes.  A  number  of  these  had  blast  fur- 
naces, the  output  of  which  is  evidently  included  in  these  figures: 

Annual 

Capacity     No.  of     Year 
Name  of  Firm  and  Location  Tons    Employes  Built 

Brown,   Bonnell   &   Co.,  Youngstown 25,000        900        1846 

Cartwright,  McCurdy  &  Co.,  Youngstown 10,000        600         1863 

Wick,   Arms   &  Co.,   Youngstown 850  50        1876 


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676       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Annual 

Capacity    No.  of  Year 

Name  of  Firm  and  Location                               Tons    Employes  Built 

Mahoning  Valley   Iron   Co.,   Youngstown 4,500  363  187 1 

Youngstown  Rolling  Mill  Co.,  Youngstown 8,000  350  1871 

Corns  Iron  Co.,  Liberty  Twp.  (Trumbull  Co.) . .  7,200  200  1873 

Falcon  Nail  &  Iron  Co.,  Warren 1 1,000  180  1867 

Jesse  Hall  &  Son,  Hubbard 4,000  125  1872 

Niles  Iron  Co.,   Niles 12,000  280  1872 

L.   B.   Ward,   Niles    7>5<X)  150  1864 

Ward  Iron  Co.,  Niles   14,000  200  1841 

C.  Westlake  &  Co.,  Warren 9,000          75  1870 

The  census  of  1880  gives  the  number  of  puddling  furnaces  in  opera- 
tion in  the  valley  as  248 ;  the  number  of  spike  machines  as  97 ;  the  num- 
ber of  rolling  mill  employes  as  3,293 ;  the  number  of  blast  furnace  em- 
ployes as  755,  and  the  number  of  coal  miners  as  3,157. 

Early  Industries  at  Warren 

At  Warren,  where  John  Young  seems  to  have  been  the  first  builder, 
as  he  was  at  Youngstown,  industries  of  a  domestic  character  were  estab- 
lished as  rapidly  as  the  growth  of  population  justified  them,  but  little 
or  no  effort  was  at  first  made  to  develop  ironmaking,  and  the  flourish- 
ing steel  industries  now  located  there  are  of  comparatively  recent  origin. 
The  first  blast  furnace  was  not  erected  at  Warren  until  1870,  and  it  was 
also  the  last  enterprise  of  the  specific  character,  at  least  up  to  the  present, 
although  a  modern  stack  is  now  projected  there  in  connection  with  the 
works  of  the  Trumbull  Steel  Company. 

The  first  grist  mill  was  built  at  Warren  by  Henry  Lane,  Jr.,  and 
Charles  Dally.  They  began  the  work  in  June,  1800,  and  with  the  help 
of  their  neighbors,  who  had  been  compelled  to  take  their  grain  to  Lan- 
terman's  Falls  over  very  bad  roads,  the  dam  across  the  river  was  well 
under  way  before  winter  set  in.  It  was  washed  out,  however,  the  fol- 
lowing spring  and  .the  mill  did  not  get  into  operation  until  1802.  Soon 
afterward  another  grist  mill  was  erected  at  Warren  by  George  Love- 
lace and  Ephraim  Quinby,  and  later  still  a  woolen  mill,  with  carding 
machinery  operated  by  water  power,  was  built  there  by  Levi  Hadley, 
Warren  being  therefore  in  advance  of  Youngstown  in  the  starting  of 
the  woolen  industry.  As  the  Warren  folk  had  been  glad"  to  haul  their 
grain  fifteen  miles  over  bad  roads  to  be  ground,  so  the  Youngstown 
people  were  willing,  for  about  two  years  only,  to  haul  their  wool  the 
same  distance  to  have  it  carded  for  spinning  into  yarn. 

Horace  Stevens  was  the  first  maker  of  hats  at  Warren,  and  he  could 
produce  from  the  native  wool  in  his  little  shop,  a  very  respectable 
"beaver/'  as  well  as  woolen  hats  of  other  kinds.  Samuel  Chesney  made 
furniture  and  coffins.  Jacob  Harsh  conducted  a  blacksmith  shop,  and 
Henry  Stiles  a  harness  shop.  Walter  King  was  the  watchmaker,  styling 
himself  also  a  silversmith.    There  were  five  stores  in  Warren  in  1816, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       677 

most  of  them  occupying  a  single  room  in  an  ordinary  dwelling,  as  was 
often  the  custom  among  the  merchants  of  those  days.  In  1816  Benjamin 
Stevens  took  over  the  Hadley  Woolen  Mill,  installed  spinning  and  weav- 
ing machinery  and  turned  out  very  good  satinet  and  fulled  cloth.  This 
enterprise  attained  considerable  growth  and  an  honored  old  age,  being 
abandoned  only  in  the  last  decade  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  after  sur- 
viving numerous  changes  of  ownership,  a  disastrous  fire  and  the  other 
vicissitudes  of  almost  a  century. 

The  next  industrial  enterprise  at  Warren  to  reach  considerable  pro- 
portions and  continue  for  a  long  period  was  a  furniture  factory  started 
there  in  1845,  by  Truesdell  &  Hitchcock.  It  was  located  in  a  small 
frame  building  about  where  the  Erie  depot  now  stands.  After  two 
years  Mr.  Hitchcock,  who  had  been  making  furniture  at  Girard  for  a 
number  of  years,  moved  his  equipment  to  Warren  and  became  a  partner 
with  Truesdell.  The  firm  then  opened  a  store  on  Main  Street.  In 
J 867  both  store  and  factory  were  burned,  within  a  few  weeks  of  each 
other,  and  although  the  loss  to  the  partners  was  heavy,  they  at  once 
rebuilt  the  factory  and  opened  their  store  in  another  building,  later 
erecting  a  new  store,  in  which  they  continued  the  business  for  many 
years  and  attained  considerable  success,  their  plant  being  at  one  time 
among  the  most  important  industries  at  Warren. 

In  1848  Edward  Spear,  for  many  years  one  of  the  prominent  figures 
in  business  life  at  Warren,  began  the  manufacture  of  doors,  sash  and 
blinds  in  what  was  then  regarded  as  the  largest  and  most  completely 
equipped  planing  mill  between  Pittsburgh  and  Cleveland.  This  busi- 
ness continued  until  1862  under  the  direction  of  the  founder,  who  took  * 
one  of  his  sons  into  partnership  in  the  interval.  In  the  year  named  the 
business  was  purchased  by  Warren  Packard  and  conducted  by  him  until 
1872.  It  was  then  destroyed  by  fire  and  later  rebuilt  on  a  larger  scale 
by  McBerty  &  McCormick,  and  conducted  by  them  until  1876,  when  it 
was  sold  by  them  to  W.  B.  Payne.  This  enterprise  is  now  conducted  by 
C.  L.  Wood,  the  product  being  sash  doors  and  similar  materials. 

The  firm  of  H.  C.  Reid  &  Company  conducted  a  machine  shop  and 
foundry  at  Warren  for  many  years,  doing  a  variety  of  work.  This 
plant  was  established  in  1865  and,  like  so  many  of  Warren's  industrial 
establishments  in  those  days  of  poor  fire  protection,  was  burned  out 
twice.  After  the  first  fire,  only  a  year  subsequent  to  beginning  opera- 
tions, the  firm  bought  the  machine  shop  and  foundry  of  Hill  &  Med- 
bury,  in  which  it  continued  business  until  1873.  In  ^at  vear  a  ^re 
started  by  a  discharged  employe  destroyed  the  entire  establishment, 
entailing  a  loss  of  about  $50,000.  After  some  delay,  the  works  were 
again  erected  and  are  still  in  operation,  being  known  as  the  Trumbull 
Manufacturing  Company,  which  has  a  large  and  complete  foundry  and 
machine  shop  and  does  an  extensive  business. 

The  Warren  Machine  Works  was  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
early  enterprises  in  that  city.  It  was  established  in  1850,  the  first  super- 
intendent being  W.  H.  Hall  and  the  owners  a  number  of  Warren  busi- 
ness men.  In  1878  this  plant  was  bought  by  Judge  Kinsman,  who  con- 
ducted it  for  some  time,  and  later  it  was  operated  by  F.  Kinsman.     Still 


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678       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

later  this  property  was  merged  into  the  Trumbull  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, already  referred  to. 

The  first  carriage  factory  at  Warren  was  started  by  Davison  &  Mc- 
Cleary  in  1830.  They  did  business  in  a  small  way  for  several  years  and 
then  separated,  McCleary  later  taking  in  as  a  partner  H.  C.  Belden,  and 
the  two  building  up  a  large  business.  At  one  time  their  concern  employed 
fifty  hands  and  made  most  of  the  light  vehicles  used  in  the  Upper  Ma- 
honing Valley.  This  establishment  was  typical  of  the  old-time  carriage 
shop,  in  which  complete  vehicles  were  made  and  repair  work  done  at 
the  same  time.  In  1869  the  business  changed  hands  and  was  conducted 
for  five  years  by  Belden  &  Goist,  who  later  sold  it,  the  purchaser  being 
William  Drennen,  who  operated  the  plant  for  some  time.  This  estab- 
lishment is  no  longer  in  existence. 

In  1838  a  steam  saw  and  gristmill,  the  first  establishment  of  this  kind 
to  use  steam  power  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  was  started  at  Warren.  It 
was  not  successful,  and  the  property  was  later  acquired  by  Daniel  Derr, 
who  sought  to  add  to  the  revenue  by  the  manufacture  of  whiskey.  This 
was  an  entirely  legitimate  and  thoroughly  respectable  business  at  that 
time,  even  in  Warren,  and  it  was  profitable  until  about  1861,  when  the 
increase  in  revenue  taxes  following  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  war,  to- 
gether with  other  conditions  brought  about  by  the  same  cause,  put  the 
distillery  out  of  business.  The  mill  was  operated  until  1869,  when  it 
was  involved  in  one  of  the  disastrous  fires  occurring  at  Warren  and 
was  never  rebuilt. 

D.  W.  Camp  established  a  factory  for  the  manufacture  of  bagging 
at  Warren  in  1859,  and  later  added  a  flouring  mill.  He  used  material 
obtained  as  residue  in  the  operation  of  a  flax  mill  at  Farmington.  The 
business  was  later  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $200,000,  and  was  for 
many  years  one  of  the  largest  and  most  successful  of  Warren's  indus- 
tries. 

Only  one  blast  furnace  has  been  built  at  Warren  during  its  entire 
history,  and,  in  spite  of  the  great  development  in  the  steel  industry  in 
that  vicinity  during  recent  years,  no  plant  there  is  now  equipped  with 
facilities  for  making  its  own  iron.  The  furnace  referred  to  was  built 
in  1870  by  William  Richard,  who  used  in  its  construction  cut  stone  from 
the  locks  of  the  canal.  It  was  a  thirty-ton  stack,  located  along  the  canal 
bed  and  designed  to  provide  iron  for  the  foundries  and  one  rolling  mill 
then  in  operation  at  Warren.  The  foundries  have  been  referred  to.  The 
rolling  mill  was  known  as  the  Packard  &  Barnum  Iron  Company,  was 
founded  about  1865  and  at  first  consisted  of  a  steam  hammer  and  some 
other  equipment  for  making  forgings.  It  was  very  successful  and  in 
1 87 1  the  proprietors  decided  to  enlarge  it  by  the  installation  of  six  pud- 
dling furnaces  and  an  18-inch  muck  bar  mill.  They  probably  over- 
reached their  capital,  for  in  1873  the  firm  failed  and  the  plant  was  taken 
over  by  William  Richards,  who  also  owned  the  blast  furnace.  Richards 
added  ten  puddling  furnaces  and  two  heating  furnaces,  making  the  plant 
a  quite  respectable  iron  establishment  In  1877  it  was  partially  destroyed 
by  fire,  and  two  years  later  Richards  sold  it  to  Covington  Westlake,  who 
changed  the  name  and  operated  the  plant  under  the  title  of  the  Westlake 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       679 

Rolling  Mills.  He  also  put  in  machinery  for  making  chains,  pins  and 
other  similar  articles  and  increased  the  number  of  men  employed  to  175, 
making  this  the  largest  manufacturing  establishment  in  Warren  for  a 
number  of  years.  It  was  finally  bought  by  Henry  Wick,  of  Youngs- 
town,  who  reorganized  it  under  the  name  of  the  Trumbull  Iron  Company, 
and  conducted  it  for  some  time,  J.  A.  Campbell,  now  president  of  The 
Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company,  being  general  superintendent.  The 
plant  was  acquired  by  the  Union  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  about  1892. 


Ruins  of  Lock  on  Old  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  Canal 

This  company  dismantled  the  rolling  mills  and  other  machinery,  remov- 
ing the  greater  part  of  it  to  Greenville,  Pennsylvania,  and  some  of  it  to 
Youngstown.  The  blast  furnace  was  stripped  and  later  razed,  the  stone 
being  used  for  building  purposes. 

The  Warren  Tube  Company  was  founded  at  that  place  in  1889,  the 
promoters  being  almost  entirely  Akron  business  men.  Among  them  were 
Albert  and  David  Page,  William  Palmer,  Jacob  Koch  and  E.  B.  Mc- 
Crum.  Winslow  Alderdice  was  the  first  manager.  The  manufacture  of 
iron  tubes  at  this  plant  was  not,  for  some  reason,  a  commercial  success, 
and  when  the  National  Tube  Company  was  organized,  the  plant  was 


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680       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

taken  over  by  that  combination.  The  tube  mills  were  dismantled  and 
the  manufacture  of  this  product  was  discontinued.  For  a  time  it  was 
idle,  but  it  was  started  up  again  with  Samuel  Siddle  as  the  owner.  This 
plant  is  still  in  operation  as  a  foundry  and  machine  shop. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  stories  in  connection  with  the  industries 
at  Warren  is  that  of  the  Packard  Electric  Company,  later  known  as  the 
New  York  &  Ohio  Company  and  now  a  unit  of  the  General  Electric 
Company.  With  this  is  also  involved  the  story  of  the  Packard  automo- 
bile, famous  all  over  the  world.  This  company  was  organized  by  W.  D. 
and  J.  W.  Packard,  sons  of  one  of  the  pioneer  iron  masters  of  Warren. 
J.  W.  Packard  was  the  mechanical  genius  of  the  family.  In  1884  he 
graduated  from  Lehigh  University  and  at  once  began  experiments  with 
mechanical  contrivances  of  various  sorts,  centering  his  energies  on  the 
electric  lamp  and  the  automobile.  Going  to  New  York  he  donned  over- 
alls and  secured  a  job  in  the  Sawyer-Han  Electric  Works,  one  of  the  first 
concerns  to  manufacture  incandescent  electric  lamps.  After  learning 
the  practical  side  of  the  business  he  returned  to  Warren  and  with  his 
brother  organized  the  Packard  Electric  Company,  and  bought  a  factory 
that  had  been  erected  in  1880.  As  the  outgrowth  of  that  enterprise 
Warren  has  become  the  second  largest  producer  of  electric  lamps  in  the 
United  States,  the  factories  of  the  General  Electric  Company  there 
employing  many  hundreds  of  people.  From  it  came  also  the  present 
Packard  Electric  Company,  the  largest  maker  of  gas  engine  ignition 
cable  in  the  country. 

In  1896  J.  W.  Packard  purchased  a  tricycle  which  was  operated  by 
a  primitive  gasoline  engine.  He  experimented  with  this  for  several  years 
and  finally  purchased,  in  1898,  the  first  automobile  having  four  wheels 
to  be  made  in  this  country.  After  trying  to  improve  this  machine  for 
some  time  he  decided  that  it  was  faulty  in  design  and  proceeded  to  build 
a  real  automobile.  The  result  was  the  production,  in  1899,  of  the  first 
gasoline  car  of  the  Packard  line,  which  was  built  in  the  small  shop  at 
Warren  and  tried  out  on  the  streets  of  that  city. 

The  new  car  having  demonstrated  its  ability  to  run,  little  difficulty 
was  found  in  organizing  a  company  to  manufacture  it,  and  a  consider- 
able plant  was  erected  in  Warren.  In  a  few  years  it  was  necessary  to 
increase  the  force  of  mechanics  beyond  that  which  could  find  homes  in 
Warren,  and  after  an  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  to  provide  addi- 
tional housing  facilities  on  the  part  of  the  city,  the  factory  was  removed 
to  Detroit.  At  that  time  about  200  men  were  employed.  The  Packard 
factories  have  since  grown  to  most  important  industrial  units,  employing 
about  6,000  men.  The  transfer  of  this  interest  to  Detroit  probably  de- 
cided the  future  of  that  town  as  the  center  of  the  automobile  industry, 
which  might  otherwise  have  remained  at  Warren,  a  place  in  every  way 
admirably  located  for  that  distinction. 

The  Stiles  Timber  Company  was  a  concern  which  for  a  time  achieved 
prominence  and  importance  at  Warren.  It  did  a  very  large  business  for 
about  eight  years  in  the  late  '90s,  cutting  and  marketing  much  of  the 
splendid  oak  timber  that  covered  a  large  part  of  northern  Mahoning  and 
all  of  Trumbull  County.    This  concern  furnished  a  considerable  part  of 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       681 

the  oak  timbers  used  in  the  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal.  It  is 
still  in  business,  but  its  operations  have  dwindled  considerably,  owing 
to  the  exhaustion  of  the  native  timber. 

Warren's  first  electric  light  was  produced  by  a  dynamo  set  up  on  a 
truck  and  located  near  the  bridge  over  the  Mahoning  by  J.  W.  Packard 
in  1891.  A  portable  steam  engine  furnished  the  power  and  the  system 
consisted  of  three  lights  hung  over  the  street  at  central  points.  They 
attracted  much  attention  and  were  the  foundation  of  the  present  War- 
ren Electric  Company. 

Warren's  more  important  industries  at  this  time  are  modern  steel 
works  described  elsewhere,  and  the  remainder  of  its  present  day  indus- 
tries are  referred  to  in  the  chapter  giving  the  history  of  the  municipality. 

Early  Industries  at  Niles 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  establishment  at  Heaton's 
Furnace,  the  original  name  for  the  present  city  of  Niles,  of  a  grist  mill 
and  bloomery  at  which  the  first  bar  iron  in  Ohio  was  manufactured. 
The  dam  and  millrace  connected  with  this  pioneer  industry  are  still  to 
be  seen,  and  a  flouring  mill  is  still  in  operation  on  the  site  of  the 
mill,  although  the  original  establishments  have  otherwise  disappeared, 
together  with  the  Old  Maria  Furnace,  which  was  a  later  addition  to 
them.  They  had  a  long  life,  however,  and  were  for  many  years  the 
only  industries  of  importance  in  that  immediate  locality,  the  blast  fur- 
nace surviving  until  1854  and  being  operated  in  all  about  forty  years. 
James  Heaton  was  succeeded  in  1830  by  Heaton  &  Robbins,  a  firm  com- 
posed of  his  son  and  son-in-law,  and  later  Robbins  left  the  firm  and 
Warren  Heaton  continued  the  business  until  1842,  when  he  died.  The 
old  furnace  was  then  leased  to  McKinley,  Reep*  &  Dempsey,  later  to 
Jacob  Robison  &  Co.,  Robison  &  Bowell,  and  finally  to  Robison  &  Bat- 
tles, its  last  operators.  At  the  expiration  of  their  lease  no  one  could  be 
found  willing  to  undertake  its  operation  and  it  was  torn  down. 

Early  in  1841  a  firm  composed  of  James  Ward,  William  Ward  and 
Thomas  Russell  moved  a  plant  they  had  established  at  Lisbon,  Ohio, 
to  Niles  and  began  the  operation  of  a  rolling  mill,  probably  the  first  one 
west  of  Pittsburg,  and  thus  gave  to  Niles,  in  addition  to  the  honor  of 
being  the  first  place  at  which  bar  iron  was  made  in  Ohio,  also  the  credit 
of  being  the  first  place  at  which  iron  was  rolled  west  of  the  Allegheny 
River. 

This  firm  was  known  as  James  Ward  &  Co.,  and  it  was  destined  to 
play  a  prominent  part  in  the  history  of  Niles  as  well  as  of  the  entire 
Mahoning  Valley.  Its  plant  contained  one  stand  of  muck  bar  rolls 
and  three  puddling  furnaces,  the  latter  being  among  the  earliest  in  this 
country.  The  Wards  had  come  from  England  and  brought  with  them 
this  new  method  of  working  iron.  It  gave  them  a  great  advantage  and, 
in  spite  of  the  difficulty  they  found  in  securing  sufficient  pig  iron,  they 
soon  built  a  prosperous  business  and  shipped  their  product  to  all  parts 
of  the  west  to  be  then  reached  by  way  of  the  canal,  which  had  just  com- 
menced business.     They  made  bar  iron,  horse-shoe  iron,  sheet,  bar  and 


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682       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

a  special  mixture  of  iron  and  steel  scrap  called  "Dandy  Tire"  iron,  the 
forerunner  of  the  present  mixtures  of  this  kind,  which  was  in  great 
demand  for  wagon  tires  because  of  its  good  welding  and  wearing  quali- 
ties. Later  Geo.  C.  Reis  became  a  partner  in  this  firm,  which  gradually 
expanded  its  equipment  until  it  was  among  the  leading  makers  of  iron 
in  the  Mahoning  Valley. 

After  the  abandonment  of  the  Old  Maria  Furnace  in  1854,  James 
Ward  &  Co.  leased  the  Falcon  Furnace  at  Youngstown  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  in  1859  built  a  new  furnace,  called  the  Elizabeth,  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  Mosquito  Creek  from  the  old  stack.  This  was  a  modern 
furnace  for  those  days,  having  a  capacity  of  40  tons  per  day  and  being 
65  feet  in  height,  with  a  diameter  of  14^2  feet  at  the  bosh.  It  remained 
in  operation  at  Niles  until  1881,  when  it  was  dismantled  and  removed 
to  Youngstown  by  the  Mahoning  Valley  Iron  Company,  into  the  hands 
of  which  it  had  fallen  during  the  final  readjustment  following  the  finan- 
cial troubles  of  the  builders  in  1874.  It  is  still  in  operation  and  is  now 
known  as  the  Hannah  Furnace  of  the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company. 

The  business  of  James  Ward  &  Co.  continued  to  grow  and  expand 
in  a  gradual  and  sound  way  until  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war,  when  it 
became,  like  all  other  iron  works,  very  prosperous.  Its  progress  was  in- 
terrupted by  the  tragic  death  of  James  Ward,  the  founder  and  principal 
partner,  who  was  assassinated  while  on  a  visit  to  the  Elizabeth  Furnace 
after  attending  church  on  the  evening  of  July  24,  1864.  Following  this 
occurrence,  the  business  was  conducted  by  William  Ward  until  the  set- 
tlement of  his  brother's  estate,  which  conveyed  the  majority  interest  into 
the  hands  of  James  Ward,  Jr.,  his  only  surviving  son,  who  occupied  a 
commanding  position  in  the  enterprise  from  that  time  forward.  Under 
his  management  in  1866  the  firm  built  a  practically  new  mill  with  much 
increased  capacity  on  the  site  of  the  original  plant.  The  next  year  it 
erected  the  plant  known  as  the  Falcon  Iron  &  Nail  Works,  a  subsidiary 
company  being  organized  for  this  purpose.  In  1867,  James  Ward  sent 
a  man  to  Russia  to  study  the  method  of  making  "Russia"  iron,  a  highly 
finished  and  planished  sheet  much  in  demand  for  the  manufacture  of 
stoves  and  commanding  a  fabulous  price  because  it  had  to  be  imported 
from  abroad.  He  was  probably  led  into  the  belief  that  this  was  feasible 
by  the  success  which  had  attended  the  making  of  a  substitute  for  Scotch 
pig  iron  from  black-band  and  Lake  Superior  ores.  After  the  expert 
returned  and  reported  that  "Russia"  iron  could  be  produced  in  this  coun- 
try, the  Ward  interests  built  the  "Russia"  Mill,  a  plant  that  secured  for 
Niles  some  brief  notoriety,  but  brought  no  great  profit  to  its  builders 
or  to  the  town.  The  mill  was  completed  in  1868.  The  roll  stands  and 
other  parts  of  the  plant  where  the  sheets  were  treated  were  enclosed 
and  carefully  guarded,  and  for  months  every  effort  was  made  to  pro- 
duce a  sheet  as  good  as  the  Russian  product.  The  experiment  was  at 
last  given  up  and  the  mills  devoted  to  the  production  of  ordinary  black 
sheets. 

The  expansion  of  the  Ward  operations  proved  to  have  involved 
over-extension  on  the  part  of  the  corporation,  and  when  the  financial 
depression  of  1873  came  on  it  was  "spread  out"  to  such  an  extent  that 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       683 

it  could  not  weather  the  storm.  A  receivership  was  the  only  solution,  and 
the  affairs  of  the  company  were  turned  over  to  John  M.  Stull  of  Warren 
and  J.  R.  Gust  of  Smithville,  appointed  by  the  court  for  that  purpose. 
They  endeavored  to  keep  the  business  together  and  handle  it  in  such  a 
way  as  to  protect  the  creditors,  but  without  avail.  The  conditions  were 
such  that  the  leading  creditors  were  compelled  to  take  over  such  parts 
of  the  works  as  they  could  hope  to  operate,  and  the  result  was  a  break- 
ing up  of  the  old  and  honorable  concern  established  more  than  thirty 
years  before  and  known  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other  for 
its  conservatism  and  good  credit.  Another  result  was  a  desperate  struggle 
on  the  part  of  numerous  other  concerns,  many  of  which  were  involved. 
Almost  every  merchant  furnace  in  the  Valley  was  affected,  and  some  of 
them  had  difficulty  in  avoiding  failure.  The  first  Ward  failure,  as  it  is 
known,  occurred  in  February,  1874. 

A  company  known  as  Harris,  Blackford  &  Co.,  and  composed  of 
Niles  people,  built  a  plant  at  Niles  in  1865,  the  equipment  consisting  of 
bar,  sheet  and  puddle  mills.  This  concern  failed  in  the  panic  of  1873, 
and  was  purchased  by  C.  H.  Andrews  and  L.  E.  Cochran,  of  Youngs- 
town,  who  operated  it  for  some  time  as  the  Niles  Iron  Company  and 
finally  removed  it  to  Youngstown,  where  it  became  part  of  the  plant  of 
Andrews  Bros.  &  Co.,  later  to  be  absorbed  by  the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel 
Company. 

After  the  failure  of  James  Ward  &  Co.,  in  1874,  the  parties  heavily 
interested  in  that  concern  made  efforts  to  keep  the  various  mills  in  opera- 
tion, a  number  of  companies  being  formed  for  that  purpose.  One  of 
these  was  known  as  L.  B.  Ward  &  Company,  the  principal  interest  in 
this  being  owned  by  Lizzie  B.  Ward,  wife  of  James  Ward,  Jr.  This 
company  took  over  the  "Russia"  Mill,  which  it  operated  for  a  number 
of  years,  James  Ward,  Jr.,  being  manager  of  this  plant  as  well  as  that 
of  the  Ward  Iron  Company,  another  corporation  organized  to  operate 
the  original  Ward  Rolling  Mills. 

Another  enterprise  closely  connected  with  the  Ward  Mills,  although 
built  and  operated  by  a  separate  company,  was  the  Ward  Furnace.  This 
stack  was  built  in  1870  by  William  Ward  &  Company  and  operated  by 
that  firm  until  1875,  when  it  was  caught  in  the  aftermath  of  the  original 
failure  and  passed  into  the  hands  of  trustees  appointed  on  the  petition 
of  creditors.  It  was  then  blown  out  and  remained  idle  until  1879,  at 
which  time  it  was  purchased  by  John  R.  Thomas,  repaired  and  enlarged 
and  operated  successfully  until  it  was  bought  by  the  National  Steel  Com- 
pany. It  is  now  owned  by  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company  and  enjoys  the 
distinction  of  being  the  only  furnace  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  operated 
without  an  automatic  dumping  device  for  charging  the  burden. 

The  Falcon  Iron  &  Nail  Works  were  built  in  1867,  being  one  of  the 
large  extensions  made  by  the  original  Ward  interests  under  the  manage- 
ment of  James  Ward,  Jr.  They  were  equipped  with  twelve  puddling 
furnaces  and  three  roll  trains  and  designed  to  produce  nail  plate  suf- 
ficient to  keep  in  operation  forty-four  nail  cutting  machines.  These 
works  were,  of  course,  involved  in  the  calamity  that  overtook  the  firm 
of  James  Ward  &  Cb.  in  1874,  and  in  the  reorganization  that  followed 


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684       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

they  were  taken  over  by  creditors.  From  1875  the  officers  of  this  com- 
pany were  John  Stambaugh,  president;  Henry  Wick,  vice  president; 
Myron  I.  Arms,  secretary  and  treasurer.  This  organization,  composed  of 
Youngstown  men,  operated  the  plant  successfully  until  it  was  sold  to 
the  American  Steel  Hoop  Company  in  1899.  It  was  soon  afterward  dis- 
mantled and  the  equipment  distributed  to  other  points.  For  many  years 
this  was  one  of  the  most  important  industries  at  Niles. 

After  the  receivership  the  original  Ward  plant  had  been  taken  over 
by  a  new  company  known  as  the  Ward  Iron  Company.  In  the  depres- 
sion of  1884-87,  both  this  company  and  the  concern  known  as  L.  B. 
Ward  &  Co.  failed,  this  disaster  causing  the  failure  of  the  banking  firm 
of  A.  G.  Bentley  &  Co.,  as  well  as  a  number  of  other  concerns  more  or 
less  closely  related  to  the  James  V/ard  enterprises  and  built  on  a  some- 
what similar  system  of  financing.  When  this  occurred  the  old  Ward 
Mill  was  shut  down  and  never  operated  again.  The  Russia  Mill,  operated 
by  L.  B.  Ward  &  Co.,  was  taken  over  by  the  Falcon  Iron  &  Nail  Com- 
pany. In  1891  this  company  built  the  McKinley  Tin  Plate  Mill  at  Niles, 
the  first  enterprise  of  importance  in  this  line  to  be  undertaken  in  the 
United  States.  In  doing  this  a  third  honor  was  conferred  on  Niles,  that 
town  being  selected  as  the  birthplace  of  an  industry  which  has  exempli- 
fied the  possibilities  of  a  protective  tariff  in  building  American  manu- 
factures and  has  become  one  of  the  most  important  lines  of  production 
in  this  country,  now  exporting  its  product  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  Globe  Foundry  &  Machine  Works  is  among  the  oldest  industries 
now  in  operation  at  Niles.  It  is  a  foundry  and  manufacturing  estab- 
lishment started  in  1858  by  Thomas  Carter.  In  1873  it  was  consolidated 
with  the  firm  of  James  Ward  &  Company,  but  in  1874  reverted  to  original 
owners,  by  whose  descendants  it  is  still  operated  successfully. 

The  Niles  Boiler  Works,  established  in  1871  by  Jeremiah  and  George 
Reeves,  is  still  in  successful  operation  and  is  an  important  and  modern 
plant. 

Briefly  stated,  the  above  contains  the  history  of  industries  at  Niles 
of  any  considerable  importance  previous  to  1900.  Those  established 
since  that  period  are  fully  described  in  another  portion  of  this  chapter, 
many  details  being  there  given  which  are  impossible  in  connection  with 
the  industries  of  a  generation  or  more  ago.  It  may  be  noted  here  also, 
that,  with  the  exception  of  Youngstown,  Niles  and  Warren  industries, 
which  seem  to  have  been  at  all  times  closely  connected  with  the  general 
industrial  situation  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  no  attempt  has  been  made 
to  describe  separately  the  early  industries  of  the  various  towns  and  vil- 
lages, these  having  been  adequately  covered  in  the  chapters  devoted  to  the 
local  history  of  these  communities.  There  have  been,  however,  a  few 
enterprises  of  such  curious  and  general  interest  as  to  justify  a  deviation 
from  this  rule. 

One  of  these  was  a  pottery  plant  established  in  1816  at  the  Salt 
Springs,  in  Weathersfield  Township,  by  a  firm  known  as  Orrin,  Dunscom 
&  Bristol.  Little  can  be  ascertained  concerning  this  enterprise,  as  few 
records  have  been  left  by  its  promoters  and  subsequent  owners.  It  was 
in  operation  up  to  about  1850,  however,  and  produced  varidus  kinds  of 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       685 

glazed  and  unglazed  ware.  It  was  probably  abandoned  because  of  the 
discovery  of  better  grades  of  clay  elsewhere,  but  it  seems  to  have  been 
the  progenitor  of  the  extensive  modern  works  producing  materials  of  a 
similar  kind  at  East  Liverpool.  Boyhood  recollection  is  that  the  principal 
product  of  this  concern  was  an  article  forming  at  that  time  a  part  of  the 
necessary  equipment  of  bedrooms. 

Another  was  the  discovery  of  blackband  ore  in  a  coal  mine  at 
Mineral  Ridge,  which  had  so  large  a  part  in  the  destiny  of  the  Mahon- 
ing Valley  from  an  industrial  point  of  view.  The  first  coal  was  mined 
at  Mineral  Ridge  in  1835,  being  taken  from  a  drift  driven  into  a  hill 
on  the  farm  of  Michael  Ohl,  in  Austintown  Township.  This  mine  was 
opened  by  Roger  Hill,  a  coal  miner  from  Pennsylvania,  whose  practiced 
eye  had  detected  the  outcrop.  He  found  the  coal  four  feet  thick,  the 
lower  portion  being  a  peculiarly  heavy  material  resembling  in  some 
ways  anthracite.  Hill  secured  a  sample  of  the  latter,'  thinking  he  had 
found  anthracite  coal.  It  would  not  burn,  so  this  was  left  in  the  mine 
and  the  top  portion  of  the  vein  taken  out  as  a  market  was  found  for  it. 
Until  1855,  by  which  time  a  considerable  portion  of  the  coal  deposits 
at  Mineral  Ridge  and  in  other  portions  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  had 
been  mined,  this  bottom  strata  was  left  untouched.  Then  John  Lewis, 
a  Welsh  miner  who  had  been  employed  at  Monmouthshire,  England, 
but  was  then  working  in  one  of  the  mines  operated  by  James  Ward  & 
Company,  suspected  that  the  "rock"  was  really  iron  ore,  being  struck 
by  its  resemblance  to  Scotch  blackband.  He  told  Mr.  Ward  of  this  and 
was  instructed  to  mine  some  of  the  material  .  for  a  test.  It 
was  taken  to  the  old  Maria  furnace,  calcined  in  the  usual  way,  and 
charged  into  the  burden.  The  result  was  an  excellent  grade  of  iron  and 
a  much  larger  yield  than  had  yet  been  obtained  from  native  ores.  Later 
every  working  containing  this  ore  was  remined,  and  a  considerable  por- 
tion* of  the-  available  deposit  was  smelted  before  its  true  value  was  dis- 
covered, which  was  not  until  1868.  Previous  to  that  time  considerable 
difficulty  was  experienced  with  this  ore,  although  it  was  a  great  im- 
provement over  the  kidney  and  bog  ores  formerly  used,  and  probably 
prevented  the  total  eclipse  of  the  iron  industry  when  those  were  ex- 
nausteri. 

But  in  1878  Carl  A.  Meissner,  now  chairman  of  the  Coke  Committee 
of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation,  then  a  young  chemist  at  Brier 
Hill,  discovered  that  by  mixing  blackband  ore  and  Lake  Superior  ores 
in  the  right  proportions  it  was  possible  to  produce  an  iron  as  good  as 
could  be  imported.  This  valuable  deposit  of  ore  was  exhausted  within 
ten  years  of  this  discovery,  every  accessible  ton  of  it  being  removed 
from  the  mines. 

The  first  coal  was  shipped*  to  Cleveland  from  Mineral  Ridge  in  1857, 
by  Rice,  French  &  Company. 

Mineral  Ridge  Furnaces 

William  Porter  built  a  blast  furnace  at  West  Austintown  in  1857-58 
and  operated  it  for  two  years  on  ores  secured  from  local  deposits.     It 


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686       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

was  known  as  the  Meander  furnace,  being  located  on  the  banks  of 
Meander  Creek.  This  stack  was  sold  to  Jonathan  Warner  and  Capt. 
James  Wood,  of  Pittsburgh,  in  i860,  when  its  builder  became  financially 
involved.  It  was  later  removed  to  Mineral  Ridge  and  rebuilt  and  im- 
proved. A  second  furnace  was  also  built  at  Mineral  Ridge  by  Mr.  War- 
ner, in  company  with  others,  in  1863.  Later  the  company  operating 
this  furnace  became  involved,  and  it  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Warner. 
In  1870  both  these  furnaces  were  purchased  by  James  Ward,  Jr.,  of 
Niles,  whose  wife  was  associated  with  him  in  the  transaction,  but  a 
year  later  they  were,  for  some  reason,  again  taken  over  by  Mr.  Warner. 
When  the  Ward  disaster  came  in  1874,  Jonathan  Warner  was  involved 
and  the  furnaces  were  tied  up  for  a  time.  Before  their  operation  was 
resumed  the  coal  and  ore  deposits  in  their  vicinity  had  become  so  de- 
pleted that  they  were  never  again  lighted.  Both  stacks  have  long  since 
been  torn  down.  It  was  at  one  of  these  old  Mineral  Ridge  stacks  that 
Jonathan  Warner  first  successfully  produced  the  grade  of  iron  known 
as  "American  Scotch,"  making  it  from  blackband  ore  alone,  instead  of 
from  a  mixture,  as  was  done  in  the  production  of  "Brier  Hill  Scotch." 
some  years  later. 

About  1870  an  establishment  known  as  the  Brown  Iron  Works,  at 
which  a  foundry  and  machinery  for  the  building  of  mine  cars  formed 
the  principal  feature,  was  started  at  Mineral  Ridge.  Later  it  passed 
under  the  management  of  a  man  named  Ohl,  and  still  later,  about  1897, 
it  was  taken  over  by  a  new  company,  named  the  Mineral  Ridge  Manu- 
facturing Company,  largely  composed  of  Youngstown  men,  and  the 
manufacture  of  hoists  begun.  This  company  sold  the  plant  in  1904  to 
Young  &  Webb,  who  continued  to  operate  it  under  the  same  name.  It 
has  since  been  reorganized  as  the  Ohio  Steel  Products  Company,  which 
has  greatly  enlarged  the  plant  and  equipped  it  with  new  machinery,  as 
well  as  extending  its  operations  to  other  lines. 

Early  Industries  at  Girard 

The  beginning  of  the  iron  industry  at  Girard  was  the  blast  furnace 
erected  there  in  1866-7  by  the  Girard  Iron  Company.  This  company 
was  composed  of  David  Tod,  William  Ward,  William  Richards,  and 
Joseph  G.  Butler,  Jr.  It  was  a  partnership,  and  the  agreement  on  which 
it  was  based  is  reproduced  herewith  because  it  shows  vividly  the  man- 
ner in  which  business  was  conducted  in  those  days  among  the  men  who 
afterward  had  so  much  to  do  with  the  development  of  the  Mahoning 
Valley.    This  agreement  was  as  follows: 

"David  Tod,  William  Ward,  William  Richards  and  Joseph  G.  But- 
ler, Jr.,  agree  to  associate  themselves  together  for  the  purpose  of  erect- 
ing and  working  a  blast  furnace  at  or  near  the  village  of  Girard,  Trum- 
bull County,  Ohio.     And  for  said  purpose,  agree  as  follows: 

"1st — That  the  name  of  the  firm  shall  be  'Girard  Iron  Company.' 

"2nd — The  capital  stock  shall  be  One  Hundred  Thousand  Dollars, 
of  which  each  of  the  partners  shall  furnish  or  contribute  one-fourth, 
or  Twenty-five  Thousand  Dollars,  and  pay  or  furnish  the  same  as  re- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       687 

quired  from  time  to  time  for  the  business  of  the  firm — and  to  equalize 
the  payments,  an  interest  account,  at  the  rate  of  seven  per  cent.,  shall 
be  opened  between  the  partners. 

"3rd — The  said  William  Richards  shall  be  the  manager  of  said  busi- 
ness, and  as  such  shall  superintend  the  construction  and  working  of  the 
furnace,  and  the  said  Richards  on  his  part  agreeing  hereby  faithfully 
and  diligently  to  devote  his  time  and  attention  to  the  said  business. 

"4th — The  said  Butler,  it  is  agreed,  shall  be  the  General  Agent  of 
the  Company,  and  as  such  Agent,  shall  have  charge  of  the  books,  monies 
and  affairs  of  the  cpmpany,  the  purchase  of  stock,  sale  of  iron  and 
assisting  the  said  Richards  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  the  said  Butler 
agreeing  hereby  to  devote  his  attention  faithfully  and  diligently  to  the 
business  of  the  firm. 

"5th — The  said  Richards  and  Butler  shall  have  such  reasonable  com- 
pensation for  their  services  until  said  furnace  shall  go  into  blast  as  the 
said  Tod  and  Ward  may  fix  and  determine,  and  thereafter  such  com- 
pensation as  may  be  fixed  by  the  company  to  be  in  both  cases  paid  by 
the  firm. 

"6th — The  said  Tod  and  Ward  each  agree  to  advise  with  the  said 
Richards  and  Butler  as  to  the  management  of  said  business,  when  called 
upon  for  said  purpose,  and  to  take  a  general  interest  therein;  but,  as 
they  are  to  be  the  sole  judges  of  what  may  be  faithful  performance  of 
this  duty  on  their  part,  they  are  not  to  be  allowed  any  compensation 
therefor. 

"7th — Neither  party  shall  sell  or  dispose  of  or  encumber  in  any  way 
his  interest  or  any  part  thereof  in  the  capital  or  business  of  said  firm 
for  the  term  of  five  years  from  this  date,  without  the  consent  in  writing 
of  at  least  two  other  members  of  the  firm,  nor  shall  the  death  of  either 
party  within  the  term  of  five  years  in  any  manner  interfere  with  or  dis- 
turb the  continuance  and  business  of  the  said  firm  for  said  period;  and 
to  secure  a  faithful  performance  of  this  latter  provision,  each  of  the 
said  parties  agree  to  execute  a  will  within  a  reasonable  time  hereafter, 
authorizing  his  executors  or  administrators  to  comply  with  the  same. 

"8th — The  said  David  Tod  and  William  Richards  agree  to  sell  to 
the  said  firm  a  site  for  said  furnace,  with  a  suitable  quantity  of  ground 
to  be  selected  by  the  said  parties  as  soon  as  practicable,  at  the  rate  of 
One  Hundred  Dollars  per  acre. 

"9th — The  said  Tod,  for  the  firm  of  H.  Tod  &  Co.,  agrees  to  trans- 
fer and  assign  to  the  said  Girard  Iron  Company  firm  the  coal  lease  and 
rights  therein  granted  by  John  Wise  and  others  to  the  said  H.  Tod  & 
Company  of  the  land  known  as  the  Widow  Wise  farm,  at  the  cost  price 
thereof  to  said  H.  Tod  &  Co.,  with  interest;  provided  the  said  Ward, 
Richards  and  Butler  elect  to  take  the  same  at  any  time  before  the  first 
day  of  April  next. 

"Brier  Hill,  February  5th,   1866. 

"David  Tod, 
"William  Ward, 
"William  Richards, 
"Joseph  G.  Butler,  Jr." 


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688       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Having  formed  their  partnership  with  this  simple  document,  the 
parties  at  once  proceeded  to  erect  what  they  proposed  to  make  the  most 
efficient  blast  furnace  in  the  country.  Mr.  Richards  had  been  sent  to 
Europe  to  study  the  matter  of  design,  and  he  found,  at  Dowlais,  Wales, 
a  stack  that  seemed  to  meet  the  specifications  desired.  He  came  home 
and  erected  the  furnace,  only  to  find  that  in  some  way  the  blue  prints 
which  he  carried  in  his  head  had  become  slightly  jumbled  and  the  stack 
was  practically  upside  down.  This  was  the  first  furnace  in  the  Mahon- 
ing Valley  to  be  built  of  brick,  and  these  were  laid  by  Christ  Deibel. 
The  woodwork  and  trestles  were  built  by  John  Allison,  a  brother-in- 
law  of  President  McKinley.  The  furnace  had  as  a  power  plant  an 
engine  and  boiler  removed  from  a  Mississippi  River  gun  boat.  The 
new  furnace  had  also  a  bell  top  and  many  other  improvements,  but  it 
would  not  work  and  had  to  be  taken  down  and  rebuilt,  a  task  which  left 
the  projectors  very  little  capital. 

They  were  not  discouraged,  however,  and  finally  the  furnace  was 
working  in  good  shape  and  producing  iron  of  fine  quality  at  a  profit, 
the  result  justifying  the  faith  placed  in  the  two  younger  men  by  Gov- 
ernor Tod  and  William  Ward,  both  older  and  more  experienced  but 
far  less  enthusiastic.  This  furnace  was  rebuilt  a  number  of  times  and 
operated  almost  continuously,  under  different  management,  until  it  was 
finally  sold  to  the  A.  M.  Byers  Company,  which  has  erected  there  a 
large  puddling  plant  at  which  iron  for  its  Pittsburg  tube  mills  is  pro- 
duced. The  Girard  furnace  was  the  first  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  to 
use  a  bell  top,  and  in  an  old  account  of  it  the  fact  is  mentioned  that 
some  difficulty  was  being  found  in  inducing  the  men  to  work  around  it, 
as  they  were  afraid  of  the  gas  and  also  of  explosions.  It  was  a  very 
good  furnace  after  it  was  gotten  into  working  order,  but,  in  spite  of  all 
the  efforts  made  to  insure  its  efficiency,  was  hardly  the  best  in  the 
country  or  even  in  the  locality. 

The  early  industries  at  Girard  are  treated  more  fully  in  the  historical 
sketch  of  that  village.  In  general  it  may  be  said  that  they  consisted  of 
a  grist  mill,  a  tannery  and  the  usual  small  establishments  in  a  community 
until  the  erection  of  the  blast  furnace  above  referred  to.  When  the 
coal  mining  era  began  this  town  was  an  important  center  of  that  indus- 
try, and  many  mines  were  opened  and  worked  in  its  vicinity. 

In  1872  the  Corns  Iron  Company  built  at  Girard  a  rolling  mill 
equipped  with  thirteen  puddling  furnaces  and  muck  bar  mills  sufficient 
to  roll  the  output  of  these  furnaces.  It  was  operated  until  in  the  early 
'90s,  when  it  was  sold  to  the  Trumbull  Iron  Company,  which  later 
was  taken  over  by  the  Union  Iron  &  Steel  Company.  After  a  long  and 
stubborn  strike  at  this  plant,  which  occurred  after  it  became,  through 
the  combinations  of  that  period,  the  property  of  the  American  Steel 
Hoop  Company,  the  plant  was  dismantled. 

In  the  meantime  the  extension  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company's 
Ohio  Works,  the  Brier  Hill  Steel  Company,  and  other  interests  have 
approached  the  village  so  closely  that  they  may  be  said  to  be  a  part  of 
it  and  have  added  much  to  its  business  life  and  prosperity.  These  and 
the  mills  and  furnace  of  the  A.  M.  Byers  Company  make  Girard  a  busy 
place. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       689 

Industrial  progress  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  kept  with  that  in  other 
localities  following  the  Civil  war,  but  here  expansion  had  been  confined 
almost  entirely  to  iron  and  allied  industries.  This  fact  will  have  been 
made  apparent  by  the  preceding  pages,  which  have  dealt,  however, 
chiefly  with  individual  enterprises. 

Of  the  iron  industry  as  a  whole  it  may  be  said  that  in  the  late  '80s 
Youngstown  had  become  a  most  important  center.  It  had  one  estab- 
lishment rated  as  the  largest  single  iron  works  in  the  world  and  others 
not  far  behind  this  in  point  of  production  and  reputation. 

From  a  "statistical  abstract"  issued  by  the  Mahoning  Valley  Iron 
Manufacturers'  Association  for  the  period  from  July  1,  1888,  to  July 
1,  1889,  the  following  interesting  facts  concerning  the  iron  industries 
of  this  district  at  that  time  have  been  obtained. 

The  member  companies,  evidently  all  the  blast  furnace  operators  and 
iron  manufacturers  of  the  Valley  at  that  time,  were:  The  Mahoning 
Valley  Iron  Company,  the  Andrews  &  Bros.  Company,  Girard  Iron 
Company,  the  Ohio  Iron  and  Steel  Company,  Falcon  Iron  and  Nail 
Company,  the  Brier  Hill  Iron  &  Coal  Company,  Cartwright,  McCurdy 
&  Company,  the  Youngstown  Steel  Company,  the  Hubbard  Iron  Com- 
pany, the  Trumbull  Iron  Company,  the  Youngstown  Rolling  Mill  Com- 
pany, Andrews  &  Hitchcock,  Coleman,  Shields  &  Company,  Thomas 
Furnace  Company,  Summers  Bros.  &  Company,  and  the  Struthers  Fur- 
nace Company. 

The  greater  part  of  these  establishments  are  already  familiar  to  the 
reader.  Coleman,  Shields  &  Company  was  a  sheet  manufacturing  con- 
cern at  Niles  which  operated  sheet  mills  at  that  period,  and  also  made 
sheet  iron  stoves. 

Summers  Bros.  &  Company  was  a  firm  operating  a  sheet  mill  at 
Struthers.  This  plant  was  afterward  sold  to  the  American  Sheet  & 
Tin  Plate  Company.  It  as  well  as  many  similar  plants  of  smaller  size 
are  referred  to  in  the  chapters  devoted  to  the  communities  in  which  they 
were  located. 

Henry  O.  Bonnell  was  president  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  Manu- 
facturers' Association,  and  J.  H.  Sheadle  was  secretary.  From  its  state- 
ment for  the  year  ending  July  1,  1889,  it  appears  that  during  that  year 
shipments  of  finished  material  from  Mahoning  Valley  Rolling  mills 
were : 

Gross  tons  of  muck  bar 7»*53 

Net  tons  of  finished  iron. 173,176 

Gross  tons  of  pig  iron 326,370 

The  amount  of  freight  paid  to  the  five  railroads  then  serving  the 
industries  of  the  Valley  during  that  year  is  given  as  follows : 

New  York,  Lake  Erie  &  Western $  482,644.18 

Pennsylvania    Company    381,595.68 

Pittsburg  &   Lake   Erie    246,143.63 

Pittsburg  &  Western    366,785.56 

Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern 125,403.36 

Total $1,602,572.41 

Vol.  1—44 


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690       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  principal  market  for  pig  iron  was  then  apparently  in  Pittsburgh ; 
finished  products  went  largely  to  the  west  and  next  to  the  lake  trade. 
No  mention  is  made  of  steel  in  this  report,  although  it  seems  probable 
that  at  least  some  steel  was  being  rolled  on  Valley  mills  at  that  time. 
If  such  was  the  case  the  iron  manufacturers  made  no  mention  of  the 
fact,  either  in  their  incoming  or  outgoing  shipment  reports. 

On  the  death  of  Mr.  Bonnell,  Jos.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  became  president 
of  the  Mahoning  Valley  Iron  Manufacturers'  Association.  This  organ- 
ization, which  had  done  much  for  the  stability  and  success  of  the  local 
industries,  was  disbanded  and  its  place  taken  a  few  years  later  by  the 
Bessemer  Iron  Association. 

The  Transition  from  Iron  to  Steel 

From  1885  the  iron  industry  began  to  decline  for  two  reasons.  In  the 
first  place  Bessemer  steel  was  rapidly  coming  to  the  front  and  supplying 
the  market  with  a  much  cheaper  and  for  most  purposes  better  product. 
In  the  second  place,  the  depression  which  preceded  the  election  of  Gro- 
ver  Cleveland  in  1892  and  was  sharply  accentuated  after  that  event  had  , 
a  marked  effect  on  this  industry.  Demand  was  reduced.  An  effort  to 
reduce  manufacturing  costs  had  brought  about  serious  labor  troubles. 
There  was  a  time  during  this  period  when  every  rolling  mill  between 
Warren  and  Lowellville  was  in  financial  straits,  and  although  it  may  be 
said  to  the  credit  of  Youngstown  ironmasters  that  not  a  single  estab- 
lishment in  that  city  ever  failed  to  liquidate  its  indebtedness  in  full,  the 
industry  was  in  no  position  to  embark  on  a  new  line  requiring  large 
capital  and  involving  the  scrapping  of  much  costly  machinery. 

Without  considering  these  facts  it  may  seem  surprising  that,  when 
other  and  far  less  progressive  districts  were  already  producing  Bes- 
semer steel  in  large  quantities,  the  men  who  had  developed  the  iron  in- 
dustries of  the  Mahoning  Valley  should  have  been  still  depending  to  a 
great  extent  on  the  demand  for  iron,  or  satisfied,  at  any  rate,  to  secure 
steel  for  fabrication  on  their  mills  from  outside  sources.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  cause  for  this  situation,  it  is  a  fact  that  no  successful 
move  was  made  toward  the  erection  of  a  steel  plant  along  the  Mahoning 
until  1892.  Five  or  six  years  before  that  date  a  group  of  Youngstown 
manufacturers  had  attempted  to  form  a  combination  for  this  purpose, 
and  negotiations  had  proceeded  so  far  that  Capt.  "Bill"  Jones,  a  famous 
steel  man  from  Pittsburgh,  had  been  approached  with  a  proposition  to 
act  as  manager  of  such  an  enterprise.  The  difficulty  of  securing  an 
agreement  as  to  the  value  of  the  various  plants  which  were  to  form  the 
combination  prevented  it  from  materializing. 

No  figures  exist  to  show  the  production  of  the  Mahoning  Valley 
iron  mills  and  furnaces  during  the  year  preceding  the  erection  of  the 
first  steel  plant  here  in  1894,  but  the  statistics  prepared  by  the  American 
Iron  &  Steel  Institute  for  1892  are  of  much  interest.  These  figures 
cover  the  territory  then  known  as  "The  Valleys,"  this  being  the  Ma- 
honing and  Shenango  valleys.  In  19 15  these  valleys,  with  some  adja- 
cent territory,  were  erected  into  a  new  district,  known  as  the  Youngs- 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       691 

town  District,  by  the  American  Iron  &  Steel  Institute,  arid  it  is  there- 
fore possible  to  compare  the  growth  of  production  in  this  territory  dur- 
ing the  twenty-six  years  from  1892  to  1918,  which  is  the  latest  year  for 
which  statistics  on  this  point  are  available.  The  figures  for  1892  are 
equally  instructive  when  compared  with  those  for  1889,  given  on  a  pre- 
vious page,  as  they  show  the  rapid  decline  of  the  iron  business  here 
during  that  interval.  It  should  be  understood  that  the  following  figures, 
with  the  comparisons  shown,  are  only  relatively  accurate,  and  those  for 
the  earlier  years  may  have  been  more  or  less  incomplete.  They  are  for 
approximately  the  same  territory,  however,  and  are  accurate  enough  to 
show  the  tremendous  development  of  the  steel  industry  during  that 
period. 

Production  in  the  Youngstown  District — 1892-1918 

r 

l892  I9l8 

Number  of  blast  furnaces 24  51 

Number  of  rolling  mills  and  steel  works 16  47 

Production  of  pig  iron,  gross  tons 2,604,344        6,250,61 1 

Production  of  steel  ingots  and  castings,  gross  tons.  1,599,699        7,326,196 


Production  of  finished  hot  rolled  products :  — Net  Tons — 

Wire  rods 77,3*6  225,306 

Plates  and  sheets  86,223         1,133,712 

Merchant  bars    423,229  791,691 

Skelp    13,583  701,376 

Other  hot  rolled  products 9I3»9I3 

Total,  net  tons 600,349  3,765,998 

Plates    248,451 

Black  sheets 43MI9 

Black  plate  for  tinning  and  tin  mill  specialties      100,110  453,842 

Total,  net  tons ;  1,133,712 

Production  iron  and  steel  pipe 39,5*3  S32»835 

Production  galvanized  sheets 128,028 

Production  tin  and  terne  plate 38.7  494,41 1 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  1892  almost  3,000,000  tons  of  pig  iron  were 
produced  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  Of  this  the  greater  portion  was  re- 
fined in  puddling  furnaces,  but  a  considerable  quantity  was  sold  in  the 
open  market,  and  not  a  little  of  this  came  back  to  this  district  after  being 
made  into  steel  in  other  places  and  was  rolled  on  Youngstown  mills. 
It  is  probable  that  a  portion  of  every  product  named  in  the  foregoing 
table  was  of  steel,  with  the  exception  of  skelp.  The  use  of  steel  for 
making  pipe  was  then  in  an  experimental  stage,  and  there  is  no  record 


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692       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

of  any  steel  skelp  being  rolled  in  this  district  until  somewhat  later.    The 
day  of  iron  was  declining  and  that  of  steel  had  already  dawned. 

The  First  Steel  Plant 

The  handicap  of  paying  freight  on  Youngstown  pig-iron  to  Pitts- 
burgh and  Wheeling,  and  also  on  the  steel  which  was  there  made  from 
it  and  returned  to  Youngstown  rolling  mills,  had  long  been  apparent, 
but  lack  of  means,  and  some  lack  of  harmony,  delayed  the  building  of 
a  steel  plant  at  Youngstown  until,  in  July,  1892,  representatives  of  all 
the  principal  rolling  mills  and  furnaces  joined  in  the  formation  of 
the  Ohio  Steel  Company.  The  directors,  representing  the  different  in- 
terests which  sold  pig-iron  and  used  steel,  were  Henry  Wick,,  who  was 
made  president;  H.  O.  Bonnell,  vice  president;  J.  G.  Butler  Jr.,  secre- 
tary; Myron  C.  Wick,  E.  L.  Ford,  L.  E.  Cochran  and  Edmond  L. 
Brown.  On  the  death  of  H.  O.  Bonnell  on  February  9,  1893,  Mr.  Butler 
was  made  vice  president  and  Maj.  James  L.  Botsford  a  director. 

A  large  part  of  the  $600,000  which  was  at  first  thought  necessary 
was  raised  by  local  subscriptions  and,  with  Julian  Kennedy  as  engineer, 
plans  were  made  for  a  Bessemer  plant  with  two  eight-ton  converters 
blowing  side  by  side.  Various  locations  were  considered,  but  Youngs- 
town itself  secured  the  plant  as  against  outlying  tracts  by  a  bonus  of 
$25,000  in  cash  and  the  exclusion  from  the  city  limits,  with  the  higher 
tax  rate,  of  171  acres  of  the  Hawkins  farm  lying  west  of  the  river, 
which  is  still  the  site  of  the  Ohio  works  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company. 

A  few  days  after  ground  had  been  broken  for  the  erection  of  the 
plant  on  this  site  the  Democratic  success  in  the  November  election,  with 
the  certainty  of  disturbances  in  the  tariff,  ushered  in  a  period  of  sharp 
and  continued  depression  which  raised  some  question  about  the  wisdom 
of  going  on  with  the  new  enterprise,  and  which  by  the  financial  condi- 
tions which  it  brought  about  greatly  retarded  its  progress.  The  work 
was  continued  during  the  winter,  however,  and  nearly  all  contracts  for 
machinery  awarded,  but  when  Thomas  McDonald  came  as  superintendent 
early  in  February,  1893,  with  his  practical  and  successful  experience  as 
manager  of  the  converting  department  of  the  Duquense  Works,  he  ad- 
vised changes,  and  plans  for  two  ten-ton  converters  blowing  back  to  back, 
which  were  afterwards  built,  were  adopted.  This  caused  a  considerable 
alteration  in  other  arrangements  and  greatly  increased  the  cost  of  the 
plant,  but  experience  since  has  abundantly  proved  the  wisdom  of  the 
change  then  made. 

The  capital  stock  was  increased  from  $750,000  to  $1,000,000,  but 
because  of  the  stringent  financial  conditions  the  increase  was  placed 
with  difficulty.  At  the  first  annual  meeting  in  July,  1893,  James 
Parmelee  was  made  a  director,  representing  himself  and  Charles  W. 
Harkness,  who  had  made  a  large  subscription.  Construction  went  for- 
ward but  with  some  hesitation,  for  during  the  summer  of  1893  every  mill 
in  Youngstown  was  shut  down  completely  for  more  than  four  months, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  January,  1894,  that  the  stockholders 
definitely  decided  to  complete  the  plant  as  soon  as  possible,  including 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       693 

the  large  supplemental  mill  for  making  small  billets  and  sheet  bars,  with 
all  the  buildings  and  equipment  pertaining  thereto.  There  were  no 
other  changes  in  the  organization  until  in  May,  1894,  William  H.  Bald- 
win was  made  secretary,  which  position  he  filled  during  the  existence 
of  the  company. 

Although  because  of  the  scarcity  of  work  contracts  were  placed  at 
low  figures,  the  necessary  expenditure  due  to  the  enlarged  plans  ran  up 
ere  long  to  more  than  $1,500,000  for  the  total  cost  of  the  plant.  An  in- 
crease in  the  capital  stock  from  $1,000,000  to  $1,250,000  was  provided 
for,  but  it  was  necessary  to  raise  the  additional  money  by  a  stockholders' 
loan  of  $250,000  for  three  years,  convertible  if  desired  into  capital  stock 
at  the  end  of  that  period. 

Finally  construction  was  finished  far  enough  to  permit  the  starting 
of  the  great  plant  on  February  4,  1895.  The  thermometer  that  day  was 
4°  below  zero  Although  no  invitations  were  given,  and  only  a  few  of 
the  directors  and  their  immediate  families  or  friends  were  expected, 
others  had  somehow  penetrated  the  inclosure,  and  several  hundred  people 
were  gathered  about  the  converter  house  to  witness  the  blowing  of  the 
first  heat. 

About  10  o'clock  the  south  converter,  filled  with  molten  metal,  was 
turned  up,  and  soon  the  long,  brilliant  flames  roared  from  its  mouth, 
while  showers  of  sparks  fell  on  the  surrounding  snow.  When  the  flame 
dropped  there  was  a  halt,  with  sudden  signals  to  those  on  the  converter 
platform  to  go  down,  and  to  the  crowd  below  to  disperse,  which  they  did 
as  the  converter  still  stood  bolt  upright.  Not  until  afterwards  did  they 
learn  that  during  the  blowing  of  the  heat  the  hydraulic  pressure  had 
gone  off  because  of  a  break  400  feet  away  in  the  main  pressure  pipe. 
If  the  blower  had  not  had  presence  of  mind  to  stop  on  discovering 
this,  and  had  attempted  to  .turn  the  converter  back,  he  would  have 
dumped  its  liquid  contents  on  the  wet,  frozen  ground,  caused  an  explo- 
sion, killed  most  of  the  crowd,  and  wrecked  the  plant.  The  break  was 
remedied  by  closing  a  valve,  the  heat  poured,  and  the  ingots  made  from 
it  were  successfully  rolled  on  the  mills  in  the  afternoon.  The  manu- 
facture of  steel  in  Youngstown  had  begun. 

In  the  subsequent  operation  of  the  plant  thus  started,  the  machinery, 
notwithstanding  some  incidental  mishaps,  worked  well,  and  demon- 
strated the  correctness  of  its  design.  The  only  defect  was  in  a  shortage 
of  steam,  which  was  temporarily  remedied  by  installing  a  half  dozen  old 
railroad  locomotives,  which  furnished  steam  from  their  boilers.  The 
mill  organization,  under  Mr.  McDonald's  wise  selection  and  supervision, 
showed  equal  excellence,  for  at  a  dinner  given  by  the  foremen  to  Mr. 
Wick,  Mr.  Baldwin  and  Mr.  McDonald  on  the  third  anniversary  of  the 
starting  of  the  plant,  only  one  change  had  been  made  in  the  more  than 
twenty  foremen  employed. 

Trade  was  still  dull,  orders  were  scarce,  and  the  management  was 
obliged  to  find  money  not  only  to  carry  as  a  floating  indebtedness  the 
remaining  $250,000  which  had  been  spent  on  the  plant,  but  also  the  cost 
of  pig  metal  and  of  all  operating  expenses,  together  with  a  loss  of  $74,- 
000  due  to  the  small  output  during  the  first  six  months.    This  was  sue- 


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694       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

cessfully  done  then  and  afterwards  only  by  reason  of  the  additional 
liability  of  the  stockholders,  and  by  the  excellence  of  the  sheet  and  tin 
plate  bars  which  supplied  the  demand  from  that  rapidly  growing  indus- 
try. The  results  showed  that  Henry  Wick's  ambition  to  build  the  best 
steel  plant  yet  constructed  had  been  realized. 

At  the  time  it  was  started  the  plant  of  the  Ohio  Steel  Company  con- 
sisted of  four  cupolas,  two  io-ton  converters,  four  4-hole  soaking  pit 
furnaces,  one  34-inch  blooming  mill,  and  one  3-high  23-inch  mill  on 
which  could  be  rolled  four  inch  billets,  small  billets  one  and  one-half 
inch  and  larger,  and  sheet  and  tin  plate  bars.  The  Ohio  plant  always 
had  the  preference  for  these  bars,  in  which  it  developed  a  large  trade. 
The  steel  was  rolled  into  these  products  without  reheating  from  ingots 
about  the  size  of  those  in  present  practice,  four  such  ingots  being  poured 
from  the  charge  in  each  converter.  Iron  was  obtained  from  other 
furnaces  in  the  two  valleys  and  reheated  in  cupolas,  as  the  plant  had  no 
blast  furnace  at  the  beginning.  Blast  furnaces  No.  1  and  2,  begun  by 
the  company  in  1898,  based  on  an  issue  of  $1,000,000  of  bonds,  made 
their  first  blasts  on  February  15  and  June  7,  1900. 

The  following  interesting  extract  from  the  report  of  William  H. 
Baldwin,  secretary,  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1898,  indicates  the 
progressiveness  of  this  pioneer  steel  organization,  as  well  as  giving  a 
hint  as  to  some  of  the  considerations  which  led  to  the  sale  of  the  prop- 
erty by  the  original  owners  a  short  time  later: 

"On  May  19,  1898,  the  Company  decided  to  issue  bonds  to. the  amount 
of  $1,000,000  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  money  for  the  erection  of 
two  blast  furnaces.  The  construction  of  these  furnaces  was  formally 
ordered  by  the  board  on  May  24th,  1898.  Some  important  contracts 
for  the  machinery  have  already  been  placed.  The  work  is  being  pushed 
forward  as  rapidly  as  plans  can  be  made,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the 
furnaces  will  be  well  along  towards  completion  by  the  time  of  our  next 
Annual  Meeting. 

"During  the  three  years  and  five  months  since  starting  on  February 
4th,  1895,  the  mill  has  made  833,858  tons  of  steel.  The  increase  in  the 
business  has  been  due  to  following  up  the  advantages  possessed  by  our 
mill  over  others,  and  by  the  development  of  the  sheet  and  tin  plate  bar 
trade.  We  have  clone  our  utmost  to  make  bars  of  the  best  possible  qual- 
ity ;  and  the  fact  that  the  mill  has  been  able  to  make  large  quantities  of 
this  quality  has  enabled  us  to  render  useless  many  bar  mills  on  which 
consumers  rolled  their  own  bars  from  billets,  three  years  ago,  because 
no  steel  works  was  then  thought  able  to  make  them  of  sufficiently  ac- 
curate weight  and  perfect  finish.  The  replacement  of  these  bar  mills 
by  other  tin  mills,  and  the  fact  that  the  bars  could  be  purchased  cheaper 
than  they  could  be  rolled,  have  increased  consumption. 

"The  large  trade  we  have  had  has  also  forced  the  reconstruction  of 
several  other  steel  plants  on  lines  like  our  own.  The  competition  of 
these  plants  has  been  felt  to  some  extent,  and  promises  to  be  greater 
still,  so  that  we  are  not  warranted  in  depending  upon  a  continuation  of 
the  superiority  we  have  enjoyed  up  to  this  time. 

"Not  only  this,  but  these  competitors  have  their  own  furnace  plants, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       695 

0 

while  we  are  depending,  not  upon  the  market  price  of  the  metal,  but 
upon  the  price  fixed  by  a  combination  of  furnaces,  which  may  perhaps 
be  reasonable,  or  may  be  high  enough  to  give  them  any  profits  there 
may  be  in  the  business,  and  reduce  ours  to  a  minimum  or  wipe  them 
out  altogether.  We  have  considerable  business  on  our  books,  and  shall 
maintain  our  position  in  the  trade  as  well  as  we  can.  The  construction 
of  the  furnaces  will  involve  the  expenditure  of  a  large  amount  of  money, 
but  we  trust  that  the  advantages  to  be  gained,  and  the  disadvantages  to 
be  avoided,  will  prove  the  wisdom  of  the  step  which  has  been  taken  in 
this  direction/' 

From  this  extract  it  will  be  seen  that  the  builders  of  this  pioneer 
plant  had  excellent  reasons  for  accepting  the  offer  made  to  them  for  its 
sale.  The  price  paid  was  apparently  large,  but  it  was  really  extremely 
small,  as  the  subsequent  earnings  of  the  plant  under  practically  the  same 
management  proved.  A  part  of  the  property  included  was  a  one-fourth 
interest  in  the  Biwabik  Ore  mine  on  the  Mesabi,  and  this  is  estimated 
to  be  still  worth  more  than  the  price  paid  for  the  property,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  this  mine  has  already  produced  more  than  20,000,000  tons 
of  ore. 

After  being  successfully  operated  for  four  years,  in  spite  of  almost 
insurmountable  difficulties,  arising  principally  from  the  hard  times  pre- 
vailing, the  company  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  National  Steel  Com- 
pany, which  acquired  all  of  its  capital  stock  in  February,  1899.  In  the 
light  of  subsequent  experience  the  consideration  of  $275  per  share, 
which  to  all  but  a  few  of  the  stockholders  then  seemed  large,  appears 
inadequate.  Mr.  McDonald  more  than  anyone  else  at  that  time  regretted 
the  change  because  of  the  clear  vision  he  had  of  the  excellence  of  the 
plant  and  of  its  possible  development;  but  none  of  the  stock  had  at  that 
time  sold  for  more  than  $130  per  share,  its  ownership  by  concerns  whose 
interests  were  to  a  considerable  extent  opposed  to  those  of  the  company 
interfered  with  the  loyalty  which  a  different  ownership  might  have 
commanded,  the  path  during  the  four  years  of  operation  had  been  dif- 
ficult and  perplexing,  the  danger  of  competition  with  the  large  interests 
forming  seemed  great,  the  very  large  profits  which  appeared  in  1899 
had  been  up  to  that  time  unknown,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  because 
of  their  war-weariness  the  stockholders  willingly  accepted  what  then 
seemed  to  be  a  good  round  price  for  their  stock.  In  fact,  when  the  price 
was  about  to  be  determined,  one  of  the  largest  stockholders  urged  those 
who  were  conducting  the  negotiation  not  to  let  it  fail  if  they  could  secure 
as  much  as  $140  per  share. 

While  it  has  since  seemed  unfortunate  for  Youngstown  that  this 
fine  plant,  which  in  more  than  one  year  since  has  shown  a  profit  equal 
to  its  original  cost,  should  not  have  remained  in  the  hands  of  and  been 
developed  by  Youngstown  stockholders,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that 
the  men  thus  released  were  enabled  with  their  capital  to  build  up  other 
Youngstown  concerns  and  thus  to  aid  largely  in  making  the  city  what 
it  is  today. 


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696       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  National  Steel  Company 

The  companies  which  were  taken  over  by  the  National  Steel  Com- 
pany, either  by  the  purchase  of  the  capital  stock  or  of  the  plants  them- 
selves, were  the  Ohio  Steel  Company,  the  Shenango  Valley  Steel  Com- 
pany of  Newcastle,  Pennsylvania,  the  Buhl  Steel  Cortipany  of  Sharon, 
Pennsylvania,  the  Aetna-Standard  Iron  and  Steel  Company  of  Bridge- 
port, Ohio,  with  steel  works  at  Mingo,  Ohio,  the  Bellaire  Steel  Com- 
pany of  Bellaire,  Ohio,  and  the  King,  Gilbert  and  Warner  Company  of 
Columbus,  Ohio.  The  Union  Iron  and  Steel  Company  plants  at  Youngs- 
town  (2),  Girard,  Warren,  and  Pomeroy,  Ohio,  were  purchased  by  the 
National  Steel  Company  at  its  formation  in  February,  1899,  for  $1,500,- 

000,  leaving  the  owners  the  quick  assets  amounting  to  $550,000  more, 
about  one-third  more  than  par  for  the  stock,  but  these  plants  were  almost 
immediately  turned  over  by  the  National  Steel  Company  to  the  American 
Steel  Hoop  Company,  which  was  formed  about  that  time.  The  Thomas 
furnace  at  Niles,  Ohio,  was  purchased  by  the  National  Steel  Company 
immediately  after  its  formation  for  $225,000,  and  it  later  purchased 
also  the  Ohio  furnace  at  Zanesville,  Ohio. 

The  National  Steel  Company  operated  the  Ohio  steel  plant  for  more 
than  two  years,  adding  a  third  blast  furnace  which  was  started  March 
29,  1901,  and  the  machinery  for  making  rails,  which  rolled  its  first  steel 
rail  on  May  14,  1900. 

The  United  States  Steel  Corporation,  which  was  formed  on  April 

1,  1901,  took  over,  among  others,  the  National  Steel  Company,  and  the 
American  Steel  Hoop  Company.  The  National  Steel  Company  con- 
tinued to  operate  the  Ohio  works,  but  on  July  3,  1901,  its  officers  re- 
signed and  were  replaced  by  the  corresponding  officers  of  the  Car- 
negie Steel  Company,  which  practically  put  the  operation  of  the  works 
into  the  hands  of  that  company.  This  arrangement  continued  until 
in  March,  1903,  the  National  Steel  Company  and  the  American  Steel 
Hoop  Company  were  merged  with  the  Carnegie  Company  under  the 
name  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company  of  New  Jersey,  by  which  the 
operation  of  the  Youngstown  plants  have  since  been  carried  on. 


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CHAPTER  XXXIII 

RECENT  INDUSTRIAL  GROWTH 

Conditions  and  Incidents  Connected  with  the  Tremendous  De- 
velopment of  the  Iron  and  Steel  Industries  in  the  Mahoning 
Valley  During  the  Last  Twenty  Years — Brief  Sketches  of 
the  More  Important  Establishments  of  Today. 

The  close  of  the  last  century  was  a  momentous  period  for  the  iron 
and  steel  industries  of  the  Mahoning  Valley.  The  combination  and  con- 
solidation of  many  of  the  principal  plants  with  others  had  already  created 
a  peculiar  situation — one  involving  possibilities  which  few  men  were 
willing  to  forecast.  Iron  had  already  passed  from  its  commanding  posi- 
tion and  steel  was  the  leading  product.  Long  years  of  experience  and 
large  amounts  of  capital  invested  in  iron-making  had  been  scrapped  to 
a  large  extent.  The  day  of  the  individual  enterprise  which  had  done 
so  much  for  this  locality  seemed  to  have  passed.  Investors  feared  the 
commanding  influence  of  large  combinations  of  capital,  and,  while  there 
was  an  abundance  of  money  and  no  lack  of  enterprise  on  the  part  of 
local  capitalists,  it  required  supreme  courage  to  engage  in  that  industry 
on  the  scale  which  had  become  essential  to  success. 

The  future  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  seemed  at  that  time  rather  un- 
certain, for  plants  that  had  done  heroic  service  under  other  conditions 
were  being  constantly  dismantled.  Control  of  the  local  industries  had 
passed  to  a  great  extent  into  the  hands  of  outsiders,  whose  intentions 
were  not  thoroughly  understood  and  whose  only  motive  was  supposed 
to  be  the  operation  of  these  industries  in  the  manner  which  would  achieve 
the  most  efficient  production. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  new  century  was  ushered  in  and  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  there  were  those  who  doubted  the  future  of  the 
Mahoning  Valley.  Nevertheless,  events  proved  that  the  experience,  en- 
ergy and  ability  of  the  men  who  had  built  the  great  iron  and  steel  plants 
of  Youngstown  and  the  Mahoning  Valley,  with  the  fact  that  here  had 
been  gathered  what  was  probably  the  most  efficient  body  of  iron  workers 
in  America,  overbalanced  the  control  of  outside  capital  and  led  to  the 
rapid  expansion  of  local  industries  to  a  point  undreamed  of  in  previous 
times. 

When  the  excitement  attending  the  purchase  at  what  then  seemed 
fabulous  prices  of  all  the  local  plants  that  could  be  obtained  by  the 
various  interests  invading  the  Mahoning  Valley  with  great  plans  and 
seemingly  unlimited  capital,  was  over,  but  three  plants  of  any  importance 

697 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       699 

remained  in  the  hands  of  their  original  owners.  These  were  the  Brier 
Hill  Iron  &  Coal  Company,  the  Ohio  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  and  the 
Andrews  &  Hitchcock  Iron  Company,  all  furnace  plants  and  operating 
a  total  of  five  blast  furnaces.  Since  that  time  more  than  a  dozen  new 
companies  have  been  organized  for  the  manufacture  of  steel  or  steel 
products,  some  of  them  to  be  later  absorbed  by  others,  but  all  con- 
tributing their  share  to  the  importance  of  the  local  field  and  the  pros- 
perity of  the  Mahoning  Valley.  These  will  be  described  in  the  following 
pages,  together  with  many  other  concerns  now  contributing  to  the  indus- 
trial activity  of  this  region. 

Before  beginning  this  brief  description  of  individual  concerns  it 
is  proper  that  a  word  be  said  concerning  the  marvelous  development  of 
American  iron  and  steel  industries  in  general,  to  which  these  enter- 
prises have  contributed  in  no  small  degree. 

The  stimulus  of  patriotism,  together  with  an  opportunity  for  un- 
usual profits,  arising  from  the  World  war  of  1914-18  brought  American 
production  of  steel  to  the  highest  point  in  its  history.  The  total  output 
of  the  furnaces  and  mills  of  the  United  States  during  1918  is  estimated 
at  47,000,000  tons.  Of  this  amount  about  one-sixth  was  produced  in 
the  Youngstown  district,  a  fact  which  indicates  the  relative  importance 
of  the  Mahoning  Valley  as  an  iron  and  steel  center  but  does  not  convey 
to  the  reader  any  conception  of  the  complexity  of  operations  involved 
or  the  many  problems  connected  with  the  conduct  of  these  operations. 

The  ore  from  which  Mahoning  Valley  steel  is  made  is  transported 
from  the  Lake  Superior  region,  a  distance  of  about  1.000  miles,  by  rail 
and  water.  Manganese  used  in  converting  this  ore  into  steel  was,  until 
quite  recently,  all  imported  from  abroad.  The  fuel  used  in  blast  and 
heating  furnaces  is,  in  large  part,  manufactured  at  the  various  plants 
from  coal  mined  in  Western  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia.  Lime- 
stone is  the  only  commodity  secured  within  a  short  distance.  Assem- 
bling these  materials  in  quantities  of  many  millions  of  tons  is  in  itself  a 
task  requiring  immense  capital  and  the  highest  foim  of  organization. 
Yet  when  this  has  been  done  the  making  of  steel  has  only  fairly  begun. 

Approximately  15,000,000  tons  of  ore  were  smelted  in  the  Youngs- 
town district  during  191 8.  This  ore  had  to  be  handled  six  times  before 
it  reached  the  furnace  tops.  It  had  to  be  carefully  selected  and  analyzed, 
then  mixed  in  proper  proportions  to  yield  iron  suitable  for  making  into 
steel  by  the  open-hearth  and  Bessemer  processes.  After  being  made  into 
steel,  the  steel  had  to  be  subjected  to  many  different  operations,  each  of 
which  call  for  the  highest  practical  and  technical  skill,  as  well  as  equip- 
ment of  great  cost  and  almost  unbelievable  intricacy.  *  Finally,  a  great 
variety  and  volume  of  finished  products  had  to  be  marketed  in  all  parts 
of  the  world  in  order  to  yield  scores  of  millions  of  dollars  necessary  to 
recompense  those  whose  labor  and  capital  were  devoted  to  the  operation 
and  maintainance  of  the  mills. 

It  is  not  possible  within  the  limits  of  these  pages  to  adequately  pic- 
ture the  complexity  of  this  great  industry,  or  to  convey  to  a  reader  un- 
familiar with  its  details  a  true  conception  of  the  magnitude  of  such  an 
accomplishment ;  but  it  may  be  suggested  that,  beyond  the  material  value 


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700       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

to  the  Mahoning  Valley  of  its  great  steel  plants  and  above  the  considera- 
tion that  they  contribute  so  largely  to  the  prosperity  and  welfare  of  its 
population,  is  the  inspiring  fact  that  enterprises  managed  and  financed 
so  largely  by  people  who  were  born  and  reared  here  have  assumed  a 
commanding  position  among  the  majestic  achievements  of  modern  civil- 
ization and  contributed  in  so  large  a  degree  to  the  progress,  happiness 
and  even  the  liberty  and  safety  of  the  world. 

Pittsburgh  and  Youngstown  Compared 

For  more  than  fifty  years  Pittsburgh  has  had  the  distinction  of  being 
the  greatest  iron  and  steel  center  of  the  world.  How  long  that  city  will 
be  able  to  maintain  its  position  in  view  of  the  rapid  development  of  these 
industries  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  and  adjacent  territory  is  uncertain. 
The  following  table,  compiled  from  the  report  of  the  American  Iron  & 
Steel  Institute  for  191 8,  and  covering  production  in  the  two  districts  for 
the  year  1917,  is  interesting: 

Allegheny  Youngstown 

County,  Pa.  District 

Blast   furnaces    48  50 

Rolling  mills  and  plants 64  45 

Production  of  pig  iron 6,226,601  tons        6,476,051  tons 

Production  of  steel 8,970,353  tons        7,320,153  tons 

Rolled  products   6,934,827  tons        4,080,285  tons 

Approximately  1,000,000  tons  of  steel  was  made  in  plants  located 
closer  to  Pittsburgh  than  to  Youngstown,  but  credited  to  the  Youngstown 
district  in  the  above  figures,  because  they  are  located  in  that  district  as 
it  was  erected  by  the  Institute.  Nevertheless,  the  increase  in  productive 
capacity  in  the  Youngstown  district  during  the  past  three  years  is  much 
larger  than  that  in  the  Pittsburgh  district,  and  it  is  evident  that  this  section 
is  rapidly  overtaking  the  lead  held  by  Pittsburgh  in  both  production  and 
fabrication  of  iron  and  steel. 

The  Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company 

The  Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company  is  the  most  important  in- 
dustrial corporation  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  as  well  as  in  the  State  of 
Ohio,  the  number  of  its  employes,  the  amount  of  its  payrolls  and  the 
diversity  and  volume  of  its  annual  product  exceeding  those  of  any  other 
Ohio  manufacturing  establishment.  In  these  respects  it  is  also  one  of 
the  great  industrial  enterprises  of  the  world. 

This  company  was  organized  during  1900,  J.  A.  Campbell  having 
been  the  original  promoter  and,  since  July  26,  1904,  its  executive  head. 
The  charter  was  granted  on  November  21,  1900,  under  the  name  of  The 
Youngstown  Iron,  Sheet  &  Tube  Company,  and  the  original  capital  was 
fixed  at  $600,000.  Its  founders  intended  to  build  only  a  small  plant  for 
the  manufacture  of  iron  sheets  and  iron  pipe.  Before  work  on  the  plant 
was  begun,  however,  the  plans  were  expanded  considerably  and,  on  De- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       701 

cember  21,  1900,  the  capital  was  increased  to  $1,000,000.     Further  in- 
creases have  since  been  made  as  follows: 

September  10,  1901,  to  $2,000,000. 
December  21,  1901,  to  $4,000,000. 
January  10,  1907,  to  $10,000,000. 
July  30,  1913,  to  $20,000,000. 

July  2,  1920,  1,000,000  shares  of  common  stock,  with  no  par  value, 
were  authorized  in  lieu  of  common  stock  previously  issued.  These 
increases  were  all  in  the  form  of  common  stock  issued  at  par,  except 
that  of  July  2,  1920.  In  addition  to  these,  issues  of  preferred  stock 
at  par  were  authorized  on  September  30,  191 1,  and  April  30,  1915,  the 
amount  in  each  case  being  $5,000,000.  The  estimated  resources  of  the 
company  at  this  time  exceed  $100,000,000.* 

On  a  site  containing  approximately  300  acres  and  located  at  what  is 
now  the  village  of  East  Youngstown,  between  the  Mahoning  River  and 
the  lines  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  and  Pittsburg  &  Lake  Erie  railroads, 
the  company  erected  during  1901  and  1902  a  plant  consisting  of  fifteen 
double  puddling  furnaces,  a  muck  bar  mill  of  two  20-inch  trains,  a  skelp 
mill  to  roll  material  up  to  22^  inches  wide,  three  tube  mills  and  six 
sheet  mills.  From  almost  the  beginning  of  operations  both  steel  and 
iron  were  fabricated,  the  products  being  sheets  in  standard  sizes  and  pipe 
up  to  eight  inches  in  diameter.  Total  production  in  1903  was  about 
32,000  tons  of  black  and  galvanized  sheets  and  90,000  tons  of  pipe. 

In  1904  extensions  were  made  that  increased  the  production  to  about 
1,000  tons  per  day  and  permitted  the  manufacture  of  pipe  up  to  twelve 
inches  in  diameter.  Until  1906,  with  minor  extensions  and  improve- 
ments, the  manufacture  of  sheets  and  pipe  was  continued  at  about  the 
above  rate,  iron  being  supplied  by  the  company's  own  puddling  furnaces 
and  steel  being  secured  in  the  open  market. 

During  1905  and  1906  a  Bessemer  steel  plant  was  erected,  with  such 
equipment  as  was  necessary  to  produce  material  for  use  in  the  sheet  and 
tube  mills,  as  well  as  to  provide  semi-finished  materials  for  the  market. 
This  steel  plant  consisted  of  four  10-foot  cupolas,  two  ioj^-ton  con- 
verters, four  4-hole  soaking  pit  furnaces,  a  blooming  mill,  a  continuous 
billet  mill,  a  continuous  sheet-bar  mill,  a  42-inch  universal  plate  mill,  and 
a  continuous  10-inch  skelp  mill,  with  the  necessary  buildings  and  in- 
cidental equipment.  The  latter  included  a  well  equipped  department 
for  the  manufacture  of  couplings,  threading  floors,  etc.  Since  that  time 
all  of  these  have  been  greatly  enlarged,  the  coupling  or  socket  shop  alone 
occupying  more  than  four  acres  of  floor  space. 

The  company  was  now  making  its  own  steel  as  well  as  iron,  but  de- 
pended on  other  sources  for  its  pig  iron.  In  1908  two  500-ton  blast  fur- 
naces were  erected,  the  plans  being  prepared  by  Julian  Kennedy,  and 
including  complete  modern  equipment  for  handling  ores  and  fuel.  A 
mixer  was  also  built  and  a  pig  casting  machine  installed  in  this  depart- 
ment. The  two  first  blast  furnaces,  known-as  "A"  and  "B,"  were  blown 
in  during  November,  1908,  furnace  "A"  November  3d,  and  furnace  "B" 


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702       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

November  23d.  During  1908,  in  addition  to  the  above  extensions,  ten 
double  puddling  furnaces,  eight  sheet  mills  and  six  tube  mills  were  in- 
stalled and  numerous  extensions  and  additions  made  to  the  power  plants. 

In  1909  the  plant  of  the  Morgan  Spring  Company,  at  Struthers,  a 
short  distance  east  of  the  original  plant,  was  purchased  and  remodeled, 
many  additions  and  extensions  being  made  to  it.  Among  these  were  a 
Morgan  continuous  double-strand  rod  mill,  extensive  equipment  for 
wire-drawing,  galvanizing  and  annealing,  together  with  nail  making 
machinery,  fence  making  machinery,  hoop  machinery,  barbed  wire  ma- 
chines, a  cooperage  department,  new  power  house,  and  everything  neces- 
sary for  the  operation  of  a  complete  and  modern  rod  and  wire  mill.  Dur- 
ing 1909  additions  were  made  to  the  equipment  of  the  main  plant  in  form 
of  power  and  pumping  plants,  and  the  third  blast  furnace,  known  as  Fur- 
nace "C,"  was  completed  on  plans  similar  to  the  other  two,  this  stack 
being  blown  in  on  August  16,  1910. 

In  191 1  the  principal  extensions  consisted  of  machine  shops,  pump- 
ing stations,  a  new  sheet  mill  building,  stockhouses,  fuel  storage  facilities, 
warehouses  and  similar  construction  necessary  to  keep  pace  with  the 
rapid  growth  of  production.  At  this  time,  also  much  electric  power 
equipment  was  installed,  supplanting  less  efficient  machinery.  The  plant 
of  the  Western  Conduit  &  Manufacturing  Company  at  Harvey,  Illinois, 
was  purchased  during  this  year.  In  191 2  this  plant  was  dismantled  and 
the  machinery  removed  to  Youngstown,  where  it  was  added  to  the  new 
plant  erected  during  that  year  by  the  Western  Conduit  Company,  organ- 
ized as  a  subsidiary  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  manufacture  of 
conduit.  This'  plant  has  been  expanded  until  it  is  now  the  largest  of  its 
kind  in  this  country.  It  produces  enamelled  and  electro-galvanized  rigid 
conduit  and  "Realflex"  armored  cable,  the  latter  a  special  form  of  steel 
armored  flexible  electrical  conductor.  The  Western  Conduit  Company 
was  dissolved  in  1917,  its  plant  being  now  operated  as  a  department  of 
the  parent  company's  plant. 

During  191 2  and  19 13  an  open-hearth  steel  plant  was  erected.  This 
originally  consisted  of  six  100-ton  furnaces,  with  a  stripper  building, 
soaking-pit  furnaces,  gas  producers,  and  the  other  equipment  incidental 
to  such  a  plant.  Large  additions  were  made  at  this  time  to  the  plant, 
these  additions  being  in  many  different  departments  and  necessary  to 
provide  for  the  rapid  growth  of  the  business.  Among  them  were  exten- 
sions to  the  coupling  and  threading  shops  at  the  tube  mills,  of  which 
there  were  then  ten  in  operation.  During  this  period  the  company  added 
extensively  to  its  holdings  in  ore  and  other  raw  materials,  and  also 
erected  a  fourth  blast  furnace,  which  was  blown  in  on   September  3, 

1913. 

Early  in  1915,  the  most  extensive  construction  program  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  company  was  begun.  This  included  a  by-product  coke  plant, 
a  large  generol  works  administration  building,  a  modern  emergency  hos- 
pital, an  extensive  housing  plan,  and  machinery  for  manufacturing  a 
number  of  new  lines  of  product,  as  well  as  increasing  production  in  a 
number  of  lines  already  being  made.    This  program  occupied  two  years. 

During  191 5  two  batteries  containing  102  Koppers  by-product  ovens, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       703 

together  with  a  complete  benzol  and  by-product  recovery  plant,  the 
latter  designed  to  take  care  of  gas  from  a  much  larger  installation  of 
ovens,  was  erected.  An  eighteen-inch  bar  mill  was  installed,  and  work 
begun  on  the  new  office  and  laboratory  buildings.  The  emergency 
hospital,  one  of  the  best  in  the  country,  was  completed  during  that 
year.  Late  in  191 5  erection  of  merchant  bar  mills  at  the  Rod  and  Wire 
plant  was  begun,  and  one  of  these  was  completed  in  the  following  year, 
this  being  a  nine-inch  mill.  The  other,  a  twelve-inch  mill,  was  not  put 
into  service  until  1917.  These  mills  cover  seven  acres  and  are  among 
the  largest  and  most  modern  in  the  world. 

The  third  and  fourth  batteries  of  fifty-one  coke  ovens  each  were 
completed  in  1916,  together  with  a  number  of  bridges,  railroad  exten- 
sions and  much  other  work  of  a  similar  character.     During  this  year 


111111111111111111111111 


Works,  Office  and  Laboratory  of  the  Youngstown  Sheet  and 
Tube  Company — Typical  of  Modern  Works  Administration  Build- 
ings at  the  Plants  in  the  Mahoning  Valley. 

three  100-ton  furnaces  were  added  to  the  open-hearth  steel  plant,  to- 
gether with  a  mixer  having  a  capacity  of  1,300  tons — one  of  the  largest 
in  the  world.  During  this  year  also  considerable  progress  was  made 
on  the  housing  program,  in  which  it  has  already  expended  more  than 
$2,500,000.  At  this  time  468  houses  for  rent  or  sale  to  workmen  have 
been  provided,  and  the  plans  contemplate  the  erection  of  a  greater  num- 
ber in  addition  to  these.  These  houses  are  in  five  groups,  one  each  for 
American  workmen,  foreign-born  workmen  and  colored  workmen  at 
the  main  plant,  together  with  a  group  for  miners  at  Xemacolin,  and 
a  special  group  for  sale  to  foreign-born  workmen  at  High  view,  near 
the  ma'n  works.  AM  are  of  the  most  modern  design  and  provided  with 
every  convenience  necessary  for  a  high  standard  of  living. 

During  the  year  191 7,  three  additional  open-hearth  furnaces  were 
erected,  bringing  the  number  in  service  up  to  twelve.  During  this  year 
development  of  large  coal  deposits  purchased  in  Greene  County,  Penn- 


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704       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

sylvania  was  begun,  this  work  involving  the  sinking  of  shafts,  the 
erection  of  tipples  and  the  construction  of  eight  miles  of  railroad,  as 
well  as  the  erection  of  125  houses  for  workmen.  It  has  now  proceeded 
to  a  point  where  the  production  of  coal  is  about  1,000  tons  per  day, 
and  this  will  ultimately  reach  2,500,000  tons  per  year,  sufficient  to  sup- 
ply the  coke  ovens  and  plant. 

In  May,  1916,  the  blast  furnaces  and  other  property  of  the  Andrews 
&  Hitchcock  Iron  Company,  at  Hubbard,  Ohio,  were  purchased.  The 
furnaces  were  remodeled,  supplied  with  modern  equipment  for  han- 
dling ores  and  fuel  and  improved  so  as  to  greatly  increase  their  pro- 
duction. This  purchase  brought  the  number  of  blast  furnaces  up  to  six, 
and  provided  a  supply  of  pig  iron  sufficient  for  present  operations. 

In  order  to  meet  the  urgent  demand  for  plates  in  the  ship-building 
program  of  the  Government  during  the  World  war,  a  plate  mill  equipped 
with  tandem  mills  of  eighty- four  and  ninety-six-inch  capacity  was  be- 
gun early  in  1917.  This  was  pushed  to  completion  with  all  possible  speed 
and  put  into  operation  on  June  17,  1918,  producing  about  70,000  tons 
of  plates  before  the  armistice  was  signed  and  since  that  time  forming  a 
most  important  addition  to  the  productive  capacity  of  the  plant. 

On  August  8,  1917,  a  fifth  battery  of  fifty-one  by-product  ovens  was 
completed  and  fired,  and  on  September  4th  of  the  same  year,  the  sixth 
group  of  ovens  was  put  into  service,  making  the  entire  installation  306, 
and  giving  a  capacity  for  the  production  of  by-product  coke  sufficient 
to  supply  all  six  of  the  blast  furnaces,  as  well  as  for  all  other  needs 
of  the  company  in  this  line.  The  construction  during  1918  also  in- 
cluded a  new  locomotive  repair  shop  equipped  to  care  for  twenty-eight 
steam  locomotives  and  fourteen  portable  cranes  used  in  the  operation 
of  the  works,  as  well  as  a  building  designed  for  the  purpose  of  thaw- 
ing out  frozen  ore,  coal  and  other  materials.  A  locomotive  coaling 
station,  ash-handling  plant  and  many  other  items  were  included,  bring- 
ing the  expenditures  for  new  construction  during  1918  up  to  about 
$12,000,000. 

The  principal  improvements  and  extensions  during  1919  included 
a  new  warehouse  at  the  plate  mill,  a  pig  casting  machine  at  the  Hub- 
bard Furnaces,  and  a  system  for  supplying  cooled  and  filtered  drink- 
ing water  throughout  the  plant.  Much  additional  development  work 
was  done  at  the  coal  mines  and  railroad  connections  established  between 
the  Main  Plant  and  the  Rod  and  Wire  department.  In  1920  an  addi- 
tional lap-weld  tube  mill,  with  a  capacity  of  60,000  tons  per  year  was 
put  into  service. 

Recent  annual  reports  of  The  Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company 
indicate  that  its  resources  exceed  $100,000,000  and  include  sufficient  ore 
and  coal  to  supply  its  needs  for  many  years  to  come.  It  is  now  prac- 
tically self-contained,  controlling  its  own  raw  materials  and  manufac- 
turing the  product  of  its  blast  furnaces  into  steel  and  the  steel  into  fin- 
ished materials  for  the  market,  as  well  as  making  its  own  iron  for  wrought 
iron  products.  Some  idea  of  the  volume  and  diversity  of  its  products 
may  be  obtained  from  the  following  figures,  which  represent  maximum 
annual  capacities : 


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YOUNGSTQWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       705 

Fuel  and  By.-Products 

Coal 2,100,000  tons 

By-product  Coke 1,500,000  tons 

Coal  Tar , . . 18,000,000  gals. 

Ammonium  Sulphate 48,000,000  lbs. 

Benzol 3,600,000  gals. 

Toluol  900,000  gals. 

Solvent  Naphtha 300,000  gals. 

Iron  and  Steel 

Pig  Iron 1,200,000  tons 

Double- refined  Hand-puddled  Iron 50,000  tons 

Bessemer  and  O.  H.  Steel  Ingots 1,500,000  tons 

Semi-Finished  Products 

Blooms,  Slabs,  Billets,  Sheet  Bars 1,250,000  tons 

Skelp 550,000  tons 

Finished  Products 

Butt-welded  and  Lap-welded  Pipe 560,000  tons 

Sheared  Plates 200,000  tons 

Merchant  Bars . 225,000  tons 

Sheets  (average  sizes  and  gauges) 100,000  tons 

Wire  Rods 140,000  tons 

Plain  Wire 120,000  tons 

Wire  Nails 50,000  tons 

Barbed  Wire 20,000  tons 

Wire  Fencing 20,000  tons 

Wire  Hoops 3,ooo  tons 

Electrical  Conduit  (steel) 30,000  tons 

Flexible  Steel  Armored  Cable 40,000,000  feet 

The  policy  of  •: his  company  has  always  been  to  deal  with  its  own 
employes  in  the  adjustment  of  any  questions  which  may  arise  affecting 
the  relations  of  employer  and  employed.  For  this  purpose  it  has  estab- 
lished a  representation  plan,  the  first  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  and  among 
the  first  in  this  country,  by  which  employes  are  given  an  opportunity  to 
discuss  with  the  management  all  questions  of  this  nature.  Under  this 
plan  the  workmen  elect  a  representative  from  each  department  whose 
business  it  is  to  confer  with  the  management  on  all  matters  concerning 
conditions  of  employment.  This  plan  has  been  in  successful  operation 
for  something  over  a  year,  and  promises  to  work  well.  In  addition,  an 
industrial  relations  department,  designed  to  keep  the  executive  officers 
in  close  touch  with  the  employes  and  to  promote  conditions  that  will 
assure  contentment  among  the  latter  has  been  in  operation  for  several 
years.     Much  work  is  done  along  safety,  welfare  and  Americanization 

Vol.  1—45 


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706       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

lines,  and  every  effort  is  made  to  provide  the  best  conditions  possible  as 
well  as  to  render  assistance  to  employes  in  the  way  of  medical  and  legal 
advice,  relief  in  time  of  sickness  and  other  similar  things.  Free  night 
schools  are  maintained  for  those  who  wish  to  learn  English.  Parks  and 
playgrounds  are  provided,  and  every  encouragement  given  to  whole- 
some athletics  among  the  workers.  Houses  are  rented  or  sold  at  cost, 
and  with  each  deed  the  company  furnishes  free  a  paid  up  life  insurance 
policy  equal  in  amount  to  the  value  of  the  property. 

On  its  operation  The  Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company  is  a  dis- 
tinctively Youngstown  concern.  Its  executive,  sales  and  kindred  offices 
are  located  in  the  Stambaugh  building,  and  those  directly  concerned  with 
the  operation  of  the  works  in  a  large  and  modern  building  at  the  plant. 
It  maintains  sales  offices  in  thirteen  American  cities  and,  until  the  for- 
mation of  the  Consolidated  Steel  Corporation,  of  which  it  is  one  of  the 
constituent  members,  had  a  number  of  offices  in  foreign  countries.  At 
this  time  it  owns  the  following  subsidiaries:  The  Continental  Supply 
Company,  of  St.  Louis,  which  operates  forty  stores  in  the  Central  West 
for  the  distribution  of  tubular  and  allied  products;  The  Youngstown 
Steel  Products  Company;  the  Buckeye  Coal  Company  and  the  Buck- 
eye Land  Company,  the  two  latier  companies  conducting  its  coal  min- 
ing and  housing  operations. 

The  name  of  the  corporation  was  changed  on  May  i,  1905,  by  the 
elimination  of  the  word  "Iron,"  but  it  still  continues  the  manufacture 
of  wrought,  or  puddled,  iron,  using  the  greater  portion  of  its  output, 
however,  in  the  production  of  couplings  for  steel  pipe,  and  manufac- 
turing iron  pipe  and  iron  sheets  in  only  relatively  small  quantities. 

Under  normal  conditions  the  number  of  men  employed  by  this  com- 
pany is  between  14,000  and  15,000.  Its  annual  payroll  for  1918  was 
$22,157,000.  Figures  for  that  year  are  given  as  more  nearly  represen- 
tative than  those  of  1919,  because  conditions  in  the  latter  were  abnormal 
owing  to  the  general  strike  in  the  steel  industry  and  other  causes.  Dur- 
ing 1918  its  products  shipped  were  valued  at  an  amount  in  excess  of 
$84,000,000. 

The  original  officers  and  directors  of  The  Youngstown  Sheet  & 
Tube  Company  were:  President  and  treasurer,  Geo.  D.  Wick;  vice 
president,  J.  A.  Campbell;  secretary,  Robert  Bentley;  auditor,  W.  C. 
Reilly;  directors,  Myron  C.  Wick,  Geo.  D.  Wick,  William  Wilkoff,  Geo. 
L.  Fordyce,  J.  A.  Campbell,  Henry  M.  Garlick,  Henry  H.  Stambaugh, 
Robert  Bentley  and  Cecil  D.  Hine. 

The  present  officers  and  directors  are:  President,  J.  A.  Campbell; 
first  vice  president,  H.  G.  Dalton ;  vice  presidents,  C.  S.  Robinson,  Rich- 
ard Garlick,  W.  E.  Manning;  secretary,  W.  E.  Meub;  treasurer,  Richard 
Garlick;  assistant  secretary  and  treasurer,  W.  J.  Morris;  auditor,  J.  J. 
Brant;  directors,  A.  E.  Adams,  Robert  Bentley,  C.  H.  Booth,  J.  G.  But- 
ler, Jr.,  George  D.  Cameron,  J.  A.  Campbell,  Geo.  E.  Day,  E.  L.  Ford, 
Richard  Garlick  and  John  L.  Severance.  In  addition  to  those  named, 
the  board  elected  in  1920  included  Cecil  D.  Hine,  whose  death  occurred 
early  in  that  year.    W.  C.  Reilly  is  general  superintendent. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       707 
The  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company 

The  first  of  the  giant  combinations  organized  in  this  country  in  the 
closing  years  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  to  retain  its  identity  and  ex- 
pand under  its  new  name,  without  being  again  swallowed  by  some 
larger  combination,  was  the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  at  this 
time  one  of  the  most  important  corporations  of  its  kind  in  the  United 
States. 

The  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company  was  organized  under  the  laws 
of  New  Jersey  in  May,  1899,  one  of  the  leading  spirits  in  the  enter- 
prise being  the  late  John  W.  Gates,  a  financier  who  made  many  friends 
among  local  people  during  the  negotiations  and  afterward,  &nd  who  had 
much  to  do  with  the  early  policies  of  the  company,  although  his  name 
was  never  officially  connected  with  it.  The  original  officers  were:  Presi- 
dent, Alexis  W.  Thompson ;  vice  president  and  treasurer ;  John  F.  Taylor ; 
vice  presidents,  Archibald  W.  Houston,  John  F.  Taylor,  George  A. 
Baird;"  executive  pommittee,  Col.  Geo.  W.  French,  Harry  Reubens, 
Alexis  W.  Thompson,  Archibald  W.  Houston/George  A.  Baird;  direc- 
tors, Chas.  A.  Wacker,  L.  C.  Hanna,  Peter  L.  Kimberly,  Edwin  M. 
Ohl,  August  Belmont,  Grant  B.  Schley,  George  R.  Sheldon,  and  John 
Crerar.  *  , 

The  companies  taken  over  by  the  new  combination  were  scattered 
all  over  the  Middle  West  and  South.  As  soon  as  the  corporation  got 
into  go'od  working  order,  one  of  its  economies  was  the  closing  of  a 
number  of  these  works  in  order  to  avoid  duplication  in  the  produc- 
tion of  certain  lines.  By  far  the  most  important  properties,  however, 
were  those  in  Youngstown,  consisting  of  the  works  of  the  Brown,  Bon- 
nell  Iron  Co.,,  Andrews  Bros.  &  Co.,  and  the  Mahoning  Valley  Iron 
Company.  The  Hannah  furnace  and  the  present  shafting  plant  being 
the  only  portions  of  the  once  extensive  "Valley  Mill"  not  dismantled.  In 
addition  the  company  acquired  the  Sharon  Iron  Works,  with  the  Hall 
furnace,  and  the  Atlantic  furnace  at  New  Castle. 

The  capital  stock  authorized  at  the  time  of  incorporation  was  $50- 
000,000,  and  this  was  issued  from  time  to  time  as  the  acquisition  of 
new  properties  or  the  extension  of  others  required.  Some  time  later 
the  capital  was  increased  and  now  consists  of  $27,352,000  of  common 
and  $25,000,000  of  preferred  outstanding. 

The  executive  offices  were  at  Jersey  City,  New  Jersey,  and  the  prop- 
erties in  this  locality  were  managed  as  a  group,  known  as  the  Youngs- 
town district,  Charles  Hart  being  general  manager  and  J.  W.  Deetrick 
district  superintendent.  It  will  be  noticed  that  there  were  few  Youngs- 
town men  on  the  board  of  directors,  although  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  stock  was  still  held  in  this  city.  The  principal  executive  offices, 
with  those  of  John  R.  Topping,  chairman  of  the  board,  are  now  located 
in  New  York,  but  the  general  offices  of  the  corporation  are,  fortunately 
for  Youngstown,  located  in  this  city,  and  this  great  corporation  is  a 
part  of  the  life  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  in  a  way  that  would  not  other- 
wise be  possible. 

The   first   important   improvement  made   in  the   Youngstown   prop- 


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708       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

erty  after  its  acquisition  was  the  installation  of  a  Bessemer  steel  plant. 
This  was  completed  in  1900,  the  equipment  consisting  of  two  5-ton 
converters,  four  cupolas  and  a  32-inch  blooming  mill.  This  plant  was 
entirely  rebuilt  in  1902,  at  which  time  two  10-ton  converters,  a  42-inch 
blooming  mill,  a  26-inch  billet  mill  and  an  18-inch  billet  mill  were  erected. 
Two  additional  cupolas  were  also  built  at  this  time.  In  1905  a  28-inch 
sheet  bar  and  rolling  mill  and  a  250-ton  mixer  were  added  to  the  Besse- 
mer equipment. 

In  addition  to  these  changes  and  extensions  at  the  Bessemer  plant, 
a  number  of  new  mills  were  installed  in  the  Brown-Bonnell  plant  dur- 
ing this  period.  This  plant  originally  contained  only  puddling  fur- 
naces and  rolling  mills.    Iron  working  was  abandoned,  and  the  furnaces 


A  Rksskmkr  Steel  Converter  i\   Action 


were  dismantled  on  the  installation  of  the  Bessemer  steel  plant.  Be- 
tween 1901  and  1903  three  continuous  mills  were  added  to  equip- 
ment. In  1909  and  1910  two  skelp  mills  were  added  to  the  Brown- 
Bonnell  plant.  Further  extensions  of  the  rolling  capacity  of  this  plant 
included  three  new  hand  mills  erected  during  19 13,  and  a  modern  con- 
tinuous 10-inch  bar  mill  installed  in  1916.  These  additions  increased 
the  rolling  mill  capacity  of  this  department,  originally  180,000  tons  per 
year,  to  660,000  tons,  and  also  greatly  diversified  the  product,  permit- 
ting the  production  of  a  wide  range  of  bars,  shapes  and  angles. 

When  the  property  was  taken  over  there  was  but  one  b!ast  furnace 
in  the  Haselton  plant,  this  being  the  same  stack  operated  by  Andrews 
Bros.  &  Co.  This  furnace  was  rebuilt  in  some  particulars  and  in  1905-6 
two  modern  furnaces  were  erected,  they  going  into  blast  in  1906.  In 
191 1  a  fourth  stack  was  added,  and  in  1917  still  another  was  completed 
and  put  into  operation.     This  last  furnace  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       709 

valley,  having  a  capacity  of  600  tons  per  day.  These  stacks  are  all  of 
the  largest  and  most  efficient  type,  being  provided  with  all  accessories, 
including  electric  power. 

During  1909  and  1910  a  tube  mill  department  was  established,  con- 
taining two  butt-weld  and  two  lap-weld  mills,  a  socket  shop,  galvan- 
izing equipment,  threading  floors  and  other  necessary  accessories.  This 
department  was  enlarged  in  1917  by  the  erection  of  two  additional  mills. 
Its  capacity  is  now  about  275,000  tons  of  lap-welded  and  butt-welded 
pipe  per  year. 

The  general  offices  of  the  company,  which  had  been  located  in  Chi- 
cago, were  transferred  to  Pittsburg  on  November  15,  1905.  On  August 
10,  191 1,  they  were  removed  to  Youngstown,  a  commodious  brick  build- 
ing having  been  erected  on  Market  Street,  at  the  west  end  of  the  works, 
for  their  accommodation.  This  structure  has  been  twice  enlarged  and 
is  now  one  of  the  largest  and  best  of  its  kind  in  the  valley. 

Construction  of  an  open-hearth  steel  plant  was  begun  in  1910  and 
completed  during  191  r.  It  consists  of  eight  80-ton  furnaces,  a  4-inch 
blooming  mill,  billet  and  sheet  bar  mills  sufficient  to  take  care  of  a  con- 
siderable increase  in  the  steel  output.  Two  additional  open-hearths  were 
built  in  1913,  two  in  191 5,  and  two  in  1918,  bringing  the  annual  open- 
hearth  steel  ingot  capacity  up  to  600,000  tons  per  year. 

A  90-inch  plate  mill,  together  with  a  16-14-inch  continuous  bar  mill 
was  erected  during  1910-11,  and  was  placed  in  operation  during  the  lat- 
ter year,  still  further  increasing  the  tonnage  and  diversity  of  rolled 
products. 

During  1913  a  battery  of  sixty -eight  Koppers  by-product  coke  ovens 
was  erected  and  this  unit  was  put  into  service  in  April  of  1914,  its 
capacity  being  about  340,000  tons  of  coke  per  year.  In  191 5  a  second 
battery  of  ovens  of  similar  type  was  installed,  together  with  a  complete 
benzol  and  by-product  recovery  installation  sufficient  in  capacity  to  take 
care  of  the  gas  from  both  batteries.  The  present  annual  capacity  of 
the  by-product  coke  plant  is  approximately  660,000  tons  of  coke,  with 
a  corresponding  amount  of  benzol,  ammonium  sulphate,  and  other  by- 
products. 

During  1919,  the  sheet  mill  plant  of  the  DeForest  Sheet  &  Tin- 
plate  Company,  between  Niles  and  Warren,  was  purchased  by  the  Re- 
public Iron  &  Steel  Company,  which  thus  acquired  facilities  for  a  new 
line  of  reduction.  This  plant  contains  twenty-eight  sheet  mills  and  is 
modern  in  every  respect.  It  is  now  being  enlarged  by  the  installation 
of  twenty-four  additional  sheet  mills. 

In  '  addition  to  these  operations,  the  company  manufactures  steel 
shafting  at  a  plant  specially  equipped  for  that  purpose  on  Crab  Creek, 
where  a  large  amount  of  cold-rolled  shafting  is  produced  annually.  It 
also  operates  the  Hannah  furnace  in  the  same  locality. 

The  above  information  applies  only  to  the  plants  owned  and  operated 
by  the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  In  addi- 
tion it  owns  two  blast  furnaces  in  the  Shenango  Valley,  the  Hall,  at 
Sharon,  and  the  Atlantic,  at  New  Castle,  together  with  three  others, 
known   as  the   Pioneer   furnaces,   at    Birmingham,   Alabama.     Its   total 


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710       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

number  of  furnaces  is  n,  and  its  theoretical  capacity  for  the  produc- 
tion of  pig  iron  is  1,425,000  tons.  It  also  owns  and  operates  1,656  bee- 
hive coke  ovens,  with  a  capacity  of  452,000  tons  of  coke  per  year/  which, 
added  to  its  capacity  for  by-product  coke,  makes  a  total  of  1,770,000 
tons  per  year.  The  purchase  of  the  Bessemer  Coal  &  Coke  Company, 
in  191 7,  with  the  output  of  coal  mines  already  owned  in  Alabama,  in- 
creased its  production  of  coal  to  1,207,896  tons  in  1918.  It  owned 
2,162  tenement  houses  in  1918,  821  of  these  being  connected  with  its 
northern  works  and  the  remainder  with  the  southern  operations.  It  has 
large  reserves  of  coal,  ore  and  limestone,  and  owns  a  number  of  sub- 
sidiaries operating  these  properties. 

According  to  the  report  for  1918,  the  last  available  at  this  time,  this 
company  employed  11,895  men  at  its  northern  ore,  coal,  limestone  and 
steel  plants,  and  2,773  at  ^s  southern  operations — a  total  of  14,668. 
Of  these  about  8,500  were  employed  in  the  plants  located  in  the  Mahon- 
ing Valley.  During  the  same  period  the  payrolls  of  this  company  to- 
talled $23,747,260.97,  an  average  per  man  of  $1,619.  Incidentally,  it 
is  interesting  to  note  that  the  average  earnings  of  its  employes  increased 
from  $771  in  1915  to  the  amount  named  above  in  1918. 

Present  officers  and  directors  of  the  corporation  are:  Executive 
committee,  John  A.  Topping,  Edward  J.  Berwind,  Thos.  J.  Bray,  How- 
ard M.  Hanna,  Jr.,  William  T.  Graham,  Earl  W.  Oglebay,  Harry  L. 
Rownd ;  chairman,  John  A.  Topping ;  president,  Thos.  J.  Bray ;  vice 
presidents,  Harry  L.  Rownd,  J.  Wilbert  Deetrick;  treasurer,  Herman 
M.  Hurd;  secretary,  Richard  Jones,  Jr.;  directors,  G.  Watson  French, 
Thos.  J.  Bray,  Harry  L.  Rownd,  John  A.  Topping,  Geo.  W.  Watts, 
Earl  W.  Oglebay,  William  T.  Graham,  Edward  J.  Berwind,  Howard 
M.  Hanna,  Jr.,  Alexander  Glass,  J.  Wilbert  Deetrick. 

The  Brier  Hill  Steel  Company 

The  Brier  Hill  Steel  Company  is  one  of  the  youngest  of  the  im- 
portant industries  of  the  Mahoning  Valley.  At  the  same  time  its  his- 
tory extends  far  back  into  the  iron  era,  and  its  beginnings  are  connected 
with  events  occurring  long  before  there  was  a  steel  company  in  America, 
or  at  least  before  steel  was  made  in  this  country  except  by  the  crucible 
process. 

The  enterprise  from  which  this  company  sprung,  or  rather  that  which 
it  succeeded,  was  founded  in  1838  by  James  R.  Ford,  Daniel  Town- 
send,  John  Williams,  Jr.,  George  B.  Martin,  David  Tod,  Simon  Per- 
kins and  Arad  Kent,  and  was  known  as  the  Akron  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany. The  purpose  of  its  organization  as  stated  in  the  charter  issued 
for  a  period  of  thirty  years,  was  "manufacturing  iron,  steel,  nails,  stoves, 
pig  iron,  and  castings  of  all  kinds."  The  authorized  capital  was  $250,000 
— a  very  large  sum  in  those  days.  The  plant  was  located  at  Akron  and 
was  really  only  a  foundry,  with  one  blast  furnace  as  its  source  of  iron 
supply.  In  1859,  after  the  presence  of  black-band  ore  and  the  value 
of  Brier  Hill  coal  were  demonstrated,  it  was  decided  to  move  the  enter- 
prise bodily  to  the  Mahoning  Valley.     The  plant  was,  accordingly,  dis- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       711 

mantled  and  removed  to  Brier  Hill,  where  the  blast  furnace  was  re- 
erected  under  the  name  of  Grace  No.  i,  extensive  improvements  being 
made  to  the  stack  during  its  re-erection.  At  the  same  time  the  name  of 
the  corporation  was  changed  to  "Brier  Hill  Iron  Company."  In  i860  an 
additional  furnace  was  erected  at  Brier  Hill,  known  as  Grace  No.  2, 
and  with  these  two  furnaces  the  corporation  continued  the  production  of 
pig  iron  until  1867.  The  original  charter  was  due  to  expire  the  follow- 
ing year,  and  with  this  in  view  the  company  was  reorganized  and  re- 
chartered  under  the  name  of  the  Brier  Hill  Iron  &  Coal  Company,  its 
new  charter  empowering  it  to  engage  in  the  mining  of  coal  as  well  as 
in  the  manufacture"  of  iron. 

Incorporators  of  the  new  company  were  David  Tod,  William  Pol- 
lock, Nelson  Crandall,  John  Stambaugh,  Jr.,  and  Henry  Tod,  all  of  whom 
were  Youngstown  men,  and  the  capital  was  fixed  at  $432,000.  Under 
this  company  the  Tod  coal  mining  interests  were  merged,  so  far  as  Brier 
Hill  is  concerned,  with  those  of  the  furnace  company,  and  extensive 
improvements  were  made  to  the  mines  and  the  furnace  plant.  On  the 
death  of  David  Tod  in  1868  his  place  was  filled  by  the  election  of  John 
Stambaugh  in  1869.  In  1882  the  corporation,  which  had  in  the  mean- 
time practically  ceased  its  coal  operations  owing  to  the  exhaustion  of 
its  mines,  was  reorganized  again,  this  time  under  the  same  name.  The 
incorporators  of  this  company  were  John  Stambaugh,  William  Pollock, 
Henry  Tod,  George  Tod,  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  Nelson  Crandall  and  John 
Tod.  John  Stambaugh  was  elected  president;  Nelson  Crandall,  treas- 
urer; H.  C.  Marshall,  secretary,  and  Jos.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  general  manager. 
The  capital  of  this  corporation  was  fixed  at  $500,000.  In  January,  1883, 
Wm.  B.  Schiller,  now  president  of  the  National  Tube  Company,  was 
elected  secretary  and  John  Stambaugh  became  treasurer ;  otherwise  there 
were  no  changes  in  the  official  roster  until  1889,  when  John  Stambaugh 
died  and  George  Tod  was  elected  president. 

During  this  period  many  changes  and  innovations  were  made  in 
blast  furnace  practice  at  this  plant,  which  acquired  a  wide  reputation  for 
progressiveness.  Here  the  first  chemist  attached  to  any  industrial  plant 
in  the  Rationing  Valley  was  employed,  this  pioneer  being  C.  A. 
Meissner,  now  chairman  of  the  coke  committee  of  the  American  Iron 
&  Steel  Institute.  Julian  Kennedy,  perhaps  the  most  widely  known 
industrial  plant  engineer  in  this  country,  was  among  the  young  college 
men  who  were  employed  there  about  that  period.  It  was  at  this  fur- 
nace that  the  first  successful  attempt  was  made  to  combine  black-band 
and  Lake  Superior  ores,  and  here  also  the  first  and  only  successful  appa- 
ratus for  washing  pig  iron  was  installed  and  developed,  this  being  done 
at  the  Tod  furnace,  which  was  the  name  given  Grace  Furnace  No.  1 
when  it  was  rebuilt.  It  was  at  this  plant  that  the  first  speigel  iron 
made  in  America  was  produced  under  the  direction  of  E.  L.  Ford,  a 
young  chemist  and  expert  brought  to  Youngstown  to  conduct  this  ex- 
periment, which  was  successful  but  unprofitable,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  ores  had  to  be  imported.  Without  material  change  in  its  organization 
this  company  continued  to  do  business  until  it  was  again  reorganized  and 
its  name  changed  to  "Brier  Hill  Steel  Company,"  in  191 2. 


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712       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  Brier  Hill  Steel  Company's  charter  is  dated  January  28,  1912, 
and  its  capital  was  originally  $15,000,000,  of  which  $10,000,000  was 
common  and  $5,000,000  preferred.  The  capital  was  increased  on  Janu- 
ary 16,  1916,  to  $15,000,000  of  common,  This  being  again  increased  in 
1920  by  the  conversion  of  the  common  stock  into  1,250,000  shares  of 
no  par  value,  a  process  that  practically  increased  the  capital  to  $55,000,000.- 

The  first  act  of  the  new  corporation  was  to  purchase  the  physical 
property  of  the  following  corporations :  The  Brier  Hill  Iron  &  Coal 
Company;  The  Youngstown  Steel  Company;  The  Biwabik  Mining  Com- 
pany; the  Brier  Hill  Coke  Company  \  The  Thomas  Steel  Company  and 
the  Empire  Steel  Company,  the  two  latter  being  sheet  mill  plan.s  located 
at  Niles.  To  these  properties,  all  of  which  were  going  concerns,  was 
added  during  the  year  191 3  a  complete  open-hearth  steel  plant,  built 
at   Youngstown.     This  plant   included   seven  75-ton  basic  open-hearth 


Drawing  Steel  from  Open-Hearth  Furnace 

furnaces,  a  600-ton  mixer,  eight  4-hole  soaking  pit  furnaces,  a  40-inch 
2-high  reversing  blooming  mill,  a  24-inch,  2-high,  6-stand  continuous 
billet  mill,  a  24-inch,  2-high,  6-stand,  merchant  bar  mill,  gas  producers, 
furnaces,  and  other  equipment  accordingly.  This  plant  was  admirably 
designed  and  holds  a  very  high  record  for  efficiency.  The-  first  ingots 
from  the  furnaces  of  this  plant  were  rolled  on  February  7,  1914. 

The  Tod  furnace,  acquired  from  the  Brier  Hill  Iron  and  Coal  Com- 
pany, was  rebuilt  in  1913  and  other  extensive  improvements  made  during 
the  following  year,  these  including  the  erection  of  five  additional  open- 
hearth  furnaces,  the  output  of  which  was  taken  care  of  by  the  original 
mills,  which  had  been  designed  for  this  extension. 

In  December,  19 16,  the  company  acquired  by  purchase  the  plant  of 
the  Western  Reserve  Steel  Company  at  Warren,  a  sheet  mill  erected 
a  short  time  before.  This,  with  the  sheet  mills  acquired  in  the  original 
combination,  made  the  number  operated  by  this  company  twenty-eight, 
the  largest  owned  by  any  one  concern  in  the  valley.     It  also  extended 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       713 

the  range  as  to  size  and  weight  of  sheets  produced  considerably  and 
placed  the  Brier  Hill  Company  in  the  front  rank  among  manufacturers 
of  steel  sheets  in  this  country. 

In  191 7  an  additional  blast  furnace  was  erected  at  the  Youngstown 
plant,  making  the  number  in  operation  three  and  increasing  the  output 
of  pig  iron  to  531,000  tons  per  year.  During  1917,  a  complete  by-prod- 
uct coke  plant  was  erected  in  connection  with  the  Youngstown  plant, 
consisting  of  eighty-four  ovens.  With  this  a  benzol  and  by-product  re- 
covery plant  was  put  in  operation.  An  ore  yard,  with  complete  equip- 
ment for  the  handling  and  storage  of  1,000,000  tons  was  completed  dur- 
ing the  same  year. 

Additional  acreage  had  been  secured  during  1917,  and  late  in  that 
year  the  erection  of  a  plate  mill  was  begun,  the  work  being  completed 
and  the  first  plates  rolled  for  the  use  of  the  government  in  ship-building 
operations  during  191 8.  This  is  one  of  the  largest  plate  mills  in  the 
United  States.  Its  equipment  consists  of  one  84-inch,  2-high  stand,  and 
one  132-inch,  2-high  stand,  together  with  the  necessary  furnaces  and 
machinery  for  shearing  and  finishing  plates  as  wide  as  130  inches.  The 
monthly  capacity  of  this  mill  is  35,000  tons,  and  it  is  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  modern  of  such  installations. 

In  connection  with  the  Tod  Furnace  the  Brier  Hill  Steel  Company 
operates  the  washed  metal  plant  described  in  connection  with  the 
Youngstown  Steel  Company.  It  is  the  only  one  of  its  kind  in  this  coun- 
try and  its  product  goes  to  all  parts  of  the  world,  being  in  demand  for 
the  production  of  exceptionally  high-grade  alloy  steels  of  all  kinds  in 
which  purity  of  the  iron  is  an.  essential. 

The  Brier  Hill  Steel  Company  controls  its  own  ore  and  coal  mines, 
as  well  as  its  supply  of  limestone.  It  is  therefore  practically  self-con- 
tained and  assured  of  its  raw  materials  for  many  years  to  come.  These 
holdings  consist  of  75  per  cent  of  the  stock  of  the  Biwabik  Mining  Com- 
pany and  50  per  cent  of  that  of  the  Pennington  Mining  Company,  both 
in  the  Lake  Superior  region.  It  owns  a  subsidiary,  known  as  the  Brier 
Hill  Coke  Company,  which  has  an  annual  capacity  of  4^0,000  tons  of 
coal,  more  than  sufficient  to  supply  the  oven  pfant  at  its  works  and  pro- 
vide fuel  for  all  of  its  furnaces. 

In  1920  its  annual  maximum  capacity  for  the  production  of  various 
materials  is  as  follows: 

By-product  coke 370,000  tons 

Benzol 1,870,000  gals. 

Pig  iron 531,000  tons 

Steel   ingots    600,000  tons 

Bars,  billets,  etc 510,000  tons 

Plates    , 240,000  tons 

Sheets    170,000  tons 

These  capacities  place  this  company  among  the  largest  of  the  independ- 
ents, especially  in  the  line  of  sheets,  and  while  the  number  of  its  prod- 


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714       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ucts  is  not  yet  as  large  as  some  others,  few  concerns  of  its  age  have 
shown  such  development. 

The  first  officers  and  directors  of  the  Brier  Hill  Steel  Company  were : 
W.  A.  Thomas,  president;  John  Tod,  first  vice  president;  R.  C.  Steese, 
vice  president  and  general  manager ;  Joseph  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  vice  president ; 
John  Stambaugh,  treasurer ;  J.  E.  Parker,  secretary ;  J.  B.  Kennedy,  gen- 
eral counsel. 

•  Directors — H.  H.  Stambaugh,  chairman ;  W.  A.  Thomas,  R.  C.  Steese, 
Joseph  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  John  Stambaugh,  John  Tod,  David  Tod,  E.  L. 
Ford,  C.  G.  Thomas. 

The  present  officers  and  directors  are :  J.  B.  Kennedy,  chairman  of 
board ;  J.  H.  Grose,  president ;  G.  F.  Alderdice,  first  vice  president ;  John 
Tod,  vice  president;  Joseph  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  vice  president;  N.  B.  Folsom, 
treasurer;  J.  E.  Parker,  secretary;  J.  B.  Kennedy,  general  counsel. 

Directors,  J.  B.  Kennedy,  chairman;  J.  H.  Grose,  G.  F.  Alderdice, 
John  Tod,  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  John  Stambaugh,  W.  A.  Thomas,  Fred  Tod, 
R.  C.  Steese. 

Advisory  committee,  E.  L.  Ford,  chairman;  John  Tod,  John  Stam- 
baugh, W.  A.  Thomas. 

The  Ohio  Works  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company 

In  the  year  1903  the  present  Carnegie  Steel  Company  was  formed  by 
the  merger  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  The  National  Steel  Com- 
pany and  The  American  Steel  Hoop  Company,  then  owners  of  the  Ohio 
Works,  Upper  and  Lower  Union  Mills,  Greenville  Mills,  Girard  Mills, 
Warren  Mills  and  the  Xiles  Furnate.  Girard  and  Warren  mills  were 
later  abandoned. 

No.  1  blast  furnace  at  the  Ohio  Works  started  to  operate  on  Febru- 
ary 14,  1900;  No.  2,  June  6,  1900;  No.  3,  March  29,  1901.  Construction 
on  No.  4  blast  furnace  was  started  in  March,  1903,  and  operations  were 
started  on  September  6,  1904.  Construction  on  No.  5  and  No.  6  was 
started  in  January,  1907,  and  No.  6  started  to  operate  February  11,  1909, 
and  No.  5,  June  29,  1909.  Construction  on  the  40-inch  mill  started  in 
February,  1907,  and  the  first  steel  rolled  on  July  12,  1909.  Construction 
on  three  additional  Open  Hearth  furnaces  was  started  on  November  11, 
1915,  and  were  first  operated  on  March  29,  1916,  April  4,  1916,  and  April 
12,  1916,  respectively.  The  15-inch  continuous  billet  mill  consisting  of 
seven  sets  of  rolls  was  completed  and  started  to  operate  in  March,  1901. 

At  the  time  the  Ohio  Steel  Company  was  acquired  by  the  National 
Steel  Company,  Thomas  McDonald  was  superintendent  of  the  Ohio 
Works  and  continued  to  serve  in  that  capacity  until  December  31,  1906, 
when  he  was  made  general  superintendent  of  the  Youngstown  district 
which  included  the  Ohio  Works,  Upper  and  Lower  Union  Mills,  Green- 
ville Mills  and  Niles  Furnace.  When  this  change  was  made  J.  A.  Mc- 
Donald was  made  superintendent  of  the  Ohio  Works.  He  resigned 
December  31,  191 1. 

On  January  1,  191 2,  J.  H.  Grose  was  appointed  as  superintendent  of 
the  Ohio  Works  and  continued  to  work  in  that  capacity  until  December 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       715 

31,  1915,  when  Thomas  McDonald  was  given  the  position  of  consulting 
superintendent  and  J.  H.  Grose  made  general  superintendent  of  the 
Youngs  town  district  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company. 

I.  Lamont  Hughes,  who  at  that  time  was  superintendent  of  the  Bar 
Mills,  Upper  and  Lower,  and  Greenville,  was  made  assistant  general 
superintendent  of  the  Youngstown  district  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Com- 
pany in  which  position  he  remained  until  June  15th  of  the  same  year. 
L.  N.  McDonald  was  then  appointed  assistant  general  superintendent  of 
the  Youngstown  district  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company  which  position 
he  still  holds.  J.  H.  Grose  resigned  his  position  effective  December  31, 
1919,  and  I.  Lamont  Hughes  was  appointed  as  his  successor  as  general 
superintendent  of  the  Youngstown  district  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Com- 
pany, taking  effect  January  1,  1920.  L.  N.  McDonald  continued  as  as- 
sistant general  superintendent  of  the  Youngstown  district  of  the  Carnegie 
Steel  Company. 


A  Mahoning  Valley  Blast  Furnace  Plant 

The  Cartwright-McCurdy  Mill,  now  known  as  the  Lower  Union  Car- 
negie Steel  Company,  and  the  Youngstown  Mill,  now  known  as  the 
Upper  Union  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  consolidated  August  3,  1892, 
forming  what  was  known  as  the  Union  Iron  &  Steel  Company.  These 
mills  were  taken  over  by  the  National  Steel  Company  under  date  of 
February  2J,  1899,  who  in  turn  conveyed  the  property  to  the  American 
Steel  Hoop  Company  under  date  of  April  15,  1899. 

This  property,  including  the  Greenville  Mill,  became  vested  in  the 
present  Carnegie  Steel  Company  by  the  merger  of  the  Carnegie  inter- 
ests in  the  Pittsburg  district,  The  National  Steel  Company  and  The 
American  Steel  Hoop  Company,  in  the  year  1903. 

At  the  time  of  the  forming  of  the  present  Carnegie  Steel  Company, 
M.  E.  Coombs  was  general  superintendent  of  the  Youngstown  District 
Bar  Mills,  which  included  Upper  and  Lower,  Girard,  Warren  and  Green- 
ville mills ;  Girard  and  Warren  mills  being  since  abandoned. 

On  May  1,  1904,  F.  B.  Baugh  was  appointed  assistant  to  Mr.  Coombs. 


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716       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Mr.  Coombs  retired  on  March  31,  1906,  and  F.  B.  Baugh  was  appointed 
his  successor  as  general  superintendent  of  the  Bar  Mills  of  the  Youngs- 
town  District,  effective  April  1,  1906,  and  I.  Lamont  Hughes  appointed 
assistant  general  superintendent  of  Bar  Mills. 

F.  B.  Baugh  died  on  March  15,  1911,  and  I.  Lamont  Hughes  was 
appointed  as  general  superintendent  of  the  Bar  Mills  of  the  Youngstown 
District,  effective  April  1,  191 1,  in  which  position  he  remained  until  his 
appointment  as  assistant  general  superintendent  of  the  Youngstown  Dis- 
trict of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company  on  January  1,  19 16. 

A.  W.  Griffith  was  appointed  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Bar 
Mills  of  the  Youngstown  district,  effective  April  1,  191 1,  and  when  I. 
Lamont  Hughes  was  appointed  assistant  general  superintendent  of  the 
Youngstown  District  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company  A.  W.  Griffith  was 
appointed  his  successor  as  superintendent  of  the  Bar  Mills  of  the  Youngs- 
town District  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  and  H.  J.  Baugh  appointed 
assistant  superintendent  of  the  Bar  Mills  of  the  Youngstown  district  of 
the  Carnegie  Steel  Company. 

On  February  10,  19 16,  work  .was  started  on  the  construction  of  the 
present  McDonald  Mills,  four  mills  being  constructed  as  the  first  unit  and* 
these  started  to  operate  as  follows:  * 

No.  16,  8-inCh  bar  mill,  January  1,  1918.  ^  ^  v.. 

No.  15,  10-inch  bar  mill,  May  is,  1918.    V    ~  *■  i,']\  -.   <     \ 

No.  8,  8-inch  hoop  mill,  September  2,  ioj8.  *  *\  '    T    -   -.  \  '  ^  g 

No.  9,  8-inch  hoop  mill,  January  1,  1919.':         *  \      "*  V  \  \.\ 

In  addition  to  the  above  mills  at  McDonald,  No.  13,  18-inch  band  milf, 
has  been  constructed  and  is  now  ready  to  operate.  These  mills  are  Under 
the  direct  supervision  of  A.  W.  Griffith,'  superintendent  of  the  Bar 
Mills,  and  his  assistant,  H.  J.  Baugh. 

On  selecting  the  property  on  which  the  present  McDonald  Mills  are 
located  suitable  available  acreage  was  also  procured  in  addition  to  that 
required  for  the  mills,  for  a  town  site  and  later  a  town  laid  out  with  good 
streets  which  were  paved,  sewered  and  sidewalks  laid,  including  all  im- 
provements. One  section  which  seems  to  be  particularly  adapted  for* 
parking  purposes  was  set  aside  for  a  park  and  is  being  arranged  for  that 
purpose.  One  hundred  and  forty-eight  homes  have  been  built,  twenty 
now  under  construction  together  with  a  suitable  school  building  of  brick 
construction;  and  a  program  for  the  building  of  150  additional  homes 
is  now  well  under  way. 

Before  starting  the  construction  of  the  McDonald  Mills  it  being 
necessary  to  have  a  direct  connection  between  those  mills  and  the  Ohio 
Works,  a  railroad  was  built  extending  from  Division  Street,  Youngs- 
town, to  the  McDonald  Mill  site.  Work  on  this  was  started  October  25. 
1909,  and  the  first  train  was  run  over  this  railroad  October  8,  191  r. 
This  road  is  incorporated  under  the  name  of  The  Youngstown  &  North- 
ern Railroad  Company.  It  conveys  steel,  billets  and  blooms  from  the 
Ohio  Works  to  the  McDonald  Mills,  then  hauling  the  finished  bars  from 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       717 

McDonald  Mills  to  the  Ohio  Works  where  they  are  transferred  to  out- 
bound railroad. 

This  company  has  constructed  fifty  houses  in  the  Steelton  district 
near  the  Ohio  Works  which  have  been  sold  to  the  employes  of  the  Ohio 
Works  and  Upper  and  Lower  Mills  on  the  company's  home  owning  plan. 
It  is  the  intention  to  build  homes  for  employes  on  the  home  owning 
plan  on  a  very  extensive  scale,  preparations  having  been  made  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  the  employes. 

As  is  well  known  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  has  been  a 
leader  in  the  safety  and  welfare  activities,  being  pioneers  in  the  work. 
And  its  Youngstown  District  has  been  among  the  leaders  in  this  work. 
This  is  especially  true  with  reference  to  safety  work.  Besides  the  ordi- 
nary safety  department,  safety  organizations  are  appointed  from  time 
to  time  among  the  superintendents  and  foremen,  as  well  as  among  the 
workmen,  with  the  one  object  in  view  of  protecting  machinery  wherever 
possible  and  to  report  on  unsafe  practices  in  the  work,  besides  under- 
taking to  educate  the  workman  to  look  after  his  own  safety. 

In  the  way  of  welfare  work  playgrounds  for  the  children  of  the 
employes  are  maintained  at  each  of  the  plants  under  the  direct  super- 
vision of  a  directress  who  works  under  instructions  of  a  director. 
These  grounds  are  also  utilized  in  the  summer  months  in  giving  moving 
picture  shows  for  the  benefit  of  the  employes  and  their  families.  The 
attendance  at  these  evening  performances  is  very  encouraging  and 
seems  to  afford  a  great  deal  of  pleasure.  Other  activities  in  the  way  of 
assisting  the  employe  include  the  visiting  nurse  calling  at  the  home  of 
employes  who  have  sickness  in  the  family. 

The  Trumbull  Steel  Company 

One  of  the  youngest  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most  important 
and  progressive  industries  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  is  the  Trumbull  Steel 
Company,  located  at  Warren.  It  was  organized  April  24,  191 2,  with 
Jonathan  Warner  as  president;  W.  T.  Hardesty,  vice  president;  D.  W. 
Kerr,  secretary ;  W.  H.  B.  Ward,  treasurer,  who,  with  John  T.  Harring- 
ton, composed  the  original  board  of  directors.  The  capital  was  fixed  at 
$20,000,000,  of  which  half  is  common  and  half  preferred.  The  com- 
mon stock  was  increased  in  1920  to  $25,000,000,  making  the  total  author- 
ized capital  $35,000,000. 

The  plant  originally  consisted  of  six  sheet  mills  and  six  tin  mills,  with 
sufficient  tinning  and  galvanizing  equipment  to  finish  the  product.  In' 
19 1 4  the  plant  was  doubled,  making  twelve  tin  mills  and  twejve  sheet 
mills.  About  a  year  later  additional  equipment  was  installed,  increasing 
the  sheet  and  tin  mill  capacity  to  19  tin  mills,  13  sheet  mills  and  2  job- 
bing mills,  or  a  total  of  34  mills.  This  increase,  of  course,  necessitated 
additional  capacity  in  all  finishing  departments,  until  at  the  present  time, 
with  34  tin  pots  and  a  10-kettle  galvanizing  department,  the  plant  has 
enough  finishing  capacity  to  more  than  take  care  of  all  the  sheet  prod- 
ucts it  can  roll.  Tinning,  galvanizing  and  roofing,  also  a  complete  power 
operating  plant,  was  installed. 


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71$       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

In  1916  construction  was  commenced  on  additional  plants  for  the 
manufacture  of  hot  and  cold  rolled  strip  steel.  This  branch  of  the  com- 
pany's business  has  grown  until  at  the  present  time  they  have  an  annual 
capacity  of  125,000  tons  of  hot  strip  steel  and  60,000  tons  of  cold  strip 
steel,  which  product  enters  into  the  manufacture  of  automobiles  and 
other  lines  of  industry  requiring  high  grade  finished  material,  uniform 
in  quality. 

In  the  spring  of  191 7  the  company  started  erection  of  a  modern  steel 
plant,  consisting  of  seven  100-ton  open  hearth  furnaces,  together  with 
the  latest  type  blooming  and  bar  mills  for  converting  the  material  into 
blooms,  billets  and  bars  for  its  finishing,  "mills.  This  plant  is  operated 
electrically  throughout,  including  in  its  equipment  the  largest  reversing 
blooming  mill  motor  ever  installed. 

In  1918  the  company  acquired  ore  lands*  and  coal  properties  sufficient 
to  take  care  of  their  needs  in  possible  extensions'  to  raw  and  semi-finished 
material  departments. 

With  capacity  already-  installed,  the  company  can  produce  400,000 
tons  of  highly  finished  products  per  year;  this  consisting  of  tin  plate, 
black  and  galvanized  sheets,  electrical  sheets,  roofing  materials,  hot  and 
cold  rolled. st rip  steel. 

In  .1919  the  Trumbull  Steel  Company  acquired  the  entire  capital 
stock  of  the  Liberty  Steel  Company,  together  with  the  plant  of  this  cor- 
poration. This  capital  consisted  of  $1,000,000  common  and  a  like 
amount  of  preferred  stock.  The  plant,  which  had  been  originally  planned 
as  a  full  finished  sheet  mill  and,  on  account  of  conditions  arising  out  of 
the  European  war  in  progress  at  the  time  of  its  erection,  had  been  erected 
as  an  eight-unit  tin-plate  mill,  with  a  capacity  of  750,000  base  boxes  per 
year.  The  Liberty  Steel  Company  is  now  conducted  as  a  subsidiary  of 
the  Trumbull  Steel  Company,  its  officers  being  the  same  as  those  of  the 
latter  and  its  board  of  directors  consisting  of  A.  N.  Flora,  A.  L.  Button, 
C.  B.  Myers,  W.  M.  McFate  and  G.  A.  White. 

The  Trumbull  Steel  Company  now  maintains  offices  at  Warren,  New 
York  City,  Philadelphia,  Chicago,  Detroit,  Nashville,  Memphis,  Dallas, 
St.  Louis,  San  Francisco,  Seattle  and  Washington.  Its  present  officers 
are :  %  President,  Jonathan  Warner ;  vice  presidents,  W.  H.  B.  Ward, 
A.  N.  Flora,  W.  N.  McFate  and  Philip  Wick;  secretary,  A.  L.  Button; 
treasurer,  J.  U.  Anderson ;  directors,  Jonathan  Warner,  W.  H.  B.  Ward. 
A.  N.  Flora,  John  T.  Harrington,  Philip  Wick,  W.  G.  Mather  and  S.  L. 
Mather. 

At  this  time  the  Trumbull  Steel  Company  employs  approximately 
6,000  men  and  has  an  annual  payroll  of  about  $9,000,000.  It  is  rapidly 
expanding  its  equipment  and  operations  and  is  already  one  of  the  largest 
producers  of  sheets  and  tin-plate  in  the  United  States. 

The  Sharon  Steel  Hoop  Company 

The  Sharon  Steel  Hoop  Company  has  recently  become  one  of  the 
most  important  industrial  concerns  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  through  its 
purchase  of  the  physical  property  of  the  Youngstown  Iron  &  Steel  Corn- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       719 

pany  and  the  Ohio  Iron  &  Steel  Company.  This  corporation  was  or- 
ganized in  October,  1900.  Its  initial  capital  was  $200,000,  and  its  first 
officers  and  directors  were  Morris  Backman,  president;  T.  S.  Clarke,  vice 
president ;  J.  R.  Hastings,  secretary ;  A.  A.  Perkins,  treasurer,  and  these, 
with  J.  P.  Whitla,  the  board  of  directors. 

The  original  operations  of  the  company  were  confined  to  Sharon,  at 
which  place  it  now  operates  a  modern  openhearth  steel  plant  consisting 
of  seven  35-ton  furnaces,  blooming  mills,  billets  mills,  continuous  strip 
mills,  hoop  mills  and  all  incidental  equipment  for  the  manufacture  of 
hoops  and  strip  steel.  : 

In  1917  the  Sharon  Steel  Hoop  Company  purchased  the  plate  and 
sheet  mill  plant  operated  by  the  Youngstown  Iron  &  Steel  Company  on 
Wilson  Avenue,  Youngstown,  together  with  the  pressed  steel  department 
of  these  works,  which  included  complete  equipment  for  manufacturing 
expanded  metal  lath  and  shapes  and  formed  one  of  the  most  complete 


Charging  an  Open-Hearth  Furnace  with  Molten  Iron 

establishments  of  this  kind  in  the  Valley.  In  1918  this  portion  of  the 
property  was  transferred  to  the  Youngstown  Pressed  Steel  Company, 
which  has  been  operating  it  in  connection  with  the  corner  bead  and 
channel  departments  of  the  Sharon  works.  The  latter  company,  which 
is  a  subsidiary,  is  now  erecting  a  large  plant  between  Niles  and  Warren, 
at  which  all  of  the  machinery  will  be  assembled  during  the  present  year. 
The  open-hearth  steel  plant  of  the  Youngstown  Iron  &  Steel  Com- 
pany, located  at  Lowellville,  was  included  in  the  purchase  of  the  Youngs- 
town plant.  This  unit  contained  three  75-ton  open-hearth  furnaces  and 
blooming  and  sheet  bar  mills,  to  which  have  since  been  added  three  fur- 
naces, making  the  number  in  operation  six,  with  much  new  and  more 
modern  rolling  equipment,  making  this  one  of  the  most  modern,  if  not 
one  of  the  largest  plants  of  its  kind  in  the  Valley.  Electrical  power  is 
used  throughout  these  works,  which  were  among  the  first  to  be  com- 
pletely equipped  in  this  way. 


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720       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

In  February,  1918,  the  physical  property  of  the  Ohio  Iron  &  Steel 
Company,  consisting  principally  of  the  Mary  Furnace,  located  close  to 
the  open-hearth  plant  at  Lowellville,  was  purchased.  This  furnace  has 
at  present  a  capacity  of  about  144,000  tons  of  pig  iron  per  year  and  sup- 
plies the  molten  metal  necessary  to  the  economical  operation  of  the 
open-hearth  furnaces. 

The  ingot  capacity  of  the  company  is  now  about  400,000  tons  per 
annum,  and  this  steel  is  rolled  into  hoops,  strips  and  bands,  sheets  and 
plates.  The  number  of  men  normally  employed  is  about  4,000  and  the 
estimated  annual  payroll  is  approximately  $7,200,000. 

At  present  the  officers  and  directors  are :  President,  Severn  P.  Ker ; 
secretary  and  treasurer,  J.  Reid  Evans;  directors  (in  addition  to  those 
named),  William  G.  Kranz,  George  W.  Short,  F.  C.  Perkins,  J.  F.  Byers, 
John  H.  McCune,  J.  D.  Lyon  and  A.  E.  Braun. 

The  United  Engineering  &  Foundry  Company 

The  United  Engineering  &  Foundry  Company  is  not  only  one  of  the 
most  extensive  and  prosperous  of  Youngstown's  industries,  but  it,  is  also 
qipe  of  the  most  interesting,  frorn  a  historical  standpoint.  Its  origin  was 
akuiiali  foundry  for  the  casting  of  stoves  established  in  1849  by  Parma- 
lee  &  Sawyer,  who  later  sojd  it  to  Ward,  Kay  &  Co.  With  the  passage 
of  .years  the  concern,  underwent  a  change  to  the  name  of  Ward,  Mar- 
gdrum  &  Co.,  by  which  name  it  was  known  when  the  first  attempt  was 
mjade  to  manufacture  rolling. mill  machinery  and  equipment,  ttow  the 
principal  output  of  the  company.  Later^on  the  plant  was  conducted  for 
scjme  time  by  the  firm  of  .Ward,  Booth  &  Miller,  and  later  still  Ward 
dropped  out  and  it  becanie  Booth,  Miller  &  Co.  Up  to  this  time  the 
establishment  was  Ideated -on  Oak  Street,  at  what  is  now  the  Oak  Street 
pl^nt  of  the  present  corporation. 

j-Qn  March^i,  1888,  the  plant  was  taken  over  by  a  corporation  with 
$ioo,coo  capital,  known  as  the  Lloyd  Booth  Company,  with  officers  as 
follows :  President,  Lloyd  Booth ;  vice  president,  H.  M.  Garlick ;  secre- 
tary, C.  W.  Bray;  treasurer,  C.  H.  Booth,  Sr.  The  large  works  located 
west  of  Market  Street  in  Youngstown  were  then  begun,  the  capital  hav- 
ing been  increased  soon  after  incorporation  to  $225,000. 

When  the  era  of  consolidation  occurred  in  Youngstown,  these  large 
and  prosperous  works  were  naturally  involved,  as  they  had  in  the  mean- 
time become  known  all  over  the  country,  and  they  were  made  the  prin- 
cipal basis  of  a  company  known  as  The  United  Engineering  &  Foundry 
Company,  of  which  the  original  plants  and  offices  were  located  at  Pitts- 
burg. 

The  organization  of  the  present  company  took  place  on  July  1,  1901, 
the  capital  being  fixed  at  $5,500,000.  This  was  increased  in  1910  to  $7,- 
500,000.  The  company  has  now  three  large  plants  in  operation  and  is 
the  largest  manufacturer  of  rolling  mill  machinery  in  the  United  States, 
if  not  in  the  world.  Besides  the  principal  works,  which  are  located  in 
this  city,  these  consist  of  a  roll  foundry  and  machine  works  at  Canton, 
Ohio,  and  a  bronze  and  steel  castings  plant  at  Yandergrift,  Pennsylvania. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       721 

All  of  these  are  large  and  well  equipped  establishments.  In  November, 
1916,  the  great  machine  shops  of  the  William  Tod  Company,  in  this 
city,  were  purchased  and  are  now  operated  in  conjunction  with  the  orig- 
inal Youngstown  plant,  these  forming  a  unit  known  as  the  Youngstown 
District. 

Before  the  combination  of  these  two  Youngstown  companies  they 
turned  out  the  principal  portion  of  the  rolling  mill  equipment  for  the 
steel  mills  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  as  well  as  shipping  their  products  to 
India,  China,  Japan  and  almost  every  country  in  the  world.  The  Wil- 
liam Tod  Company  specialized  in  engine  building,  while  the  Lloyd  Booth 
Company  devoted  most  of  its  attention  to  the  construction  of  rolling  mill 
machinery,  heavy  castings  and  similar  products. 


Blooming  Mill  in  a  Mahoning  Valley  Steel  Plant 


The  original  officers  of  the  United  Engineering  &  Foundry  Company 
were  I.  W.  Frank,  president;  C.  H.  Booth,  vice  president;  G.  G.  Small, 
second  vice  president;  Edward  Kneeland,  treasurer,  and  C.  E.  Satler, 
secretary.  The  present  officials  are:  Chairman  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee, I.  W.  Frank;  president,  F.  C.  Biggert;  vice  presidents,  G.  G. 
Small,  William  Gardner;  secretary,  E.  C.  Satler;  treasurer  and  general 
manager,  Edward  Kneeland;  directors,  in  addition  to  the  officers  abover 
named,  K.  C.  Garner,  H.  M.  Garlick,  Richard  Garlick,  C.  W.  Bray,  John 

F.  Lockhart,  William  Metcalf,  R.  W.  Tener,  G.  W.  Knotts  and  John 
Quinn. 

The  various  plants  employ  at  this. time  about  800  men,  the  greater 
portion  of  whom  are  highly  skilled  mechanics.    In  the  Youngstown  plants 

G.  W.  Knowles  is  district  manager,  and  H.  M.  Kelly  is  assistant  dis- 
trict manager,  while  C.  H.  Booth  has  general  charge  of  operations  in 
the  Youngstown  District. 


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722       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  Ohio  Iron  &  Steel  Company 

The  Ohio  Iron  &  Steel  Company  is  another  corporation  the  begin- 
nings of  which  date  back  to  the  early  times.  Reference  has  been  made 
to  the  stack  erected  by  Wilkes,  Wilkinson  &  Co.,  at  Lowellville,  which 
has  the  honor  of  being,  if  not  the  first  furnace  in  the  United  States  to 
smelt  iron  ore  with  raw  coal,  at  least  the  distinction  of  being  the  first 
to  so  reduce  Lake  Superior  ores.  This  furnace,  which  was  originally 
built  at  Lowellville  to  smelt  native  ores  and  was  primitive  in  construc- 
tion, had  been  greatly  improved  by  Alexander  L.  Crawford,  who,  after 
operating  it  for  some  years,  sold  it  to  other  parties.  In  he  year  1879, 
it  was  owned  by  Wm.  McCreary,  the  estate  of  Thompson  Bell  and  J.  S. 
Dilworth,  who  offered  it  for  sale  to  Henry  Wick,  of  Youngstown.     After 


Installation  of  Blowing  Engines  at  a  Modern  Blast  Furnace 

Plant 

an  examination,  Mr.  Wick  decided  to  purchase  the  stack,  and  in  the 
following  year,  after  it  had  been  overhauled  and  made  ready  for  start- 
ing, it  being  idle  at  that  time,  it  was  placed  in  operation  by  The  Ohio 
Iron  &  Steel  Company,  incorporated  February  2,  1880,  by  Paul  Wick, 
John  C.  Wick,  Myron  C.  Wick,  Thos.  H.  Wells,  Henry  Wick  and  Rob- 
ert Bentley,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $35,000.  The  furnace  was  put  in 
blast  by  the  new  owners  on  April  21,  1880.  The  first  week's  output  was 
ninety-one  tons,  produced  from  a  mixture  of  Lake  Superior  and  Black 
Band  ores  and  fired  with  coal  and  coke  mixed.  The  records  of  this 
company,  in  a  good  state  of  preservation  to  this  day,  show  that  Lake 
Superior  ores  then  cost  $11  per  ton,  and  Black  Band  ores,  obtained  at 
Mineral  Ridge,  cost  $5.50  per  ton.  Coal  was  selling  at  $3.00  per  ton 
at  Brier  Hill,  and  coke  was  $3.75  at  the  ovens  in  the  Connellsville  region. 
The  first  iron  produced  was  shipped  to  the  Youngstown  Rolling  Mill 
Company.     Operation  of  the  fumace  under  the  new  management  was 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       723 

successful  and  practically  continuous  from  that  time  forward,  and  the 
Mary  furnace,  as  it  was  then  known,  became  one  of  the  best  producers 
of  the  locality.  From  1880  to  1884,  the  average  daily  output  was  about 
twenty-eight  tons  of  pig  iron.  This  furnace  has  been  rebuilt  five  times 
since  that  date,  in  1889,  1896,  1902,  and  1909.  Its  best  daily  output  has 
been  457  tons. 

On  February,  1918,  the  Mary  furnace,  with  all  the  physical  prop- 
erty of  the  Ohio  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  was  sold  to  the  Sharon  Steel 
Hoop  Company,  and  the  Ohio  Iron  &  Steel  Company  became  a  hold- 
ing company.  In  1920  this  company  held  its  forty-first  annual  meet- 
ing. All  of  the  original  incorporators  and  directors  mentioned  above, 
with  the  exception  of  Robert  Bentley,  the  president,  have  passed  to  their 
reward,  all  of  them  leaving  records  of  highest  citizenship,  usefulness  and 
energy  displayed  in  many  local  enterprises.  Mr.  Bentley  is  still  president 
of  the  company,  which  has  an  authorized  capital  of  $2,100,000,  of  which 
$2,025,000  has  been  issued  as  common  stock,  there  being  no  preferred. 
The  present  officials  are:  Robert  Bentley,  president;  Philip  Wick,  vice 
president;  David  Davis,  secretary;  F.  D.  Zug,  treasurer.  The  board  of 
directors  consisted  of  Robert  Bentley,  David  Davis,  A.  E.  Adams,  Rich- 
ard Garlick,  Philip  H.  Wick,  Fred  H.  Wick,  and  J.  Fearnley  Bonnell. 

The  William  B.  Pollock  Company 

The  William  B.  Pollock  Company  was  founded  in  1863  by  the  late 
William  B.  Pollock.  At  that  time  Mr.  Pollock  was  a  practical  blast 
furnace  operator  but  saw  the  approaching  period  of  constructing  fur- 
naces of  steel  instead  of  brick  and  stone,  and  established  a  works  for 
that  purpose.  This  period  developed  rapidly  and  Mr.  Pollock,  desiring 
to  continue  his  furnace  connections,  associated  with  him  in  the  con- 
struction work,  his  brother,  Robert  A.  Pollock,  and  William  Pelen,  a 
partnership  called  William  B.  Pollock  &  Company. 

The  first  shop  was  located  on  Basin  Street  in  1863,  where  it  was 
operated  until  1881,  when  a  larger  shop  was  built  on  South  Market 
Street,  where  the  business  was  carried  on  until  1900,  when  the  plant 
was  completely  destroyed  by  fire.  The  first  sections  of  the  present  shops 
were  erected  in  1901  on  the  site  of  the  dismantled  Himrod  Blast  Fur- 
naces on  East  Federal  Street;  this  is  a  modern  plant  with  the  latest 
improved  machinery,  operated  by  electric,  hydraulic  and  pneumatic 
power,  for  fabricating  heavy  plate  work,  being  equipped  to  fabricate 
plates  up  to  2  inches  in  thickness. 

-  The  William  B.  Pollock  Company  was  the  pioneer  in  building 
blast  furnaces  in  the  Mahoning  and  Shenango  Valley  and,  to  a  large 
extent,  elsewhere  in  Ohio  and  adjoining  states.  The  original  product 
included  cylinder  and  flue  boilers  for  blast  furnaces,  coal  mines,  etc. 
The  boiler  business  was  gradually  outgrown  with  the  increasing  manu- 
facture of  blast  furnace  and  steel  works  equipment,  the  company  subse- 
quently discontinuing  the  manufacture  of  all  boilers. 

The  first  furnaces  built  by  them  were  in  1866,  when  they  erected 
one  at  Antwerp,  near  Toledo,  and  one  at  Hammondsville,  a  thriving 


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724       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

iron  town  on  the  Ohio  River,  near  Steubenville.  During  1867  and  1868 
they  built  two  furnaces  for  Andrews  &  Hitchcock  at  Hubbard;  one  for 
James  Ward  at  Niles,  Ohio;  one  for  General  Pierce  at  Sharpsville; 
one  for  the  Himrod  Furnace  Company;  one  for  Andrews  Brothers  & 
Company  at  Haselton ;  and  rebuilt  the  Falcon  and  Phoenix ;  the  last  named 
was  owned  by  Charles  Howard.  The  Falcon  was  first  owned  by  Craw- 
ford &  Murray  and  later  by  Caufield  &  Alfred;  afterwards,  both  it  and 
the  Phoenix  became  the  property  of  Brown,  Bonnell  &  Company.  The 
first  superintendent  of  the  Falcon  was  John  Kay,  who  was  succeeded 
by  Thomas  Pollock;  these  two  furnaces  were  later  combined  under  the 
superin tendency  of  William  B.  Pollock.  The  original  output  of  these 
furnaces  was  about  fourteen  tons  in  twenty-four  hours,  the  first  re- 
modeling being  to  increase  the  capacity  to  twenty-four  tons.  The  height 
of  the  average  furnace  at  that  time  was  about  thirty-six  feet.  The  Phoenix 
and  Falcon  furnaces  were  dismantled  in  1899  by  the  Republic  Iron  & 
Steel  Company. 

The  activities  of  the  firm  in  1869  and  1870  included  the  building  of 
the  Struthers  furnace,  the  Lowell  furnace  and  the  Girard  furnace.  In 
1871  and  1872  the  first  distant  furnace  was  undertaken,  being  a  char- 
coal furnace  at  Bay  City,  Michigan.  In  the  same  years  they  rebuilt  No. 
1  Himrod  furnace,  Mary  furnace  at  Lowellville  and  a  second  charcoal 
furnace  at  Elk  Rapids,  Michigan,  called  the  Pigeon  River  Iron  &  Salt 
Company.  In  1871  they  built  the  Riverside  furnace  at  Benwood,  West 
Virginia,  in  which  year  the  present  general  superintendent,  John  Kirby, 
became  associated  with  the  works.  In  1873  they  rebuilt  the  Grace  fur- 
nace and  in  1874  the  Eagle  and  Tod  furnaces  in  Brier  Hill.  The  re- 
building of  furnaces  at  that  time  meant  practically  abandoning  the  brick 
and  stone  construction  and  the  employment  of  steel  plates  and  shapes 
riveted  together. 

In  1878  an  innovation  was  the  construction  of  a  modern  furnace 
at  Canal  Dover,  built  of  the  heaviest  material  used  until  that  time. 

In  1879  came  a  period  of  enlarging  furnaces  and  during  that  and 
the  following  year  William  B.  Pollock  &  Company  raised  the  furnaces 
at  Brier  Hill,  Girard,  Haselton,  Hubbard,  Struthers,  and  the  Spearman 
and  Douglas  furnaces  at  Sharpsville.  The  idea  of  raising  the  furnaces 
originated  with  Mr.  Pollock,  who  also  oversaw  the  necessary  designing 
and  construction  work.  The  entire  shell,  bridge  and  hoist  house  were 
simultaneously  jacked  up  and  twelve  feet  added  to  the  height,  making  the 
stack  about  sixty-four  feet  high.  This  accomplishment  was  given  wide- 
spread, favorable  publicity  and  was  universally  adopted,  resulting  in  an 
immediate  large  increase  in  the  production  of  pig  iron  throughout  the 
United  States. 

The  present  operations  of  The  William  B.  Pollock  Company  in- 
clude the  fabrication  and  erection  of  blast  furnaces,  cars  for  transpor- 
tation of  liquid  and  metal  slag,  large  capacity  open  hearth  steel  ladles, 
metal  mixers,  penstocks  for  hydro-electric  development  and  slag  cars 
for  copper  industries,  etc.  They  have  supplied  this  equipment  in  most 
of  the  plants  in  the  iron  and  steel  centers  of  the  United  States,  and  dur- 
ing the  past  decade  have  supplied  large  quantities  of  their  product  to 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       725 

foreign  countries,  including  Australia,   China,   Sweden,  France,   India, 
South  America,  Mexico  and  Canada. 

The  Wm.  B.  Pollock  Company  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of 
Ohio  in  1899,  its  capital  stock  being  $600,000,  of  which  $100,000  was 
preferred  and  $500,000  common.  Its  plant  is  located  at  the  foot  of 
Federal  Street,  Youngstown,  it  employes  approximately  500  men.  Branch 
offices  are  maintained  in  all  the  principal  cities,  and  its  operations  in 
building  blast  furnaces  and  fabricating  steel  work  for  iron  and  steel 
plants  is  carried  on  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  original  officers  after 
incorporation  were:  President,  William  B.  Pollock;  vice  president,  Por- 
ter Pollock ;  secretary  and  treasurer,  W.  B.  Jones.  The  present  officers 
are:    President,   Porter   Pollock;  vice  president  and  general   manager, 


Bar  Mill  Plant  in  the  Mahoning  Valley 

C.  W.  McClure;  secretary  and  treasurer,  W.  G.  Wilson;  directors,  Por- 
ter Pollock,  C.  W.  McClure,  W.  G.  Wilson,  John  Kirby,  John  H.  Warne. 

The  General  Fireproofing  .Company 

The  General  Fireproofing  Company  is  a  Youngstown  corporation 
that  has  grown  from  a  small  beginning  into  one  of  the  most  important 
fabricators  of  steel  in  the  country,  its  products  consisting  chiefly  of 
fireproofing  and  concrete  reinforcement  and  fine  steel  furniture,  both 
of  which  it  ships  to  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world. 

This  company  was  organized  in  January,  1902,  with  a  capital  of 
$500,000.  Its  original  officers  and  directors  were:  President,  M.  I. 
Arms;  vice  presidents,  A.  P.  White,  Geo.  D.  Wick;  secretary,  W.  H. 
Foster;  treasurer,  W.  A.  Kingsley.  The  first  step  was  the  purchase  of 
the  International  Metal  Lath  Company,  which  had  established  a  small 
plant,  at  Niles  for  the  manufacture  of  expanded  metal  lath.  This  plant 
was  removed  to  a  site  on  Crab  Creek,  in  the  City  of  Youngstown,  and 
about  it  assembled  a  complete  and  up-to-date  equipment  for  the  prose- 


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726       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

cution  of  the  business  on  a  large  scale.  One  product  after  another 
in  the  line  of  metal  lath  and  reinforcement  for  concrete  was  added, 
many  large  buildings  were  erected.  The  manufacture  of  furniture  had 
been  commenced  as  soon  as  a  suitable  building  for  that  purpose  could  be 
completed,  and  this  department  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant as  well  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  large  works.  All 
kinds  of  office  furniture  are  made  entirely  of  steel,  many  new  designs 
and  improvements  having  been  originated  in  the  company's  shops.  The 
capital  of  the  company  has  been  increased  from  time  to  time  until  it  is 
now  $4,000,000,  and  the  number  of  men  employed  has  kept  pace  with 
the  progress  in  other  directions.  This  corporation  has  devoted  much 
attention  to  the  development  of  fireproofing  in  the  building  industry  and 
has  also  been  extremely  progressive  in  other  lines.  It  maintains  sales 
offices  and  warehouses  in  all  the  principal  cities  of  this  country,  as  well 
as  export  agents  in  many  foreign  countries.  The  number  of  men  ordi- 
narily employed  is  about  1,200. 

'At  this  time  the  officers  and  directors  of  the  General  Fireproofing 
Company  are:  President,  W.  H.  Foster;  vice  president  and  general 
manager,  S.  S.  French;  secretary  and  treasurer,  R.  M.  Bell;  directors, 
M.  I.  Arms,  A.  P.  White,  C.  H.  Booth,  Wilford  P.  Anns,  J.  T.  Har- 
rington, S.  S.  French,  and  W.  H.  Foster. 

The  Truscon  Steel  Company 

The  Truscon  Steel  Company,  formerly  known  as  the  Trussed  Con- 
crete Steel  Company,  was  formed  under  the  laws  of  Michigan  for  the 
purpose  of  manufacturing  a  special  form  of  concrete  reinforcing  bar 
patented  by  Julius  Kahn,  its  president.  Its  charter  was  granted  Octo- 
ber 6,  1903,  at  which  time  offices  and  laboratories  were  established  at 
Detroit.  For  a  time  the  manufacture  of  the  specialty  referred  to  was 
carried  on  at  Detroit  and  other  places,  but  demand  for  the  product  was 
such  that  in  January,  1906,  the  capital  was  increased  from  $200,000  to 
$1,000,000,  a  site  purchased  at  Youngstown,  and  a  factory  covering 
one  acre  of  ground  was  erected  thereon.  This  plant  began  operations 
in  May,  1907,  employing  100  men.  During  the  summer  of  that  year 
another  product  was  developed  in  the  form  of  a  reinforcing  bar  for 
concrete  construction  requiring  unusual  strength,  and  still  later  another 
product  added  to  the  expanded  metal  line.  In  1908  still  another  design 
of  the  expanded  metal  reinforcement  was  put  on  the  market. 

Success  had  attended  the  company  from  the  beginning  and  its  growth 
was  rapid.  In  1908  its  capital  was  again  increased,  this  time  to  $1,200,000. 
A  fourth  form  of  product  was  added  in  1909,  and  in  1910  the  company 
began  the  manufacture  of  metal  lath  and  metal  forms  'for  floor  construc- 
tion, again  increasing  its  capital  $800,000.  The  next  addition  to  the 
line  was  pressed  steel  in  building  shapes,  which  occurred  in  1914,  and 
was  followed  in  191 5  by  the  fabrication  of  steel  into  forms  for  com- 
plete buildings  which  could  be  shipped  in  parts  and  erected  without 
drilling  or  further  fabrication.  During  1917  and  1918  the  capital  was 
again  increased  to  meet  the  needs  of  expanding  plant  and  business,  be- 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       727 

ing  fixed  at  $3,000,000  and  again  increased,  May,  1917,  to  $3,500,000.  In 
191 7  the  production  of  pressed  steel  forms  was  begun,  and  thousands 
of  gas  bombs  and  similar  material  were  made  for  the  Government.  At 
the  same  time  much  of  the  steel  building  material  was  fabricated  for 
use  in  hangars  and  other  structures  of  this  type  abroad.  The  name 
was  shortened  in  1918,  and  in  1919  the  capital  was  increased  for  the 
sixth  time,  being  fixed  at  $4,500,000.  In  19 14  the  executive  offices  were 
removed  from  Detroit  to  Youngslown,  and  the  foreign  trade  depart- 
ment located  at  New  York  City.  Warehouses  have  been  established 
in  fourteen  principal  cities  and  sales  offices  are  maintained  at  these 
points. 

The  Truscon  Steel  Company's  main  plant  at  Youngstown  now  oc- 
cupies about  fifty  acres  and  is  one  of  the  most  complete  and  modern 
as  well  as  the  largest  establishment  of  its  kind  in  this  country.  In 
addition  the  company  owns  plants  for  the  manufacture  of  various  forms 
of  waterproofing  for  cement,  and  controls  a  fabricating  plant  for  steel 
products  at  Walkerville,  Ontario.  It  has  also  fabricating  plants  at  Lon- 
don and  is  building  a  factory  in  Japan.  The  officers  and  directors  are 
as  follows:  President,  Julius  Kahn;  vice  presidents,  Jos.  Boyer,  G. 
Kahn,  T.  H.  Kane,  R.  H.  Page,  W.  F.  Guthrie;  treasurer,  Day  Krolik; 
assistant  treasurer,  O.  W.  Chaffee ;  secretary,  Ralph  M.  Dyar ;  controller 
and  assistant  secretary,  W.  J.  T.  Davis;  directors,  in  addition  to  those 
named  above,  Henry  M.  Butzel  and  Albert  Kahn. 

The  Bessemer  Limestone  Company 

The  Bessemer  Limestone  Company  was  organized  in  1885.  After 
the  sale  of  the  properties  of  the  Brier  Hill  Limestone  Company  at  Hills- 
ville,  Pennsylvania,  to  the  Carbon  Limestone  Company  in  1881,  J.  G. 
Butler,  Jr.,  at  that  time  general  manager  of  the  Brier  Hill  Iron  &  Coal 
Company  and  the  Brier  Hill  Limestone  Company,  directed  the  purchase 
of  a  large  tract  in  Hickory  Creek  Valley,  about  2^/2  miles  south  of  Hills- 
ville,  and  organized  a  company  for  the  operation  of  this  tract.  This 
company  was  financed  principally  by  the  Wheeling  Steel  &  Iron  Com- 
pany, the  Brownell  Iron  Works  and  Dewey,  Vance  &  Co.,  all  manu- 
facturers of  cut  nails  at  Wheeling,  and  the  product  was  at  first  shipped 
principally  to  that  point.  The  firm  was  known  as  Tod,  Butler  &  Com- 
pany. For  its  development  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  con- 
structed a  branch  from  Coverts  Station  to  the  quarries,  which  were  high 
up  the  hills,  and  around  these  quarries  the  Village  of  Bessemer  soon 
grew  up. 

Formed  originally  as  a  West  Virginia  corporation  in  1888  the  com- 
pany took  out  a  new  charter  under  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania  and  added 
considerably  to  its  holdings.  The  first  officers  of  the  new  company 
were  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  president;  W.  B.  Schiller,  now  president  of  the 
National  Tube  Company,  secretary;  Jacob  D.  Schilling,  now  superintend- 
ent of  mines  for  the  Utah  Copper  Company,  superintendent.  The  opera- 
tion was  at  first  carried  out  entirely  by  hand  and  the  stone  was  not  crushed 
as  at  present. 


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728       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

As  the  plant  was  expanded  and  operations  progressed  it  was  found 
that  the  limestone  was  overlaid  with  a  strata  of  shale  of  a  quality  that 
immediately  suggested  its  usefulness  in  the  manufacture  of  brick,  and 
in  1 901  a  brick  plant,  containing  six  kilns,  was  erected.  This  was  in- 
creased in  size  in  1903,  again  in  1906,  and  again  in  191 1.  It  has  now 
12  kilns  and  produces  regularly  about  2,500,000  brick  per  month.  In 
1905  the  manufacture  of  paving  brick  was  commenced,  and  it  was  found 
that  the  company's  supply  of  raw  material  for  this  purpose  was  very 
large  as  well  as  of  the  best  quality.  This  activity  has  developed  with 
great  rapidity,  a  special  paving  block  plant  having  been  erected  in  1907 
and  increased  from  time  to  time  until  it  is  now  the  largest  unit  plant 
of  its  kind  in  the  world.  In  this  plant  are  made  48,000,000  paving  blocks 
per  year.  One  of  its  features  is  a  continuous  kiln,  the  burning  chamber 
of  which  is  more  than  half  a  mile  in  length.  This  plant  was  owned  by 
a  subsidiary  corporation  known  as  the  Bessemer  Brick  Company,  and 


The  Manufacture  of  Lap-Welded  Tubes  in  a  Mahoning  Valley 

Steel  Plant 

it  was  sold  to  the  Metropolitan  Paving  Brick  Company  on  March  1, 
191 7,  which  now  operates  it. 

In  spite  of  the  rapid  progress  made  by  the  two  allied  companies, 
it  was  not  until  1913  that  quarrying  stone  by  means  of  steam  shovels 
was  begun.  This  was  followed  by  the  installation  of  very  large  crush- 
ers. This  new  and  modern  equipment  came  into  service  at  a  period 
when  it  was  badly  needed,  as  immense  quantities  of  stone  were  quarried, 
crushed  and  shipped  to  blast  furnaces  for  the  manufacture  of  pig  iron 
needed  for  war  purposes,  and  classified  as  a  war  necessity  by  the  Gov- 
ernment. Vast  amounts  of  crushed  limestone  were  also  furnished  for 
road  building,  and  from  1906  to  1910,  practically  all  of  the  improved 
roads  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  were  built  of  material  from  this  plant. 

Another  plant  was  established  by  the  company  in  September,  1905, 
near  Lowellville,  this  plant  being  operated  by  the  Arrel  Limestone  Com- 
pany, a  subsidiary.  In  191 1  an  agricultural  limestone  plant  was  erected, 
and  this  plant  has  prospered.  It  uses  the  waste  from  the  limestone  quar- 
ries, pulverizing  it  for  use  as  a  fertilizer.    A  washing  plant  was  erected 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       729 

in  1919,  by  which  the  screenings  from  flux  stone  are  cleaned  and  made 
marketable,  this  proving  a  large  economy. 

In  June,  1919,  the  operation  of  a  remote  haulage  system  was  de- 
signed to  eliminate  locomotives  and  crews  formerly  used  in  the  quar- 
ries. By  this  means  the  cars  laden  with  stone  are  moved  from  all  parts 
of  the  plant  to  the  loading  docks  by  a  leverman  in  a  tower.  This  is  a 
most  modern  and  efficient  contrivance  and  has  proven  highly  economical. 

A  large  cement  plant,  which  will  use  waste  materials  and  produce 
about  1,000,000  barrels  of  Portland  cement  per  year,  is  now  in  course 
of  erection  and  will  be  completed  in  the  summer  of  1920.  Previous 
to  beginning  the  erection  of  this  plant  the  company  was  reorganized  and 
its  name  changed  to  The  Bessemer  Limestone  &  Cement  Company,  with 
a  capital  of  $3,000,000.  With  the  completion  of  the  cement  plant,  its 
products  will  be  blast  furnace  flux,  agricultural  limestone,  washed  lime- 
stone for  all  construction  purposes,  and  Portland  cement. 

The  Village  of  Bessemer,  which  has  grown  up  about  these  opera- 
tions is  a  prosperous  community  of  1,600  people,  with  houses  largely 
of  brick,  churches,  schools,  a  good  hotel,  and  all  other  conveniences  of 
urban  life.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  the  company  to  always  look  well 
to  the  comfort  and  satisfaction  of  its  employes,  and  they  enjoy  many 
advantages  unusual  in  a  village  of  this  size. 

The  present  officials  are:  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  chairman  of  the  board; 
W.  B.  Schiller,  president ;  F.  R.  Kanengeiser,  vice  president  and  general 
manager;  G.  G.  Treat,  secretary  and  treasurer;  J.  A.  Johnson,  superin- 
tendent. 

Hercules  Powder  Company 

This  concern  operates  a  plant  for  the  manufacture  of  blasting  pow- 
ders and  its  works  are  located  between  Youngstown  and  Sharon,  about 
three  miles  north  of  the  former  city.  It  was  originally  a  Youngstown 
enterprise,  but  was  sold  some  years  ago  to  the  DuPont  interests,  and  has 
since  that  time  been  under  their  management.  About  200  men  are  em- 
ployed at  the  plant. 

The  Meehan  Boiler  &  Construction  Company 

The  Meehan  Boiler  &  Construction  Company  is  an  old  and  import- 
ant Lowellville  industry,  having  operated  shops  in  that  town  since  1897 
and  manufactured  material  in  its  line  of  such  a  grade  that  it  has  secured 
a  wide  reputation.  The  company  now  employs  several  hundred  men 
and  erects  its  work  in  almost  every  state.  It  manufactures  and  erects 
all  sorts  of  boiler  and  power  furnace  work,  as  well  as  doing  considerable 
business  in  the  line  of  tanks  and  similar  material. 

The  Carbon  Limestone  Company 

The  beginning  of  this  important  enterprise  was  the  opening,  in  1846 
by  Hiram  Park,  of  quarries  at  Carbon,  Pennsylvania.  He  shipped  his 
product  chiefly  by  way  of  the  canal  to  furnaces  and  lime  kilns  in  and 


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730       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

around  Ydungstown.  In  1881  a  partnership  was  formed  by  C.  H.  An- 
drews &  Hitchcock,  Andrews  Brothers  and  Upson  A.  Andrews,  under 
the  name  of  the  Carbon  Limestone  Company.  The  quarries  at  Carbon 
had  become  exhausted  and  the  equipment  was  removed  to  Hillsville,  just 
over  the  Pennsylvania  state,  line,  and  a  branch  constructed  from  the 
Pittsburg  &  Lake  Erie  Railroad  to  handle  the  output,  and  at  the  same 
time,  on  January  27,  1894,  the  enterprise  was  reorganized  and  a  charter 
secured  under  the  name  of  The  Carbon  Limestone  Company,  the  capital 
being  $300,000.  The  new  quarries  at  Hillsville  contain  a  practically 
inexhaustible  supply  of  stone,  and  this  is  now  being  mined  and  shipped 
at  the  rate  of  about  1,060,000  tons  per  year;  of  this  a  million  tons  is  sup- 
plied to  the  blast  furnaces  and  steel  plants  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  and 
the  remainder  manufactured,  in  the  form  of  a  by-product,  into  agricul- 
tural lime  for  use  as  a  fertilizer.  Neither  the  capital  nor  the  officers  have 
been  changed  since  the  incorporation.  The  latter  are:  President,  Rob- 
ert Bentley ;  vice  president,  John  A.  Logan,  Jr. ;  secretary  and  treasurer, 
Mary  S.  Logan.  The  business  has  become  of  great  importance,  furnish- 
ing a  large  portion  of  one  of  the  essential  raw  materials  for  the  iron  and 
steel  industries  of  the  Mahoning  and  Shenango  valleys. 

The  Republic  Rubber  Company 

The  Republic  Rubber  Company  was  organized  by  a  group  of  Youngs- 
town  capitalists  and  chartered  February  28,  1901.  Its  original  capital 
was  $400,000,  and  its  officers  and  directors  were  H.  K.  Wick,  president; 
A.  E.  Adams,  vice  president ;  John  Tod,  secretary  and  treasurer ;  A.  E. 
Adams,  W.  Scott  Bonnell,  C.  H.  Booth,  H.  M.  Robinson,  George  Tod, 
H.  K.  Wick  and  John  C.  Wick. 

The  company  began  operations  in  1902,  occupying  a  large  factory 
erected  on  the  original  site  of  the  works  of  the  American  Belting  Com- 
pany in  Youngstown.  From  time  to  time  the  capital  was  increased  until 
it  is  at  present  $10,000,000.  The  products  of  the  concern  have  been  in- 
creased and  varied  until  they  now  consist  of  pneumatic  and  solid  auto- 
mobile tires,  rubber  belting,  rubber  hose  and  a  complete  line  of  mechani- 
cal rubber  goods. 

The  number  of  men  normally  employed  is  about  2,300  and  the  annual 
payroll  approximately  $4,000,000. 

The  original  plant  has  been  extended  from  time  to  time  until  it  is 
now  one  of  the  most  important  factories  of  its  kind  in  the  country.  A 
new  building  for  the  manufacture  of  solid  rubber  tires  was  erected  in 
1907.  A  large  storage  building  was  erected  in  1908.  The  present  hand- 
some office  structure  dates  from  1910,  and  each  year  since  that  time  has 
seen  the  addition  of  one  or  more  capacious  structures  made  necessary 
by  the  growth  of  the  business.  The  equipment  has  kept  pace  with  this 
growth,  and  the  output  has  been  steadily  increased,  the  products  of  the 
company  now  going  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 

This  company  is  one  of  the  few"  industrial  establishments  in  the  Ma- 
honing Valley  which  has  erected  a  special  building  to  be  used  as  a  club 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       731 

house  by  its  employes,  and  this  structure,  built  and  equipped  in  1913, 
is  a  model  of  its  kind. 

Closely  connected  with  the  Republic  Rubber  Company  is  the  Repub- 
lic Rubber  Corporation,  a  holding  concern  created  October  6,  1917,  with 
a  capital  of  $10,000,000  first  preferred;  $2,500,000  second  preferred, 
and  650,000  shares  of  common  stock  without  par  value.  This  concern 
also  operates  a  plant  at  Canton,  Ohio,  recently,  purchased  from  the 
Knight  Tire  &  Rubber  Company. 

The  present  officers  and  directors  of  the  two.  companies  are  practically 
iden.ical,  being  as  follows:  Chairman  of  the  board,  William  Wilms; 
president,  E.  F.  Jones;  vice  presidents,  C.  H.  Booth,  L.  T.  Peterson,  H. 
J.  Woodard,  C.  F.  Garrison ;  secretary,  Arthur  L.  Irish ;  treasurer,  H.  J. 
Stambaugh;  directors,  Robert  Bentley,  C.  H.  Booth,  T.  E.  Borton,  R.  E. 
Cornelius,  H.  M.  Garlick,  John  T.  Harrington,  E.  F.  Jones,  L.  T.  Peter- 
son, R.  C.  Steese,  John  Tod  and  William  Wilms. 


Plant  of  the  Republic  Ruhrer  Company,  Youngstown 

The  A.  M.  Byers  Company 

The  A.  M.  Byers  Company,  a  Pennsylvania  corporation,  wtth  head- 
quarters at  Pittsburgh,  operates  a  blast  furnace  and  puddle  mill  plant  at 
Girard  which  is  now  that  town's  most  important  industry.  The  blast 
furnace  was  built  by  the  Girard  Iron  Company,  reference  to  which  is 
made  elsewhere.  After  the  death  of  David  Tod  in  1868,  his  interest 
in  the  company  passed  to  his  sons,  and  they  later  sold  to  A.  M.  Byers, 
of  Pittsburgh,  who  bought  the  plant  as  a  source  of  iron  for  his  puddling 
and  tube  mills  in  that  city.  In  1906  forty-two  puddling  furnaces,  a  bar 
mill,  gas  producer  plant  and  other  accessories  were  added  to  the  furnace 
plant.  In  191  r  forty-six  single  puddling  furnaces  were  added,  making 
this  the  largest  puddling  plant  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  After  the  death 
of  A.  M.  Byers,  the  Girard  Iron  Company  was  dissolved  and  its  place 
taken  by  an  Ohio  Corporation  known  as  the  A.  M.  Byers  Company.  In 
19 18  this  corporation  was  dissolved  and  another  with  the  same  name 


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732       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

formed  under  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania.  The  present  officers  of  the 
A.  M.  Byers  Company,  which  has  its  principal  offices  at  Pittsburg,  are: 
President,  E.  M.  Byers ;  vice  president,  J.  F.  Byers ;  secretary  and  treas- 
urer, C.  L.  Jamison;  directors,  E.  M.  Byers,  J.  F.  Byers,  J.  D.  Lyon, 
L.  M.  Johnstown,  S.  K.  Hine. 

The  Youngstown  Steel  Company 

The  Youngstown  Steel  Company  was  organized  in  1882  by  Edward 
L.  Ford  and  John  Stambaugh  for  the  purpose  of  making  steel  castings. 
It  erected  a  small  plant  in  Youngstown,  but  before  that  was  ready  for 
operation  the  attention  of  the  incorporators  was  attracted  by  an  inven- 
tion of  Mr.  Ford  for  the  purpose  of  purifying  pig  iron.  This  idea  was 
put  into  practice  at  the  Tod  furnace,  where  a  plant  is  now  in  successful 
operation,  this  being  the  only  metal  washer  in  the  United  States.  It  con- 
sists of  apparatus  for  agitating  hot  furnace  iron  in  a  vessel  lined  with 
materials  having  an  affinity  for  certain  impurities,  especially  phosphorus. 
The  initial  experiments  having  demonstrated  the  efficiency  of  this  con- 
trivance, the  Youngstown  Steel  Company  abandoned  its  original  plan 
and,  in  1890,  bought  the  Tod  furnace  from  the  Brier  Hill  Iron  &  Steel 
Company,  operating  it  in  connection  with  the  metal  washer  until  the 
organization  of  the  Brier  Hill  Steel  Company,  which  purchased  the 
physical  property  of  the  Youngstown  Steel  Company.  Since  that  time 
the  hitter  has  been  a  holding  corporation.  Its  officers  at  the  present  time 
are:  Edward  L.  Ford,  president;  Paul  Jones,  vice  president;  John 
Stambaugh,  secretary  and  treasurer.  Fred  Tod  and  John  Tod,  with, 
those  above  named,  are  directors. 

The  Struthers  Furnace  Company 


The  Struthers  Furnace  Company  is  a  reorganization  of  the  Struth- 
ers Iron  Company.  The  new  concern  purchased  the  Anna  furnace,  en- 
larged and  improved  it,  and  this  stack  is  now  one  of  the  leading  pro- 
ducers among  the  smaller  furnaces  of  the  Mahoning  Valley.  The  pres- 
ent owners  are  not  Youngstown  people,  the  president  of  the  company 
being  W.  C.  Runyon,  of  Scarscjale,  New  York,  and  the  principal  stock- 
holders residents  of  Cleveland. 

The  Anna  furnace  was  built  in  1869  by  Thomas  Struthers,  son  of 
John  Struthers,  who  erected  the  second  blast  furnace  in  this  locality  in 
1805,  m  company  with  Robert  Montgomery  and  others.  Additional 
information  concerning  this  enterprise  will  be  found  in  the  chapter 
dealing  with  the  City  of  Struthers. 

The  Electric  Alloy  Steel  Company 

The  Electric  Alloy  Steel  Company  was  organized  December  24,  1919, 
for  the  manufacture  of  high  grade  electric  alloy  steel  and  high  speed' 
tool  steel  by  the  electric  melting  process.  Its  capital  was  originally  fixed 
at  $1,500,00,  but  this  was  increased  within  a  few  weeks  of  its  organiza- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       733 

tion  to  $3,000,000,  of  which  it  is  proposed  to  issue  during  the  year  1920 
two-thirds  and  the  remainder  as  needed.  The  original  officers  and 
directors  of  this  company  are  as  follows :  President  and  treasurer,  L.  J. 
Campbell;  vice  president,  A.  E.  Adams;  secretary,  L.  A.  Manchester; 
directors,  J.  A.  Campbell,  L.  J.  Campbell,  T.  J.  Bray,  W.  A.  Thomas, 
Charles  S.  Thomas,  Jonathan  Warner,  L.  A.  Manchester,  Maurice 
Joseph,  S.  Livingston  Mather,  A.  E.  Adams  and  Severn  P.  Ker.  It  has 
begun  the  making  of  steel  by  purchasing  a  plant  at  Charleroi,  Penn- 
sylvania. This  is  the  first  company  to  embark  in  the  manufacture  of  steel 
by  the  electric  process  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  Its  officers  and  directors 
is  one  of  the  strongest  combinations  of  men  successful  in  the  steel  busi- 
ness ever  formed  in  this  locality  and  its  field  offers  unusual  advantages. 
About  a  year  will  probably  be  required  for  the  erection  of  the  main 
plant,  which  will  be  designed  upon  the  most  modern  lines  and  located 
at  Niles. 

The  Andrews  &  Hitchcock  Iron  Company 

Although  this  firm  passed  out  of  existence  with  the  sale  of  its  prop- 
erty to  the  Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company  in  191 6,  its  long  and 
honorable  record  in  the  industrial  history  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  en- 
titles it  to  recognition.  The  Andrews  &  Hitchcock  Iron  Company  orig- 
inated in  a  partnership  between  C.  H.  Andrews  and  W.  J.  Hitchcock, 
formed  in  1859  for  the  purpose  of  mining  coal  in  the  vicinity  of  Hub- 
bard. Atter  conducting  this  business  successfully  for  about  eight  years 
the  firm  built  a  blast  furnace  at  Hubbard,  completing  this  stack  in  1869. 
Four  years  later  another  furnace  was  erected  and  the  two  operated  to- 
gether. Irt  1892  the  two  partners,  feeling  the  weight  of  advanced  years, 
decided  to.  retire  from  active  business,  and  a  stock  company  was  organ- 
ized to  take  over  their  interests  and  conduct  the  two  furnaces,  which  had 
been  developed  into  important  properties.  This  company  was  called  the 
Andrews  &  Hitchcock  Iron  Company,  and  its  first  president  was  William 
J.  Hitchcock,  who,  with  his  brother,  Frank  Hitchcock,  who  was  secretary 
and  treasurer,  represented  the  interests  of  the  elder  Hitchcock  as  well 
as  their  own.  Mr.  Andrews  was  represented  by  his  son-in-law,  John  A. 
Logan,  Jr. 

.  C.  H.  Andrews  died  December  25,  1893,  and  the  death  of  his  partner 
in  this  enterprise,  Mr.  Hitchcock,  followed  on  November  18,  1899.  The 
company  was  conducted  successfully  with  some  changes  in  its  personnel 
until  1916,  when  the  property  was  sold  as  above  noted  and  this  old  and 
honored  concern  passed  out  of  existence. 

The  Ohio  Leather  Company 

The  Ohio  Leather  Company  was  organized  in  1901,  with  a  capital 
of  $2,000,000  common  and  $2,000,000  preferred,  of  which  $1,182,400 
common  and  $1,347,600  preferred  had  been  issued  January  1,  1920.  It 
erected  a  modern  plant  at  Girard  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing 
chrome-tanned,  calf  and  side,  dress  shoe  leather  in  colors.     This  plant 


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734       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

has  been  constantly  improved  and  additions  made  to  its  equipment  until 
the  capacity  is  at  present  approximately  18,000,000  feet  per  year.  About 
360  men  are  employed  and  the  annual  payroll  is  about  $536,000.  The 
company  has  established  offices  at  Girard,  Boston,  New  York,  Harris- 
burg,  Milwaukee,  St.  Louis,  Buenos  Aires,  Genoa  and  Lyons.  The 
original  officers  were:  President,  M.  I.  Arms;  vice  president,  Robert 
Bentley;  secretary  and  treasurer,  D.  E.  Davis.  The  present  officers  are 
those  originally  elected,  with  the  addition  of  Robert  Bentley  and  A. 
Chandonne  as  vice  presidents,  and  the  election  of  J.  L.  Dennett  as  secre- 
tary and  treasurer.  The  general  manager  is  V.  G.  Lumbard.  The  pres- 
ent board  of  directors  consists  of  M.  I.  Arms,  H.  M.  Garlick,  C.  H. 
Booth,  Robert  Bentley,  J.  T.  Harrington,  A.  Chandonne,  G.  L.  Fordyce, 
V.  G.  Lumbard  and  J.  L.  Dennett.  This  company  has  just  completed 
a  handsome  office  building  and  is  erecting  a  large  central  storehouse  at 
its  main  plant. 

Standard  Textile  Products  Company 

The  Standard  Textile  Products  Company,  which  operates  one  of  its 
factories  between  Youngstown  and  Girard,  and  whose  executive  head 
is  H.  M.  Garlick,  of  Youngstown,  is  a  corporation  with  an  interesting 
history.  It  was  established  in  1898  as  the  Ohio  Oil  Cloih  Company, 
with  a  capital  of  $200,000.  The  enterprise  was  undertaken  by  Youngs- 
town capitalists  anxious  to  reinvest  in  their  home  town  sortie  of  the 
money  they  had  received  through  the  numerous  consolidations  in  the 
steel  industry  at  that  period,  but  they  were  without  experience  and  soon 
found  that  the  business  could  not  be  carried  on  successfully  on  the 
original  plans.  A  careful  investigation  pointed  to  the  enlargement  of 
the  business  in  such  a  way  as  to  exercise  more  control  over  raw  ma- 
terials and  markets  as  essential  to  success.  Accordingly,  in  1901  the 
Standard  Table  Oil  Cloth  Company  was  organized,  with  a  capital  of 
$8,000,000,  of  which  one-half  was  preferred  stock  and  one-half  com- 
mon stock.  With  this  capital  it  was  possible  to  acquire  a  number  of 
ether  plants  located  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  the  products  of 
which  were  closely  related  and  could  be  manufactured  and  marketed 
in  connection  with  those  of  the  plant  in  the  Mahoning  Valley. 

The  constituent  companies  under  this  arrangement  were  the  Ohio 
Oil  Cloth  Company,  Atha  &  Hughes,  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  Jos.  Wild 
&  Company,  of  Astoria,  New  York,  Buchanan  &  Sons,  of  Peekskill, 
New  York,  T.  R.  Goodlatte  &  Company,  of  Passaic,  New  Jersey,  Key- 
stone Oil  Cloth  Company,  of  Norristown,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Western 
Linoleum  Company,  of  Akron,  Ohio.  In  order  to  promote  efficiency 
and  economy  of  operation,  two  of  these  plants  were  soon  afterward 
combined  with  others  and  an  entirely  new  plant  erected  at  Rock  Island, 
Illinois. 

In  1907,  in  order  to  place  the  finances  of  the  corporation  on  a  firm 
foundation,  the  company  was  reorganized,  the  name  changed  to  the 
Standard  Oil  Cloth  Company  of  New  Jersey,  and  the  capital  reduced 
to  $6,000,000.     In  June,   1914,  another  reorganization  took  place,  the 


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YQUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       735 

company  being  chartered  under  the  laws  of  Ohio  and  the  name  changed 
to  the  Standard  Oil  Cloth  Company.  At  this  time  the  capital  was  in- 
creased to  $7,000,000,  and  in  order  to  supply  needed  cash  for  work- 
ing capital,  the  stockholders  paid  in  $10  per  share.  On  January  16, 
1916,  the  capital  was  again  increased  to  $9,000,000,  and  in  May,  1919, 
another  increase  was  authorized,  bringing  the  capital  up  to  $15,000,000. 
In  order  to  better  indicate  the  diversity  of  product  the  name  was  changed 
in  December,  1918,  to  the  Standard  Textile  Products  Company. 

In  the  meantime  the  capacity  of  the  company  had  been  greatly  in- 
creased and  the  production  diversified  until  it  is  at  this  time  the  largest 
manufacturer  of  light  oil  cloths  and  similar  materials  in  this  country,  if 
not  in  the  world.  In  addition  to  the  plants  named  above,  it  has  since 
1909  erected  the  Meritas   mills  at  Columbus,  Georgia,  known  all  over  the 


A  By-Product  Coke  Plant  at  a  Modern  Steel  Plant 


country  as  one  of  the  largest  of  its  kind,  as  well  as  an  important  cotton 
mill  at  Mobile,  Alabama,  and  from  these  secures  much  of  the  fabric 
used  in  its  operations.  It  now  makes  more  than  2,000  different  kinds 
of  material  and  caters  to  more  than  fifty  different  industries.  Among 
its  products  are  a  number  familiar  in  every  household,  and  during  the 
war  it  furnished  for  the  government  millions  of  yards  of  materials  used 
for  forty-five  different  purposes. 

Value  of  the  products  during  1918  was  $15,290,670.83,  this  having 
increased  more  than  five  times  since  1902.  About  twenty  per  cent  of 
these  products  are  exported,  going  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  gen- 
eral offices  of  the  company  are  in  New  York,  but  the  corporation  is 
largely  owned  in  Youngstown.  The  present  officers  and  directors  are: 
President  and  treasurer,  Henry  M.  Garlick;  vice  president  and  general 
manager,  Alvin  Hunsicker;  secretary,  Harold  S.  Hull;  assistant  secre- 
taries, W.  B.  Fenton,  Paul  H.  McElevy;  directors,  Henry  M.  Garlick, 
A.  E.  Adams,  Alvin  Hunsicker,  Benjamin  Atha,  Harold  S.  Hull,  Wil- 


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736       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

ford  P.  Arms,  Frank  Hitchcock,  E.  L.  Brown,  A.  Powers  Smith,  Geo. 
Allen,  J.  T.  Broadbent  and  W.  E.  Thatcher. 

The  Mahoning  Valley  Steel  Company 

The  Mahoning  Valley  Steel  Company  was  organized  July  12,  1916, 
with  a  capital  of  $600,000,  of  which  $200,000  has  been  issued  as  pre- 
ferred and  $400,000  as  common.  The  original  officers  are  Jacob  D. 
Waddell,  president;  F.  E.  Thomas,  vice  president  and  treasurer;  W. 
Aubrey  Thomas,  secretary;  directors,  John  M.  Thomas  and  M.  T.  Cling- 
an  and  the  officers  named  above.  The  company  erected  a  sheet  mill  plant 
at  Niles  with  an  annual  capacity  of  48,000  tons  of  black  steel  sheets,  and 
has  made  improvements  and  extensions  which  permit  of  the  production 
of  12,000  tons  of  galvanized  sheets  per  year.  The  plant  employs  approxi- 
mately 425  men  and  has  an  annual  payroll  of  about  $960,000.  Offices 
are  maintained  at  Niles,  New  York  City,  Chicago,  West  Hamilton  (On- 
tario) and  St.  Louis.  This  company  has  begun  a  comprehensive  housing 
plati  and  has  invested  at  this  time  about  $50,000  in  this  way  and  will 
extend  its  housing  operations  as  needed.  The  original  officers  and  direc- 
tors are  still  serving,  and  the  enterprise  is  meeting  with  such  success  as 
to  promise  large  expansion  in  the  future. 

The  Limoges  China  Company 

This  corporation  is  the  most  important  industrial  enterprise  in  Se- 
brihg  and  one  of  the  most  important  in  its  line  in  this  country.  It  was 
orginally  formed  in  February,  191 1,  by  Fred  E.  Sebring,  who  was  the 
principal  stockholder  and  who  filled  the  office  of  president  as  well  as 
that  of  general  manager,  On  January  1, 1916,  it  was  reorganized,  the  cap- 
ital enlarged  and  many  improvements  made.  The  present  capital  is  $650,- 
000,  of  which  $450,000  has  been  issued,  one-half  being  common  and  one- 
half  preferred.  Annual  production  is  estimated  at  $1,000,000  worth  of 
semi-porcelain  dinnerware  of  all  kinds.  Three  hundred  people  are  em- 
ployed and  the  annual  payroll  is  approximately  $400,000.  At  the  end  of 
1919  the  output  for  the  year  1916  had  been  doubled,  and  the  completion 
of  a  Dressier  Continuous  Tunnel  kiln,  one  of  the  first  to  be  installed  in 
the  United  States,  will  increase  the  output  to  about  $2,000,000  per  year. 
The  present  officials  are  O.  H.  Sebring,  president ;  Ray  Y.  Cliff,  treasurer 
and  manager.  These  gentlemen,  with  W.  L.  Murphy,  B.  H.  Sebring 
and  M.  J.  Sebring,  form  the  present  board  of  directors. 

The  Sebring  Tire  &  Rubber  Company 

The  Sebring  Tire  &  Rubber  Company  was  organized  September  7, 
1915,  the  original  officers  being  H.  D.  Weaver,  president;  C.  B.  Smith, 
vice  president;  E.  M.  Stanley,  treasurer;  W.  B.  Stevensbn,  secretary; 
John  Hotchkiss,  general  manager,  and,  in  addition  to  those  above  named, 
the  following  directors :  F.  A.  Sebring,  Fred  Sebring,  B.  H.  Greene  and 
\V.  F.  Smith.    Its  capital  stock  was  fixed  at  $500,000,  of  which  $245,515 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       737 

has  beep  issued  as  common  and  $2,070  as  preferred.  Its  plant  at  Se- 
bring  employs  about  100  persons,  with  an  annual  payroll  approximat- 
ing $190,000.  The  principal  products  are  tires  and  tubes,  about  120,000 
of  the  former  and  50,000  of  the  latter  being  manufactured  annually. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  important  industries  of  Sebring,  with  excellent 
prospects  for  further  expansion..  The  present  officials  are  the  same  as 
those  at  its  organization,  except  that  A.  C.  Ball  has  become  vice 
president  and  W.  B.  Stevenson  secretary  and  treasurer.  The  board  of 
directors  in  1920  consists  of  H.  D.  Weaver,  A.  C.  Ball,  S.  E.  McKee, 
E.  C.  Rebeske,  J.  H.  Dunn,  F.  A.  Sebring,  C.  B.  Smith,  W.  B.  Steven- 
son, Sumner  Vesch  and  John  Hotchkiss. 


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Plant  of  the  Saxon  China  Company,  Sebring 

The  E.  H.  Sebring  China  Company 

This  corporation  was  formed  in  May,  191 1,  for  the  erection  and 
operation  of  a  plant  at  Sebring  for  the  manufacture  of  chinaware  which 
had  been  started  some  time  previously.  The  capital  was  fixed  at  $100,- 
000.  The  plant  now  produces  many  kinds  of  chinaware,  its  output  be- 
ing estimated  at  $600,000  per  year.  About  225  employes  are  on  the 
payrolls,  which  average  $260,000  per  year.  Present  officials  are:  E.  H. 
Sebring,  president  and  treasurer;  J.  M.  Horton,  vice  president  and  sec- 
retary. 

The  Sebring  Pottery  Company 

The  Sebring  Pottery  Company,  of  Sebring,  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant manufacturers  of  chinaware  in  the  country  and  does  a   large 


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738       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

business  in  certain  lines  in  which  its  product  has  exceptional  merit.  It 
was  organized  in  1891,  the  original  officers  being  D.  A.  Sebring,  presi- 
dent; E.  H.  Sebring,  secretary  and  treasurer,  with  additional  directors 
as  follows:  George  E.  Sebring,  Joseph  Sebring  and  J.  H.  Norris.  The 
capital  stock  issued  is  $172,500.  Semi-vitreous  earthenware  is  the  prin- 
cipal product,  this  concern  making  5  per  cent,  of  all  of  this  class  of 
chinaware  made  in  the  United  States.  About  300  persons  are  employed 
and  the  annual  payroll  is  estimated  at  $400,000.  The  business  has 
been  greatly  enlarged  and  is  in  a  very  prosperous  condition.  F.  A. 
Sebring  is  now  chairman  of  the  board  of  directors.  C.  L.  Sebring  is 
president  of  the  corporation.  The  present  directors  are  F.  A.  Sebring, 
C.  L.  Sebring,  E.  S.  Sebring,  E.  S.  Norris,  E.  S.  Bright  and  E.  S.  Al- 
bright. 

Other  Pottery  Enterprises 

In  addition  to  those  mentioned  above,  large  and  prosperous  concerns 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  chinaware  at  Sebring  are  the  French 
Pottery  Company  and  the  Saxon  China  Company.  Both  of  these  are 
controlled  by  the  Sebring  interests,  the  officers  and  directors  being  men 
connected  with  the  enterprises  named  above.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  the  General  Clay  Forming  Company,  a  similar  concern  making  a 
somewhat  different  product  as  its  specialty.  This  product  is  a  small  part 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  gas  mantles,  of  which  millions  are  made  and 
shipped  annually  to  all  parts  of  the  country. 

The  Strong  Enamel  Company 

This  is  a  company  which  operates  at  Sebring  a  large  plant  for  the 
manufacture  of  enameled  steel  ware  of  all  kinds  and  employs  about 
200  persons.    O.  H.  Sebring  is  president  and  W.  U.  Pfeiffle  is  manager. 

The  Niles  Firebrick  Company 

The  Niles  Firebrick  Company  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  success- 
ful industrial  concerns  in  that  thriving  city.  It  was  organized  in  1872, 
John  R.  Thomas  being  the  original  proprietor,  and  James  Ward,  the 
ironmaster,  having  an  interest  in  the  concern.  Later  Mr.  Thomas  pur- 
chased the  interest  of  Mr.  Ward,  and  he  is  now  practically  sole  owner 
of  the  business.  Its  business  is  the  manufacture  of  fire-clay  products 
for  use  in  furnaces,  and  75  per  cent,  of  its  large  product  is  now  marketed 
in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  High  grade  refractory  materials  and  fire  brick 
are  the  principal  form  of  these  products. 

The  plant  was  rebuilt  in  1882,  being  at  that  time  considerably  en- 
larged. For  many  years  this  concern  conducted  its  business  in  a  quiet, 
unassuming  manner,  but  with  great  success,  and  it  has  become  one  of 
the  important  industries  of  Niles.  The  company  owns  exceptionally 
fine  clay  beds  in  Clarion  and  Beaver  counties,  Pennsylvania.  It  has 
about  200  employes  and  the  annual  payroll  approximates  $250,000.    For 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       739 

the  accommodation  of  its  workers  the  company  erected  about  twenty- 
five  modern  houses  at  Niles  and  it  is  in  many  ways  one  of  the  most  pro- 
gressive concerns  of  that  city.  The  present  officials  of  the  company  are : 
President,  J.  E.  Thomas;  vice  president,  John  M.  Thomas;  secretary 
and  treasurer,  W.  Aubrey  Thomas;  directors,  J.  E.  Thomas,  John  M. 
Thomas,  W.  Aubrey  Thomas,  Mrs.  Mary  Waddell  and  Mrs.  Margaretta 
Clingan. 

Ohio  Galvanizing  &  Manufacturing  Company 

This  corporation  was  organized  in  1902,  with  F.  F.  Bentley*  as  presi- 
dent; A.  J.  Bentley  as  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  A.  J.  Leitch,  J.  H. 
Smiley  and  Wm.  Wise  as  additional  directors.  Its  capital  is  $100,000, 
of  which  half  has  been  issued  as  common  stock.  Its  plant  is  located  at 
Niles,  and  its  principal  products  are  formed  galvanized  iron  and  steel 
fabricated  articles,  of  which  ice  cans,  brick  pallets  and  steel  factory 
trucks  were  produced  in  1919  as  follows:  ice  cans,  250,000;  pallets, 
600,000;  steel  trucks,  4,000.  About  200  men  are  employed  and  the 
annual  payroll  is  around  $300,000.  The  present  officials  are  the  same  as 
when  the  company  was  organized,  but  the  board  of  directors  in  19 19 
consisted  of  these  and  C.  E.  Bentley,  J.  Bentley  and  C.  P.  Wilson. 

The  Bostwick  Steel  Lath  Company 

This  company  was  incorporated  June  16,  1891,  with  Tod  Ford,  presi- 
dent; W.  W.  Bostwick,  vice  president;  W.  G.  Hurlburt,  secretary,  and, 
in  addition  to  the  above,  Lloyd  Booth,  H.  M.  Garlick,  E.  G.  Sykes,  and 
G.  A.  Baker  as  directors.  Its  capital  was  $1,000,000,  of  which  $400,000 
has  been  issued  as  common  stock.  Its  plant  is  located  at  Niles  and  the 
principal  products  are  metal  lath,  corner  beads,  wall  ties,  wall  plugs  and 
other  forms  of  shaped  steel  Its  force  consists  of  about  fifty  men  and 
women,  and  its  annual  payroll  is  about  $75,000.  A  new  plant  has  been 
recently  erected  in  which  much  improved  facilities  for  manufacture 
have  been  provided.  It  maintains  sales  offices  in  the  principal  cities 
and  is  doing  a  good  business.  Present  officials  are  William  G.  Hurl- 
burt, president ;  John  P.  Hazlett,  vice-president ;  C.  P.  Wilson,  secretary ; 
William  G.  Hurlburt,  Jr.,  assistant  secretary  and  treasurer,  with  Jos. 
Smith,  G.  A.  Baker,  J.  W.  Bowman,  as  additional  directors. 

The  Niles  Forge  &  Manufacturing  Company 

This  corporation  was  organized  in  1909,  with  H.  J.  Robbins  as 
president  and  manager;  Geo.  C.  Campbell,  vice  president;  and  G.  N. 
Baldwin,  secretary  and  treasurer.  Its  capital  was  fixed  at  $80,000,  of 
which  $57,200  has  been  issued  as  common  and  $10,000  as  preferred. 
Its  principal  products  are  fabricated  structural  steel  and  hammered  steel 
forgings.  The  number  of  men  employed  is  seventy-five  and  the  annual 
payroll  approximates  $60,000.  The  present  officials  are  A.  D.  Swaney, 
president  and  manager;  N.  T.  Robbins,  vice  president;  O.  O.  Hewitt, 


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740       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

secretary  and  treasurer.  In  addition  to  the  above,  C.  T.  Swaney  and 
B.  J.  Rosensteel  are  directors.  In  1914  this  company  increased  its 
facilities  by  the' erection  of  a  structural  shop  50x200  feet,  and  in  1919 
a  new  machine  shop  was  also  built.    Its  plant  is  located  at  Niles. 

The  Wilson  Manufacturing  Company 

The  Wilson  Manufacturing  Company  was  organized  in  1908  under 
the  laws  of  Pennsylvania  and  operated  a  plant  at  Pittsburgh  until  1914* 
when  it  removed  the  establishment  to  Niles,  after  purchasing  a  small 
plant  at  that  place.  It  manufactures  small  articles  by  the  stamping 
process,  such  as  toasters,  broilers  and  similar  utensils.  The  capital 
stock  is  $25,000,  of  which  $20,000  has  been  issued  as  common  stock. 
The  annual  payroll  is  about  $22,000,  and  the  number  of  persons  em- 
ployed approximately  sixty.  Present  officials  are  H.  P.  Knoblock,  pres- 
ident; H.  L.  Wilkison,  vice  president;  L.  M.  Knoblock,  treasurer;  W. 
A.  McCleland,  secretary. 

The  Packard  Electric  Company 

This  company  was  organized  in  1890  and  operates  a  plant  at  War- 
ren for  the  manufacture  of  electrical  transformers  and  cables  for  auto- 
mobiles. Its  authorized  capital  was  $40,000,  all  of  which  has  been 
issued  as  common  stock.  The  original  officers  were  J.  W.  Packard, 
president;  C.  F.  Clapp,  vice  president;  W.  H.  Packard,  secretary  and 
treasurer,  with  J.  Perkins  and  M.  B.  Taylor  as  additional  directors. 
Its  annual  output  is  valued  at  $2,000,000,  and  its  payroll  approximates 
$175,000  per  year,  165  persons  being  employed.  Sales  offices  are  main- 
tained at  Warren,  Detroit,  Chicago,  Cleveland  and  New  York.  Present 
officials  are  N.  Amales,  president  and  treasurer;  Chas.  Filius,  vice  pres- 
ident; R.  E.  Gorton,  secretary,  with  Geo.  Filius  and  M.  W.  Bechtel  as 
additional  directors. 

The  Youngstown  Steel  Car  Company 

This  industry,  recently  known  as  the  Youngstown  Car  &  Manufac- 
turing Company,  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  interesting  in  Youngs- 
town. It  was  founded  in  1881  by  Andrew  Milliken  and  Benjamin  F. 
Boyd,  who  came  here  from  Pittsburgh  and  purchased  twelve  acres  of 
ground  from  Robert  Montgomery,  this  ground  being  located  at  what 
was  later  known  as  Haselton.  They  put  up  a  plant  for  building  and  re- 
pairing wooden  freight  cars — the  only  kind  that  were  in  use  then.  They 
selected  Youngstown  because  of  its  central  location  and  the  fact  that  a 
number  of  railroads  converged  here.  Later  a  general  blacksmith  shop, 
foundry  and  machine  shops  were  added.  At  the  beginning  the  firm  em- 
ployed about  200  employes,  and  as  the  business  increased  this  number 
was  increased  to  500,  the  shops  becoming  widely  known  and  doing  a 
very  large  business.     Damaged  cars  by  the  trainload  were  sent  to  them 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       741 

by  various  roads  for  rebuilding  and  repair,  as  at  that  time  railroads  did 
not  so  generally  do  their  own  car  repair  work. 

Mr.  Milliken  was  the  mechanic  and  had  charge  of  the  work  in  the 
shops.  Mr.  Boyd  looked  after  the  finances.  They  were  not  incorpor- 
ated, but  carried  on  the  business  as  a  partnership  under  the  name  of 
Milliken,  Boyd  &  Company.  The  partners  named  were,  however,  the 
principal  owners,  and  the  others,  if  there  were  any,  were  not  evident 
in  the  business.  They  were  business  men  of  a  wholesome,  old-fashioned 
type  and  conducted  their  establishment  in  a  simple  but  efficient  manner. 
One  feature  of  the  office  remembered  by  those  who  did  business  with 
them  was  a  huge  box  of  stogies  that  was  always  open  in  the  office  and 
to  which  the  partners,  the  visitor  and  the  employes  alike  were  welcome 
at  all  times.     The  partners  drove  to  the  office  in  a  surrey,  and  were 


A  Mahoning  Valley  Nail  Factory  with  a  Capacity  of  Four 
Thousand  Kegs  of  Nails  per  Day 

friendly  with  everyone  they  knew,  including  the  men  who  worked  in 
their  plant.  There  were  no  such  things  as  strikes  there,  and  the  concern 
prospered  in  a  definite  although  unobtrusive  way,  becoming  one  of  the 
important  industries  of  the  city.  Finally,  as  the  managers  began  to  get 
old,  they  sold  the  concern  to  Geo.  T.  Oliver,  of  Pittsburgh,  who  wanted 
a  business  opening  for  his  son-in-law,  John  P.  Young.  At  this  time 
the  concern  was  incorporated,  being  known  as  the  Youngstown  Car 
Manufacturing  Company.  Mr.  Young  conducted  it  for  several  years 
and  finally  sold  a  controlling  interest  to  William  Wilkoff  and  others, 
the  date  of  this  transaction  being  December,.  191  o.  Mr.  Wilkoff  con- 
ducted the  enterprise  successfully  until  a  short  time  since,  when  it  was 
taken  over  by  a  new  company,  known  as  the  Youngstown  Steel  Car 
Company,  which  was  organized  with  a  capital'  of  $5,000,000  for  that 
purpose.  The  officers  of  this  company  are:  President,  William  Wil- 
koff; treasurer,  D.  J.  Wilkoff;  secretary,  L.  C.  Wilkoff;  directors,  J. 


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742       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

A.  Campbell,  A.  E.  Adams,  L.  J.  Campbell,  G.  F.  Alderdice,  J.  T.  Har- 
rington, U.  C.  DeFord,  William  Wilkoff,  L.  C.  Wilkoff  and  D.  J. 
Wilkoff,  R..E.  Cornelius,  L.  B.  M'Kelvey,  Parler  Pallock. 

During  1920  this  company  erected  an  extensive  and  modern  plant 
at  Niles.  It  employs  about  300  men  and  will  manufacture  and  repair 
steel  cars.  The  capacity  of  this  plant  at  present  is  twenty  steel  cars 
per  day. 

The  Youngstown  Iron  &  Steel  Company 

This  corporation,  which  was  for  a  time  among  the  successful  insti- 
tutions of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  has  been  dissolved  and  its  property 
taken  over  by  the  Sharon  Steel  Hoop  Company.  It  was  organized  in 
July,  1894,  with  a  capital  of  only  $12,000,  and  was  intended  to  manu- 
facture roofing  specialties  only,  its  original  name  being  the  Youngstown 
Iron  and  Steel  Roofing  Company.  Later  the  capital  was  increased  to 
$300,000  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  sheet  plant,  which  was  erected 
in  1901-02.  Still  later,  in  1914-15,  the  company  erected  an  open-hearth 
furnace-  plant  at  Lowellville,  which  included  rolling  machinery  for  mak- 
ing jt^  own  sheet  bars  and  other  material.  It  had  also  installed  a  well 
equipped  pressed  steel  department  for  making  automobile  specialties 
and  other  pressed  steel  shapes,  and  was  a  very  important  enterprise  at 
the  time  it  was  sold  to  the  Sharon  corporation.  The  officers  at  that  time 
were  John  O.  Pew,  president ;  Mason  Evans,  treasurer;  Chas.  B.  Cushwa, 
general  superintendent. 

The  Newton  Steel  Company 

The  Newton  Steel  Company  was  organized  June  18,  1919,  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $3,000,000,  and  has  under  construction  at  Newton  Falls, 
Trumbull  County,  a  sheet  mill  plant  designed  to  produce  annually  50,000 
tons  of  high  grade  steel  sheets.  The  first  unit  of  this  plant  began  oper- 
ation in  May.  It  will,  when  completed,  employ  about  800  men,  with 
an  annual  payroll  of  approximately  $1,200,000.  Branch  offices  will 
be  maintained  for  the  present  at  Philadelphia,  Detroit,  Chicago  and 
Toronto,  Canada.  This  company  has  established  a  subsidiary  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  houses  for  its  workmen.  Up  to  this  time  $1,300,- 
000  of  the  common  stock  and  $700,000  of  the  preferred  have  been  issued, 
and  the  remainder  will  be  issued  as  additional  capital  is  needed  for  the 
expansion  of  the  business.  The  officers  are:  E.  F.  Clark,  president; 
H.  M.  Steele,  vice  president;  R.  A.  Kenworthy,  secretary;  J.  H.  Fitch, 
Jr.,  treasurer;  E.  F.  Clark,  H.  A.  Taylor,  J.  W.  Ford,  H..M.  Steele,  J. 
H.  Fitch,  Jr.,  Geo.  T.  Fillius  and  W.  H.  B.  Ward,  directors. 

The  Ohio  Steel  Products  Company 

The  Ohio  Steel  Products  Company  is  a  new  organization  which  pur- 
chased a  plant  that  had  been  operated  at  Mineral  Ridge  for  some  years 
in  the  manufacture  of  acetylene  welded  tubing.    Under  the  reorganiza- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       743 

tion  the  officers  are:  F.  W.  Mettler,  president;  John  A.  Logan,  vice 
president  and  general  manager;  C.  E.  Doane,  secretary  and  treasurer; 
directors,  John  A.  Logan,  F.  W.  Mettler,  C.  E.  Doane  and  S.  D.  L. 
Jackson.  A  new  plant  is  now  under  construction  for  the  manufacture 
of  rigid  steel  conduit.  The  capital  of  the  company  at  this  time  is  $400,000, 
and  the  principal  offices  are  at  Youngstown,  Ohio.  The  plant  when 
completed  will  have  capacity  for  the  production  of  10,000,000  feet  of 
tubing  and  approximately  6,000  tons  of  conduit  per  year. 


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Plant  of  the  Trumbull  Steel  Company 


The  Youngstown  Pressed  Steel  Company 

The  Youngs:own  Pressed  Steel  Company  was  organized  in  1917,  its 
purpose  being  the  consolidation  of  the  pressed  steel  establishments  oper- 
ated at  that  time  by  the  Youngstown  Iron  &  Steel  Company  and  the 
Sharon  Steel  Hoop  Company,  both  of  which  were  engaged  in  the  mak- 
ing of  pressed  steel  material  and  the  fabrication  of  fireproofing  material. 
The  original  officers  were  connected  either  with  the  Sharon  Steel  Hoop 
Company  or  the  Youngstown  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  and  were  as  fol- 
lows: President,  W.  W.  Galbreath;  vice  president,  VV.  G.  Kranz;  sec- 
retary and  treasurer,  A.  J.  Watson.  The  plan  to  erect  a  new  factory 
at  once  was  held  up  by  conditions  resulting  from  the  European  war, 
and  it  was  not  until  March,  1920,  that  a  new  and  modern  factory  at 


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744       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Warren  was  occupied.  This  factory  has  a  capacity  of  several  times 
that  of  the  two  old  factories  and  manufactures  many  shapes  that  were 
formerly  produced  only  by  rolling  or  casting.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
modern  plants  of  its  kind  in  the  country,  the  buildings  and  site  costing 
approximately  $1,000,000.  The  company  has  a  capital  of  $1,000,000, 
and  employs  about  350  men.  Its  offices  are  at  Warren.  In  addition 
to  the  officers  named  above,  the  directorate  consists  of  Severn  P.  Ker, 
George  W.  Short,  J.  Ried  Evans,  C.  A.  Manchester.  The  business  of 
this  company  is  growing  rapidly  and  it  expects  to  have  between  500  and 
600  eihployes  within  a  year. 

The  Falcon  Steel  Company 

The  Falcon  Steel  Company  was  organized  June  9,  1919,  with  a  cap- 
ital of  $2,500,000  and  the  following  officers :  President  and  treasurer, 
Lloyd  Booth;  vice  president  and  secretary,  Paul  Wick;  directors,  Lloyd 
Booth,  Paul  Wick,  W.  J.  Hitchcock,  Porter  Pollock,  C.  S.  Thomas.  The 
plant  erected  in  1919-20  at  Niles  consists  of  a  sheet  mill  containing 
eight  stands  of  finishing  mills  and  three  stands  of  roughing  mills.  It 
will  be  electrically  driven  throughout  and  the  furnaces  will  be  fired  with 
powdered  coal.  The  annual  capacity  will  be  72.000  tons  of  black,  gal- 
vanized and  blue  annealed  sheets,  the  number  of  employes  about  800, 
and  the  annual  payroll  correspondingly  large.  Sales  offices  will  be  main- 
tained at  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Chicago,  and  San  Francisco.  The 
executive  offices  will  be  at  Niles.  Four  mills  were  placed  in  operation 
March  1,  1920,  and  others  during  the  year. 

The  Aetna  Foundry  &  Machine  Company 

*>  . 
This  is  one  of  the  oldest  enterprises  in  Warren,  but,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  buildings,  which  have  been  in  use  for  many  years  as  a  foun- 
dry, its  equipment  is  entirely  modern.  It  came  into  the  hands  of  the 
present  owners  by  purchase  from  a  group  of  Pittsburgh  people  under 
the  lead  of  M.  W.  McLean,  manager  of  the  Fort  Pitt  Coal  &  Coke  Com- 
pany, who  had  operated  it  for  a  considerable  time.  Its  capital  stock 
is  fixed  at  $50,000,  but  this  will  be  increased  within  a  short  time  and 
the  capacity  enlarged  to  meet  the  growing  business.  Its  product  is 
largely  machinery,  for  which  it  makes  its  own  castings.  Tinning  ma- 
chines, galvanizing  pots,  general  rolling  mill  equipment,  shears,  and  sim- 
ilar machinery.  Present  officers  and  directors  are:  Myron  Arms  II., 
president  and  treasurer;  Victor  E.  Rehr,  vice  president;  M.  C.  Boyd, 
secretary.  In  addition  to  these  the  following  are  directors:  G.  A. 
White,  E.  T.  McCleary,  J.  M.  Faris,  J.  H.  Fitch. 

The  General  Fire  Extinguisher  Company 

The  General  Fire  Extinguisher  Company,  a  New  York  Corporation, 
operates  a  large  factory  at  Warren.  This  company  was  organized  in 
November,  1892,  with  a  capital  of  $5,000,000.     It  employs  about  3,500 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       745 

men  and  manufactures  sprinkler  systems,  steam,  gas  and  water  heating 
systems,  and  similar  material  and  has  an  annual  payroll  of  about  $5,000,- 
000.  Sales  offices  are  maintained  in  all  the  principal  cities  of  this  coun- 
try. During  1918  and  1920  large  additions  were  made  to  the  plant, 
these  including  a  foundry  and  finishing  shop  for  manufacturing  pipe 
fittings.  The  present  officers  are:  F.  H.  Maynard,  president;  Russell 
Grinnell,  vice  president;  W.  A.  Neracher,  second  vice  president;  L.  W. 
Tones,  treasurer;  H.  B.  Cross,  secretary.  These  officials  with  G.  Gunby 
Jordan.  E.  O.  Richards,  G.  P.  Stone,  A.  Cushman,  Henry  A.  Carpenter, 
Alfred  Fritzche  and  R.  W.  Taft  are  directors. 


Plant  of  the  General  Fire  Extinguisher  Company,  Warren 


The  Phoenix  Tube  Company 

The  Phoenix  Tube  Company  has  completed  and  placed  in  operation 
early  in  1920,  at  Warren,  a  modern  plant  for  the  manufacture  of 
acetylene  welded  tubing,  this  plant  being  operated  in  connection  with 
one  at  Brooklyn,  New  York,  in  which  brass  tubing  only  is  produced. 
The  Warren  plant  employs  150  employes  and  has  an  annual  payroll  of 
.ibout  $400,000.  The  executive  and  sales  offices  are  also  located  there. 
The  present  officers  and  directors  are:  Andrew  P.  Alsand.  president; 
Albert  J.  Burden,  vice  president  and  general  manager;  Charles  W.  Par- 
sons, treasurer.     The  company  has  a  capital  of  $300,000. 


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746       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  Federal  Machine  &  Welder  Company 

Organized  September,  1917.  Capital  stock  $200,000,  of  which  $81,- 
000  in  common  and  $79,000  in  preferred  has  been  issued  to  date.  Em- 
ploys 100  persons;  has  annual  payroll  of  $30,000  and  manufactures 
electric  welders.  Plant  at  Warren.  Extensive  additions  now  in  progress. 
Sales  offices  in  all  the  principal  cities.  Officers  are :  T.  H.  Kane,  presi- 
dent; H.  C.  Milligan,  secretary,  and  Z.  A.  McBerty,  treasurer;  H.  A. 
Rock,  A.  H.  Knight,  R.  L.  Lounsbury,  P.  M.  Seymour  and  A.  F. 
Schroeder. 

General  American  Tank  Car  Corporation 

Organized  in  1902.  Capital  issued,  $4,500,000  preferred  and  25,000 
shares  common  of  no  par  value.  Plants  at  Warren  and  other  cities. 
Products,  tank  and  freight  cars.  Number  of  employes,  1,800.  Annual 
payroll,  $2,500,000.  Officers:  Max  Epstein,  president;  David  Copland, 
vice  president;  Elias  Mayer,  secretary;  M.  P.  Kraffmiller,  treasurer; 
G.  J.  Bader,  Henry  Ollensheimer,  Henry  Butler,  J.  Horace  Harding, 
directors. 

American  Welding  &  Manufacturing  Company 

Organized  March  29,  1918.  Capital,  $200,000.  Plant  at  Warren. 
Product,  motor  truck  wheels  and  felloe  bands.  Many  large  extensions 
planned.  Number  of  employes,  50.  Annual  payroll,  $35,000.  Offi- 
cers: J.  C.  Manternach,  president;  C.  W.  Gressle,  vice  president;  D.  A. 
Geiger,  treasurer;  D.  D.  Templeton,  secretary;  directors,  officers  named 
above  with  R.  B.  Wick. 

Warren  City  Tank  &  Boiler  Company 

Organized  as  Warren  City  Boiler  Works  in  1893.  Plant  at  Warren. 
Products,  oil  refinery  equipment  and  steel  oil  tanks.  Capital,  $100,000. 
Number  of  employes,  at  plant,  450;  in  field,  500  to  600.  Annual  pay- 
roll, $1,000,000.  Officials:  Alfred  R.  Hughes,  president;  William  F. 
Edwards,  vice  president;  B.  W.  Edwards,  secretary  and  treasurer; 
Jennie  M.  Hughes  and  Lottie  M.  Edwards,  directors. 

The  D.  &  M.  Cord  Tire  Company 

Organized,  January  14,  1919.  Capital  authorized,  $2,500,000.  Plant 
in  course  of  erection  for  manufacture  of  cord  automobile  tires  near 
Lovellsburg.  Officers:  President,  Walter  E.  Myers;  treasurer,  John  E. 
Morris ;  secretary  and  general  manager,  Walter  R.  Denman;  directors,  W. 
B.  Prenter,  P.  A.  McCaskey,  H.  K.  Ferguson,  E.  H.  Peck,  F.  C.  Ray- 
mond. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       747 

The  Ohio  Corrugating  Company 

The  Ohio  Corrugating  Company  was  organized  in  January,  191 5,  for 
the  erection  of  a  plant  for  the  manufacture  of  steel  barrels  and  similar 
products  at  Warren.  The  capital  authorized  was  $100,000,  all  of  which 
has %  been  issued  as  common  stock.  The  company  employs  150  persons 
and  has  an  annual  payroll  of  about  $300,000.  It  maintains  offices  at 
Warren,  New  York  and  Chicago.  The  products  at  this  time  consists  of 
steel  barrels,  of  which  about  900,000  are  made  annually.  The  present 
board  of  directors  consist  of  W.  Manning  Kerr,  C.  H.  Riegel,  A.  L. 
Button,  C.  B.  Myers,  and  R.  J.  Richards.  W.  Manning  Kerr  is  presi- 
dent and  treasurer;  C.  H.  Riegel  is  vice  president  and  manager;  L.  J. 
Voyer  is  secretary. 

The  Peerless  Electric  Company 

The  Peerless  Electric  Company  is  an  important  industrial  unit  at 
Warren,  where  it  carries  on  the  production  of  electric  motors.  This 
company  was  organized  in  August,  1902,  with  a  capital  of  $700,000. 
The  original  officers  were  T.  H.  Gilmer;  vice  president,  W.  C.  Ward; 
secretary  and  treasurer,  E.  W.  Gilmer;  directors,  T.  H.  Gilmer,  E. 
W.  Gilmer,  Jacob  Perkins,  E.  E.  Nash,  J.  W.  Holloway,  W.  C.  Ward 
and  William  Wallace.  At  this  time  about  250  persons  are  employed, 
and  the  principal  product  is  motors,  both  alternating  and  direct  current 
machines  being  manufactured  in  many  different  sizes.  Offices  are  main- 
tained at  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  San  Francisco, 
Dallas  and  New  Orleans.  The  present  officials  are:  President,  George 
H.  Jones;  vice  president,  W.  C.  Ward;  secretary,  C.  R.  Siegfried; 
treasurer,  W.  C.  Ward;  directors,  Geo.  H.  Jones,  W.  C.  Ward,  C.  R. 
Siegfried,  A.  C.  Pendleton,  David  A.  Gilmer,  Derr  O.  Gilmer,  N.  A. 
Wolcott,  J.  W.  Holloway,  M.  W.  Bechtel,  Geo.  T.  Fillius  and  D.  E. 
Hoover. 

Sykes  Metal  Lath  Company 

The  Sykes  Metal  Lath  Company,  of  Niles,  has  a  capital  of  $100,000 
and  manufactures  metal  lath,  its  annual  capacity  being  estimated  at 
3,000,000  square  yards.  It  employs  about  thirty  men  and  has  an  annual 
payroll  of  approximately  $44,500.  The  officers  and  directors  are :  Presi- 
dent, J.  A.  Thomas;  secretary  and  treasurer,  C.  H.  Lewis;  directors, 
L.  A.  Thomas,  C.  H.  Lewis,  F.  J.  Thomas,  C.  R.  Thomas  and  C.  S. 
Thomas. 

The  Winfield  Manufacturing  Company 

This  corporation  operates  a  modern  factory  at  Warren  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  galvanized  oil  cans  and  similar  materials.  It  employs  about 
100  men  and  has  an  annual  payroll  of  approximately  $120,000.  The 
capital  stock  was  originally  $50,000,  but  has  been  increased  several  times 


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748       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

to  meet  the  growing  needs  of  the  business,  being  at  present  $150,000. 
The  present  officials  are:  President,  W.  C.  Winfield;  vice  president, 
R.  A.  Cobb;  secretary,  J.  H.  Ewalt;  directors,  W.  C.  Winfield,  E.  A. 
Cobb,  O.  R.  Grimesey,  A.  G.  Ward,  H.  A.  Stiles,  A.  C.  Taylor,  G.  W. 
Byard  and  J.  H.  Ewalt.  This  company  has  also  a  factory  at  Warren 
conducted  under  the  name  of  the  Winfield  Electric  Welding  Machine 
Company,  which  is  a  selling  organization  only,  and  maintains  sales 
offices  at  Warren. 

The  Grasselli  Chemical  Company 

The  Grasselli  Chemical  Company  operates  a  large  plant  at  Niles  for 
the  manufacture  of  various  commercial  chemical  products.  Its  main 
offices  are  in  Cleveland,  and  in  addition  to  the  Niles  plant  it  has  fac- 
tories at  Canton  and  Lockland.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  concerns  of  its 
kind  in  the  country,  employing  at  its  various  plants  a  force  of  several 
thousand  people  and  shipping  its  products  to  all  parts  of  the  country. 

The  Stanley  Works 

The  Stanley  Works  at  Niles  is  one  of  the  important  industries  of 
that  town,  although  only  a  branch  of  the  corporation,  which  has  its  main 
works  at  New  Britain,  Connecticut.  Its  product  is  builders'  hardware 
and  hardware  specialties.  The  original  plant  was  located  at  Girard, 
but  in  1910  it  was  removed  to  Niles  and  a  large  factory  erected.  About 
200  men  are  now  employed  when  the  plant  is  in  full  operation,  and 
the  principal  articles  manufactured  are  washers  and  heavy  hinges. 

The  Raymond  Concrete  Pile  Company 

The  Raymond  Concrete  Pile  Company  operates  on  Crab  Creek,  one 
of  the  important  although  little  known  establishments  of  Youngstown. 
It  manufactures  a  mould  for  concrete  piles  and  carries  on  a  general 
business  of  driving  such  piles  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  It  is  a  New 
York  concern,  so  far  as  ownership  is  concerned. 

The  American  Tar  Products  Company 

The  American  Tar  Products  Company  operates  a  large  plant  for  the 
refining  of  coal  tar  and  the  extraction  therefrom  of  various  products. 
This  establishment  is  located  on  Crab  Creek  and  employs  a  considerable 
number  of  men.  It  secures  its  raw  material  from  the  various  coke-oven 
installations  in  the  Mahoning  and  Shenango  Valleys. 

The  Barrett  Company 

The  Barrett  Company,  a  New  York  concern,  operates  a  large  plant 
for  the  refining  of  tar  and  the  manufacture  of  this  material  into  a  form 
suitable    for   roofing,   road   material   and   similar   purposes   on   Poland 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       749 

Avenue,  securing  its  raw  material  from  local  steel  plants  equipped  with 
by-product  coke  ovens. 

The  American  Belting  Company 

The  American  Belting  Company  operated  for  some  years  a  large 
plant  for  the  manufacture  of  stitched  canvas  belting,  the  works  being 
located  in  Youngstown  and  being,  about  1896,  the  largest  establishment 
of  its  kind  in  the  country.  This  enterprise,  which  was  founded  by  J.  E. 
Davis,  of  Boston,  in  1901,  was  taken  over  later  by  local  capitalists  and 
developed  to  the  limit,  in  the  hope  that  it  could  be  made  profitable.  They 
discovered,  however,  that  it  was  located  too  far  from  the  principal 
markets  for  raw  material,  and  about  1898  the  company  was  liquidated. 
The  business  and  equipment  were  sold  to  a  Baltimore  concern  and  the 
site  was  bought  by  the  Republic  Rubber  Company. 

The  Youngstown  Foundry  &  Machine  Company 

The  Youngstown  Foundry  &  Machine  Company  was  organized  in 
1888.  It  was  originally  the  Wallis  Foundry  Company  and  operated  a 
plant  at  Girard.  The  principal  owners  at  that  time  were  William  J. 
Wallis  and  F.  A.  Wrilliams.  Two  years  after  beginning  business  they 
purchased  the  Girard  Stove  Works  and  secured  a  charter  under  the 
name  of  the  Girard  Stove  &  Foundry  Company.  In  1892  they  acquired 
the  Youngstown  Foundry  &  Machine  Shops,  conducted  by  John  Miller, 
and  soon  afterward  reorganized  their  company  under  its  present  name, 
the  officers  being  Thomas  Parrock,  president ;  Wm.  J.  Wallis,  vice  pres- 
ident, and  F.  A.  Williams,  secretary  and  treasurer.  The  Youngstown 
Steel  Castings  Company  was  taken  over  in  1902,  at  which  time  B.  G. 
Parker  became  secretary  and  treasurer  in  place  of  F.  A.  Williams. 

The  Petroleum  Iron  Works  Company 

The  Petroleum  Iron  Works  Company  was  originally  a  partnership 
formed  in  1892  at  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  by  Joseph  S.  Cullinati, 
C.  H.  Todd  and  E.  G.  Wright.  It  was  incorporated  in  Pennsylvania 
under  its  present  name  in  1899,  with  Joseph  S.  Cullinan  as  president, 
E.  G.  Wright  as  vice  president,  C.  S.  Ritchie  as  treasurer  and  A.  W. 
Krouse  as  secretary,  its  capital  being  $50,000.  The  capital  was  increased 
at  various  times  until  it  is  at  present  $3,000,000. 

In  1907  a  new  plant  was  built  in  Hubbard  Township,  Trumbull 
County,  the  business  being  transferred  to  that  point  from  Washington, 
Pennsylvania.  In  19 14  the  company  was  rechartered  under  the  laws 
of  Ohio. 

The  company  has  now  one  of  the  most  extensive  and  modern  plants 
of  the  kind  in  this  country.  It  manufactures  iron  and  steel  products 
used  in  the  oil  trade,  including  tanks  up  to  80,000  barrels  capacity, 
equipment  for  oil  refineries,  steel  barrels,  drums  and  similar  material. 
It  erects  equipment  in  all  parts  of  the  world  and  enjoys  a  very  large 
export  business. 


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750       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  company  has  two  subsidiaries,  the  Pennsylvania  Tank  Car  Com- 
pany, with  a  capital  of  $1,000,000,  and  the  Pennsylvania  Tank  Line 
Company,  similarly  capitalized.  The  former  corporation  operates  a 
plant  for  the  manufacture  of  tank  railroad  cars,  and  has  an  output  of 
between  2,000  and  3,000  such  cars  per  year.  The  latter  operates  a 
private  tank  car  line,  having  4,500  tank  cars  leased  to  users  at  this  time. 
These  corporations  were  both  organized  in  1912,  and,  like  the  parent 
company,  are  highly  successful.  About  1,000  men  are  employed  in  the 
three  plants,  all  of  which  are  located  in  the  same  locality. 

The  present  officers  of  the  Petroleum  Iron  Works  Company  are: 
Geo.  P.  Bard,  president ;  J.  L.  Considine,  vice  president ;  H.  A.  Bishop, 
vice  president;  A.  S.  Maitland,  treasurer;  H.  C.  Knowles,  secretary 
and  assistant  treasurer;  J.  L.  Sullivan,  assistant  secretary  and  assistant 
treasurer;  M.  A.  Wall,  assistant  secretary  and  assistant  treasurer. 

The  Block  Gas  Mantle  Company 

The  Block  Gas  Mantle  Company  is  one  of  Youngstown's  most  inter- 
esting and  progressive  industries,  its  products  going  to  all  parts  of  the 
world.  The  concern  was  originally  organized  in  October,  1908,  with  a 
capital  of  $50,000,  its  purpose  being  the  manufacture  of  incandescent 
gas  lamp  mantles.  The  officers  were:  Ed.  Steindler,  president;  Otto 
Kauffman,  vice  president  and  treasurer,  and  L.  E.  Neuman,  secretary. 
A  reorganization  was  effected  on  April  13,  1915,  when  the  capital  was 
increased  to  $1,000,000.  The  number  of  persons  employed  is  now  about 
400  and  the  annual  payroll  approximates  $200,000.  Sales  offices  are 
maintained  in  Chicago,  New  York  and  San  Francisco.  The  present 
officers  and  directors  are:  Otto  Kauffman,  president  and  treasurer; 
Edw.  S.  Kauffman,  vice  president;  T.  Woodward,  secretary;  W.  P. 
Arms,  R.  P.  Hartshorn  and  the  above  named  officers  as  directors. 

The  Falcon  Bronze  Company 

The  Falcon  Bronze  Company,  a  well  known  Youngstown  concern, 
was  started  by  J.  A.  Doeright  in  1891  as  a  brass  foundry,  his  operations 
being  carried  on  in  a  small  building  at  the  rear  of  his  home,  Phelps 
Street  and  Emily  Alley.  In  1892  he  sold  a  half-interest  to  G.  B.  Booth 
and  the  partnership  was  called  the  Falcon  Bronze  Works.  The  con- 
cern was  incorporated  in  October,  1895,  under  the  name  of  Falcon 
Bronze  Company,  G.  B.  Booth  being  president;  Richard  Garlick,  vice 
president;  John  Tod,  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  G.  A.  Doeright,  gen- 
eral manager.  G.  B.  Booth  died  on  May  5,  1896,  and  Richard  Garlick 
became  president,  G.  A.  Doeright  being  elected  vice  president.  J.  G. 
Simon  became  secretary  on  the  retirement  of  John  Tod  in  1900.  In 
1907  G.  A.  Doeright  purchased  the  stock  of  the  other  parties  interested 
and  later  sold  some  of  his  holdings  to  C.  H.  Kennedy,  Joe  Harvey,  E. 
E.  Miller  and  John  Noll,  the  company  being  reorganized.     The  present 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       751 

officers  and  directors  are:  G.  A.  Doeright,  president  and  general  man- 
ager; John  Noll,  vice  president;  J.  L.  Wick,  Jr.,  secretary;  E.  E.  Miller, 
treasurer.  The  company  manufactures  bronze  castings  for  mill  work 
of  all  kinds.  Its  capital  is  $25,000,  but  its  assets  are  in  excess  of  $325,- 
000,  and  it  is  an  exceedingly  prosperous  enterprise. 

The  Warren  Iron  &  Steel  Company 

The  Warren  Iron  &  Steel  Company  was  organized  under  the  laws  of 
Ohio  in  1899  *or  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  plant  at  Warren  for  the  manu- 
facture of  crucible  and  open-hearth  steel.  The  original  capital  was  $100,- 
000,  and  the  first  board  of  officers  and  directors  as  follows :  D.  L.  Helman, 
president;  C.  B.  Loveless,  secretary  and  treasurer;  Dan  A.  Geiger,  L.  L. 
Jones  and  Charles  Fillius,  directors.  In  191 1  the  capital  was  increased  to 
$200,000.  To  provide  for  large  extensions,  the  capital  was  again  increased 
in  1920  to  $2,250,000,  of  which  $1,000,000  is  in  the  form  of  preferred 
stock. 

The  company  has  now  under  construction  a  new  mill  building  120x300 
feet,  which  will  be  equipped  with  modern  rolling  mill  machinery,  furnaces, 
etc.  Its  present  products  are  high  carbon  steel  sheets  specially  suitable  for 
the  manufacture  of  saws,  tool  steel  and  open-hearth  steel  for  the  production 
of  agricultural  implements.  C.  B.  Loveless  is  now  president  and  general 
manager;  Dan  A.  Geiger  is  vice-president;  L.  L.  Jones  is  secretary  and 
treasurer.  These  gentlemen,  with  I.  H.  Price  and  Geo.  T.  Fillius,  con- 
stitute the  board  of  directors. 


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CHAPTER  XXXIV 

TRANSPORTATION  IN  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Indian  Paths — Route  Taken  by  First  Settlers — The  Mahoning 
as  a  Waterway — Development  of  Roads — The  Ohio  &  Penn- 
sylvania Canal — Construction  of  Railroads — Trolley  Lines. 

When  the  Mahoning  Valley  was  opened  for  settlement  there  were 
but  two  methods  of  reaching  it.  The  first  used  was,  apparently,  one  of 
the  several  Indian  paths,  and  the  second  was  the  Mahoning  River. 

Of  the  Indian  paths  the  oldest  was  undoubtedly  the  Kittanning 
Trail,  a  famous  old  Indian  highway  that  began  in  the  Susquehanna  Val- 
ley, extended  up  the  valley  of  the  Juniata  and  crossed  the  Alleghany 
Mountains  by  way  of  the  gorge  now  traversed  by  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  at  its  famous  Horseshoe  curve,  or  Kittanning  Point,  some 
miles  east  of  the  mountain  summit.  This  trail  then  struck  westward, 
crossing  the  Allegheny  River  at  Kittanning,  continuing  through  the 
vicinity  of  Butler,  Pennsylvania,  and  crossing  the  Shenango  at  a  ford- 
ing near  New  Castle.  This  trail  was  well  marked,  and  it  was  easily 
located  by  the  surveyors  who  ran  the  first  line  on  the  eastern  side  of 
the  Western  Reserve.  They  found  it,  according  to  their  records,  sixty- 
five  miles  south  of  the  Lake  and  one  mile  north  of  the  Mahoning.  A 
branch  of  this  trail  extended  to  Pittsburgh  and  it  was  probably  that  most 
used  by  the  people  who  came  here  to  make  salt  before  the  Western  Re- 
serve was  opened,  as  well  as  by  the  Indian  traders. 

Another  trail,  which  was  used  by  most  of  the  first  settlers,  because 
they  could  bring  their  belongings  down  the  Ohio  by  boat,  began  at  the 
junction  of  the  Beaver  and  Ohio,  and  followed  the  former  stream  to  a 
point  where  its  banks  became  so  high  and  precipitous  and  so  cut  with 
deep  ravines  that  they  were  forced  to  detour  in  order  to  find  easier 
going.  The  Beaver  Valley  and  the  lower  part  of  the  Mahoning  Valley 
would  have  furnished  the  best  grade  and  the  most  direct  route,  but  the 
valley  was  narrow  and  the  ground  along  the  beds  of  these  streams  so 
marshy  that  it  was  not  negotiable  for  wagons,  or  even  for  pack  horses. 
So  most  of  the  pioneers  made  their  way  through  the  woods  on  the  high 
ground  south  of  the  Beaver  and  Mahoning,  and  winding  paths  were  cut 
along  this  route,  which  brought  the  newcomers  into  the  valley  by  way 
of  Poland.  This  same  route  is  still  the  best  overland  road  to  the  East 
and  is  aivcd  bjj.  a  great  majority  of  those  who  travel  in  automobiles 
from  this  section  to  Pittsburgh.  The  roads  found  by  the  latter,  while 
still  inferior,  are  very  different  from  that  over  which  most  of  the  earlier 

752 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       753 

settlers  brought  their  families  and  their  "plunder/'  as  household  goods 
were  called  in  those  days. 

These  were  at  first  merely  paths  marked  by  slashes  cut  into  the  trees. 
Later  they  were  cleared  of  underbrush  and  small  trees,  the  larger  trees 
being  allowed  to  stand  after  they  had  been  deadened.  At  points  where 
it  was  impossible  to  avoid  swamps  logs  were  cut  and  laid  side  by  side, 
forming  what  was  known  as  "corduroy."  These  were  the  only  bridges 
constructed,  the  streams  being  crossed  by  fording,  usually  at  some  point 
where  wide  and  shallow  and  the  banks  were  low.  Some  mark  was  usu- 
ally established  to  show  when  the  water  was  at  a  depth  safe  for  cross- 
ing. The  principal  fording  place  on  the  Mahoning  was  located  in  what 
is  now  the  southeastern  part  of  Youngstown  slightly  west  of  the  old 
Gibson  spring  on  Poland  Avenue.  The  depth  mark  at  this  ford  was  a 
rock  in  the  river,  and  so  long  as  the  top  of  this  could  be  seen,  fording 
was  safe.  These  marks  were  known  to  all  the  settlers,  but  occasionally 
strangers  and  even  settlers  who  were  impatient  and  willing  to  take 
chances,  were  drowned  in  the  effort  to  cross.  One  accident  of  this  kind 
occurred  at  the  Gibson  ford.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  spot  now 
along  the  .whole  river  between  Warren  and  Lowellville  where  it  could 
not  be  forded. 

The  first  transportation  was  almost  entirely  by  pack  horses.  Two 
years  later  carts  and  wagons  began  to  come  in.  Some  few  of  the  first 
settlers  made  rafts  and  on  these  poled  their  few  possessions  up  the 
river,  their  women  and  children  making  their  way  along  the  banks.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  the  streams  were  at  that  time  all  much 
deeper  than  they  now  are.  The  first  surveyors  of  the  Western  Reserve 
described  the  Mahoning  as  "about  fifteen  rods  wide  and  four  feet  deep, 
with  sandy  bottom  and  low  banks."  Its  course  was  given  as  east  and 
its  current  was  said  to  be  "gentle,  but  brisk."  This  description  was  made, 
as  the  report  states,  at  "an  uncommon  dry  time." 

The  first  real  road  made  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  ended  at  Youngs- 
town. The  second  extended  from  Youngstown  along  the  old  salt- 
makers'  and  Indian  trail  to  the  salt  springs.  Later  this  road  was  ex- 
tended through  Weathersfield  Township  to  Warren  and  thence  on  to 
Grand  River.  Judge  Turhand  Kirtland  surveyed  the  road  from  Poland 
as  far  as  the  salt  springs,  probably  in  1798,  during  the  same  year  in 
which  he  helped  to  lay  out  John  Young's  town  and  also  Poland  Town- 
ship. A  road  had  previously  been  laid  out  by  him  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  Reserve  as  a  highway  between  Pennsylvania  and  Cleveland. 
It  was  a  girdled  road,  constructed  according  to  suggestions  made  by  a 
committee  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  under  date  of  January  30,  1798, 
that  "the  small  stuff  be  cut  out  25  feet  wide  and  the  timber  be  girdled 
33  feet  wide,  and  sufficient  bridges  be  thrown  over  the  streams  as  are 
not  fordable." 

Carrying  the  Mails 

Transportation  of  the  mails  was  first  undertaken  regularly  on  Octo- 
ber 30,  1 80 1.  Eleazer  Gilson,  the  latest  new  arrival  &t  Canfield,  was 
the    original    contractor   and    Capt.    Elijah    Wadsworth   was    the    first 


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754       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

postmaster.  He  agreed  to  serve  in  this  capacity  at  Canfield,  but  refused 
the  honor  if  the  office  was  to  be  located  at  Warren,  as  originally  pro- 
posed. He  also  recommended  the  establishment  of  post  offices  at  Youngs- 
town  and  Beaver  in  addition  to  that  already  at  Georgetown,  and  these 
four  postoffices  were  the  only  ones  originally  on  the  route  between  Can- 
field  and  Pittsburg.  The  mail  was  carried  once  every  two  weeks,  usu- 
ally on  the  back  of  Samuel  Gilson,  son  of  Eleazer,  who  was  busy  mak- 
ing a  home  for  his  family  in  the  woods.  Later  the  mail  service  was 
extended  to  Warren  and  gradually  to  all  parts  of  the  valley  in  which 
villages  were  established. 

Transportation  by  Water 

Aside  from  the  trips  made  by  Col.  James  Hillman  and  other  In- 
dian traders,  the  first  recorded  effort  to  bring  merchandise  into  the 
Mahoning  Valley  for  sale  was  made  by  James  E.  Caldwell  in  1801. 
He  paddled  a  boat  up  the  river,  stopping  at  W'arren.  His  cargo  con- 
sisted of  "groceries,  calico  and  notions."  The  calico  sold  at  75  cents 
per  yard,  and  was  in  slight  demand  for  ''fine  dresses  and  trimmings. " 
His  semi-monthly  arrival  at  Youngstown  and  Warren  was  for  several 
years  announced  by  blowing  a  horn,  which  attracted  all  the  population 
to  the  river  bank  to  inspect  his  wares,  and  doubtless  the  fair  sex  of 
that  day  was  eager  in  its  search  for  bargains  as  in  these  days  of  de- 
partment stores. 

A  little  later  merchants  in  Youngstown  began  to  bring  merchandise 
up  the  river  on  rafts  and  flat  boats  and  also  to  ship  out  by  the  same 
method  skins  and  such  other  articles  as  they  secured  in  trade  at  their 
stores.  McCord  &  Kinney  were  the  first  merchants  to  undertake  this 
method  of  transportation  on  a  large  scale,  and  their  first  boats  were 
built  by  Josiah  Robbins.  These  boats  were  known  as  "arks,"  and  their 
appearance  on  the  waters  of  the  Mahoning,  which  had  been  declared 
a  navigable  stream  as  far  as  Newton  Falls  by  the  Ohio  Legislature  in 
1806,  was  hailed  as  the  beginning  of  a  new  era.  These  two  boats  were 
of  considerable  size,  had  flat  bottoms  and  were  so  arranged  that  their 
cargo  could  be  protected  from  rain  by  means  of  a  tarpaulin.  They  were 
steered  by  means  of  an  oar  swung  from  the  rear  end,  and  were  pro- 
pelled against  the  current  on  the  return  trip  by  poles  skillfully  and  labo- 
riously managed  by  the  crew.  The  first  of  the  boats  "sailed"  from 
Youngstown  on  April  4,  1823,  and  the  second  followed  nineteen  days 
later.  Both  reached  the  Ohio  in  safety,  the  trip  requiring  only  about 
ten  hours.  The  first  boat  carried  700  bushels  of  wheat,  but  the  cargo 
of  the  other  has  not  been  recorded.  This  performance  raised  the  hopes 
of  the  people  for  a  really  navigable  waterway  to  the  Ohio,  but  this  was 
not  realized  until  the  opening  of  the  canal,  probably  because  soon  after- 
ward the  water  level  in  the  river  began  to  fall  and  additional  obstruc- 
tions in  the  way  of  mill  dams  were  being  constantly  erected  on  it,  such 
dams  being  permitted  if  a  proper  by-pass  was  provided. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       755 
The  First  Stage  Coach 

In  1 817  the  first  stage  coach  made  its  appearance  in  the  Mahoning 
Valley,  coming  one  year  before  the  completion  of  the  Ashtabula  Turn- 
pike, which  was  the  first  real  road  in  the  Western  Reserve  and  con- 
nected the  Lake  with  the  Ohio,  its  southern  terminus  being  at  Wells- 
ville.  Several  years  were  required  for  the  construction  of  this  road, 
and  the  stage  reached  Poland  regularly  only  in  1824.  The  first  regular 
line  was  operated  by  Aaron  Whitney,  and  the  coaches  ran  from  Con- 
neaut  to  Poland.  The  trip  from  Conneaut,  where  boats  from  Buffalo 
and  Erie  landed  pas&engers  for  the  west,  to  Wellsville,  covering  100 
miles,  required  twenty  hours  and  cost  the  passengers,  exclusive  of  their 
meals,  $4.00. 

Gradually  the  roads  were  improved  and  extended  to  all  parts  of  the 
valley,  as  well  as  in  all  directions  from  it  to  points  of  importance.  The 
paths  through  the  woods  were  exchanged  for  earthen  highways  laid 
out,  usually  on  land  lines  where  this  did  not  involve  impossible  grades, 
and  banked  in  the  middle  to  furnish  drainage.  The  streams  were 
crossed  by  wooden  bridges,  some  of  the  more  pretentious  being  cov- 
ered. Wagons  soon  became  common,  and  the  more  wealthy  citizens 
began  to  appear  in  buggies  and  carriages. 

Building  of  Turnpikes 

The  first  good  roads  were  constructed  as  semi-private  enterprises. 
Their  cost  was  defrayed  by  stock  subscriptions  among  organizations 
eager  to  better  living  conditions  and  perhaps  also  hopeful  of  profitable 
returns  from  the  tolls  charged  for  the  passage  of  all  sorts  of  vehicles. 
These  roads  were  known  as  "turnpikes"  because  of  the  pikes  which 
were,  in  England,  extended  from  either  side  of  privately  owned  roads 
and  turned  aside  to  permit  the  traveler  to  pass  after  he  had  paid  his 
way.  At  first  these  roads  were  only  well  drained  highways  on  which 
some  money  was  systematically  expended  for  repairs.  Later  they  were 
usually  McAdamized,  or,  as  the  word  is  now  used,  macadamized,  which 
process,  called  after  its  inventor,  consisted  of  putting  on  a  foundation 
of  broken  stone  and  covering  it  over  with  a  layer  of  fine  stone  and 
earth.  This  system  was  responsible  for  most  of  the  good  roads  of  the 
earlier  days  in  the  East,  as  well  as  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  although 
here  as  elsewhere  in  regions  heavily  timbered  there  were  a  few  stretches 
of  plank  road.  The  plank  road  was  built  of  heavy  plank  laid  upon 
wooden  stringers  or  sills.  It  was  smooth  and  was  at  first  thought  to 
be  a  great  discovery.  Later  the  plank  road  proved  too  expensive  to 
build  and  maintain,  and  was  found  also  to  have  a  tendency  to  ruin  the 
feet  of  horses  as  well  as  to  heat  wagon  tires  and  cause  them  to  loosen 
on  the  wheels.  Between  Bloomfield  and  Warren  a  stretch  of  fifteen 
miles  was  built  of  planks.  It  was  twelve  feet  wide  and  had  a  good 
'•*'' -r-     'hus,  rpifi  vvore  out  it  was  not  rebuilt. 

All  these  toll  roads  were  taken  over  later  by  the  counties  and  still 
later  many  of  them  by  the  state. 


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756       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

The  first  supervisor  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  was  Thomas  Packard, 
of  Warren,  founder  of  the  family  that  afterward  did  so  much  to  create 
good  roads  sentiment  as  a  part  of  the  business  policy  incidental  to  the 
advancement  of  the  automobile  business,  in  which  its  name  has  become 
known  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Stage  Lines  and  Inns 

The  construction  of  fairly  good  roads  was  of  course  necessary  for 
successful  operation  of  the  stage  coach,  but  the  best  early  earthen  roads 
were  almost  impassable  during  wet  weather  and  the  stage  'coaches  on 
them  found  it  accordingly  difficult  to  maintain  regular  schedules.     It 


Arrival  of  the  Stage  Coach  at  Warren  in  Early  Days 

is  to  their  credit,  however,  that  the  driver  generally  regarded  this  of 
great  importance  and  was  as  jealous  as  a  modern  railroad  conductor  on 
this  score.  These  old  stage  drivers  were  a  feature  of  life  in  the  valley 
at  a  certain  period,  and  they  regarded  themselves  very  seriously.  Their 
entrance  into  a  village  was  always  made  with  a  great  flourish  of  horn 
and  whip,  impressing  the  local  population  accordingly.  From  records 
extant  it  is  learned  that  the  stage  fare  between  Youngstown  and  War- 
ren was  50  cents,  and  from  Warren  to  Fairport  it  was  $1.75. 

The  inns  that  sprung  up  along  stagecoach  lines  were  also  a  feature 
of  that  period  of  our  national  development  well  worthy  of  a  word  here, 
although  on  the  stage  lines  crossing  the  Mahoning  Valley  they  never 
reached  quite  the  same  importance  as  on  the  Pittsburgh  and  Philadelphia 
Pike,  the  great  National  Road  and  other  longer  thoroughfares  over 
which  at  one  period  the  whole  trade  and  travel  of  the  western  country 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       757 

passed  in  an  almost  continuous  stream  of  wagons.  These  old  inns  were 
generally  built  with  wide  porches,  and  the  largest  room  in  the  house 
was  occupied  by  the  office  and  bar.  On  the  floor  of  this  room  the 
wagoners  slept  in  their  blankets,  even  when  the  rooms  were  not  occu- 
pied by  guests.  These  inns  were  a  valuable  market  for  the  farmers  in 
their  vicinity,  since  they  fed  a  steady  stream  of  people  and  fed  them 
well,  and  since  they  were  frequently  the  only  place  within  many  miles 
where  the  farmer  could  exchange  his  products  for  the  coin  of  the  realm. 
In  this  way  the  inn  sometimes  became  the  chief  supporter  of  church, 
school  and  state,  because  it  furnished  cash  to  pay  taxes,  church  con- 
tributions and  the  salaries  of  teachers.  Not  a  few  villages  were  founded 
around  these  stopping  places,  which  had  to  be  at  somewhat  regular  in- 
tervals. There  seems  to  have  been  at  that  time  a  greater  and  more  solid 
respect  for  good  eating  than  exists  at  present,  and  the  fame  of  some 
of  these  places  became  national  through  the  desire  of  well  known  men 
to  express  their  appreciation  of  their  abundant  and  appetizing  tables, 
their  well  ripened  rum  and  their  comfortable  beds. 

A  Railroad  Planned 

As  early  as  1827  the  enterprising  citizens  of  the  Western  Reserve 
planned  the  construction  of  a  railroad  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio  River, 
the  charter  designating  the  location  of  this  road  as  "from  some  point 
on  Lake  Erie  between  Lake  and  Ashtabula  counties,  to  some  point  on 
the  Ohio  River  in  Columbiana  County."  The  capital  stock  was  fixed 
at  $1,000,000,  but,  inadequate  as  such  a  sum  was  for  the  work  pro- 
posed, it  was  much  more  than  could  be  raised  at  that  time,  and  the  proj- 
ect was  abandoned.  Had  this  plan  been  carried  through,  it  would  have 
been  the  greatest  railroad  enterprise  on  the  American  continent  at  that, 
day,  a  fact  which  shows  the  supreme  faith  and  the  boldness  of  the 
pioneers.  The  railroads  then  in  existence  were  all  short  and  extremely 
crude  in  construction  and  equipment,  their  tracks  consisting  of  heavy 
wooden  stringers  on  which  were  nailed  iron  strips.  The  most  famous 
railroad  in  America  at  that  time  was  the  "Old  Portage,"  a  short  line 
composed  of  alternate  "levels"  and  "inclined  planes,"  by  which  canal 
boats  running  between  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh  could  be  transported 
across  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  It  was  only  forty-three  miles  in  length 
and  had  taxed  in  its  construction  the  resources  of  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania; yet  here  were  private  citizens  of  a  section  settled  only  thirty 
years  planning  to  build  a  railroad  100  miles  in  length. 

The  Ohio  &  Pennsylvania  Canal 

The  effort  to  build  a  railroad  having  failed,  the  pioneers  at  once 
turned  their  attention  to  the  scheme  of  connecting  the  Ohio  and  the 
lake  by  a  canal  which  should  traverse  the  Mahoning  Valley.  In  1828, 
the  Ohio  Canal,  one  of  two  authorized  by  the  Legislature  in  1825,  was 
completed.  This  canal  began  at  Coshocton,  crossed  the  old  and  his- 
toric portage  between  the  Tuscarawas  and  the  Cuyahoga,  and  followed 


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758       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

the  latter  to  Cleveland.  The  Pennsylvania  &  Ohio  Canal  was  designed 
to  connect  the  Ohio  at  Beaver  with  this  canal  at  Akron,  and  thus  furnish 
a  direct  route  by  water  between  Pittsburg  and  the  Lakes.  It  had  been 
talked  of  as  early  as  1822,  but  little  was  done  until  1832.  In  that  year 
an  effort  was  made  to  secure  sufficient  subscriptions  to  stock  in  a  com- 
pany organized  to  put  the  project  through,  but  financial  conditions  were 
such  that  this  could  not  be  done  until  the  revival  of  business  in  1838, 
when  the  matter  was  again  taken  up  with  determination  and  pushed  with 
energy.  Charters  obtained  in  Ohio  January  10,  1827,  and  in  Pennsyl- 
vania a  few  months  later  had  lapsed,  but  they  were  renewed  in  1835, 
and  the  books  opened  for  stock  subscriptions.  The  capital  stock,  $1,- 
000,000,  was  subscribed  in  a  few  hours,  $785,000  of  it  being  taken  by 
Philadelphia  merchants  alone.  The  remainder  was  raised  chiefly  in 
Pittsburgh  and  the  Mahoning  Valley.  Later  it  was  found  that  $220,000 
additional  would  be  required  to  complete  the  canal  to  Akron,  and  this 
amount  was  subscribed  by  citizens  of  Portage  and  Trumbull  counties. 
The  Ohio  &  Pennsylvania  canal  was  completed  to  Warren,  and  the  ar- 
rival of  the  first  packet  made  the  occasion  of  a  great  demonstration  on 
May  23,  1839.  About  forty  people  prominent  in  the  business  life  of 
Pennsylvania  were  passengers  on  the  first  packet  boat  and  joined  in 
the  celebration  with  several  hundred  from  Youngstown  and  other  towns 
along  the  route,  and  everyone  in  Warren.  This  occasion  will  go  down 
in  the  history  of  Warren  as  one  of  its  greatest  jubilations  and,  in  view 
of  the  number  of  toasts  drunk  at  the  dinner  accompanying  it  and  the 
text  of  some  of  the  speeches  made,  that  city  will  never  have  another 
such  affair — at  least  not  until  the  State  of  Ohio  and  the  American  nation 
decide  to  amend  their  constitutions  by  striking  out  the  prohibition  clauses 
inserted  therein  during  the  year  of  grace  Nineteen  Hundred  and  Nine- 
teen. 

The  Canal  Boats  Described 

A  short  description  of  the  canal  boats  that  once,  according  to  the 
Western  Reserve  Chronicle  in  its  description  of  the  celebration  above 
mentioned,  "floated  on  the  bosom  of  the  waters  of  the  canal,"  irjay  in- 
terest people  who  never  saw  a  canal  boat,  a  group  probably  quite  numer- 
ous at  this  time.  The  packets  or  passenger  boats  were  about  60  feet 
in  length  and  10  feet  in  width.  At  either  end  the  deck  was  level  with 
the  sides,  but  in  the  middle  were  a  row  of  cabins  in  which  sleeping 
berths,  a  kitchen,  salon  and  dining  salon,  were  provided.  The  larger 
boats  could  accommodate  fifteen  tons  of  freight  and  sixty  passengers. 
They  were  painted  white  and  provided  with  a  flag-pole,  gang  plank  and 
as  many  other  nautical  features  as  possible.  These  boats  furnished  a 
very  comfortable,  although  somewhat  tedious,  method  of  travel  and 
were  a  vast  improvement  over  the  stage  coach  operated  on  bad  roads. 
The  freight  boats  were  about  as  large  as  the  packets,  but  were  not  so 
ornate  and  the  space  devoted  to  cabins  was  often  merely  covered  by  a 
roof  on  stanchions.  Both  kinds  of  boats  were  propelled  by  the 
same  method — one  or  two  mules  attached  to  a  rope  which  dragged  in 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       759 

the  water  ahead  of  the  vessel  as  the  mule  progressed  along  a  path  at 
the  side  of  the  canal,  known  as  a  "tow-path."  This  was  the  vehicular 
equipment  of  the  "raging  canawl,"  and  it  might  be  owned  by  anyone 
who  had  the  means  and  inclination  to  build  such  a  boat  and  was  willing 
to  pay  a  small  stipend  for  the  privilege  of  using  the  canal  for  its  opera- 
tion. As  for  the  canal  itself,  it  was  simply  a  wide  ditch  of  sufficient 
depth  to  float  such  a  boat  as  that  described.  Its  course  followed  the 
Beaver  and  Mahoning  to  Warren  closely,  overcoming  the  slight  grade 
by  means  of  locks.  These  were  short  sections  of  the  canal  similar  to  a 
dry  dock  in  construction,  with  gates  at  either  end.  The  gate  behind  the 
advancing  boat  was  closed  and  water  admitted,  or  allowed  to  flow  out, 


Scene  on  the  Old  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  Canal 

by  means  of  the  other  gate,  according  to  whether  the  boat  was  traveling 
up  or  down  stream,  until  the  vessel  was  either  raised  or  lowered  to  the 
next  level,  when  it  proceeded  on  its  journey  in  the  regular  way. 

The  canal  was  wide  enough  at  most  points  to  allow  the  passing  of 
boats,  but  the  locks,  except  where  they  were  double,  would  accommodate 
boats  only  in  single  file.  At  important  points,  such  as  Youngstown  and 
Warren,  basins  were  built  by  widening  the  bed  of  the  canal,  and  these 
artificial  harbors  were  soon  surrounded  by  warehouses  and  formed  the 
busiest  spot  in  a  town  along  the  canal. 

The  first  canal  boats  left  Beaver  at  7  o'clock  in  the  evening  and 
reached  Warren  about  noon  of  the  following  day,  and  the;  return  trip 
was  made  in  about  the  same  time ;  not  a  very  rapid  method  of  travel  per- 
haps, but  at  the  same  time  a  great  improvement  over  anything  the  people 
of  this  valley  had  previously  known. 

Short  Life  of  the  Canal 

The  opening  of  this  canal  was  one  of  the  most  important  events  in 
the  history  of  the  Mahoning  Valley.  It  began  an  era  full  of  great 
promise  for  the  industries  already  showing  remarkable  development  and 
laid  the  foundation  for  the  present  industrial  activity  of  this  section. 
But,  like  many  other  things  on  which  men  have  builded  great  hopes  and 


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760       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

thought  superior  to  the  vicissitudes  of  time,  the  canal  was  destined  to 
enjoy  a  period  of  usefulness  extremely  short  as  compared  with  what  had 
been  expected  of  it.  It  suffered  the  fate  of  all  enterprises  that  come  into 
competition  with  greater  efficiency  and  soon  succumbed  to  the  cheaper 
and  more  rapid  transportation  provided  by  steam  railroad  lines.  The 
Pennsylvania  &  Ohio  Canal  was  operated  for  only  a  score  of  years. 
It  had  been  completed  to  Akron  two  years  after  the  first  boats  reached 
Warren,  and  did  a  thriving  business  until  the  construction  of  the  Cleve- 
land &  Pittsburg  Railroad  in  1851  took  away  a  large  portion  of  its  traffic. 
The  Cleveland  &  Mahoning  was  built  in  1856.  It  provided  a  shorter  and 
much  faster  route  between  Youngstown  and  Cleveland,  and  other  rail- 
roads completed  the  appropriation  of  the  canal's  business,  so  that,  in 
1863,  the  state,  which  held  a  large  block  of  stock  in  the  canal,  sold  it 
to  the  Cleveland  &  Mahoning  Railroad  Company.  This  company  ran  a 
few  freight  boats  for  some  years  thereafter,  but  the  packets  were  con- 
verted into  freight  boats  or  allowed  to  rot  at  their  moorings,  and  in  many 
places  the  bed  of  the  canal  was  sold  to  other  railroads.  That  portion 
between  Youngstown  and  Akron  was  abandoned  shortly  after  the  open- 
ing of  the  Cleveland  &  Mahoning  Railroad  in  1856,  but  the  section  be- 
tween Youngstown  and  New  Castle  was  operated  until  December  17, 
1868,  when  the  last  boat,  named  The  Telegraph,  made  its  final  trip  from 
Lowellville  to  Brier  Hill,  laden  with  coal.  Limestone  was  hauled  in 
barges  from  Lowellville  to  Brier  Hill  as  late  as  1872.  ,  s 

The  old  canal  did  much  for  the  Mahoning  Valley,  but  it  is  now  only 
a  memory,  and  there  are  not  many  people  living  who  can  recall  the 
mournful  fate  of  this  once  great  enterprise,  even  as  it  was  suggested  by 
the  sight  of  once  proud  boats  slowly  sinking  into  the  slime  along  the 
line  of  the  arrogant  modern  competitor  that  came  and  took  away  its 
occupation  and  frequently  occupied  its  very  bed. 

Railroads 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  ambitious  scheme  to  build  a  railroad 
from  the  lake  to  the  Ohio  River  in  1827.  Another  plan  to  build  a  line 
between  these  points  by  the  Ashtabula,  Warren  &  East  Liverpool  Rail- 
road Company  in  1838  failed  for  the  same  reason — inability  to  raise  the 
necessary  money.  The  third  effort  in  this  direction  was  successful.  It 
was  the  construction  of  the  Cleveland  &  Mahoning  Railroad,  by  a  com- 
pany headed  by  Jacob  Perkins,  Frederick  Kinsman  and  Charles  Smith, 
of  Warren ;  Reuben  Hitchcock,  of  Painesville ;  Dudley  Baldwin,  of  Cleve- 
land, and  David  Tod,  of  Youngstown.  A  charter  was  granted  Febru- 
ary 23,  1848,  but  sufficient  stock  was  not  sold  to  justify  beginning  of 
construction  until  1853.  It  proved  that  calculations  of  the  amount  of 
money  necessary,  as  well  as  those  in  regard  to  the  further  sale  of  securi- 
ties, were  faulty,  and  before  the  roadbed  was  completed  from  the  Cleve- 
land end  far  enough  to  reach  any  of  the  towns  in  the  Mahoning  Valley 
vitally  interested,  the  funds  were  exhausted.  The  projectors  met  this 
emergency  by  pledging  their  own  private  fortunes  and  the  work  went 
on.     The  original  survey  and  charter  provided  for  a  line  from  some 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       761 

point  in  the  vicinity  of  Cleveland  to  Warren,  with  the  privilege  of  ex- 
tension eastward  to  the  state  line.  Of  course  it  was  expected  that  this 
route  would  include  Youngstown,  then  the  most  flourishing  town  on  the 
river.  But  as  no  way  opened  to  meet  the  financial  difficulties,  and  as 
overtures  repeatedly  made  to  the  Pennsylvania  &  Ohio  Railroad  and  the 
Pittsburg  &  Erie  Railroad,  both  then  building  lines  in  this  direction,  had 
been  declined,  the  directors  gave  serious  consideration  to  a  change  in 
their  plans.  Finally,  owing  to  the  belief  that  other  roads  might  be  built 
into  Youngstown  as  well  as  the  fear  that  the  canal  would  lessen  traffic 
on  the  portion  between  Youngstown  and  Warren,  with  perhaps  the  added 
consideration  that  Canfield  and  Poland  people  offered  to  take  some  of 
the  stock  if  the  road  was  built  to  their  villages,  the  directors  decided  to 
construct  the  line  from  Warren  through  the  northwestern  part  of  Ma- 
honing County  to  Enon  Station,  on  the  Pittsburg,  Fort  Wayne  &  Chi- 
cago line,  where  a  connection  could  be  secured. 

This  was  the  situation  when  the  Hon.  David  Tod  returned,  in  1852, 
from  Brazil,  where  he  had  been  for  five  years  as  ambassador.  He  saw 
at  once  that  the  change  would  not  only  seriously  injure  Youngstown  but 
would  also  deprive  the  railroad  of  a  large  tonnage  of  coal,  iron  ore  and 
other  commodities,  and  immediately  set  about  to  have  the  old  route 
readopted.  In  this  he  was  successful.  In  addition  to  having  the  survey 
made  to  include  Youngstown,  it  was  determined  to  build  the  line  into 
Pittsburgh.  Had  this  succeeded,  the  projectors  would  have  occupied 
what  has  since  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  profitable  railroad  routes  in 
the  United  States,  that  now  occupied  by  the  present  Pittsburg  &  Lake 
Erie  Railroad.  This  plan  was  defeated,  however,  by  the  opposition  of 
the  Pittsburg  &  Lake  Erie,  as  well  as  by  that  of  the  Pittsburg,  Fort 
Wayne  &  Chicago,  then  being  built.  The  latter  road  later  reached  an 
agreement  with  the  Pittsburg  &  Lake  Erie  by  which  this  road  was  given 
the  Mahoning  Valley  route  until  the  Pennsylvania  line  was  built  from 
Pittsburg  to  Youngstown.  After  many  difficulties  the  Cleveland  &  Ma- 
honing was  completed  from  Cleveland  to  Youngstown  in  1856  and  proved 
a  profitable  enterprise  from  the  beginning  of  its  operation.  A  branch 
to  Hubbard  was  built  within  a  short  time  and  both  were  operated  under 
the  original  management  until  1862,  when  they  were  leased  for  ninety- 
nine  years  to  the  Atlantic  &  Great  Western  Railway. 

In  1853  another  road  from  the  lake  southward  was  projected  on  the 
line  of  that  proposed  in  1827.  It  was  partially  built  by  the  Ashtabula  & 
New  Lisbon  Railroad  Company.  In  1864  the  uncompleted  portion, 
from  Niles  southward,  was  leased  to  the  New  Lisbon  Railroad  Com- 
pany, and  the  latter  became  bankrupt  in  an  effort  to  complete  the  line, 
thirty-five  miles  in  length,  between  Niles  and  New  Lisbon.  In  1869  this 
line  was  completed  and  operated  by  the  Niles  and  New  Lisbon  Com- 
pany.   This  is  now  the  Niles  &  Lisbon  branch  of  the  Erie  Railroad. 

The  Liberty  &  Vienna  Railroad  was  built  in  1868.  It  extended  from 
the  Church  Hill  Coal  Company's  line  to  Vienna  and  was  intended  to 
furnish  transportation  for  the  coal  mined  in  and  around  that  town  to 
the  main  line,  which  it  did  as  long  as  there  was  any  coal  to  be  hauled. 
The  line  had  been  extended  in   1870  through  Girard  to  Youngstown, 


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762        YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

thus  giving  it  an  independent  outlet  to  the  furnaces  at  these  places.  The 
section  from  Girard  to  Youngstown  was  sold  in  1871  to  the  Ashtabula, 
Pittsburg  &  Youngstown  Company,  and  the  remainder  operated  by  the 
original  company  until  1872,  when  the  Cleveland  &  Mahoning,  Niles  & 
New  Lisbon,  and  the  Liberty  &  Vienna  railroads  were  all  consolidated 
and  a  short  time  later  leased  to  the  Atlantic  &  Great  Western,  the  lessee 
of  the  Cleveland  &  Mahoning,  whose  lines  in  turn  were  operated  by  the 
New  York,  Pittsburg  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company.  Later  the  Cleveland 
&  Mahoning  right  of  way,  subject  to  the  lease  above  mentioned,  was 
sold  to  an  English  company,  which  manages  its  affairs  through  an  Amer- 
ican board  of  directors.  This  company  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
operation  of  the  property,  controlling  only  the  roadbed.  This  is  now 
the  Mahoning  Division  of  the  Erie  Railroad. 

In  1870  the  Ashtabula,  Youngstown  &  Pittsburg  Railroad  Company 
was  chartered  and  made  a  contract  with  the  Pittsburg,  Fort  Wayne  & 
Chicago  Company  to  connect  its  line  at  Youngstown  with  Ashtabula 
harbQr.  This  it  did  by  purchasing  the  partially  constructed  line  from 
Niles  to  Ashtabula,  building  a  line  from  Niles  to  Girard,  and  buying  the 
tracks  of  the  Liberty  &  Vienna  between  Youngstown  and  Girard.  This 
improvised  line  was  sold  to  the  Ashtabula  &  Pittsburg  Railroad  Com- 
pany, which  leased  it  to  the  Pennsylvania.  The  Pennsylvania  still  oper- 
ates this  line,  together  with  another  between  this  city  and  Pittsburg, 
composed  of  one  or  more  lines,  the  name  and  location  of  which  are  not 
important.  The  combination  gives  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company, 
through  its  "Lines  West"  division,  a  continuous  competing  line  from 
Pittsburgh  to  Ashtabula  harbor,  by  way  of  Youngstown  and  Niles. 

The  Painesville  and  Youngstown  Railroad  was  the  first  narrow  gauge 
railroad  constructed  in  Ohio  and  the  only  one  of  any  length  ever  built 
in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  Its  gauge  was  three  feet.  By  the  purchase  of 
a  line  already  in  operation  from  Painesville  to  Chardon  in  1873,  tne 
•promoters  got  a  good  start,  and  the  road  was  completed  as  far  as  Niles 
in  January,  1874,  and  was  afterward  extended  to  Youngstown.  It  proved 
unprofitable,  and  after  a  strenuous  existence,  was  changed  to  standard 
gauge  over  part  of  its  length  and  the  remainder  abandoned.  Like- 
wise the  Franklin  &  Warren  road,  which  was  constructed  in  1853,  cross- 
ing the  Cleveland  &  Mahoning  at  Leavittsburg,  a  wide  gauge  road,  its 
rails  being  6  feet  apart,  instead  of  4  feet,  8  inches,  was  unprofitable 
until  a  change  to  standard  width  enabled  it  to  transfer  cars  to  and  from 
other  roads.  The  Mahoning  Coal  Railroad  was  built  in  1871,  chiefly  to 
connect  coal  mines  in  Liberty  Township,  Trumbull  County,  with  mills 
and  furnaces.  It  was  later  extended  to  Struthers,  and  a  branch  built  to 
the  Foster  Coal  Mines.  This  -road  was  afterward  leased  to  the  Lake 
Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  for  ninety-nine  years,  and  is  now  owned 
by  the  New  York  Central.  Part  of  it  has  been  abandoned  and  the  re- 
mainder is  used  under  other  names. 

In  1882  the  Pittsburg,  Youngstown  and  Chicago,  a  part  of  the  Balti- 
more &  Ohio  System  and  now  operated  by  that  company,  was  built  from 
Pittsburg,  through  Youngstown  and  Warren  to  Akron.     It  was  pro- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       763 

moted  largely  through  the  energy  of  C.  H.  Andrews,  of  Youngstown, 
who  was  its  first  president. 

In  1880  all  the  lines  of  the  Cleveland  &  Mahoning  Railroad  were 
leased  to  the  New  York,  Pennsylvania  &  Ohio  Company,  and  in  1895, 
the  Erie  Railroad  Company  was  organized  to  purchase,  under  fore- 
closure proceedings,  the  property  and  leases  of  the  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania &  Ohio  Company,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Chicago  &  Erie  Railroad 
Company.  Under  this  arrangement,  the  details  of  which  only  a  pains- 
taking lawyer  could  make  clear  to  the  reader,  all  the  lines  owned  by  the 
above  companies  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  were  organized  for  operative 
purposes  as  the  Mahoning  Division.  The  Erie  Railroad  has  now  become 
one  of  the  great  trunk  line  systems  of  the  country,  controlling  trackage 
between  Chicago  and  New  York,  and  being  on  as  sound  a  basis  as  any 
of  these  great  systems. 

The  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  Railroad  reached  Youngs- 
town by  a  combination  of  other  roads  in  which  the  reader  would  be 
slightly,  if  at  all  interested.  Sufficient  to  say  that  it  was  for  many  years 
one  of  the  principal  connections  between  the  Mahoning  Valley  and  the 
lake  port  at  Ashtabula,  and  is  now  operated  by  the  New  York  Central 
as  its  Franklin  Division  with  headquarters  at  Youngstown.  It  was  put 
into  operation  about  1871.  Another  railroad,  built  by  the  Lake  Shore, 
and  known  as  the  "Low  Grade/'  was  put  into  operation  in  1903.  It 
was  designed  to  haul  heavy  trains  of  ore  and  coal,  and  is  much  longer 
than  the  direct  line  to  Ashtabula.  Both  these  lines  secured  entrance  to 
the  mills  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  by  way  of  the  old  Mahoning  Coal 
Railroad,  which  had  outlived  its  usefulness  for  the  purpose  for  which 
it  was  built,  but  which  proved  very  valuable  as  an  approach  to  this  ex- 
cellent tonnage. 

The  Pittsburg  &  Lake  Erie  Railroad,  the  most  direct  route  between 
Youngstown  and  Pittsburgh,  hasvbeen  a  remarkable  piece  of  railroad  for 
several  reasons.  It  is  said  to  be  the  most  profitable  road  of  the  same 
length  in  the  world,  and  in  its  construction  broke  all  records  for  econ- 
omy and  rapidity.  This  line  occupies  the  choicest  grades  in  the  lower 
Mahoning,  Beaver  and  Ohio  valleys,  which  are  now  lined  with  active 
industries,  all  of  which  contribute  very  desirable  freight  and  passenger 
business.  It  was  constructed  in  1878-9,  the  bed  of  the  old  Ohio- Penn- 
sylvania Canal  being  used  for  a  considerable  part  of  the  distance.  Many 
other  combinations  were  necessary  before  a  right  of  way  into  Pittsburgh 
was  complete,  but  finally  the  road  was  opened  for  business  in  February, 
1879.  In  1885  the  roadbed  was  rebuilt  on  a  modern  basis,  the  traffic 
having  already  proven  so  large  as  to  justify  this  action  by  the  company. 
The  Pittsburgh  &  Lake  Erie  has  been  one  of  the  most  valuable  railroads 
for  the  Mahoning  Valley.  It  does  not  extend  beyond  Youngstown,  but 
has  traffic  arrangements  with  the  Erie  and  the  trains  of  that  road,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  New  York  Central  between  Pittsburgh  and  Youngs- 
town are  run  over  its  tracks. 

In  1903,  the  Youngstown  &  Southern  Railway  was  built  from  Youngs- 
town southward  to  Columbiana.  It  was  promoted  and  constructed  by  a 
group  of  capitalists  headed  by  R.  L.  Andrews,  W.  S.  Anderson,  John  W. 


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764       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Ruhlman,  Asa  Jones  and  W.  H.  Ruhlman,  and  the  first  train  run  through 
to  Columbiana  in  October  of  1904.  The  usual  experience  of  railroad 
builders  in  finding  their  resources  exhausted  by  the  construction  costs, 
and  being  compelled  to  seek  for  additional  capital  to  provide  rolling 
stock  and  equipment,  led  to  a  delay  of  almost  a  year  in  the  operation 
of  this  line.  This  problem  led  also  to  a  reorganization  of  this  company, 
and  the  property  was  taken  over  in  1905  by  a  new  group  represented  by 
John  Stambaugh,  Henry  Stambaugh,  Richard  Garlick,  David  Tod,  and 
J.  A.  Campbell.  This  line,  originally  planned  for  steam  motive  power, 
was  changed  to  electric  power  in  1907,  and  about  the  same  time  the  line 
was  extended  to  Leetonia,  where  connections  were  secured  with  the 
Youngstown  &  Ohio  River  Railroad,  now  the  principal  local  carrier  be- 
tween a  number  of  important  towns  in  that  section.  This  line  has  not 
been  profitable,  in  spite  of  persistent  efforts  to  improve  the  service  and 
secure  additional  traffic.  Six  years  ago  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  a 
receiver  and  the  company  was  reorganized  under  the  name  of  the 
Youngstown  &  Suburban  Railway,  with  David  Tod  as  president.  It  is 
of  great  value  as  a  connection  to  the  south,  and  is  one  of  the  important 
interurban  electric  lines  of  Eastern  Ohio. 

About  1910  a  new  railroad  to  connect  Youngstown  and  other  cities 
and  towns  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  with  Lake  Erie  was  projected  by  a 
company  headed  by  the  late  John  H.  Ruhlman,  who  had  been  connected 
earlier  with  the  construction  of  the  Youngstown  &  Southern.  A  route 
was  located,  a:  charter  secured,  and  some  work  done  on  this  line.  At 
Mr.  Ruhlman's  death,  in  1916,  the  enterprise  lapsed  and  has  not  been 
revived,  although  the  opinion  is  general  that  sufficient  business  for  the 
line  could  be  found  and  that  it  would  be  profitable. 

In  order  to  relieve  the  pressure  on  the  yard  and  trackage  facilities  of 
all  the  five  trunk  lines  serving  the  industrial  plants  of  Youngstown, 
which  had  in  1910,  become  severe  owing  to  the  rapid  development  of 
these  industries,  the  Erie,  Pennsylvania,  Baltimore  &  Ohio,  Pittsburg  & 
Lake  Erie  and  New  York  Central  formed  a  company  for  the  construc- 
tion of  an  industrial  service  road  to  handle  commodity  freight  for  all 
the  large  industrial  plants  in  the  Valley.  This  road,  which  is  known  as 
the  Lake  Erie  &  Eastern,  was  financed  in  part  by  the  industrial  plants 
and  in  part  by  the  railroad  companies,  all  of  whom  enjoy  connections 
with  it  and  find  it  of  great  value  in  handling  ingoing  and  outcoming 
freight  from  the  mills.  Six  miles  of  the  line,  extending  from  Struthers 
to  Girard,  were  completed  in  191 5,  the  cost  being  estimated  at  $1,000,000 
per  mile.  This  heavy  expense  was  made  necessary  by  the  location,  which 
is  on  the  south  side  of  the  Mahoning  River,  as  well  as  by  the  fact  that 
the  road  had  to  be  carried  over  so  many  streets  that  the  engineers  de- 
termined to  build  it  on  a  continuous  fill,  with  concrete  arches  at  the 
street  crossings.  It  is  a  most  interesting  piece  of  construction  and  of 
great  service  to  the  principal  industries  of  Youngstown.  The  plan  is  to 
extend  it  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  rapid  development  now  going  on  far- 
ther up  the  valley. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       765 

The  Proposed  Barge  Canal 

For  some  years  past  it  has  been  evident  that  further  increase  in  ton- 
nage supplied  by  the  industries  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  will  severely 
tax  the  capacity  of  five  trunk  lines  now  operating  in  it,  as  well  as  that 
heavy  commodities,  such  as  coal,  ore  and  limestone,  which  form  a  large 
part  of  this  tonnage,  could  be  transported  at  much  less  cost  by  an  effi- 
cient barge  canal,  and  much  interest  has  been  felt  in  the  preliminary 
work  being  done  toward  the  construction  of  such  a  canal  between  Lake 
Erie  and  the  Ohio  River.  The  Mahoning  Valley  is  not  alone  in  the  ef- 
fort to  have  this  waterway,  which  will  undoubtedly  be  built  within  the 
near  future,  pass  through  it.  Several  other  routes  have  been  surveyed. 
No  decision  has  yet  been  reached,  but  the  conditions  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  Mahoning  offers  the  most  available  route  and  that  the  canal  will 
eventually  be  built  through  this  valley.  Both  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania 
have  appointed  commissions  on  this  project,  and  the  principal  delay  at 
this  time  seems  to  be  due  to  difficulty  in  finding  some  equitable  method 
of  permitting  both  states  to  contribute  to  the  cost  of  the  undertaking, 
which  is  estimated  at  not  less  than  $100,000,000.  The  addition  of  such 
a  canal  to  the  already  excellent  transportation  facilities  of  the  Mahoning 
Valley  will  establish  still  more  firmly  its  position  as  an  advantageous 
location  for  steel  making  and  fabricating  establishments. 

Trolley  Lines 

The  first  street  car  line  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  was  built  at  Youngs- 
town  in  1875  by  the  Youngstown  Street  Railway  Company,  of  which 
James  Mackey  was  president  and  Alfred  Smith,  treasurer.  At  first  the 
line  extended  only  from  Jefferson  Street,  Brier  Hill,  to  Basin  Street, 
Youngstown,  and  had  car  barns  at  Brier  Hill  and  a  turn-table  at  Basin 
Street.  The  cars  were  small  and  were  drawn  by  horses,  two  of  these 
being  used  with  each  car  and  a  third  kept  in  readiness  at  the  heavy 
grades  to  help  the  regular  team  haul  the  car.  There  were  no  conductors, 
the  driver  collecting  the  fares  and  leaving  his  nickels  at  each  trip  with 
the  treasurer,  who  had  an  office  about  the  middle  of  the  line.  There  were 
no  stoves  in  the  cars,  and  as  it  was  a  slow  trip,  provision  was  made  to 
keep  the  feet  of  the  passengers  from  freezing  by  spreading  straw  on  the 
floor  of  the  car.  The  greedy  passengers  were  accused  of  appropriating 
all  of  the  straw,  just  as  in  these  days  they  are  blamed  with  taking  the 
best  seats  in  the  electric  cars. 

The  enterprise  was  operated  on  a  modest  scale  and  was  profitable. 
It  was  soon  extended  in  a  number  of  directions,  the  first  addition  being 
down  Wilson  Avenue,  the  second  out  Mahoning  Avenue,  and  the  third 
up  North  Avenue.  As  the  business  grew  additional  capital  became  neces- 
sary and  the  old  company  was  sold  to  a  new  corporation  known  as  the 
Mahoning  Valley  Electric  Railway  Company,  with  a  stock  authorization 
of  $1,500,000.  The  Park  &  Falls  Street  Railway  Company  was  char- 
tered in  1893,  by  energetic  citizens  interested  in  the  development  of  the 
South  Side  of  Youngstown. 


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766        YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

In  the  meantime  local  companies  had  been  organized  to  build  street 
railways  in  other  towns  in  the  Mahoning  and  Shenango  valleys,  and,  the 
spirit  of  consolidation  being  in  the  air  and  a  considerable  amount  of  local 
capital  idle  at  Youngstown  as  a  result  of  its  operations  on  steel  plants  in 
that  locality,  the  Mahoning  &  Shenango  Railway  &  Light  Company  was 
organized  and  took  over  the  following  properties:  Youngstown-Sharon 
Railway  &  Light  Company,  Sharon  &  New  Castle  Railway  Company, 
Mahoning  Valley  Railway  Company,  New  Castle  &  Lowell  Railway 
Company,  Youngstown  Park  &  Falls  Street  Railway  Company,  Sharon 
&  New  Castle  Street  Railway  Company,  Sharon  &  New  Castle  Railway 
Company,  Sharon  &  Wheatland  Street  Railway  Company,  Youngstown 
Consolidated  Gas  &  Electric  Company,  Shenango  Valley  Electric  Light 
Company,  Sharon  Gas  &  Water  Company,  Sharpsville  Electric  Light 
Company,  and  New  Castle  Electric  Company.  All  of  these  concerns  did 
not  operate  electric  railways.  Some  of  them  were  only  planning  to 
build ;  others  had  electric  light  and  gas  plants.  The  scheme  was  to  merge 
all  these  interests  into  one  company,  reduce  overhead  expense  and  enable 
a  number  of  struggling  ventures  to  produce  a  profit  to  the  owners.  This 
result  has  been  accomplished,  and  the  unification  of  control  has  un- 
doubtedly contributed  considerably  to  the  large  development  of  trolley 
facilities  between  the  towns  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  and  those  in  the 
Shenango  Valley,  as  a  through  interurban  system  has  been  established 
which  extends  from  New  Castle  to  Leavittsburg,  providing  adequate  facili- 
ties for  all  of  the  towns  which  it  connects.  This  company  has  also  de- 
veloped the  production  of  commercial  current  on  a  large  scale  and  has 
erected  at  Lowellville  one  of  the  finest  power  houses  in  Ohio.  It  has 
recently  built  a  high  voltage  transmission  line  from  Lowellville  to  War- 
ren for  the  purpose  of  supplying  electric  current  to  industries  in  all  parts 
of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  and  is  already  a  source  of  power  for  a  number 
of  important  steel  mills  and  similar  establishments. 

Coming  of  the  Aeroplane 

The  Mahoning  Valley  has  enjoyed  all  forms  of  transportation  com- 
mon to  civilized  peoples,  including  even  the  aeroplane,  which,  while  as 
yet  only  a  matter  for  curiosity,  may  become  one  of  the  important  methods 
of  moving  passengers  and  freight.  The  first  aeroplanes  were  seen  here 
in  1 91 8,  these  being  visitors  making  experimental  trips  from  factories 
in  other  cities.  Later,  in  1919,  a  number  of  planes  were  brought  to 
Youngstown  and  hundreds  of  people  enjoyed  the  thrill  of  a  fifteen 
privately  owned  aeroplanes  in  this  part  of  the  country,  but  the  time  may 
minute  flight  at  the  rate  of  a  dollar  a  minute.  As  yet  there  are  no 
come  when  they  will  be  as  numerous  as  automobiles,  of  which  there  are  at 
this  time  more  than  12,500  operated  in  the  City  of  Youngstown  alone,  with 
a  proportionate  number  in  other  neighboring  towns  and  a  still  greater 
number,  in  proportion  to  population,  on  Mahoning  Valley  farms. 


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CHAPTER  XXXV 

ORE  AND  COAL  MINING 

Mineral  Deposits  of  the  Mahoning  Valley — Ore  and  Coal — 
Source  of  Native  Ores  and  Distribution  of  Coal  Seams — Their 
Discovery,  Exploitation  and  Final  Exhaustion. 

The  geological  formations  of  Northern  Ohio  may  be  briefly  described 
as  a  series  of  dark  bituminous  shales,  fine-grained  sandstones  and  bluish 
argillaceous  shales.  For  forty  miles  southward  from  the  lake  shore 
these  formations  show  the  effect  of  erosion  by  currents  flowing  north- 
ward, and  practically  all  of  the  mineral  bearing  strata  have  been  denuded. 
At  this  point  the  coal  bearing  hills  begin  and  rise  to  the  summit  of  the 
divide  between  Lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio  River,  and  the  Mahoning  also 
rises  at  this  divide.  It  has  cut  its  bed  through  the  rather  soft  geological 
formations,  leaving  coal  and  ore  deposits  on  either  side  exposed,  and  it 
was  along  the  banks  of  the  river  and  its  tributaries  that  the  early  settlers 
in  the  valley  found  both  coal  and  ore.  The  latter  was  first  discovered, 
whether  this  was  because  the  abundance  of  wood  made  a  mineral  fuel 
superfluous,  or  because  the  native  ores  had  been  more  generally  exposed 
by  the  action  of  the  streams,  does  not  matter. 

The  ores  are  carbonates  and  are  usually  found  in  lumps,  due  to  the 
fact  that  they  were  formed  by  the  deposit  of  iron  around  leaves  or  other 
vegetable  formations.  This  is  the  general  condition,  but  in  a  few  in- 
stances these  ores  appeared  in  veins,  as  in  the  case  of  the  black-band 
ores,  which  existed  in  a  number  of  places  in  more  or  less  workable  con- 
dition. The  Mahoning  ores  generally  contained  from  28  to  45  per  cent 
of  metallic  iron,  being  richer  in  the  vein  formations  than  when  found 
in  scattered  lumps,  known  as  kidney  or  bog  ores. 

The  early  furnaces  were  usually  supplied  from  the  beds  of  streams 
or  from  pockets  along  these  streams  in  which  ores  had  gathered  more 
abundantly,  owing,  it  is  probable  to  some  local  condition.  In  a  few  cases 
mines  were  opened  and  worked  by  stripping  the  covering  or  driving  a 
drift  into  the  side  of  a  bluff,  as  was  the  case  near  the  Mill  Creek  furnace. 
The  total  tonnage  of  native  ores  mined  was  not  large  and  it  was  obtained 
from  so  many  different  sources  that  little  evidence  of  its  mining  has  been 
left  except  at  Mineral  Ridge,  which  yielded  a  large  supply  of  black-band 
ore  in  connection  with  the  coal.  In  the  few  cases  in  which  ore  was 
mined  from  solid  formations,  these  were,  like  the  bog  and  kidney  ores, 
usually  exposed  or  covered  by  only  a  small  amount  of  earth  and  rock, 
but  this  source  of  ore  was  shunned  wherever  possible,  because  it  was  ex- 

767 


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768       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

pensive.  Records  showing  the  proportion  of  native  ores  secured  from 
mines  and  creek  deposits  are  not  in  existence,  but  it  seems  probable  that 
the  greater  portion  of  that  used  in  the  early  furnaces  was  gathered  by 
wagons  along  the  streams,  and  that  ore  mining,  as  the  industry  is  known, 
was  largely  confined  to  the  black-band  deposits  at  Mineral  Ridge. 

This  ore  was  discovered,  or  rather  its  value  was  first  suspected,  in 
1845,  but  its  use  was  not  general  for  some  years  afterward.  Coal  mines 
had  been  opened  at  Mineral  Ridge  about  1838,  where  the  seam  known 
as  No.  2  was  found  in  excellent  condition  for  working.  This  seam  lies 
about  75  feet  above  the  lower,  or  Brier  Hill  vein,  and  is  somewhat 
similar  in  quality.  It  was  worked  generally  from  the  western  side  of 
the  ridge,  and  the  peculiar  group  of  minerals  it  contained  has  never  been 
found  in  exactly  the  same  condition  and  relation  elsewhere.  This  de- 
posit, as  described  by  J.  S.  Newberry,  M.  D.,  professor  of  geology  and 
natural  history  in  the  Columbian  University  at  Washington  in  1856,  con- 
sisted of: 

Iron  ore 6  in.  to  1  ft.    6  in. 

Limestone    3  ft. 

Shale    10  in. 

Coal    2  ft.  to  3  ft. 

Black-band  ore 8  in.  to  3  ft. 

Coal    4  in.  to  1  ft. 

Fireclay   to  the  shale. 

This  group  of  minerals  was  found  at  many  places  in  the  townships 
of  Weathersfield,  Austintown,  Canfield,  Ellsworth  and  Jackson,  but  ex- 
hibited varying  characteristics  in  all  of  them  and  was  not  workable  at 
most  points.  The  successful  mining  of  both  the  coal  and  ore  on  a  large 
scale  was  confined  principally  to  Mineral  Ridge. 

In  a  letter  to  Professor  Newberry,  dated  December  17,  1856,  James 
Ward  &  Co.,  then  operating  furnaces  and  rolling  mills  at  Niles,  refers 
to  black-band  ore  as  follows :  "Having  been  the  first  discoverers  of  this 
ore  in  this  country,  we  gave  it  a  fair  trial  in  every  possible  manner,  and 
are  happy  to  inform  you  that  it  works  well  in  any  mixture,  and  when 
used  alone  it  produces  the  very  best  of  foundry  iron,  open-grained  and 
strong;  in  fact  it  is  superior  to  the  'Scotch  Pig*  for  foundry  purposes. 
Three  and  one-half  tons  of  raw  ore  will  make  a  gross  ton  of  pig  metal, 
and  two  and  a  half  of  roasted  ore  will  do  the  same.  It  is  very  easily 
smelted,  requiring  but  two  tons  of  coal  to  make  a  ton  of  metal,  while  our 
other  ores  require  three  tons  of  coal  to  make  a  ton  of  iron." 

In  the  same  letter  Ward  &  Co.  say  that  2V2  tons  of  selected  ore  will 
produce  a  ton  of  iron,  and  also  that  they  had  used  black-band  ores  for 
more  than  three  years  past,  sometimes  alone,  sometimes  in  mixture  with 
"Hard  Rock  Blue  Ore,"  kidney  ore,  Lake  Superior  ore  and  Lake 
Champlain  ore,  a  fact  which  indicates  that  even  in  1856  the  Mahoning 
Valley  furnaces  were  beginning  to  depend  to  a  large  extent  on  other 
than  native  ores.  They  also  state  that  in  taking  up  the  ore  from  beneath 
the  coal,  considerable  of  the  latter  remained  attached  to  it,  and  that  this 
was  sufficient  to  furnish  heat  for  roasting. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       769 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  during  the  season  of  navigation  in  1852,  3,000 
tons  of  Lake  Champlain  ores  were  used  in  the  furnaces  in  the  Mahoning 
Valley,  and  in  1855  the  amount  of  these  ores  transported  over  the  canal 
was  15,000  tons.  The  Soo  Canal  was  opened  in  1856,  and  from  that 
time  forward  Lake  Superior  ores  rapidly  supplanted  all  others. 

The  earliest  settlers  were  aware  that  coal  existed  in  this  locality,  as 
they  found  it  cropping  out  on  the  hillsides,  encountered  it  in  sinking 
wells  and  even  found  it  when  digging  cellars  for  their  houses.  They 
paid  little  attention  to  the  mineral,  however,  as  they  did  not  need  it  for 
fuel  and  could  see  no  other  purpose  for  which  it  was  valuable.  Black- 
smiths and  furnace  men  used  charcoal,  and  the  few  steam  boilers  were 
fired  with  wood,  which  was  likewise  the  only  domestic  fuel  known. 

The  first  coal  mine  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  of  which  there  is  any 
record  was  opened  in  1826  on  land  owned  by  Mary  Caldwell,  in  Crab 
Creek,  within  what  is  now  the  City  of  Youngstown.  The  first  coal  used 
for  domestic  purposes  in  a  stove  was  burned  at  Col,  William  Rayen's 
hotel  in  the  same  village  about  1829,  this  stove  having  been  brought  from 
Pittsburgh  by  James  McCay  as  a  curiosity.  The  novelty  of  the  idea  ap- 
pealed to  Colonel  Rayen,  who  bought  the  stove  and  fired  it  up  with  coal 
for  the  benefit  of  his  guests.  Some  coal  was  doubtless  used  by  black- 
smiths and  as  household  fuel  from  that  time  on,  for  mines  were  opened 
at  a  number  of  places,  one  of  these  being  Brier  Hill,  where  David  Tod 
began  taking  the  mineral  out  in  a  small  way.  The  Brier  Hill  coal  was 
the  best  to  be  found  in  the  valley,  and  the  deposit  there  was  also  among 
the  most  extensive.  It  was  soon  found  to  be  a  most  excellent  fuel  and 
Tod,  always  on  the  alert  for  opportunity  to  develop  a  new  source  of 
wealth  for  the  community,  made  a  number  of  trips  to  Cleveland  and 
finally  persuaded  some  of  the  concerns  operating  steamboats  on  the 
lakes  to  try  Brier  Hill  coal  in  place  of  wood.  There  was  much  opposi- 
tion on  the  part  of  boat  captains  and  crews,  but  a  trial  proved  that  coal 
was  far  superior  to  wood,  requiring  less  work  in  stoking,  as  well  as  less 
room  in  the  boats.  The  first  coal  shipped  from  the  Mahoning  Valley 
was  sent  to  Cleveland  in  two  canal  boats,  or  barges,  in  1841,  and  from 
that  time  forward  the  mining  industry  prospered.  In  1845  it  was  found 
that  raw  Brier  Hill  coal,  as  well  as  the  Mahoning  block  coal  generally, 
made  an  excellent  blast  furnace  fuel,  and  this  still  further  encouraged 
the  development  of  mines.  Tram  roads  were  laid  direct  from  every 
mine  of  importance  to  the  furnaces  and  the  canal,  and  later  to  the  Cleve- 
land &  Mahoning  Railroad,  and  the  work  of  taking  out  and  shipping  the 
fuel  went  on  at  a  rapid  pace. 

By  1870  the  coal  mining  industry  had  reached  its  zenith,  and  from 
that  time  began  to  decline,  as  mine  after  mine  emptied  the  basin  in  which 
it  was  located  and  the  vein  thinned  out  so  as  to  become  unworkable.  In 
1875  the  principal  operations,  with  their  daily  capacity  in  tons,  were  the 
following : 

Tons. 

Brier  Hill  Iron  &  Coal  Company 

Andrews  &  Hitchcock 450 

C.  H.  &  W.  C.  Andrews 1,100 

Arms,  Warner  &  Co 80 

Vol.  1—49 


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770       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Tons. 

Morris  &  Price   150 

Church  Hill  Coal  Company 450 

Warner  &  Ormsby  100 

Tod  Iron  Company 250 

Stambaugh,  Tod  &  Co 200 

Mahoning  Coal  Company 800 

McCurdy  Coal  Company 300 

Jonathan  Warner    300 

J.  Robbins,  Jr . . . ' 300 

New  Lisbon  Coal  Company 150 

Powers  Coal   Company 300 

Vienna  Coal  &  Iron  Company 6co 

Wise  Coal  Company 250 

In  addition  to  these  firms  there  were  many  smaller  concerns  operating 
in  all  parts  of  the  valley  east  of  Niles.  The  most  prolific  field  was  found 
in  Liberty  and  Hubbard  townships,  Trumbull  County,  and  the  entire  field 
.may  be  said  to  have  been  contained  in  the  southern  townships  of  that 
county  and  the  northern  tier  of  townships  in  Mahoning  County.  Some 
coal  was  found  farther  south,  but  it  was  not  generally  of  good  quality  and 
in  workable  condition,  so  that  operations  in  it  were  not  large. 

In  1875  the  total  output  of  the  mines  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  was 
about  3,500,000  tons  per  year.  The  number  of  men  employed  was  ap- 
proximately 4,oco,  and  the  payrolls  of  the  various  companies,  totaled 
about  $2,000,000  annually.  It  was  a  truly  great  industry  for  that  day, 
and  the  local  field  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important  in  the  entire 
country.  The  quality  of  the  coal  has  seldom  been  equalled.  Its  analysis, 
as  shown  by  samples  from  Brier  Hill  mines,  was  as  follows : 

Fixed  carbon 61.244 

Bitumen 35-966 

Ash   2.790 

It  was  low  in  sulphur  and  phosphorus,  had  a  remarkably  open  struc- 
ture, and  was  strong  enough  to  prevent  breaking  up  in  handling.  The 
fact  that  it  made  excellent  steam  fuel  as  well  as  blast  furnace  fuel, 
led  to  its  early  exhaustion.  In  a  report  made  by  County  Auditor  C.  C. 
Rice,  of  Trumbull  County,  to  the  state  board  of  tax  equalization,  under 
date  of  March  3,  1881,  he  recites  the  fact  that,  while  the  number  of 
mines  in  operation  in  that  county  in  1870  was  39  and  their  output  up- 
wards of  2,000,000  tons  per  year,  in  1880  there  were  pnly  14  mines  be- 
ing operated  in  Trumbull  County  and  their  annual  output  was  about 
420,000  tons.  The  mines  in  Trumbull  County  were  opened  later  as  a 
rule  than  those  in  Mahoning,  but  they  were  the  first  to  be  exhausted, 
chiefly  because  they  were  more  easily  worked  and  mining  was  pushed 
with  more  vigor.  These  mines  were  the  best  in  the  valley,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  Brier  Hill,  which  adjoined  the  county  line.  Those 
in  the  other  parts  of  Mahoning,  except  at  Lowellville,  were  smaller  and 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        771 

more  subject  to  difficulties,  such  as  water,  faults  in  the  vein  and  other 
troubles.  In  spite  of  the  great  decrease  in  tonnage  at  the  Trumbull 
mines,  the  output  of  the  valley  in  1880  was  about  1,350,000  tons. 

The  period  of  coal  mining  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  was  one  of  its 
busiest  eras  up  to  that  time.  From  Niles  to  Lowellville  a  familiar 
sight  was  the  mule  team  with  its  long  string  of  coal  cars  on  the  way  to 
and  from  the  mines,  the  tramways  being  usually  narrow  gauge  and  laid 
with  wooden  rails  covered  with  strap  iron.  After  i860,  less  and  less 
coal  was  used  in  the  blast  furnaces.  It  had  grown  dear  and  coke  from 
the  Connellsville  region  became  available  with  the  building  of  a  railroad 
to  Pittsburgh.  At  first  this  coke  was  mixed  with  coal,  and  later  it  was 
used  exclusively. 

A  few  coal  mines  are  still  worked  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  and  until 
within  two  or  three  years  it  was  possible  to  secure  Mahoning  block  coal 
by  paying  an  advanced  price.  Most  of  this  came  from  pillars  in  aban- 
doned mines.  An  occasional  house-coal  mine  is  still  found,  but  the  in- 
dustry is  practically  a  thing  of  the  past.  Ruins  of  deserted  villages, 
mark  the  locality  where  extensive  mines  formerly  required  many  labor- 
ers, and  from  the  water-filled  cavities  of  once  large  and  profitable  opera- 
tions new  towns  have  secured  an  unfailing  supply.  Abandoned  rail- 
roads mark  the  routes  over  which  the  black  wealth  of  the  locality  found 
its  way  to  market,  but  there  is  little  left  to  apprise  the  stranger  that  a 
great  industry  once  flourished  beneath  waving  fields  of  grain  and  farm 
houses  that  now  -secure  their  fuel  from  Pittsburgh  or  West  Virginia. 


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CHAPTER  XXXVI 

OIL  AND  GAS  PRODUCTION 

Oil  at  First  Made  from  Coal — Later  Found  in  Several  Parts  of 
the  Mahoning  Valley — Gas  Production 

In  addition  to  being  favored  by  nature  in  the  matter  of  ore  and  coal 
deposits,  as  well  as  beds  of  shale  suitable  for  paving  stone  and  large 
bodies  of  limestone,  a  large  portion  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  is  underlaid 
with  oil  and  gas  bearing  sand  at  a  depth  of  about  700  feet  or  less.  This 
is  evidently  an  extension  of  the  Berea  sand,  which  is  quite  productive 
in  the  vicinity  of  Bessemer,  Pennsylvania.  It  has  been  drilled  freely  in 
the  southeastern  portion  of  Mahoning  County,  where  it  yields  a  small 
but  steady  volume  of  oil  and  gas  in  commercial  quantities. 

Previous  to  the  discovery  of  oil  beneath  the  earth's  surface,  however, 
Mahoning  County  had  a  very  respectable  oil  industry.  This  was  conducted 
by  four  companies  and  the  process  consisted  in  distilling  the  high  volatile 
coal  found  in  the  southeastern  section  of  Canfield  Township,  the  prod- 
uct being  known  as  "coal  oil,"  a  name  which  was  commonly  used  for 
petroleum  long  after  that  fluid  was  secured  exclusively  by  tapping  the 
natural  reservoirs  in  the  earth's  crust.  The  companies  carrying  on  this 
operation  were  known  as  the  Hartford,  the  Mahoning,  the  Mystic  and 
the  Phoenix.  They  had  plants  in  which  was  invested  about  $200,000. 
All  were  built  in  1858  and  1859,  following  discovery  of  the  peculiar 
properties  of  the  coal  referred  to,  which  is  referred  to  as  "cannel"  co^J. 
The  capital  was  largely  from  the  East,  although  some  local  money  was 
invested  in  these  plants.  The  Phoenix,  which  was  the  largest  estab- 
lishment, could  produce  about  75  barrels-  of  oil  per  week,  and  as  its 
product  then  sold  for  50  or  60  cents  per  gallon  and  was  in  great  demand 
as  an  illuminant,  it  was  profitable.  The  discovery  of  natural  oil  in  Penn- 
sylvania a  few  years  later,  rendered  these  costly  plants  valueless  almost 
overnight. 

Oil  has  been  found  in  several  other  parts  of  the  valley,  notably  in 
Milton  Township,  Mahoning  County,  and  Mecca  Township,  Trumbull 
County.  In  both  of  these  localities  the  oil  has  a  peculiar  composition 
and  is  valuable  for  lubricating  purposes,  although  it  seems  to  occur  in 
small  pockets  or  pools  and  must  be  pumped.  The  discovery  of  oil  in 
these  districts,  where  it  is  found  at  a  depth  of  from  30  to  60  feet,  was 
made  through  its  appearance  on  the  springs,  a  phenomenon  common  and 
regarded  as  quite  unfortunate,  since  it  ruined  the  water.  A  farmer 
named  Phillips  first  collected  oil  from  his  spring  in  1830,  and  it  was 

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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       773 

known  that  oil  could  be  thus  obtained  from  many  springs  in  Mecca 
Township  from  that  time  forward.  In  1859-60,  following  other  oil 
booms,  Mecca  Township  had  one  of  these  experiences  that  would  rival 
the  present  day  boom  in  any  oil  field.  A  firm  named  Bonnell,  Woods  & 
Jordan  sunk  a  well  on  the  property  of  William  H.  Jeffries,  at  the  village 
of  West  Mecca.  When  oil  began  to  flow  from  the  pump  excitement 
started.  The  locality  was  soon  full  of  speculators  and  the  price  of  land 
and  leases  increased  to  fabulous  figures.  Scores  of  wells  were  sunk.  A 
town,  named  "Dixie/'  was  laid  out  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township 
and  soon  became  a  resort  with  a  genuine  wild  west  flavor  and  many  of 
the  characteristics  of  a  western  mining  camp.  Its  name  indicated  the 
disapproval  of  the  local  inhabitants,  anything  from  the  slave  states  at 
that  time  being  in  high  disfavor  among  people  in  the  Western  Reserve. 

Within  a  short  time  it  was  found  that  the  oil  wells  had  very  short 
productive  life,  evidently  tapping  small  pools  only.  The  oil  boom 
bursted,  "Dixie"  disappeared  utterly,  and  the  old-time  calm  reigned 
again  along  the  Upper  Mosquito  Creek  Valley.  For  many  years,  how- 
ever, oil  of  a  very  high  value  was  taken  from  this  district,  new  wells  be- 
ing sunk  as  the  old  ones  were  exhausted.  In  Milton  Township  a  few 
wells  along  the  Mahoning  were  found  productive,  and  these  were  oper- 
ated by  pumping  until  the  Milton  Reservoir  was  built,  when  the  water 
backed  over  them  and  wiped  out  the  industry  in  that  locality.  Here  also 
the  oil  was  of  peculiar  quality  and  could  be  refined  into  a  very  fine 
lubricant,  which  fact  made  it  valuable  enough  to  justify  pumping  from 
wells  which  yielded  only  a  very  small  quantity. 

The  first  well  organized  effort  to  develop  the  field  extending  from 
Pennsylvania  into  the  southeastern  portion  of  Mahoning  County  occurred 
in  1907.  The  Berea  sand  lies  at  a  depth  of  about  700  feet  under  prac- 
tically all  of  Springfield  and  Beaver  townships,  and  yields  oil  in  moderate 
quantity  by  pumping.  A  number  of  companies,  most  of  which  were 
financed  by  Pennsylvania  capital,  acquired  leases  in  this  territory  and 
sunk  wells,  all  of  which  have,  up  to  this  time  been  productive,  although 
none  of  them  produces  more  than  five  barrels  per  day. 

The  West  Penn  Oil  Company  is  at  this  time  the  largest  operator  and 
has  a  number  of  well's  in  Springfield  Township.  These  are  connected 
and  a  line  is  being  laid  from  them  to  Youngstown,  where  it  is  proposed 
to  make  gasoline  from  their  product  at  a  refinery  in  course  of  erection. 
Other  companies  operating  there  are  the  Prosperous  Oil  Company,  Ken- 
nedy &  Company,  the  Bruce  Campbell  Company,  the  Mahoning  Oil 
Company  and  the  Lawrence  Oil  Company.  Among  them  they  operate 
pumps  at  about  150  wells,  which  produce  from  one-half  to  one  barrel  per 
day.  They  are  frequently  connected  and  several  operated  by  one  pump. 
About  $500,000  is  now  invested  in  this  industry,  and  arrangements  are 
being  made  to  test  the  field  farther  south,  as  it  is  believed  the  productive 
sand  extends  in  that  direction.  Efforts  are  being  made  to  develop  oil 
bearing  sands  on  Yankee  Run,  in  Hubbard  Township,  Trumbull  County, 
also,  but  the  result  of  these  is  still  in  doubt.  What  seems  to  be  a  new 
field  was  opened  in  May,  1920,  by  the  discovery  of  gas  in  paying  quantities 
at  New  Buffalo,  Canfieid  Township,  Mahoning  County. 


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774        YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Natural  gas  is  found  in  many  parts  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  espe- 
cially in  Beaver  and  Springfield,  Canfield  and  Boardman  townships, 
Mahoning  County.  In  most  cases  the  gas  can  be  reached  about  200  feet 
beneath  the  surface  in  quantities  sufficient  to  supply  farm  houses,  and 
many  homes  are  heated  in  this  way.  In  Springfield  and  Beaver  town- 
ships there  are  about  a  dozen  gas  wells  producing  in  large  volume,  but 
all  of  them  are  troubled  by  the  influx  of  salt  water  which  overcomes  the 
low  pressure  and  stops  the  flow  of  gas  until  it  has  been  pumped  out. 
Some  of  these  wells  also  yield  oil  in  small  quantities. 

The  North  Lima  Gas  Company,  a  concern  owned  by  Pennsylvania 
people,  pipes  gas  from  a  number  of  local  wells  to  supply  the  village  of 
that  name.  Its  operation  is  troubled  by  salt  water  and  much  complaint 
exists  as  to  the  regularity  of  the  flow  from  its  wells,  which  are  now 
producing  about  six  barrels  of  oil  per  day  in  addition  to  the  gas  sold. 

The  East  Ohio  Gas  Company,  a  subsidiary  of  the  Standard  Oil 
Company,  conducts  the  distribution  of  natural  gas  in  practically  all  of 
the  cities  and  villages  of  the  Mahoning  Valley,  as  well  as  over  a  large 
adjacent  territory.  This  company  began  doing  business  in  1909,  having 
bought  various  smaller  concerns  which  had  operated  independently  up 
to  that  time.  Its  principal  source  of  supply  is  West  Virginia,  the  gas 
being  furnished  by  the  Hope  Natural  Gas  Company,  of  that  state,  and 
pumped  all  over  the  border  of  Western  Pennsylvania  and  Eastern  Ohio. 

Gradual  exhaustion  of  the  supply  of  natural  gas  is  apparent,  and 
while  numerous  new  fields  are  being  constantly  developed,  it  seems 
probable  that  within  a  few  years  many  communities  now  securing  this 
fuel  from  the  earth  will  be  compelled  to  depend  on  gas  manufactured 
from  coal  in  the  by-product  coking  process,  immense  quantities  of  which 
are  now  being  used  in  the  steel  mills  of  the  Mahoning  Valley. 


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CHAPTER  XXXVII 

THE  MAHONING  VALLEY  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Contributions  of  its  People  and  its  Industries  to  the  Momentous 

Conflict  of  1914-18 

The  history  of  the  people  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  in  war  embraces 
six  national  struggles,  as  well  as  several  conflicts  with  the  Indians.  Five 
important  wars  have  occurred  since  the  settlement  of  this  region,  and 
not  a  few  of  its  early  pioneers  had  participated  in  the  American  Revo- 
lution. 

The  War  of  1812  made  such  drafts  on  the  man  power  of  the  new 
settlement  that  its  infant  industries  were  paralyzed  and  even  its  farms 
languished  for  want  of  cultivation.  This  war  came  particularly  close 
because  of  the  depredations  of  the  Indians  in  the  Northwest,  brought 
about  by  the  effort  of  the  British  to  enlist  their  aid  in  the  struggle.  The 
Mexican  war  found  many  eager  volunteers  here,  as  it  did  in  all  parts 
of  the  country,  and  while  this  was  not  by  any  means  a  desperate  enter- 
prise, the  number  of  men  who  failed  to  return  was  relatively  large.  It 
was  the  Civil  war,  however,  that  was  most  severely  felt,  because  the 
number  of  men  who  enlisted  or  were  drafted  was  extremely  large  in 
proportion  to  the  population,  and  it  was  to  a  notable  extent  due  to  the 
intrepid  bravery  of  these  men  that  Ohio's  brilliant  record  in  the  Civil 
war  was  possible.  That  war  cost  the  Mahoning  Valley  more  liveS'than 
the  World  war. 

While  the  Spanish-American  war  was  comparatively  brief  and  blood- 
less, so  far  as  casualties  in  battle  were  concerned,  the  loss  of  life  in  camps, 
owing  to  inadequate  provisions  for  sanitation,  commissary  and  medical 
attendance,  was  disproportionately  large.  The  Mahoning  Valley,  which' 
had  sent  more  than  its  share  of  men  in  this  war,  suffered  in  proportion. 

Through  all  these  wars  the  people  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  exhibited 
a  degree  of  loyalty  and  patriotism  equalled  in  few  other  localities,  but 
the  growth  of  population  and  the  development  of  industry  previous  to 
the  World  war  of  1914-18  made  possible  contributions  to  the  victory 
achieved  in  that  struggle  such  as  could  not  be  made  in  any  other  war, 
at  least  from  the  standpoint  of  men  entering  the  service  and  material 
and  money  furnished  to  aid  the  Government  and  its  allies. 

The  part  played  by  our  people  in  previous  wars  has  been  given  in 
some  detail  in  other  chapters.  What  they  accomplished  in  the  World 
war  will  be  told  here  as  fully  as  possible  within  the  limits  of  such  a  work 
and  with  the  somewhat  imperfect  records  as  yet  available. 

Owing  to  its  large  industries,  sending  their  products  to  all  parts  of 
the  world  and  forming  an  important  part  of- the  productive  machinery 

775 


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776       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

of  this  country,  this  section  is  naturally  in  closer  touch  with  national  and 
international  affairs  than  many  others  without  similar  features.  Con- 
sequently, when  the  European  war  opened  on  July  30,  1914,  it  aroused 
greater  interest  here  than  in  most  communities  remote  from  the  Atlantic 
seaboard.  Few  people  suspected  that  it  would  prove  to  be  the  greatest 
war  in  all  history,  involving  practically  all  civilized  nations,  causing  the 
death  of  more  than  ten  millions  of  men,  ending  the  era  of  despotic  gov- 
ernment and  impoverishing  a  great  part  of  the  world.  There  was,  how- 
ever, much  misgiving  as  to  its  effect  on  our  local  industries,  chiefly 
because  of  an  expected  disturbance  of  financial  conditions.  The  rapid 
march  of  events  proved  how  little  even  the  wisest  know  about  what  the 
future  holds  in  store. 

At  first  the  only  visible  result  of  the  European  war  was  severe  indusr 
trial  depression,  exaggerating  conditions  prevailing  for  about  two  years 
previously.  There  was  much  idleness  and  the  future  was  generally 
regarded  with  pessimism.  The  situation  changed  suddenly  at  the  close 
of  1914.  By  that  time  the  Entente  allied  nations,  then  consisting  of 
France,  England,  Russia  and  Belgium,  had  discovered  that  their  re- 
serves of  military  material  were  entirely  inadequate.  The  first  rush  of 
the  Germans  to  the  Marne  had  placed  in  their  possession  the  iron  works 
of  Belgium  and  95  per  cent  of  the  blast  furnaces  in  France.  In  stop- 
ping this  advance  just  short  of  Paris  the  French  had  used  up  most 
of  their  reserve  ammunition.  The  colossal  nature  of  the  war  had  made 
it  evident  that  England  alone  was  unable  to  produce  enough  steel  for 
herself  and  her  allies,  and  buyers  were  sent  to  America  with  instructions 
to  secure  munitions  and  material  for  their  manufacture  in  the  greatest 
quantity  and  on  the  best  terms  possible.  From  the  beginning  of  191 5 
until  the  signing  of  the  armistice,  November  11,  1918,  nearly  four  years 
later,  the  demand  for  semi-finished  steel  and  other  materials  kept  pace 
with  .the  astounding  development  of  munition  plants  in  England,  France 
and  Italy,  while,  early  in  191 7,  our  own  Government  made  tremendous 
requisitions  for  similar  material.  Immense  quantities  of  war  steel  were 
shipped  abroad  during  the  entire  period,  all  of  which  went  to  the  Allied 
governments.  Whether  any  considerable  quantity  of  such  materials 
"would  have  been  furnished  by  America  to  Germany  is  a  question, 
especially  after  the  people  of  this  country  realized  the  evident  purpose 
and  were  shocked  by  the  brutalities  of  German  militarism;  but  the 
British  fleet  having  swept  German  commerce  from  the  seas  and  closed 
all  German  ports,  shipment  to  that  country  was  impossible,  and  it  is  a 
matter  for  congratulation  that  not  a  pound  of  steel  from  Mahoning  Val- 
ley plants  and  very  little  from  America,  went  to  Germany  during  the 
war. 

This  condition  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  the  ill  temper 
of  the  German  government.  At  any  rate  its  insolence  and  ruthlessness 
were  shown  in  repeated  outrages  against  our  shipping,  disregard  of  our 
protests  and  defiance  of  our  rights  on  the  high  seas.  On  April  6,  1917, 
Congress  passed  a  resolution  declaring  that  a  state  of  war  existed  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  the  Imperial  and  Royal  German  govern- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       777 

merit,  following  this  action  later  with  a  similar  declaration  on  December 
7,  1917,  against  the  Austro-Hungarian  government. 

There  was  probably  less  enthusiasm  over  this  than  over  any  previous 
declaration  of  war  in  the  history  of  the  country.  The  people  of  the 
United  States  had  learned  enough  about  war  on  a  modern  scale  to  know 
what  it  meant,  and  they  entered  the  conflict  with  grim  determination 
and  a  thorough  realization  of  the  problems  and  sacrifices  it  would  in- 
volve. Things  they  did  not  realize  were  the  marvelous  speed  with  which 
this  country,  absolutely  unprepared  for  war  and  engrossed  with  the  tasks 
of  peace,  could  be  transformed  into  an  armed  camp,  and  the  amazing 
energy  which  it  was  to  show  in  marshaling  its  vast  potential  strength 
on  the  field  of  battle.  Within  eighteen  months  America  had  mobilized, 
trained  and  equipped  more  than  3,500,000  men,  landed  almost  2,000,000 
soldiers  on  the  soil  of  France,  and  created  a  war  machine  of  proportions 
never  before  dreamed  of  on  this  side  of  the  ocean. 

It  has  been  said  that  America  was  totally  unprepared  for  war.  This 
is  true  only  in  the  sense  that  we  had,  compared  with  our  antagonists, 
neither  an  army  nor  its  equipment.  It  had  been  apparent  to  all  for 
more  than  a  year  before  we  entered  the  war  that  we  might  be  drawn 
into  it  against  our  will,  and  a  "preparedness"  campaign  was  begun, 
during  which  our  industries  pledged  themselves  to  the  nation's  aid  and 
mobilized  their  resources  in  readiness  for  call.  An  officers'  training 
camp,  a  civilian  enterprise  in  charge  of  regular  army  officers,  was  estab- 
lished at  Plattsburg  late  in  191 5,  the  purpose  being  to  afford  oppor- 
tunity for  training  to  men  who  might  desire  to  enlist  in  the  event  of 
war  and  thus  provide  to  some  extent  against  the  almost  utter  lack  of 
trained  officers.  To  this  camp  went  a  number  of  men  from  the  Ma- 
honing Valley,  most  of  whom  gave  good  account  of  themselves  later 
on.  Other  training  camps  of  the  same  kind  were  established,  and  many 
other  preliminaries  for  taking  part  in  the  struggle,  should  this  become 
unavoidable,  were  carried  out  largely  without  encouragement  from  the 
national  administration,  which  was  lamentably  dilatory. 

With  the  declaration  of  war  and  the  realization  that  all  resources 
of  the  nation  would  be  needed,  began  in  earnest  many  civilian  activi- 
ties, as  well  as  those  inaugurated  by  the  Government.  Among  the  first 
of  the  latter  was  the  adoption  of  the  Selective  Service  System.  This  was 
chosen  as  the  best  and  fairest  method  of  raising  an  army  and  building 
a  war  machine,  but  it  met  with  considerable  opposition  from  those  who 
favored  the  volunteer  system,  and  before  it  got  under  way  hundreds  of 
men  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  enlisted  in  volunteer  organizations  formed 
in  Youngstown,  as  well  as  many  in  the  regular  army  and  navy. 

The  American  Red  Cross  had  already  organized  or  reorganized 
chapters  in  Trumbull  and  Mahoning  counties  to  meet  the  demand  for 
humanitarian  work  in  Europe.  Some  men  eager  for  the  fray  had  enlisted 
in  British  or  French  fighting  units,  and  a  large  number  of  men  born  in 
countries  involved  in  the  struggle  had  gone  back  to  their  native  lands, 
either  in  response  to  orders  from  the  governments  to  which  they  were 
subject,  or  with  a  desire  to  serve  there  in  some  capacity.     Almost  every 


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778       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

social  or  religious  organization  had  taken  steps  to  aid  in  relieving  suffer- 
ing before  America  entered  the  war. 

America's  decision  to  aid  the  Allied  nations  in  their  apparently  hope- 
less struggle  against  the  frightful  efficiency  and  despotic  purpose  of  the 
German  Empire  put  all  this  activity  on  a  new  footing.  Up  to  that  time 
we  had  been  working  merely  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  but  when  we 
entered  the  war,  our  efforts  at  once  became  further  inspired  by  the 
desire  to  serve  our  own  sons  and  protect  them  as  far  as  possible  against 
the  dangers  and  discomforts  sure  to  be  encountered.  Nothing  that 
patriotism  or  humanity  could  suggest  was  left  undone.  Leaders  of 
public  thought  and  action  laid  aside  their  personal  interests  to  serve 
the  country.  Men,  women  and  children  were  fired  with  a  desire  to 
do  something  for  the  cause.  There  was  no  excitement,  for  the  actual 
conflict  was  far  away  and  its  devastation  could  not  reach  this  part  of 
the  world.  There  was  nothing  to  inspire  the  mighty  efforts  made  by 
our  people  except  determination  to  win  the  war  and  win  it  with  as 
little  cost  in  blood  and  suffering  as  might  be  possible,  no  matter  what 
should  be  the  cost  in  money. 

All  that  has  been  said  up  to  this  point  applies  alike  to  all  of  the 
Mahoning  Valley.  If  any  community  did  more  to  win  the  war  than  an- 
other, it  was  because  that  community  had  greater  resources.  Each  did 
all  that  was  possible,  and  the  record  of  what  was  done  sheds  imperish- 
able glory  on  the  spirit  of  the  people  of  every  township,  village  and 
city  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  In  order  to  present  this  record  in  the 
brief  form  which  is  necessary  here,  it  has  been  thought  best  to  treat 
the  activities  of  Mahoning  and  Trumbull  counties  separately,  except 
in  such  matters  as  were  under  the  direction  of  orgnizations  covering 
both  counties,  which  will  be  referred  to  first. 

Volunteering  Agencies 

The  earliest  of  the  purely  military  activities  was  the  establishment  by 
the  War  Department  of  an  enlistment  office  in  Youngstown  for  the  pur- 
pose of  selecting  men  for  officers'  training  camps  which  had  been  estab- 
lished at  a  number  of  points  immediately  after  the  declaration  of  war. 
This  was  placed  in  charge  of  L.  J.  Campbell,  who  had  trained  at  Platts- 
burg  and  been  commissioned  in  the  Officers  Reserve  Corps.  Soon  after- 
ward Mr.  Campbell  was  ordered  to  Fort  Benjamin  Harrison  and  the 
office  placed  in  charge  of  R.  R.  Sharman,  who  conducted  both  it  and  an 
enlistment  office  for  the  British-Canadian  service  in  Youngstown. 
Through  the  first  of  these  agencies,  more  than  350  men  enlisted  for 
training  in  the  Officers'  Reserve  Corps,  of  whom  250  were  accepted — 
th;s  forming  a  record  for  the  entire  United  States  in  propotion  to  the 
population  of  Trumbull  and  Mahoning  counties,  which  territory  it  cov- 
ered. The  number  of  men  enlisted  for  foreign  service  was  eighty-seven, 
a  number  of  non-citizens  also  choosing  to  serve  under  the  American 
flag  and  being  given  opportunity  to  do  so. 

The  first  local  organization  to  volunteer  its  services  for  purely  mili- 
tary duty  was  the  Ohio  National  Guard.     Two  companies,  known  as 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       779 

Company  H  (the  Old  Logan  Rifles)  and  Company  M,  Fifth  Ohio 
National  Guard,  had  been  mobilized  and  sent  to  the  Mexican  border 
on  patrol  duty  September  i,  1916.  On  their  return  in  March,  1917, 
they  were  accepted  as  the  nucleus  for  a  new  regiment  known  as  the 
Tenth  Ohio  Infantry,  designed  to  take  care  of  volunteer  enlistments 
from  Northeastern  Ohio.  These  two  companies  became  senior  com- 
panies in  the  new  Tenth,  and  were  sent  to  Camp  Sheridan  for  training 
on  September  17,  19 17.  There  they  were  mustered  into  the  Federal 
service,  after  the  Tenth  Ohio  had  been  disbanded,  and  all  of  its  three 
battalions  assigned  to  the  Thirty-Seventh  Division  under  the  designa- 
tions of  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-Fourth,  One  Hundred  and  Thirty- 
Fifth  and  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-Sixth  Machine  Gun  Battalions.  A 
new  local  company  had  been  recruited  for  the  Tenth  Ohio  Infantry 
by  Capt.  A.  H.  Dillon.  It  was  composed  entirely  of  men  of  foreign 
birth  and  was  locally  known  as  "The  Foreign  Legion."  This  company 
was  mustered  in  as  a  part  of  the  Thirty-Seventh  Division  alsQ. 

The  two  local  companies  of  the  National  Guard,  after  being  finally 
assigned  to  duty  with  the  Thirty-Seventh,  were  known  under  the  new 
system  as  A  and  B  companies,  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-Fifth  Machine 
Gun  Battalion.  Captain  Dillon's  company  was  detached  from  the  Tenth 
Ohio  at  Camp  Sheridan  and  attached  to  the  Artillery  Brigade  of  the 
Thirty-Seventh  as  its  Trench  Mortar  Battery. 

These  companies  were  captained  as  follows: 

A  Company — Capt.  Ray  Dickey;  B  Company — Capt.  Jesse  E.  Wells. 
The  battalions  to  which  they  were  assigned  were  commanded  by  Maj. 
Wade  Christy,  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-Fifth;  Maj.  John  A.  Logan, 
One  Hundred  and  Thirty-Sixth,  Maj.  Harry  Hazlett,  (Canton)  One 
Hundred  and  Thirty- Fourth. 

A  cavalry  troop  was  recruited  and  captained  by  John  Stambaugh, 
III,  its  members  being  chiefly  Youngstown  men.  When  the  cavalry 
units  of  the  Ohio  National  Guard  were  converted  into  artillery  units, 
this  troop  became  the  supply  company  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty- 
Fifth  Field  Artillery  and  saw  service  with  that  organization  abroad. 

The  two  local  companies  originally  a  part  of  the  National  Guard — 
that  is  A  and  B,  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-Fifth  Machine  Gun  Bat- 
talion, trained  at  Camp  Sheridan  and  went  into  the  trenches  in  the 
Baccarat  sector  on  July  25,  1918.  On  September  26th  of  that  year 
they  took  part  in  the  Argonne  offensive,  being  in  action  five  days. 
They  were  later  withdrawn  from  the  Argonne  and  sent  to  the  Panne 
sector,  north  of  St.  Mihiel,  and  from  that  point  transferred  with  the 
Thirty-Seventh  to  Belgium  and  later  took  part  in  the  Ypres-Lys  offensive. 
After  the  armistice  they  moved  forward  to  Brussels,  from  which  point 
they  were  sent  back  to  France  and  sailed  for  home  March  15,  1919.  The 
return  of  these  two  companies  to  Youngstown  was  the  occasion  of  a 
great  demonstration  in  their  honor.  They  were  the  only  men  who  had 
been  through  severe  fighting  to  be  seen  in  a  body  in  this  locality  after 
the  war,  as  well  as  the  only  local  groups  not  more  or  less  scattered  before 
they  entered  the  trenches. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  it  is  impossible  to  give  the  record  of 


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780       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Mahoning  Valley  soldiers  other  than  those  enlisting  in  these  regiments, 
because  these  were  distributed  through  so  many  organizations  rendering 
service  at  the  front.  Any  attempt  to  do  so  would  involve  inaccuracies 
and  omissions,  since  the  army  records  are  not  yet  sufficiently  complete 
to  permit  following  these  men  through  the  various  units.  Many  of  them 
saw  service  in  the  St.  Mihiel  drive  and  were  in  the  Argonne  offensive 
from  start  to  finish,  serving  in  both  infantry  and  artillery  units  with  the 
greatest  credit,  while  others  served  on  the  Italian  front.  In  like  manner 
it  is  not  possible  to  give  the  records  of  many  who  enlisted  in  the  navy, 
the  air  service,  and  other  branches  of  the  national  defense. 

In  the  matter  of  military  leadership,  both  Mahoning  and  Trumbull 
counties  contributed  their  full  share  to  the  winning  of  the  war.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  thousands  of  soldiers,  sailors  and  marines  from  the  two 
counties,  there  were  several  hundred  officers  distributed  among  the  va- 
rious branches  of  these  services,  a  number  of  whom  reached  relatively 
high  rank.  F.  S.  VanGorder,  of  Warren,  as  a  colonel  of  infantry,  and 
L.  J.  Campbell,  of  Youngstown,  as  lieutenant  colonel  of  field  artillery, 
were  the  ranking  officers  from  their  respective  counties ;  while  Dr.  C.  R. 
Clark  and  Dr.  J.  A.  Sherbondy,  of  Youngstown,  both  became  lieutenant 
colonels  in  the  medical  corps  and  had  important  assignments  in  France. 
There  were  also  a  number  of  officers  who  attained  slightly  lesser  rank 
from  both  Trumbull  and  Mahoning  counties. 

A  semi-military  enterprise  worthy  of  note  was  the  organization  by 
the  Military  Committee  of  the  Youngstown  Chamber  of  Commerce  of 
a  volunteer  infantry  corps.  This  consisted  of  two  battalions  containing 
four  companies  each,  and  had  a  combined  strength  of  about  1,600  men. 
It  was  completely  officered  and  equipped  with  uniforms  and  rifles.  Its 
purpose  was  to  afford  an  opportunity  for  preliminary  training  and  at 
the  same  time  provide  police  protection  in  the  event  of  need  for  this, 
as  well  as  to  perform  in  any  great  emergency  functions  of  the  fire  and 
regular  police  departments,  both  of  which  were  depleted  to  a  certain 
extent  by  enlistment  and  draft.  This  organization  was  of  great  bene- 
fit to  the  community.  It  appeared  frequently  in  parades  and  made 
a  brave  showing,  thus  helping  to  encourage  a  military  spirit  and  reassure 
the  public.  Quarters  for  this  organization  were  provided  in  a  tempo- 
rary armory  erected  on  West  Rayen  Avenue.  Eventually  most  of  its 
members  entered  the  service  in  one  way  or  another. 

In  Trumbull  County  the  principal  military  organization  when  the  war 
began  was  Company  D,  Fifth  Regiment  Ohio  National  Guard,  and  this 
organization  rendered  distinguished  service,  not  only  on  the  Mexican, 
border,  but  also  in  the  great  war.  It  was  sent  to  the  Mexican  border 
in  1 91 6  and  returned  from  that  point  in  191 7,  being  shortly  afterward 
mustered  into  the  national  service  in  many  different  units.  Practically 
all  of  its  members  saw  service  abroad,  and  its  losses  were  very  heavy, 
many  of  its  members  being  among  those  whose  names  appear  in  the 
honor  roll  of  Trumbull  County. 

The  development  of  the  Boy  Scout  movement  in  both  Mahoning  and 
Trumbull  counties  enabled  the  boys  to  render  efficient  service  in  cam- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       781 

paigns  of  all  kinds,  and  gave  impetus  to  this  movement  which  will  last 
for  years. 

There  were  no  military  or  semi-military  organizations  formed  in 
Trumbull  County  during  the  war,  but  a  considerable  number  of  men  vol- 
unteered from  that  district  for  service  in  the  army  and  navy,  as  well  as 
in  other  branches  of  the  national  defense,  most  of  these  joining  the 
organizations  in  Youngstown. 

The  number  of  men  and  women  enlisting  for  war  work  with  the 
national  organizations  thus  engaged  was  large,  Trumbull  County  being 
well  represented  in  Base  Hospital  No.  31,  as  well  as  in  the  Red  Cross, 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  Knights  of  Columbus  organi- 
zations abroad  and  in  the  camps. 

The  Selective  Service  System 

Under  the  Selective  Service  Act,  a  draft  board  for  Mahoning  County 
and  one  for  Trumbull  County  were  originally  established.  It  was  soon 
found,  however,  that  these  boards  would  be  unable  to  perform  the  task 
of  classifying,  examining  and  inducting  the  more  than  8,000  men  who 
had  registered  as  of  military  age  under  the  first  call,  which  included  all 
men  between  twenty-one  and  thirty  years  of  age,  inclusive.  When  this 
was  discovered,  Governor  Cox,  who  had  been  given  the  necessary 
authority  to  supervise  the  draft  system  of  this, State,  requested  the 
original  boards  to  recommend  members  for  as  many  additional  boards 
as  were  deemed  necessary  to  conduct  the  work  expeditiously.  As  a  result, 
three  additional  boards  were  established*  in  Mahoning  County,  two  of 
these  being  in  the  City  of  Youngstown  and  the  third  in  the  county.  In 
Trumbull  one  additional  board  was  created,  this  being  known  as  Trum- 
bull Board  No.  2,  located  at  Niles.  The  membership  of  the  boards  was 
also  increased  from  two  to  three.  The  members  of  these  boards  were 
as  follows: 

Youngstown  No.  1 — (Original) — James  R.  McAleer,  Wm.  F.  Maag, 
Sr.,  John  J.  Graney.    Medical  examiner,  Dr.  R.  E.  Whelan. 

Youngstown  No.  2 — William  T.  Gibson,  Chase  T.  Truesdale,  James 
Quinn.    Medical  examiner,  Dr.  Jas.  H.  Bennett. 

Youngstown  No.  3 — Thomas  E.  Connell,  F.  E.  Cailor,  Ode  J.  Grubb. 
Medical  examiner,  Dr.  M.  E.  Hayes. 

Mahoning  County — (No.  4) — Dahl  B.  Cooper,  Frank  Hitchcock, 
Thomas  Woods.    Medical  exammer,  Dr.  S.  G.  Patton. 

Owing  to  ill  health,  resulting  from  the  strain  of  continuous  work  on 
these  boards,  a  number  of  members  were  compelled  to  resign.  Among 
these  was  James  R.  McAleer,  who  was  succeeded  on  Board  No.  1  by 
Rollin  C.  Steese;  Chase  T.  Truesdale,  whose  place  was  taken  on  Board 
No.  2  by  Daniel  Kenvin,  and  Dahl  B.  Cooper,  who  was  succeeded  on 
Board  No.  4  by  Samuel  Thompson. 

In  addition  to  the  medical  examiners  appointed  for  each  board,  a 
district  examining  board  was  appointed  in  each  county.  The  members 
of  this  board  in  Mahoning  County  were  Dr.  W.  H.  Buechner,  Dr.  H.  E 


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782        YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Welch,  Dr.  Sol.  M.  Hartzell,  Dr.  H.  E.  Patrick,  Dr.  John  Heberding, 
and  Dr.  W.  H.  Hayden,  the  last  named  being  a  dental  specialist. 

The  original  board  in  Trumbull  County  consisted  of  W.  H.  B.  Ward, 
C.  L.  Bailey,  Dr.  W.  W.  McKay  and  John  C.  Tiefel.  Trumbull  Board 
No.  2  consisted  of  C.  A.  Pierson,  E.  A.  Gilbert,  Dr.  D.  R.  Williams 
and  J.  J.  Casey.  The  Examining  Board  for  District  No.  i  comprised 
all  the  physicians  in  Warren,  and  that  of  District  No.  2  all  the  physi- 
cians in  Niles,  and  these  in  both  cases  contributed  their  services  with- 
out charge.  A  legal  advisory  board  served  both  of  these  organizations, 
its  chairman  being  Charles  L.  Wilkins.  Rev.  F.  P.  Reinhold  was  chair- 
man of  the  board  of  instruction,  on  which  Rev.  Father  Mosely  served 
as  chaplain ;  Judge  Chas.  Filius  as  instructor  on  moral  ethics ;  Col.  F.  M. 
Ritezel  as  instructor  in  tactics  and  military  bearing;  R.  H.  Allison  and 
McPherson  Brown  as  general  instructors.  This  board  accompanied  each 
detachment  of  enlisted  men  to  the  train  and  provided  for  their  comfort 
and  encouragement  in  every  way  when  they  went  to  camp.  Through  the 
regular  election  board  organizations,  these  boards  first  enrolled  all  men  be- 
tween the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  thirty-one,  inclusive,  in  Mahoning  and 
Trumbull  counties.  Later  they  enrolled  all  between  the  ages  of  eighteen 
and  forty-five.  All  of  these  men  were  required  to  furnish  information 
by  which  they  could  be  classified  and  their  availability  for  military  and 
industrial  service  could  be  determined,  and  from  this  they  were  divided 
into  a  number  of  classes,  depending  on  their  liability  for  service  under 
conditions  that  might  develop.  It  was  a  Herculean  task  and  involved 
much  distasteful  labor  as  well  as  the  exercise  of  judicial  functions  of  a 
high  order.  The  fact  that  many  of  these  men  declined  to  accept  com- 
pensation in  whole  or  in  part  indicates  their  loyalty.  Likewise  the  task 
of  the  medical  examiners  was  heavy  and*  disagreeable.  Both  the  draft 
boards  and  the  medical  boards  were  assisted  by  volunteers.  Hundreds 
of  citizens  rendered  voluntary  service  by  assisting  in  the  clerical  work 
involved  in  enrollment  of  so  many  men. 

The  following  table,  compiled  from  the  final  report  of  Provost  Mar- 
shal General  Crowder,  indicates  the  labor  performed  and  expense  attend- 
ing the  operation  of  these  boards,  as  well  as  the  number  of  men  actually 
inducted  into  the  service  in  each  district  in  the  Mahoning  Valley: 

No.  of 

Name  of  Pay  of        Pay  of  Pay  of  Total      Induc- 

District  Members    Employes    Examiners    Expense    tions 

Trumbull  No.  1 None    $626.64  None    $1,625.69       972 

Trumbull  No.  2 $4,311.05       3>533°°    $    224.20        8,850.71     1,015 

Mahoning  County...  4,505.00      7»269-25         247.50       12,717.71     1,172 
Youngstown  No.  1..   3,690.15      6,032.33  None       11,908.08     1,328 

Youngstown  No.  2..  9,687.40      7,064.00       1,121.00       18,573.86     1,761 
Youngstown  No.  3..   4,301.25       3,898.00  None        8,542.79     1,064 

Man  Power  Mobilized 

According  to  the  final  report  of  Provost  Marshal  General  Crowder 
to  the  Secretary  of  War  under  date  of  July  15,  1919,  the  total  number 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        783 

of  men  actually  in  the  American  military  service  (exclusive  of  those  in 
the  navy)  at  the  close  of  the  war  was  approximately  3,500,000.  Of  these 
2,758,542  had  been  inducted  through  the  operations  of  the  selective  serv- 
ice system,  and  the  remainder  were  volunteers.  It  thus  appears  that 
the  average  number  of  volunteers  was  approximately  21  per  cent  of  the 
whole.  There  is  no  way  of  finding  out  what  the  proportion  in  the 
Mahoning  Valley  was,  but  it  is  practically  certain  that  it  was  not  less 
than  25  per  cent.  Therefore  the  number  of  soldiers  enlisted  or  drafted 
•rom  Trumbull  and  Mahoning  counties  was  not  less  than  9,561.  It  was 
probably  considerably  greater  than  this,  since  volunteering  went  forward 
much  more  rapidly  here  than  in  most  communities.  This  estimate  in- 
cludes the  men  inducted  into  service  in  the  Allied  armies  by  the  special 
enlistment  office  referred  to  above,  but  does  not  include  those  who  volun- 
teered for  service  in  the  navy,  aviation  corps  and  other  branches,  con- 
cerning whom  no  record  is  yet  available,  although  their  number  is  known 
to  be  large  and  to  include  the  sons  of  some  of  the  families  most  prom- 
inent in  the  district. 

Hundreds  of  men  who  had  passed  military  age  enlisted  in  the  service 
of  the  Government  or  in  that  of  the  various  war  work  organizations, 
many  of  them  without  compensation.  Industrial  organizations  gladly 
surrendered  their  most  efficient  men  to  the  Government,  and  even  the 
heads  of  large  corporations  laid  aside  their  own  pressing  affairs  and 
devoted  their  energies  to.  the  task  of  winning  the  war.  It  was  a  splendid 
exhibition  of  loyalty  and  unselfishness. 

This  spirit  was  not  confined  to  individuals,  but  extended  to  corpora- 
tions in  a  degree  never  before  seen  in  this  or  any  other  country.  The 
great  steel  companies  pledged  all  their  resources  to  the  Government,  and 
during  the  progress  of  the  war  contributed  so  loyally  and  effectively  to 
the  efficiency  of  the  nation  that  this  industry,  alone  among  all  those  of 
national  scope,  was  permitted  to  conduct  its  business  practically  without 
governmental  regulation.  All  the  principal  manufacturers  in  this  line 
pooled  their  resources,  distributing  the  orders  of  the  Government  and  its 
allies  to  those  mills  in  the  best  position  to  make  prompt  delivery.  J.  A. 
Campbell,  president  of  the  Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company,  af 
chairman  of  the  Tubular  Products  Committee  of  the  American  Iron  & 
Steel  Institute,  allocated  all  of  the  Government  orders  for  pipe  for  many 
months,  receiving  in  return  for  this  service  a  special  decoration  from  the 
Republic  of  France.  All  ordinary  business  was  side-tracked  for  the 
duration  of  the  war,  manufacturers  shipping  to  their  customers  only  such 
portion  of  their  product  as  the  Government  or  its  allies  did  not  need, 
In  addition  to  this,  these  corporations  rendered  financial  aid  to  the  Gov- 
ernment on  a  large  scale  and  devoted  the  entire  machinery  of  their  or- 
ganizations to  the  task  of  raising  funds,  encouraging  enlistment,  and  aid- 
ing the  country  in  every  possible  way.  Few  industrial  corporations  in 
the  Mahoning  Val!ey  failed  to  receive  from  the  Government  after  the 
war  some  form  of  special  acknowledgment  of  the  unselfish,  efficient  and 
patriotic  service  rendered. 


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784       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 
Humanitarian  Work  in  Mahoning  County 

Although,  as  has  been  stated,  many  organizations  contributed  nobly 
to  war  work  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  the  part  played  by  the  American 
Red  Cross  overshadowed  that  of  any  other  such  organization.  Mahon- 
ing Chapter,  which  finally  included  the  City  of  Youngstown,  all  the 
townships  in  Mahoning  County,  Niles,  Hubbard,  Girard,  East  Palestine 
and  Columbiana,  was  organized  May  17,  1910,  as  a  result  of  a  sugges- 
tion made  by  Miss  Mabel  Boardman,  formerly  a  resident  of  Mahoning 
County,  on  a  visit  to  friends  in  Youngstown.  The  movement  was  pro- 
moted largely  by  Mrs.  E.  L.  Ford,  now  deceased,  and  Dr.  Ida  M.  Clarke 
was  the  first  chairman.  She  was,  a  year  or  two  later,  succeeded  by 
Robert  Bentley,  who  has  held  that  position  ever  since,  in  either  an  active 
or  honorary  capacity.  Until  the  opening  of  the  World  war  the  chapter 
was  comparatively  inactive,  being  used  principally  as  an  avenue  for  their 
benefactions  by  a  small  number  of  wealthy  people  in  Youngstown. 

The  great  need  for  humanitarian  work  arising  from  the  conditions  in 
Europe  stirred  the  American  Red  Cross  into  activity  in  late  1914,  and  the 
local  chapter  responded  at  once  to  appeals  for  effective  work.  In  De- 
cember, 1916,  Mrs.  Fred  M.  Orr  was  elected  active  chairman  and  a  cam- 
paign was  at  once  planned  to  increase  the  membership,  which  had  dwin- 
dled to  eighteen  paid  up  members.  In  February,  1917,  about  10,000  new 
members  were  enrolled,  some  funds  raised,  and  plans  laid  for  extending 
the  activities  of  the  organization  in  many  directions. 

In  May,  1917,  a  call  was  received  from  national  headquarters  for 
funds.  The  quota  assessed  to  Mahoning  Chapter  was  fixed  at  $250,000. 
A  campaign  was  organized,  and  with  the  help  of  a  large  number  of 
leading  citizens  $614,064.93  was  secured.  Of  this  amount  $473,924.29 — 
or  almost  twice  the  full  quota,  was  remitted  to  Washington,  the  remain- 
der being  turned  over  to  the  local  chapter  for  its  own  use.  The  mem- 
bership was  raised  during  this  campaign  to  about  50,000.  Every  town- 
ship in  Mahoning  County  contributed  to  this  great  fund,  as  did  also  all 
of  the  outside  auxiliaries  mentioned  above. 

As  the  work  was  extended  a  number  of  committees  were  appointed, 
each  having  charge  of  some  special  branch  of  activity.  Among  these 
was  that  on  Civilian  Relief,  of  which  George  E.  Dudley  was  chairman; 
Military  Relief,  Henry  A.  Butler,  chairman ;  Women's  Work,  Mrs.  David 
Tod,  chairman;  Press,  R.  J.  Kaylor,  chairman;  Junior  Membership, 
Mrs.  Robert  Bentley,  chairman;  Salvage,  Mrs.  Carroll  Thornton,  chair- 
man. Each  of  these  committees,  together  with  many  other  organizations, 
co-operated  with  the  Executive  Committee  of  and  the  directors.  The 
Executive  Committee  consisted  of  Robert  Bentley,  chairman;  W.  B. 
Hall,  vice  chairman ;  R.  C.  Steese,  H.  L.  Rownd,  David  Tod,  H.  M.  Gar- 
lick  and  Dr.  A.  M.  Clark. 

In  addition  a  general  committee  was  formed  to  conduct  the  cam- 
paigns necessary  for  securing  funds,  and  had  charge  of  all  these  remark- 
able drives  during  the  war.  It  was  composed  of  H.  M.  Garlick,  J.  A. 
Campbell,  John  Tod,  H.  L.  Rownd,  C.  S.  Robinson,  W.  A.  Thomas,  T. 
J.  Bray,  J.  H.  Grose,  W.  C.  Gubbins,  E.  V.  Hamory,  R.  C  Steese,  W. 


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YOUNGSTOWNAND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       785 

L.  Griswold,  H.  Kennedy,  Henry  Stambaugh,  S.  G.  McClure,  Wm.  F. 
Maag,  A.  E.  Adams,  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  M.  I.  Arms,  Robert  Bentley,  John 
Stambaugh,  Carroll  Thornton,  C.  B.  Cushwa,  T.  L.  Robinson,  W.  H. 
Foster,  Rev.  M.  F.  Griffin,  Kirt  Hine,  Frank  Hitchcock,  Julius  Kahn, 
Harry  Kelly,  Harry  Levinson,  Porter  Pollock,  Clarence  Strouss,  David 
Tod,  C.  H.  Booth,  James  H.  McKay,  C.  T.  Truesdale,  Ralph  Cornelius, 
W.  B.  Hall,  Hugh  Grant,  C  H.  Kennedy,  G.  F.  Alderdice. 

Officers  of  Mahoning  Chapter's  Auxiliaries 

Columbiana  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mr.  W.  T.  Holloway. 
Managing  chairman — Mrs.  E.  F.  Bierman. 
Secretary — Miss  Blanche  Beard. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  E.  Decker. 

Coitsville  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  E.  C.  Harris. 
Secretary — Dora  A.  Cowden. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  J.  M.  Jackson. 

Canfield  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  Phill  Wetmore. 
Secretary — Miss  Marion  Fowler. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  W.  J.  Smith. 

Ellsworth  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Miss  Frances  Fitch. 
Secretary — Mrs.  S.  B.  Brook. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  L.  B.  Bingham. 

Greenford  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Rev.  W.  H.  Noffziger. 
Secretary — Miss  Edith  Roller. 
Treasurer — Miss  Mae  Stall. 

Hubbard  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  R.  F.  Clash. 
Secretary — Miss  Emilie  McMurray. 
Treasurer — A.  J.  Mayers. 

Lowellville  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  Rachael  K.  Becker. 
Secretary — Mrs.  Annabel  Smith. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  Jas.  Meehan,  Jr. 

Locust  Grove  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  G.  O.  Calvin. 
Secretary — Mrs.  S.  W.  Yoder. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  S.  W.  Yoder. 


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786       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

New  Springfield  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mr.  S.  F.  Rumel. 
Secretary — Mrs.  H.  W.  Felger. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  C.  G.  Blackwelder. 

Niles  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  Chas.  Backenstos. 
Secretary — Miss  Hazel  Wilson. 
Treasurer — Carter  McConnell. 

North  Lima  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mr.  I.  R.  Hazen. 
Secretary — Mrs.  Jay  Glenn. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  C.  H.  Welsh. 

Petersburg  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  Geo.  E.  Knesal. 
Secretary — Mrs.  Frank  Kiser. 
Treasurer — Miss  Dell  Schiller. 

Poland  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  Robert  L.  Campbell. 
Secretary — Louise  Zedaker. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  Louis  Kirtland. 

Sebring  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  W.  L.  Murphy. 
Secretary — Miss  Nina  Sebring. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  H.  R.  Ewing. 

Strut  hers  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  A.  B.  Stough. 
Secretary — Mrs.  Jules  Richards. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  John  E.  Longnecker. 

East  Palestine  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  R.  N.  Chamberlin. 
Secretary — Mrs.  D.  J.  McBane. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  C.  B.  Rainsberger. 

Fosterville  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  S.  H.  Guisler. 
Secretary — Mrs.  M.  E.  Wile. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  May  Rollonson. 

Girard  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  A.  P.  Hine. 
Secretary — Clara  Blair. 
Treasurer — Mrs.  John  Eckman. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       787 

Boardman  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  A.  W.  Arbuckle. 
Secretary — Mrs.  E.  Phillips. 
Treasurers-Mrs.  G.  E.  Morgan. 

Berlin  Center  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  H.  M.  Gunder. 
Secretary — Mrs.  Pearl  King. 

Calla  Auxiliary 

Chairman — Mrs.  Etta  Cook. 
Secretary — S.  K.  Paulin. 
Treasurer — Martha  M.  Rogers. 

Pine  Hollow  and  Brownlee  Woods 

Chairman — Mrs.  George  Hooper. 

North  Jackson  Auxiliary 
Chairman — Miss  Tillie  Wanamaker. 

Work  Done  by  Mahoning  Chapter 

The  work  of  preparing  surgical  dressings,  clothing  and  other  articles 
badly  needed  in  Europe  was  begun  early  in  191 7,  in  a  residence  donated 
for  this  purpose.  Later  this  building  was  sold  and  quarters  were  secured 
in  the  Ohio  Hotel  and  the  Tod  House.  These  soon  became  entirely  too 
small  and  the  county  commissioners  offered  free  use  of  space  in  the 
courthouse,  where  the  work  was  carried  on  from  that  time  forward, 
hundreds  of  women  gathering  there  daily  to  sew  and  knit. 

When  the  American  Red  Cross  called  for  $100,000,000  in  April, 
1918,  plans  were  at  once  laid  for  a  second  campaign.  In  the  first  Youngs- 
town  had  more  than  doubled  its  quota,  and  this  would  probably  have 
been  done  also  in  the  second.  But  plans  had  been  laid  to  co-ordinate  the 
work  of  all  organizations  in  raising  funds  by  means  of  a  war  chest,  and 
the  local  chapter  agreed  to  co-operate  in  this  plan.  As  a  result  it  re- 
ceived $300,000  from  the  War  Chest  Fund.  The  report  for  191 7  showed 
that  $104,528.35  had  been  expended  during  that  year.  This  included 
substantial  sums  contributed  by  branches  at  Niles,  Girard  and  East 
Palestine.  The  work  was  continued  with  the  greatest  zeal  until  the 
signing  of  the  armistice,  and,  while  it  dwindled  somewhat  after  that 
event,  it  was  not  entirely  suspended  until  July  1,  1919.  In  order  that 
some  idea  of  the  tremendous  effort  made  by  the  women  of  Mahoning 
Chapter  may  be  realized,  it  may  be  said  that,  in  addition  to  their  other 
activities,  during  the  period  of  two  years  they  made,  either  at  head- 
quarters or  at  their  homes,  a  grand  total  of  504,486  sewn  and  knitted 
articles  for  the  use  of  the  American  soldiers  and  for  the  relief  of  suf- 
fering in  hospitals  and  among  the  refugees  of  Europe.  This  does  not 
include  the  materials  prepared  for  Base  Hospital  No.  31,  which  was 
organized  in  Youngstown  by  the  Youngstown  Hospital  Association  and 


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788       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital  early  in  1917.  The  funds  for  this  hospital  unit 
were  subscribed  separately  from  those  for  the  Red  Cross,  however, 
$55»°°°  needed  having  been  subscribed  in  a  few  days  by  more  than 
300  persons.  # 

Base  Hospital  No.  31 

Authorization  for  Base  Hospital  No.  31  was  received  March  25,  191 7, 
before  the  United  States  entered  the  war.  It  had  been  almost  com- 
pletely organized  by  that  time,  however,  and  its  personnel,  consisting  of 
about  300  persons,  of  whom  eighty-five  were  physicians  and  sixty- four 
female  nurses,  had  been  completed.  The  unit  was  designed  for  500 
beds,  and  was  equipped  with  every  appliance  considered  necessary  for 
effective  work.  Dr.  Colin  R.  Clark  was  in  charge  as  medical  director. 
The  unit  entrained  for  Allentown  on  September  8,  191 7,  and  soon  after- 
ward sailed  for  France,  where  it  did  splendid  work  at  Contrexeville  until 
disbanded  on  February  2,  1919.  Six  weeks  after  that  date  it  sailed  for 
home,  having  established  a  record  as  one  of  the  most  efficiently  con- 
ducted and  best  equipped  institutions  of  its  kind  sent  from  this  country 
during  the  war.  Although  much  of  the  credit  for  this  important  unit 
is  due  to  the  skill  and  enthusiasm  of  officials  in  the  two  Youngstown 
hospitals,  it  was  also  a  Red  Cross  institution  and  belonged  likewise  to 
the  general  public,  having  been  organized  largely  through  the  enthusi- 
astic efforts  of  many  leading  citizens. 

Local  Service  by  the  Red  Cross 

Great  assistance  was  rendered  to  the  people  of  its  communities  by 
Mahoning  Chapter  during  the  influenza  epidemic  of  1918-19.  This  vis- 
itation was  an  incident  of  the  war  and  proved  more  fatal  than  the  great 
conflict  itself.  In  the  splendid  work  done  to  combat  the  disease,  the 
local  chapter  contributed  all  of  its  equipment  and  energy,  even  installing 
a  special  laundry  to  handle  linen  from  the  various  influenza  hospitals 
after  the  employes  of  local  laundries  had  refused  to  permit  its  acceptance. 
Details  of  this  epidemic  will  be  found  in  Chapter  XIII. 

In  addition  to  the  activities  referred  to,  many  nurses  were  enlisted 
for  service  in  camps  and  abroad;  assistance  of  all  kinds  was  rendered 
to  dependents  of  soldiers  and  to  foreign-born  residents  unable  to  com- 
municate with  their  families  in  Europe,  and  scores  of  efforts  made  to 
relieve  suffering.  The  loyalty,  unselfishness  and  efficiency  of  the  women 
in  every  community  in  the  Valley  was  demonstrated  in  a  manner  that 
provoked  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  all  in  a  position  to  witness  it 
during  the  trying  times  of  the  great  war. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  with  Germany  the  officers  of  the  local 
chapter  were : 

Chairman — Mrs.  Fred  M.  Orr. 

Vice  chairman — Miss  Josephine  Ford. 

Secretary — Miss  Louise  Wick. 

Treasurer — Miss  Marie  Campbell. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       789 

Honorary  Chairman — Robert  Bentley. 

Honorary  treasurer — Wells  L.  Griswold. 

On  July  2,  191 7,  the  chapter  was  reorganized  by  the  election  of  a 
board  of  thirty-five  directors.  Mrs.  David  Tod  then  succeeded  Miss 
Josephine  Ford  as  vice  chairman,  and  Miss  Caroline  Bonnell  became 
assistant  secretary.  Otherwise  the  officers  remained  the  same.  With 
slight  changes  in  the  personnel  the  organization  remains  the  same  in  1920 
as  in  1917.    The  current  committees,  with  their  chairmen,  are: 

Executive — C.  H.  Booth. 

Women's  Work — Mrs.  David  Tod. 

Membership — W.  J.  Sampson. 

Canteen — Jos.  G.  Butler,  Jr. 

Junior  Membership — Miss  Cora  Parsons. 

Civilian  Relief — George  E.  Dudley. 

Nursing  Activities — Dr.  A.  M.  Clark. 

Publicity— R.  J.  Kaylor. 

During  the  war  the  membership  of  Mahoning  Chapter  reached  more 
than  50,000.  It  has  naturally  fallen  off  considerably  and  is  now  about 
20,000. 

The  Mahoning  War  Chest 

The  Mahoning  war  chest  movement  was  probably  the  greatest  and 
most  successful  movement  of  its  kind  m  the  entire  country,  considering 
the  population  of  the  territory  in  which  it  was  conducted.  It  was  the 
realization  of  a  plan  conceived  by  leading  business  men  in  Youngstown 
to  co-ordinate  the  remarkable  generosity  of  the  people,  prevent  duplica- 
tion of  effort  and  promote  efficiency  in  the  distribution  of  their  gifts  on 
behalf  of  humanity. 

Its  unusual  success  attracted  attention  in  all  parts  of  the  country, 
and  the  plan  upon  which  it  was  conducted  was  copied  in  scores  of  other 
cities.  To  Philip  J.  Thompson  belongs  in  large  measure  the  credit  for 
working  out  this  plan,  and  to  scores  of  unselfish,  patriotic  business  men 
in*Youngstown  the  honor  of  having  made  it  successful. 

The  Mahoning  war  chest  campaign  was  launched  under  the  auspices 
of  a  war  chest  council,  consisting  of  150  of  the  city's  most  prominent 
business  and  professional  men,  with  representatives  from  every  com- 
munity in  Mahoning  County,  as  well  as  from  Girard  and  Hubbard,  those 
towns  having  asked  the  privilege  of  joining  in  the  movement.  It  was 
launched  on  April  10,  1918,  and,  after  one  month's  preparation,  the  work 
of  soliciting  contributions  was  begun  on  May  20— lasting  four  days.  The 
goal  set  at  the  beginning  was  $1,250,000.  The  amount  actually  sub- 
scribed was  $2,096,663.17. 

The  officers  of  the  war  chest  council  were : 

President — J.  A.  Campbell. 

Vice  president — H.  L.  Rownd. 

Secretary — O.  J.  Grubb. 

Treasurer — Wells  L.  Griswold. 

The  executive  committee  was  composed  of  J.  A.  Campbell  (chair- 


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790       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

man),  A.  E.  Adams,  P.  J.  Thompson,  Chas.  Sebring,  George 'E.  Dudley, 
Hugh  W.  Grant,  H.  L.  Rownd,  II.  H.  Stambaugh,  David  Tod,  H.  M. 
Garlick,  H.  C.  Ritter,  Robert  Bentlev,  Jonathan  Warner,  Robert  Banner, 
O.  J.  Grubb. 

The  Executive  Committee  named  chairmen  with  authority  to  organ- 
ize their  own  committees  to  conduct  various  branches  of  the  work  as 
follows : 

Campaign  Committee — H.  L.  Rownd  and  J.  H.  Grose. 

Budget  Committee — Jonathan  Warner. 

Publicity  Committee — R.  J.  Kaylor. 

Manufacturers'  Committee — C.  H.  Booth. 

Arrangements  Committee — A.  G.  Ward. 

Apportionment  Committee — H.  M.  Garlick. 

Statistics  Committee — A.  E.  Adams. 

Teams  Committee — P.  J.  Thompson. 

The  Budget  Committee  raised  by  subscription  of  a  few  persons  enough 
money  to  conduct  the  campaign,  so  that  none  of  the  expenses  were  paid 
from  war  chest  funds. 

The  ending  of  the  war,  together  with  the  magnificent  response  of 
the  public,  resulted  in  the  fund  subscribed  proving  considerably  in  excess 
of  probably  legitimate  needs,  and  on  April  10,  1919,  the  council  directed 
that  collection  of  the  last  quarterly  installment  on  all  subscriptions  should 
be  waived  and  25  per  cent  of  all  subscriptions  paid  in  full  should  be 
returned  to  the  donors.  The  following  record  of  sums  distributed  up  to 
May  1,  1920,  is  of  interest  as  showing  the  great  number  of  organiza- 
tions engaged  in  activities  directly  connected  with  the  war,  all  donations 
from  the  war  chest  being  limited  to  these  forms  of  activity : 

Appropriations  Made  from  the  Mahoning  County  War  Chest 

Red  Cross  ($270,000,  $54,000) $324,000.00 

Camp  Sherman  Community  House 20,000.00 

Mahoning  County  Women's  Committee  of  Ohio  Branch  Coun- 
cil of  National  Defense 1,000.00 

For  Advertising  Third  Liberty  Loan 4,286.50 

Advertising  and  Expenses  War  Savings  Stamps  Campaign. . .  8,000.00 

Mahoning  County  Food  Administration 2,000.00 

Military  Affairs  Committee,  Chamber  of  Commerce 5,000.00 

Armenian  and  Syrian  Relief  Committee 45,000.00 

National  League  for  Woman's  Service 50,000.00 

Serbian  Aid  Fund ; 5,000.00 

Scottish  Women's  Hospitals 5,000.00 

Polish  War  Relief  Association 5,000.00 

Children  of  the  Frontier 10,000.00 

American  Jewish  Relief  Committee  ($40,000,  $50,000) 90,000.00 

A.  B.  F.  B.  Permanent  Blind  Relief  ($6,000,  $1,000,  $1,000).  8,000.00 

Youngstown  Ward,  Hospital  No.  1,  France 6,000.00 

Fatherless  Children  of  France  ($10,000,  $12,000) 22,000.00 

Belgian  Soldiers  Tobacco  Fund 75°°° 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY  .    791 

United  War  Work  Campaign  ($289,000,  $71,094) 360,094.00 

Non-war  Construction  Committee 305 .96 

National  Investigation   Bureau 1,000.00 

Commission  for  Relief  in  Belgium 5,000.00 

Salvation  Army    10,000.00 

American  Fund  for  French  Wounded 3,500.00 

American  Committee  for  Devastated  France  ($2,500,  $10,000, 

$10,000)    22,500.00 

Committee  for  Relief  in  Near  East  ($6,000,  $50,000) 56,000.00 

Italian  War  Relief  Fund  of  America  ($5,000,  $1,700) 6,700.00 

Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union  (war  work) .... 1,500.00 

Advertising  Fourth  Liberty  Loan 3,836.60 

Military   Affairs    Committee,   Chamber   of    Commerce    ($9,- 

478.94,  $4,879.06)    14,358.00 

Alliance  Chapter,  American  Red  Cross 1,000.00 

American  Ouvroir  Funds 500.00 

American  Committee  for  Training  in  Suitable  Trades  Maimed 

Soldiers  in  France 400.00 

Roumanian  Relief  Committee 500.00 

Duryea  War  Relief  Fund,  Inc .* 250.00 

American  Women's  Hospitals 500.00 

Advertising  Fifth  Liberty  Loan 5,68753 

American  Jugo-Slav  Relief 2,500.00 

Serbian  Relief  Committee  ($2,500,  $5,000) 7,500.00 

American  Free  Milk  and  Relief  for  Italy 500.00 

Refugees  in  Russia 500.00 

National  Allied  Relief  Committee 500.00 

French  Heroes'  Lafayette  Memorial  Fund 500.00 

Serbian  Aid  Fund 2,500.00 

Polish  Victims'  Relief  Fund 1,000.00 

East  Youngstown  reception  for  soldiers 500.00 

Coitsville  Township  reception  for  soldiers 25.00 

Youngstown  Salvation  Army  2,570.35 

Youngstown  Knights  of  Columbus 1,485.94 

Youngstown  Young  Women's  Christian  Association 1,400.00 

Youngstown  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 14,636.25 

Advertising  Liberty  Loan  payments 500.00 

Lowellville  Home  Coming  Committee  500.00 

Rehabilitation  Committee,  Chamber  of  Commerce 968.80 

American  Legion  of  Youngstown 15,000.00 

Memorial  services  for  returned  soldiers 250.00 

Youngstown  Public  Library  (war  work) 6,265.08 

National  Polish  Committee 1,700.00 

American  Committee  for  Hungarian  Sufferers 1,000.00 

American  Relief  Administrator  European  Children's  Fund. . .  25,000.00 

Czecho-Slovak  Council   10,000.00 

San  Domenico  Dispensary 2,000.00 


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792       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Analysis  of  the  Source  of  Mahoning  War  Chest  Fund 

So  far  as  can  be  learned  no  other  communities  of  equal  population 
in  the  entire  country  responded  so  generously  to  an  appeal  for  money 
for  humanitarian  work  during  the  war.  The  following  analysis  of  the 
source  of  this  vast  fund  is  of  general  interest  and  worthy  of  record : 

Name  of  Subscription     Subscription  Subscribers 

Company  by  Companies  by  Employees      Total      in  Plants 

The  Brier  Hill  Steel  Co..$  60,000.00  $167,856.65  $   227,856.65  4,128 

The  Carnegie  Steel  Co. . .  25,000.00  121,233.00  146,233.00  5,612 

The  Gen'l  Fireproofing  Co .  3,000.00      21,010.50  24,010.50  1,128 

The  Ohio  Iron  &  Steel  Co.  10,000.00     10,000.00       

The  Republic  Rubber  Corp.  1,000.00  29,005.25  30,005.25  1,782 

Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Co.  65,000.00  196,275.44  261,275.44  8,501 

The  Wm.  B.  Pollock  Co 2,918.95  2,918.95  181 

Stone  &  Webster  Co 2,000.00  18,915.95  20,915.95  1,179 

Sharon  Steel  Hoop  Co. . .  20,000.00  48,762.60  68,762.60  2,170 

Truscon  Steel  Co 10,000.00  30,330.00  40,330.00  1,361 

United  Engr.  &  Fdry.  Co.  10,000.00  18,321.50  28,321.50  714 
The  Youngstown  Sheet  & 

Tube  Co 162,500.00  291,506.36  454,006.36  12,359 

Totals   $368,500.00  $946,136.20  $1,314,636.20    39>ix5 

Total  subscriptions  by  corporations  and  employees $1,314,636.20 

Total  subscriptions  outside  of  Youngstown 49,834.81 

Total  subscriptions  in  city  outside  of  industrial  plants 732,192.16 


Grand  total  of  all  subscriptions $2,096,663.17 

Total  number  of  subscribers  in  city  and  county 69*635 

Average  amount  of  individual  subscriptions 24.18 

Other  Large  Contributions 

In  addition  to  the  funds  collected  for  the  use  of  the  Red  Cross, 
similar  campaigns  were  conducted  on  behalf  of  a  number  of  other  organi- 
zations actively  engaged  in  war  work.  The  first  of  these  was  for  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  A  special  campaign  quietly  con- 
ducted during  May  of  1917  resulted  in  subscriptions  amounting  to 
$3I>9I5°°-  A  second  campaign,  put  on  in  connection  with  a  national 
drive  by  that  organization  for  funds  in. October,  191 7,  resulted  in  sub- 
scriptions totalling  $269,599.37.  This  campaign  was  in  charge  of  the 
local  officers  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  who  were  en- 
thusiastically assisted  by  scores  of  leading  citizens.  Of  the  amount  raised 
about  $198,000  was  forwarded  to  the  national  organization  and  the  re- 
mainder used  in  carrying  on  war  work  in  this  locality. 

A  similar  campaign  conducted  by  the  Knights  of  Columbus  in  March, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       793 

1918,  under  the  general  direction  of  Judge  George  J.  Carew  and  with 
the  assistance  of  most  of  the  leaders  who  had  taken  part  in  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  campaign  the  previous  year,  resulted  in  sub- 
scriptions amounting  to  $115,000.  The  purpose  of  this  campaign  was  to 
raise  only  $50,000,  which  was  the  quota  assessed  to  Youngstown  in  the 
national  drive  conducted  by  the  Knights  of  Columbus  for  a  war  work 
fund  of  $10,000,000.  In  these  campaigns  the  local  quota  of  both  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  and  Knights  of  Columbus  was  more  than 
doubled. 

A  campaign  for  war  work  funds  was  conducted  by  the  Hebrew  Wel- 
fare Association,  this  having  the  same  objects  in  view.  This  campaign 
was  begun  November  12,  1917,  and  the  amount  contributed  was  largely 
in  excess  of  the  quota. 

These  were  the  more  important  of  countless  movements  of  a  humani- 
tarian nature.  They  resulted  in  the  provision  by  the  people  of  Youngs- 
town, Mahoning  County,  and  the  auxiliaries  of  the  local  Red  Cross 
Chapter,  of  a  grand  total  of  almost  $3,000,000  for  the  relief  of  suffering 
humanity  in  Europe  and  for  the  care  and  comfort  of  our  soldiers  and 
their  dependents. 

Liberty  Bond  Subscriptions  in  Mahoning  County 

The  response  of  the  people  of  Mahoning  County,  and  especially  of 
the  industrial  districts,  to  the  financial  needs  of  the  Government  in  the 
emergency  of  the  war  was  highly  creditable.  The  sale  of  Liberty  Bonds 
was  conducted  primarily  through  the  Federal  Reserve  banking  system, 
which  apportioned  each  issue  to  the  various  counties  and  cities,  basing 
the  quota  for  each  not  so  much  on  population  as  on  its  supposed  ability 
to  absorb  these  securities.  The  Federal  Reserve  banks  appointed  a  man 
to  serve  as  chairman  of  a  Liberty  Bond  Committee  in  each  county,  Wells 
L.  Griswold  being  chairman  of  this  committee  for  Mahoning  County. 
The  committee  itself  consisted  of  the  following  persons :  A.  E.  Adams, 
H.  W.  Grant,  Harry  Williams,  W.  J.  Roberts,  C.  H.  Kennedy,  John  Tod, 
C.  T.  Truesdale,  A.  E.  Reinaman,  John  R.  Rowland,  George  L.  Fordyce 
and  Robert  Wadsworth,  secretary.  This  committee  appointed  a  number 
of  others,  the  members  of  which  were  men  who  had  taken  similar  parts 
in  the  other  campaigns  for  raising  funds.  An  elaborate  organization  was 
formed,  the  large  industries  lending  their  aid  in  the  organization  of 
campaigns  in  the  plants  as  they  had  done  in  the  other  movements.  The 
result  of  these  campaigns  is  shown  in  the  following  tables,  which  gives 
also  the  quota  of  the  county  in  each  campaign : 

Quota  Subscribed  Subscribers 

First  Liberty  Loan $  3,660,000  $  7,722,850  13,620 

Second  Liberty  Loan .     5,165,000  10,793,050  30,774 

Third  Liberty  Loan !     4,448,750  9,015,100  42,074 

Fourth  Liberty  Loan... ......... .   10,848,700  15,127,500  56,787 

Victory  Loan  . . . . . . . . . . ... . .     8,817,050  9,543>8oo  15,270 

$32,939»500    $52,202,300       158,525 


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794       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

These  figures  are  official,  but  those  giving  the  number  of  subscribers 
are  lower  than  those  shown  by  the  records  kept  during  the  campaigns. 
In  addition  to  the  amounts  given  above,  a  number  of  local  corporations 
having  plants  in  other  localities  divided  their  subscription  with  these 
localities*.  In  every  case  the  quota  was  exceeded,  while  in  all  except  the 
Fifth,  or  Victory  Loan,  it  was  practically  doubled.  The  campaigns  were 
conducted  in  an  energetic,  but  dignified  manner  and  there  was  no  solicit- 
ing from  house  to  house  as  in  many  other  places.  The  extraordinary 
success  attained  was  due  to  the  enthusiasm  and  loyalty  of  the  people 
during  the  war,  a  fact  which  is  emphasized  by  the  marked  difference 
to  be  noted  in  the  result  of  the  Victory  Loan  campaign.  Comparatively 
little  interest  was  taken  in  War  Savings  Stamps  by  the  people  of  Mahon- 
ing County,  its  quota  of  these  being  absorbed  by  a  campaign  in  which 
1,000  persons  purchased  $1,000  each  of  this  class  of  securities. 

Other  War  Work  Movements 

The  National  League  for  Woman's  Service  was  organized  in  Youngs- 
town  in  April,  191 7.  Its  activities  were  chiefly  along  the  line  of  food 
conservation,  canteen  service  and  the  preparation  of  garments  and 
necessities  for  the  relief  of  suffering  in  Europe.  Its  officers,  who  are 
still  in  service,  were:  Mrs.  John  A.  Logan,  Jr.,  chairman;  Miss  Edith 
B.  Kauffmann,  Mrs.  Robert  Bentley,  Mrs.  Perry  B.  Owen,  vice  chairmen ; 
Miss  Mary  Logan,  secretary;  Mrs.  Robert  Percy  Young,  treasurer;  Miss 
Anna  Johnson,  commandant,  and  Miss  Helen  Mougey,  food  expert.  The 
Executive  Board  consisted  of  Mrs.  John  A.  Logan,  Jr.,  Mrs.  C.  S.  Robin- 
son, Mrs.  B.  H.  Printz,  Mrs.  Perry  B.  Owen,  Mrs.  Geo.  Clegg,  Mrs. 
Robert  Bentley,  Mrs.  Robert  D.  Gibson,  Mrs.  Frank  Hitchcock,  Mrs. 
A.  E.  Adams,  Mrs.  James  E.  Burke,  Mrs.  Jacob  Brenner,  Mrs.  George 
D.  Wick,  Mrs.  Fred  M.  Orr,  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Peterson,  Miss  Minnie 
Gibson,  Miss  Edith  B.  Kauffmann,  Mrs.  John  C.  Wick,  Mrs.  Myron  I. 
Arms,  Miss  Caroline  Bonnell,  Miss  Susan  M.  Rebhan,  Miss  Mary  Logan, 
Mrs.  Robert  Percy  Young,  Mrs.  George  S.  Peck,  Miss  Anne  M.  Thomas 
and  Mrs.  Robert  J.  Mullally. 

The  organization  is  now  inactive,  but  is  being  held  together  for  use 
in  any  possible  emergency  and  has  not  been  materially  changed.  This 
organization  was,  in  some  respects,  one  of  the  best  and  most  efficient  of 
the  numerous  movements  of  its  kind  and  extended  to  every  part  of 
Mahoning  County.  During  the  war  it  shipped  28,682  garments  to  the 
destitute  of  Europe,  all  of  which  were  made  or  donated  by  its  members 
in  addition  to  the  work  many  of  them  did  in  the  Red  Cross  service.  The 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service  organized  and  equipped  the  Girls' 
Motor  Corps,  an  organization  of  young  women  which  attracted  much 
attention  and  rendered  effective  service  in  war  work  of  all  kinds. 

The  local  organization  of  the  Woman's  Council  of  National  Defense 
was  known  as  the  Mahoning  County  Committee  of  that  organization.  It 
acted  as  a  clearing-house  for  instruction  from  headquarters  at  Washing- 
ton in  regard  to  the  operations  of  all  similar  organizations  and  did  much 
work  toward  securing  nurses,  spreading  propaganda  on  food  conservation 


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796       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

and  in  similar  ways.  Mrs.  Henry  A.  Butler  was  chairman  of  this  organi- 
zation and  was  assisted  by  a  committee  composed  of  the  heads  of  other 
organizations,  with  which  it  worked. 

Among  the  final  war  work  of  the  Red  Cross  was  the  establishment 
of  a  canteen  in  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Station  at  Spring  Common, 
which  was  unoccupied  owing  to  the  consolidation  of  the  terminals  under 
government  management  of  the  railroads.  This  was  continued  until  the 
building  was  turned  over  to  the  American  Legion.  J.  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  in  charge  of  this  work. 

The  American  Legion 

The  American  Legion  has  a  flourishing  post  in  Youngstown,  its  num- 
ber being  fifteen,  a  fact  that  indicates  how  early  it  was  formed  after  the 
war.  The  date  of  its  organization  was  June,  1918,  and  the  original 
officers  were:  John  D.  Robertson,  commander;  Robert  M.  Brown,  vice 
commander ;  Philip  H.  Schaff,  finance  officer ;  J.  S.  Jacobs,  Jr.,  adjutant ; 
Abner  L.  Fraser,  chaplain.  Executive  Committee — Harold  E.  Snell, 
Robert  R.  Roberts,  L.  J.  Campbell. 

The  membership  at  this  time  is  above  3,000,  this  post  being  the  second 
largest  in  Ohio.  It  occupies  handsomely  furnished  quarters  on  Board- 
man  Street,  and  is  in  a  very  prosperous  condition.  The  American  Legion 
has  already  proven  its  value  to  the  community  in  times  of  peace  by 
volunteering  for  police  duty  to  preserve  law  and  order  during  the  steel 
strike  of  1918.  Owing  to  the  high  character  of  the  organization  it  was 
able  to  do  this  with  the  entire  approval  of  all  parties  to  the  trouble,  and 
the  700  men  who  patrolled  the  streets  during  that  period  had  much  to  do 
with  the  lack  of  disorder  so  noticeable  in  that  strike.  The  second  an- 
nual convention  of  the  Department  of  Ohio  was  held  at  Youngstown 
August  23-24,  1920. 

Humanitarian  Work  in  Trumbull  County 

As  in  Mahoning  County,  the  humanitarian  work  conducted  during 
the  war  in  Trumbull  County  was  elaborate  and  under  the  direction  of 
many  different  organizations.  In  that  county,  also,  as  in  Mahoning,  the 
leading  part  was  taken  by  the  American  Red  Cross. 

Trumbull  County  Chapter,  American  Red  Cross,  was  organized  June 
4.  1917.  Mrs.  Henry  Perkins  Lawton  was  elected  chairman;  Mrs.  Ella 
Metcalf  Bell,  vice  chairman ;  Capt.  William  Wallace,  treasurer,  and  Miss^ 
Bessie  J.  Gillmer,  secretary.  Owing  to  illness,  Mrs.  Lawton  resigned 
on  March  11,  1919,  and  Mrs.  Bell  became  her  successor.  Mr.  Wallace 
died  in  October,  1917,  and  was  succeeded  by  Homer  Robbins  as  treas- 
urer. The  Executive  Committee,  including  those  named  above,  consists 
of  Fred  W.  Adams,  Judge  Charles  Filrus,  A.  R.  Hughes,  William  L. 
Coale,  Fred  R.  Byard,  J.  J.  Zipperer  and  William  McFate.  No  set  of 
men  and  women  ever  labored  more  zealously  and  efficiently  in  behalf 
of  humanity  than  these,  and  to  their  faithful  and  energetic  service  is  due 
much  of  the  enthusiasm  which  characterized  the  work  of  Trumbull 
County  Chapter  during  and  since  the  war. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       797 

The  first  campaign  for  funds  was  made  in  July,  191 7,  and  subscrip- 
tions amounted  to  $79,661.25.  This  money  was  contributed  by  the  people 
of  Warren  and  Trumbull  County,  and  was  expended  in  the  preparation 
of  knit  garments,  surgical  dressings  and  similar  material,  as  well  as  in 
conducting  all  manner  of  work  for  the  relief  of  the  suffering  people  of 
European  countries  afflicted  by  the  war. 

During  this  campaign  and  in  other  movements  initiated  by  the  Trum- 
bull Chapter,  the  following  committees  rendered  great  aid: 

Finance  Committee — Wm.  L.  Coale,  chairman;  A.  R.  Hughes,  Judge 
Charles  Filius. 

Publicity  Committee — Miss  Mary  K.  Hall,  Mrs.  Bessie  Gillmer 
Packard  and  Mrs.  George  U.  Marvin. 

Home  Service  Committee — Fred  W.  Adams,  Mrs.  Isabel  Sutcliflfe 
Taylor,  Marion  Lea  and  Miss  Olive  Lamb. 

Membership  Committee — Mrs.  Harriet  Taylor  Upton. 

Purchasing  Committee — Mrs.  Maud  Long  Burch,  Mrs.  W.  H.  B. 
Ward  and  Mrs.  W.  T.  Hardesty. 

Surgical  Department  Committee — Mrs.  Helen  Howard  Thomas,  Mrs. 
Jennie  H.  Gilmer,  Mrs.  William  Fischer,  Mrs.  Belle  Thayer  Stiles,  Mrs. 
G.  H.  Prier,  and  Mrs.  E.  S.  Nesbitt. 

Knitting  Committee — Mrs.  A.  R.  Hughes,  Mrs.  B.  W.  Edwards,  Mrs. 
George  M.  Smith,  and  Mrs.  J.  E.  McClure. 

Auxiliaries — Mrs.  Minnie  Sutcliflfe  and  Mrs.  Sadie  K.  Izant. 

Cutting  Committee — Mrs.  Thomas  Kinsman,  Mrs.  Fred  K.  Smith, 
Mrs.  O.  A.  Caldwell  and  Mrs.  E.  M.  Hoyle. 

Receiving  and  Distributing — Mrs.  Mary  Wallace  Chamberlain  and 
Mrs.  C.  L.  Wood. 

Inspection — Mrs.  Charles  Hoffman  and  Mrs.  Edgar  Green. 

Trumbull  Chapter  Red  Cross  Auxiliaries 

Following  is  a  list  of  Trumbull  County  Chapter's  Auxiliaries : 

Hartford  Auxiliary  was  formed  July  4,  1917.  Mrs.  James  Messer- 
smith  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Newton  Falls  Branch  was  formed  July  6,  191 7.  Miss  Sara  Porter 
was  appointed  chairman  but,  on  account  of  ill  health,  could  not  take  an 
active  part  in  the  work,  so  Miss  Nelle  Davis  was  appointed  chairman 
and  served  until  February,  1919,  at  which  time  Mrs.  Bertha  Williamson 
was  made  chairman. 

Kinsman  Auxiliary  was  formed  July  10,  1917.  Mrs.  Evelyn  Root 
was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Bristolville  Auxiliary  was  formed  July  13,  191 7.  Mrs.  Zora  Dilly 
was  appointed  chairman  and  Mrs.  Sadie  Abrams  served  as  second 
chairman. 

Cortland  Auxiliary  was  formed  July  17,  1917.  Mrs.  G.  L.  Sigler  was 
appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Champion  Auxiliary  was  formed  July  18,  1917.  Mrs.  Lottie  Klinge- 
mire  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

East  Mecca  Auxiliary  was  formed  July  24,  191 7.     Mrs.  Smith  was 


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798       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

appointed  as  first  chairman  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Ranck  served  as  second 
chairman. 

Orange ville  Auxiliary  was  formed  July  27,  191 7.  Mrs.  Melissa  Miller 
was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Mesopotamia  Auxiliary  was  formed  July  30,  1917.  Mrs.  Nellie  Noble 
was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Gustavus  Auxiliary  was  formed  August  2,  191 7.  Mrs.  Robert  Bing- 
ham was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Phalanx  Auxiliary  was  formed  August  9,  191 7.  Mrs.  Ruby  Higley 
was  appointed  first  chairman  and  was  succeeded  by  Mrs.  Leda  McConnell. 

Braceville  Auxiliary  was  formed  August  10,  191 7.  Mrs.  O.  C.  Stowe 
was  appointed  chairman  and  Mrs.  Lillian  Messerly  served  as  second 
chairman. 

West  Farmington  Auxiliary  was  formed  August  21,  1917.  Mrs. 
Hattie  Moor  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

North  Bloomfield  Auxiliary  was  formed  September  5,  191 7.  Miss 
Julia  Wing  was  appointed  first  chairman  and  Mrs.  Fred  Mack  served 
as  second  chairman. 

Farmdale  Auxiliary  was  formed  September  18,  1917.  Mrs.  Harriet 
Roberts  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  Until  the  present  time. 

Johnston  Auxiliary  was  formed  September  26,  1917.  Mrs.  Frank 
Wilhide  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Vienna  Auxiliary  was  formed  October  12,  1917.  Mrs.  H.  G.  Dawson 
was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Green  Auxiliary  was  formed  October  18,  1917.  Mrs.  L.  S.  Hickox 
was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Howland  Auxiliary  was  formed  November  15,  1917.  Mrs.  E.  A. 
King  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

West  Side  Community  Auxiliary  was  formed  November  8,  1917. 
Mrs.  James  Cleal  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present 
time. 

Fowler  Auxiliary  was  formed  December  20,  1917.  Mrs.  Fred  Mc- 
Farland  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Southington  Auxiliary  was  formed  January  2,  1918.  Mrs.  Gladys 
Kennedy  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Brookfield  Auxiliary  was  formed  January  9,  1918.  Mrs.  Eva  Whit- 
more  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Northwest  Warren  Auxiliary  was  formed  January  9,  1918.  Mrs. 
Anna  Kyser  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Lordstown  Auxiliary  was  formed  February  27,  1918.  Mrs.  Lillie 
Anderson  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

West  Mecca  Auxiliary  was  formed  in  April,  1918.  Mrs.  Burt  Long 
was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Vernon  Auxiliary  was  formed  June  15,  191 8.  Mrs.  A.  R.  Jennings 
was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Loyal  Colored  Auxiliary  was  formed  August  6,  1918.  Mrs.  D.  A. 
Nelson  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 

Iddings  Park  Auxiliary  was  formed  October  3,  1918.  Mrs.  H.  S. 
White  was  appointed  chairman  and  served  until  the  present  time. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       799 

The  Trumbull  chapter  has  a  membership  of  about  15,000.  It  was 
large  during  the  war  period,  however,  and  as  the  work,  conducted  on  two 
floors  of  the  Western  Reserve  Bank  Building,  furnished  without  charge, 
was  carried  on  five  days  a  week  by  an  average  of  seventy  members,  a 
tremendous  amount  of  material  was  manufactured  for  use  in  the  camps, 
hospitals  and  relief  organizations.  The  number  of  pieces  completed 
and  shipped  during  the  war  totalled  179,563,  of  which  34,547  were  made 
by  the  auxiliaries  and  the  remainder  in  Warren.  Niles,  Girard,  Mineral 
Ridge  and  Hubbard  were  not  auxiliaries,  having  associated  themselves 
with  Mahoning  Chapter. 

In  addition  to  this,  other  allied  organizations  did  much  work  for  the 
relief  of  suffering  in  Belgium  and  France.  Among  these  were  the  Bell- 
Harmon  Relief  Corps,  the  Daughters  of  Veterans,  the  Woman's  Relief 
Corps,  the  Junior  Red  Cross,  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  the  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association,  and  similar  groups. 

The  work  done  by  the  people  of  Trumbull  County,  and  especially  by 
those  of  Warren,  Niles  and  other  larger  communities,  reflected  the  in- 
tense loyalty  and  patriotism  of  that  section  no  less  significantly  than  the 
large  sums  raised  for  war  work  through  various  channels  and  especially 
the  Trumbull  War  Chest. 

The  Trumbull  County  War  Chest 

Except  for  the  Red  Cross  membership  drive  in  1917,  and  a  number 
of  less  important  movements  designed  to  secure  funds  for  the  carrying 
on  of  war  work  during  the  early  period  of  the  World  war,  Trumbull 
County  had  no  large  campaigns  such  as  those  conducted  in  Youngstown 
for  the  Red  Cross,  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  Knights  of 
Columbus  and  other  organizations.  In  the  main  the  splendid  work  done 
by  these  organizations  previous  to  the  formation  of  the  Trumbull  War 
Chest  was  financed  by.  contributions  from  their  own  members. 

With  the  declaration  of  war  against  Germany,  however,  it  was  real- 
ized that  an  organization  should  be  formed  by  which  all  the  people  of 
Trumbull  County,  irrespective  of  their  connection  with  any  existing  or- 
ganization, might  have  an  opportunity  to  contribute  their  share  to  the 
tremendous  demand  for  humanitarian  work  of  all  kinds,  especially  such 
as  was  needed  by  our  soldiers.  Accordingly,  early  in  April,  191 8,  the 
Trumbull  War  Chest  was  organized.  It  was  designed  to  include  the  city 
of  Warren  and  all  the  townships  and  other  divisions  of  Trumbull  County 
excepting  Niles,  which  had  begun  the  organization  of  a  similar  move- 
ment, Girard  and  Hubbard,  the  two  latter  towns  having  affiliated  them- 
selves with  the  Mahoning  War  Chest,  in  course  of  formation  at  Youngs- 
town. 

The  officers  of  the  Trumbull  War  Chest  were: 

A.  R.  Hughes,  president ;  George  C.  Braden,  W.  H.  B.  Ward,  Henry 
Herbert,  D.  H.  McClain,  O.  M.  Richards,  M.  W.  Bechtel,  Geo.  T.  Filius, 
E.  A.  Grimm,  McPherson  Brown,  W.  A.  Neracher,  Sadee  K.  Izant,  Ella 
Bell  and  Carrie  Harrington,  trustees. 

Various  committees  were  appointed  to  manage  the  different  phases 


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800       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

of  the  activity,  each  township  and  village  being  represented.  The  cam- 
paign resulted  in  a  fund  amounting  to  $317,900.91,  contributed  by  more 
than  11,000  persons,  the  greater  portion  of  this  money  having  been  raised 
by  Warren  people  and  Warren  industries,  all  of  which  lent  their  best 
efforts  to  the  undertaking.  The  sum  was  very  large,  considering  the 
population  and  the  industries  of  the  districts  covered  by  the  organiza- 
tion. From  it  the  trustees  distributed  from  time  to  time  the  funds  needed 
by  the  Red  Cross,  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association,  Knights 
of  Columbus  and  various  other  local  organizations  for  war  work,  as  well 
as  liberal  quotas  for  national  and  international  movements  of  the  same 
kind. 

April  8,  1920,  two  years  after  the  Trumbull  War  Chest  had  been 
organized,  it  was  found  that  the  sum  in  the  hands  of  the  trustees  was 
$118,407.11,  this  amount  remaining  undistributed  after  all  legitimate  de- 
mands for  war  work  had  been  satisfied.  The  trustees  then  applied  to  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Trumbull  County  for  a  decree  directing  the 
disposition  of  this  remaining  fund. 

The  Niles  War  Chest 

The  quota  in  the  War  Chest  Campaign,  a  figure  arbitrarily  set  by  the 
committee  in  charge  as  the  amount  to  be  raised  for  the  Niles  War  Chest, 
was  $200,000.  The  contributions  were  $200,811.45.  This  campaign  was 
managed  by  the  same  organization  which  carried  on  the  Liberty  Bond 
campaigns  in  the  City  of  Niles  and  also  rendered  effective  assistance  in 
Red  Cross  and  other  work.  It  consisted  of  the  following  persons :  A.  J. 
Bentley,  chairman;  R.  M.  Smith,  secretary;  R.  L.  McCorkle,  treasurer; 
and  the  following  members  of  the  executive  committee :  Samuel  Brown, 
Frank  Bryan,  Charles  Crow,  Wm.  Donahue,  Thomas  Ellwood,  D.  J.  Fin- 
ney, Geo.  Gebhard,  H.  H.  Hoffman,  Wm.  Isaac,  C.  C.  McConnell,  M.  J. 
McMahon,  P.  J.  Sheehan,  Wm.  H.  Stevens,  Chas.  S.  Thomas,  J.  D.  Wad- 
dell,  Francis  Wheale,  Fred  Williams,  William  E.  Jones. 

At  Niles  there  was  an  even  more  perfect  co-operation  between  the 
special  organizations  for  war  work  and  the  various  fraternal  and  other 
organizations  of  the  city  than  existed  in  other  communities,  with  the  re- 
sult that  these  organizations  worked  with  the  War  Chest  and  Red  Cross 
almost  exclusively,  instead  of  conducting  large  campaigns  of  their  own, 
as  was  done  elsewhere. 

Liberty  Bond  Subscriptions  in  Trumbull  County 

Trumbull  County's  population  rendered  valiant  service  in  financing 
the  Government  during  the  war.  That  county  has  been  principally  an 
agricultural  district,  and  at  this  period  its  urban  population  and  indus- 
tries were  less  than  one-fourth  as  large  as  those  of  Mahoning.  Never- 
theless, in  the  five  Liberty  Loans  Trumbull  absorbed  $14,925,500  in  Gov- 
ernment securities,  exclusive  of  War  Savings  Stamps.  It  exceeded  all  of 
its  quotas  and  its  contribution  to  the  national  defense  in  this  important 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       801 

direction  was  highly  creditable.  One  reason  for  this  was  the  elaborate 
organization,  which  covered  the  cities  of  Warren,  Niles  and  all  of  the 
townships  thoroughly  and  conducted  a  much  more  intensive  campaign 
than  was  necessary  in  Mahoning  County. 

George  T.  Filius,  of  Warren,  was  chairman  of  the  county  organiza- 
tion. Instead  of  having  only  an  executive  committee,  this  organization 
was  made  up  of  a  large  number  of  township  and  special  committees,  un- 
der the  chairmanship  of  the  following  persons: 

E.  A.  Grimm,  township  organization. 

M.  W.  Bechtel,  Warren  City  organization. 

W.  A.  Phillis,  publicity. 

The  Warren  Rotary  Club,  bond  sales. 

Mrs.  F.  W.  Adams,  women's  section. 

The  Warren  Automobile  Club,  county  canvass. 

Rev.  Walter  A.  Mansell,  churches. 

Isabel  S.  Taylor,  general  secretary. 

In  addition  to  this  general  organization,  each  town  and  township  had 
a  special  organization  of  its  own,  all  these  being  under  the  general  super- 
vision of  the  county  chairman. 

The  following  official  statistics  show  the  result  of  the  five  bond  cam- 
paigns in  Trumbull  County: 

Sub- 
Quota        Subscribed  scribers 

First  Liberty  Loan $1,150,000      $1,737,200      9,816 

Second  Liberty  Loan  1,808,050        2,605,750      8,543 

Third  Liberty  Loan 1,748400        2,956,650     1 1,894 

Fourth  Liberty  Loan  3»39°»65°        4,95°>9°°    2I>2I5 

Fifth  Liberty  Loan 2,574,000        2,674,000      9,105 

Totals    $10,671,100    $14,924,500    60,573 

Of  this  total  the  City  of  Niles  supplied  the  following  amounts  in  each 
of  the  loans,  but  the  portion  taken  by  the  City  of  Warren  has  not  been 
recorded  separately: 

Quota     Subscribed 

First  Liberty  Loan $225,000    $   4*4>ooo 

Second  Liberty  Loan 290,250         784,000 

Third  Liberty  Loan 282,300         712,300 

Fourth  Liberty  Loan  650,900       1,302,200 

Fifth  Liberty  Loan ~ 489,600         747>95° 

Totals $1,938,050    $3,96o,450 

The  American  Legion 

Three  posts  of  the  American  Legion  have  been  organized  in  Trum- 
bull County.  That  at  Warren  is  known  as  Clarence  Hyde  Post  No.  278, 
being  named  for  Clarence  Hyde,  the  youngest  Trumbull  County  soldier 

Vol.  1—51 


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802       YOUXGSTOVVN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

to  make  the  supreme  sacrifice  in  the  war.     It  was  organized  December 
20,  1 9 19,  with  the  following  officers: 

Post  Commander,  Col.  F.  S.  Van  Gorder. 
Vice  Commander,  C.  E.  Smith. 
Adjutant,  C.  A.  Lehr. 
Finance  Officer,  M.  Z.  Zellers. 

The  other  Trumbull  County  post  was  organized  at  Niles  under  the 
name  of  William  McKinley  Post  No.  106.     Its  officers  are: 

Post  Commander,  Dr.  C.  C.  Williams. 
Vice  Commander,  Chas.  R.  Holeton,  Jr. 
Adjutant,  Chas.  G.  Jordan. 
Finance  Officer,  Laco  Lewellen. 
Historian,  Gustave  D.  Kartman. 

A  post  to  be  known  as  McKinley  Post,  No.  76,  has  been  organized 
at  Sebring.    A  post  at  Hubbard  is  known  as  Hubbard  Post  No.  51. 

Record  of  the  Dead 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  under  the  system  of  military  organization 
employed  in  the  formation  of  the  American  army  during  the  World 
war  men  entering  the  service  were  assigned  to  units  in  accordance  with 
the  training  and  fitness  for  the  special  requirements  of  each,  the  greater 
portion  of  the  Mahoning  Valley's  soldiers  were  scattered  among  many 
different  units.  The  necessity  for  sending  men  to  training  camps  at 
which  they  could  be  received  without  delay  also  tended  to  this  wide  dis- 
tribution. As  a  result  it  is  impossible  at  this  time  to  secure  a  complete 
record  of  those  who  gave  their  lives  for  their  country  in  this  great  con- 
flict. It  is  doubtful  whether  such  a  record  can  ever  be  secured,  even 
when  the  military  records  at  Washington  have  been  finally  completed, 
because  hundreds  of  men  from  the  Mahoning  Valley  entered  the  service 
in  other  parts  of  the  country,  either  because  they  expected  to  have  as 
companions  others  from  those  districts,  or  because  they  had  not  re- 
sided here  long  enough  to  establish  a  legal  residence  and  were  therefore 
compelled  to  register  in  other  districts. 

With  the  assistance  of  the  American  Legion  posts  at  Youngstown, 
Niles  and  Warren,  the  following  list  of  the  dead  has  been  prepared. 
Care  has  been  taken  to  make  it  as  complete  as  possible  and  if  there 
are  errors  of  omission  or  in  the  spelling  of  names,  they  are  due  to  the 
conditions  referred  to  above.  The  names  are  here  given  of  all  who  are 
known  to  have  died  in  the  service,  whether  in  battle,  hospitals  or  at  sea. 
In  addition  to  these  the  following  persons  gave  their  lives  for  humanity 
while  engaged  in  war  work  with  Base  Hospital  No.  31  or  in  other 
organizations : 

Nurses — Miss  Dorothy  R.  Millman,  Miss  Kathryn  Joyce,  Miss  Marie 
Helz. 

Sergeants — Carl  S.  Turner,  Reginald  V.  Taylor,  Frank  M.  Pickens. 

Private — Harold  B.  VanNorden. 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       803 


YOUNGSTOWN    AND    MAHONING    COUNTY 
YrOUNGSTOWN's  HONOR  ROLL 


Anderson,  Axel  L. 

Angelo,  John  S. 

Ashbaugh,  Lieut.  Clarence  V. 

Barbieri,  Adam 
Beil,  Edward 
Bird,  Frank 
Bolbamp,  John  S. 
Bordelis,  Sergt.  James 
Bradlyn,  Corp.  Yale 
Brigham,  John  T. 
Broberg,  C.  H. 
Buckley,  James  L. 
Burns,  Claud 
Byers,  Joseph 

Cail,  John 
Cailor,  Marvin 
Cappezzuto,  Joseph 
Carder,  Edgar  A. 
Clarke,  Maj.  Talcott 
Conroy,  Corp.  Mark  I. 
Cook,  T.  M. 
Cousin,  Robert 
Cronin,  Herbert  W. 
Crow,  William  B. 

Dailey,  Perry  T. 
Darling,  Anthony 
Davis,  Edward  E. 
Dechun,  Almar  H. 
DeFresco,  John 
Demos,  William 
Detchin,  Capt.  Benjamin  C. 
DeVincenzo,  Anssanio 
Dey,  Corp.  Claude  M. 
Dignan,  Corp.  James  I. 
Downs.  George 
Dunn,  Corp.  Frank 

Ericson,  Corp.  Gustav 
Escheldon,  Sergt.  William 
Evanik,  Sergt.  Thomas  Z. 
Evans,  George  W. 

Fleet,  Fred  W. 
Fleming,  James 


Flower,  Lieut.  Edward 
Fraser,  Hugh  C. 

Galyro,  Tony 
Gardner,  Corp.  Frank 
Gee,  Charles  B. 
Gibson,  Sergt.  Samuel 
Goldberg,  Abraham  I. 
Gosnell,  Sergt.  Leonard  J. 
Gourrain,  Sargeus 
Graham,  Joseph 
Graham,  Joseph  Miller 
Greek,  John  W. 
Griffin,  Herbert  C. 
Grindley,  Bert  C. 

Haddox,  Guy  E. 
Hagan,  John  S. 
Hamlin,  Raymond  L. 
Hanley,  Sergt.  Michael 
Harter,  R.  L. 
Hayles,  Corp.  Aulman 
Heavner,  Corp.  William  W. 
Higgins,  Corp.  William  J. 
Holbaugh,  J.  S. 
Holleran.  Thomas 
Holowopun,  Michael 
Hoose,  Charles 
Hughes,  James 
Hyland,  Corp.  William  B. 

Jacob,  P.  Joseph 
Jennings,  Walter 
Jones,  Lieut.  Alexander  H. 
Joyce,  Corp.  Michael  F. 
Jurian,  Sarkis 

Kane,  Roy  T. 
Karabin,  George 
Keith,  Frank  J. 
Kelley,  Capt.  William 
Kirtner,  Sergt.  Roy  A. 
Kline,  George  J. 
Knoor,  George 
Kosatur,  Filip 
Kotheimer,  Oscar  L. 


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804       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 


Larson,  Arthur  C. 
Lewis,  Thomas  E. 
Lloyd,  J.  H. 

Malchay,  Joseph  A. 
Marowitz,  Lieut.  Max  J. 
Mavronocolas,  Jachrois 
More,  Corp.  John  A. 
Morgan,  Harry 
Morris,  Benjamin 
Murphy,  Lieut.  Richard  W. 

McAuley,  George 
McCafferty,  Corp.  John  P. 
McClintock,  R. 
McCook,  Capt.  Francis  R. 
McGinty,  James 
McGraw,  Edward  M. 
McKelvey,  Wm.  W.,  Jr. 
McLaughlin,  Corp.  Eugene  R. 
McLaughlin,  Frank  J. 

Nardella,  James 

O'Horo,  Michael 
Oliver,  Joe 
Owens,  Reese 

Park,  Paul  M. 
Patechuik,  Frank 
Peterson,  Sergt.  Charles 
Phillip,  Thomas 
Phillips,  Arthur  H. 
Phillips,  Sergt.  Charles  W. 
Pickard,  George  A. 
Pickens,  Sergt.  Frank  M. 
Pilo,  Joseph 
Price,  Sergt.  George  E. 
Price,  Howard  S. 
Pyer,  Thomas 


Reynolds,  Corp.  Allen 
Richards,  Sergt.  Herbert 
Robinson,  Thompson  V. 
Roth,  Joseph  B. 

Sanders,  Edward 
Sanders,  John  E. 
Santangelo,  John 
Scholl,  Charles  H. 
Schultz,  Sergt.  Walter 
Shaw,  Ernest 
Shea,  Lawrence  D. 
Shea,  Miles 

Sheldon,  Sergt.  William  E. 
Smith,  Charles  W.  J. 
Smoker,  Wm. 
Srock,  Jack 
Stey,  William  J. 
Summers,  George 

Tanner,  Albert 

Taylor,  Sergt.  Reginald  V. 

Thomas,  Harold  H. 

Thompson,  Lieut.  J.  B. 

Turner,  Carl 

Turner,  Sergt.  Karl 

Valente,  Peter  ' 
Vitullo,  James 

Watkins,  Eugene 
Watkins,  James  C. 
Watson,  John  B. 
Watson,  John  D. 
Watt,  Corp.  Myron 
Webb,  Paul 
Weller,  Charles 
Werner,  Leslie  F. 
Wheat,  Lieut.  Murray  C.^ 
Wood,  George  E. 
Wood,  Walter  E. 


Warren  and  Trumbull  County 
Warren's  Honor  Roll 


Abbott,  Harry  L. 
Allen,  Carl  T. 
Anderton,  Louis 
Armstrong,  James  E. 
Atwood,  George 


Bacon,  Charles  David 
Ballard,  John 
Barr,  Ezra  Lee 
Black,  Joseph  C. 
Bock,  William 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY        805 


Brandt,  Claire 
Burr,  Dewey  C. 

Christiancy,  Herbert  Edwin 

Durst,  Raymond 

Fay,  E.  Howard 
Flick,  Ward 
Fultman,  William  A. 

Guarnieri,  John 
Gardner,  Jesse  L. 
Gentholtz,  William  J. 

Herner,  Leslie 
Hitchcock,  Datzel 
Hickox,  Sheldon  Rolla 
Higgins,  Ancel  T. 
Hillman,  Howard 
Hyde,  Clarence 

Johnson,  Frank 
Johnson,  Raymond 

Lewis,  Tom 

Lintz,  Noble 

Lauth,  Frances  Ambrose 

Lees,  Harry 


Martino,  Nelson  Rush 
Morris,  Walter  A. 


Murray,  James  B. 
McCartney,  Cyrus  F. 
McCracken,  Glenn 
McGuane,  Joseph  Vincent 
McMasters,  Spears 
Morgan,  Roy 
Mortz,  Peter  T. 

Nesbitt,  Harold 

Redmond,  Thomas  Floyd 
Ridgley,  Olive  Lloyd 
Roberts,  Harley  B. 
Reynolds,  Lee 

Shisler,  John  Elmer 
Scopelitis,  Demetre 
Shriver,  Roy 
Simpson,  William 
Stoll,  Charles 
Swartz,  Ray 

Thompson,  Glen  P. 
Tuller,  Norman 

Wagers,  Walter 
Wilkins,  Jalma  Clement 
Williams,  Tom 


Holtz,  Parry 
Barclay,  Samuel 
Clark,  Charles 
Davis,  Iver  E. 
Davis,  Kenneth 
Gilbert,  Carl  L. 
Griffin,  James  L. 
Higgins,  Ralph  S. 
Hogart,  Thomas 
Huber,  Victor 
Jones,  Samuel 


Yanucci,  Peter 
Zipperer,  John 

NlLES,    GlRARD    AND    HUBBARD 

Niles'  Honor  Roll 

Kearney,  Frank,  Jr. 
Near,  Earl 
Peffer,  Terry 
Plant,  Earnest 
Russell,  Edward 
Sullivan,  James 
Sullivan,  John  T. 
Youll.  Nick 
Taylor,  Don 
Mahoney,  Charles 


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806       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 
Facts  Concerning  the  World  War 

The  history  of  the  World  war  has  not  yet  been  written,  although 
thousands  of  volumes  have  been  printed  concerning  it.  In  connection 
with  this  chapter  dealing  with  the  activities  of  the  people  of  this  section 
in  the  great  conflict  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  give  a  few  of  the  more 
important  facts  concerning  the  war,  especially  since  these  may  not  other- 
wise be  obtained  without  extensive  reading. 

The  World  war  lasted  fifty-one  months  and  thirteen  days.  It  began 
on  July  28,  1 91 4,  and  ended,  so  far  as  actual  fighting  between  the  orig- 
inal parties  to  the  struggle  is  concerned,  on  November  11,  1918,  with 
the  signing  by  Germany  of  the  terms  imposed  by  the  Allied  powers  as  a 
condition  for  the  granting  of  an  armistice.  The  war  followed  the  as- 
sassination, on  June  28,  1914,  at  Sarajevo,  the  capital  of  the  former 
Serbian  Province  of  Bosnia,  of  Francis  Ferdinand,  Archduke  and  Crown 
Prince  of  Austria,  who,  with  his  wife,  was  shot  to  death  on  the  streets 
of  the  Bosnian  city  by  a  Serbian  student  named  Gabriello  Prinzip.  Ap- 
parently indisputable  evidence  exists,  however,  that  this  occurrence  was 
merely  a  pretext  for  beginning  a  war  long  planned  by  the  rulers  of 
Germany  and  Austria  for  the  purpose  of  extending  their  dominions  and 
establishing  a  dual  empire  designed  to  extend  from  the  North  Sea  to  the 
Dardanelles  and  to  be  known  as  "Mitt el  Europa." 

For  more  than  a  generation  the  European  situation  had  been  a  polit- 
ical tinderbox  and  all  of  the  great  continental  powers  realized  that  the 
flames  of  war,  once  kindled  anywhere  on  the  continent,  must  spread  with 
great  rapidity  to  involve  all  European  nations.  As  a  matter  of  fact  they 
did  spread  so  quickly  that  in  less  than  a  week  after  the  first  declaration 
of  war  Austria,  Serbia,  Russia,  France,  Belgium  and  England  had  vast 
forces  mobilized  and  armies  actually  engaged.  The  declaration  of  war 
on  the  part  of  these  nations  occurred  as  follows: 


Austria  against  Serbia — July  28,  1914. 
Germany  against  Russia — August  1,  1914. 
Germany  against  France — August  2,  1914. 
Germany  against  Belgium — August  4,  1914. 
England  against  Germany — August  4,  191 4. 


As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  there  was  no  formal  declaration  of 
war  between  England  and  Germany.  England  presented  an  ultimatum 
to  Germany  on  August  4,  1914,  stating  that  a  violation  of  Belgian  terri- 
tory by  the  kaiser's  forces  would  compel  military  action  by  Great  Britain 
in  defense  of  that  country,  and  as  German  troops  were  already  on 
Belgian  soil,  this  constituted  a  declaration  of  war.  England's  action 
was  forced  by  a  treaty  between  that  country,  France  and  Germany 
guaranteeing  the  protection  of  Belgium  against  invasion  by  any  foreign 
power. 

Before  May  7.  1918,  the  following  nations  had  declared  war  against 
Germany,  although  a  number  of  these  took  no  active  part  in  the  military 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       807 

operations  by  which  the  German  and  Austro- Hungarian  empires  were 
finally  destroyed : 


Serbia 

Arabia 

Nicaragua 

Russia 

Roumania 

Honduras 

France 

Greece 

Bolivia 

Monaco 

United  States 

Haiti 

Belgium 

Cuba 

Ecuador 

British  Empire 

Panama 

Costa  Rica 

Montenegro 

Siam 

Czecho-  Slovakia 

Japan 

Liberia 

Jugo-Slovakia 

Portugal 

China 

Onondaga  Indians 

Italy 

Brazil 

Oneida  Indians 

San  Marino 

Guatemala 

Thirty-one  nations  or  tribes  were  thus  allied  with  the  Entente,  while 
five  others  declared  neutrality,  but  avowed  their  sympathy  with  the 
Entente  Allies.  The  opposing  nations  were  Germany,  Austro-Hungary, 
Turkey  and  Bulgaria,  but  Germany  represented  the  spirit  of  the  war 
and  it  was  conducted  by  these  nations  under  her  direction  and  largely 
at  her  expense. 

The  United  States  did  not  become  involved  until  April  6,  191 7,  al- 
though there  were  many  times  previous  to  that  date  when  it  seemed  im- 
poss'ble  for  this  co.untry  to  longer  remain  out  of  the  general  conflict. 

No  accurate  statement  can  be  made  of  the  number  of  men  engaged, 
the  sacrifice  of  life,  or  the  number  of  wounded,  but  the  following  table 
was  compiled  from  the  official  reports  issued  in  19 19,  and  may  be  ac- 
cepted as  approximately  correct  : 

Men  Total  No.  of 

Nation                                        Under  Arms  Lives  Lost  Casualties 

The  United  States 3,764,700  71,700  275,500 

Great  Britain    7,500,000  658,665  3,049,991 

France 6,900,000  1400,000  4,000,000 

Italy    5,000,000  500,000  2,000,000 

Russia 14,000,000  1,700,000  9,150,000 

Belgium    350,000  50,000  300,000 

Serbia   300,000  150,000  200,000 

Roumania   600,000  200,000  300,000 

Germany   11,000,000  2,000,000  6,068,000 

Austro-Hungary   7,500,000  800,000  4,000,000 

Turkey   1,500,000  250,000  750*000 

Bulgaria   1,000,000  50,000  200,000 

59,414,700        7330,365        30.293,5°! 

These  figures,  except  in  the  case  of  Great  Britain,  include  men  who 
died  of  disease  in  the  service.     In  the  case  of  Russia  they  are  only  con- 


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808       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

jecture,  since  no  adequate  records  were  kept  of  the  many  armies  de- 
stroyed in  that  vast  country.  No  account  is  taken  of  millions  of  men 
made  prisoners,  whose  sufferings  are  often  worse  than  death;  nor  does 
this  fearful  total  contain  those  who  died  of  starvation  and  disease  due 
to  conditions  caused  by  the  war  far  from  the  battle  fronts. 

Estimates  have  placed  the  destruction  of  wealth  at  $200,000,000,000, 
although  of  course  this  can  only  be  guessed  at.  Of  even  greater  mo- 
ment was  the  loss  of  productive  power  over  almost  the  entire  world 
during  the  more  than  four  years  of  the  war.  The  waste  of  life  and 
human  energy,  as  well  as  that  of  wealth,  during  this  period  probably 
exceeded  that  caused  by  all  the  wars  since  the  beginning  of  history. 

At  the  time  the  armistice  was  signed,  November  11,  1918,  the  Allied 
nations  had  the  following  numbers  of  men  on  the  western  front  alone, 
to  say  nothing  of  those  in  other  theaters  of  war,  which  spread  over  half 
of  the  world.  * 

France 2,559,000 

The  United  States 1,950,000 

England  (with  Portugal) 1,718,000 

It  will  be  seen  that  when  the  armistice  was  signed  the  United  States 
had  more  troops  on  the  western  front,  where  this  momentous  conflict 
was  decided,  than  any  other  nation  except  France,  a  fact  which  should 
of  itself  settle  all  controversy  as  to  the  part  played  by  the  American 
people  in  the  victory,  even  though  its  army  was,  perhaps,  secondary  in 
importance  to  the  tremendous  contribution  of  this  country  in  the  form 
of  war  materials. 

The  war  was  carried  on  with  every  conceivable  resource  of  the  par- 
ticipants and  raged  on  land,  in  the  clouds,  on  the  sea,  under  the  sea  and 
under  the  land.  On  the  western  front  for  months  at  a  time  the  ground 
was  so  deluged  with  high  explosive  shells  that  the  armies  were  forced 
to  spend  all  their  time  in  trenches  and  dug-outs.  A  thousand  cities  and 
towns  were  utterly  destroyed,  and  one-third  of  all  the  world's  shipping 
was  sent  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

Poison  gases  were  used  to  deluge  armies;  explosives  of  previously 
unheard  of  power  were  thrown  by  guns  as  far  as  sixty-seven  miles; 
aerial  armies  darkened  the  skies;  submarine  war  weasels  prowled  be- 
neath the  seas;  liquid  fire  was  deluged  over  opposing  forces;  and  mil- 
lions of  tons  of  steel  were  showered  upon  armies  and  cities. 

No  such  conflict  of  physical  and  mental  forces  was  ever  before  seen 
in  the  world,  and  no  period  through  which  the  human  race  has  passed 
equalled  this  in  point  of  destructiveness,  savagery,  ferocity  and  death. 

Germany,  Austria  and  Russia  entered  the  war  among  the  mighty 
monarchies  of  the  earth.  They  emerged  from  it  in  chaos,  their  age-old 
dynasties  dethroned,  their  governments  overturned,  their  resources  ex- 
hausted, their  people  impoverished  and  their  pride  and  arrogance  hum- 


*  Literary  Digest  History  of  the  World  war. 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       809 

bled  in  the  dust.  This  saturnalia  of  death  brought  upon  the  earth  by 
men  who  sought  to  increase  and  entrench  despotic  power  has  ended  for 
all  time  the  reign  of  kings.  It  has  even  shaken  the  foundations  of 
civilization  and  imperilled,  in  a  large  part  of  the  world  at  least,  the 
progress  achieved  by  the  race  in  more  than  2,000  years. 

This  is  only  the  barest  outline  of  the  tremendous  conflict  into  which 
America  threw  her  whole  resources  at  the  critical  moment,  turning  the 
tide  and  saving  for  generations  to  come  the  established  order  of  things. 


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CHAPTER  XXXVIII 
PERSONAL   REMINISCENCES 

In  the  preparation  of  this  work  the  author  has  been  particularly  im- 
pressed by  two  facts.  The  first  is  the  exceeding  difficulty  attending  an 
accurate  and  complete  narrative  of  events  that  must,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  depend  largely  upon  memory  and  fugitive  records,  the  latter  often 
made  from  memory.  It  is  surprising  how  much  has  been  written  and 
printed  concerning  happenings  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  that  proves,  upon 
painstaking  investigation,  to  be  inaccurate  both  in  detail  and  date.  The 
explanation  is,  however,  simple.  It  is  a  human  weakness  to  believe  that 
which  we  prefer  to  believe,  and  conscious  error  thus  cherished  comes  in 
time  to  have  all  the  aspects  of  truth.  But  history,  if  it  is  to  have  value, 
must  be  more  than  that  which  is  pleasing  or  plausible.  It  must  recite 
what  actually  took  place  at  times  and  under  conditions  described. 

The  second  matter  to  force  itself  on  the  attention  is  the  large  amount 
of  interesting  and  instructive  fact  that  seems  to  have  no  definite  place  in 
a  narrative  of  this  kind,  and  yet  is  needed  to  complete  a  picture  of  life 
in  this  locality  such  as  it  is  sought  to  place  before  the  reader.  The  char- 
acter of  men,  the  conditions  amid  which  they  lived  and  worked,  their 
motives  and  even  their  achievements  are  sometimes  illuminated  in  a  sur- 
prising way  by  things  seemingly  unimportant  and  difficult  to  include  in 
a  narrative  dealing  chiefly  with  more  important  events. 

To  give  the  reader  some  of  these  details  and  thus  complete  as  far  as 
possible  the  story  of  life  and  progress  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  up  to  this 
time,  this  chapter  has  been  undertaken.  It  will  be  devoted  chiefly  to 
matters  covered  by  personal  recollection  and  will  include  such  incidents 
as  may  seem  likely  to  entertain  or  instruct,  but  which  other  portions  of 
the  book  offered  no  opportunity  to  present.  For  these  reasons  it  will  be 
written  largely  from  a  personal  point  of  view. 

When  Children  Stood  at  Table 

A  curious  and  interesting  custom  fifty  years  ago  was  that  of  children 
standing  at  their  meals.  This  may  have  originated  in  the  scarcity  of 
furniture  among  the  pioneers,  but  I  am  more  inclined  to  believe  that  it 
was  due  rather  to  a  desire  to  promote  filial  respect  among  the  rising 
generation,  for  I  have  seen  it  many  times  in  the  homes  of  well-to-do 
people,  where  there  was  an  abundance  of  seats.  Usually  children  were 
expected  to  eat  their  meals  standing  at  table  until  they  were  about  sixteen, 
or  until  they  began  to  contribute  materially  to  the  resources  of  the  home. 
Incidentally,  the  virtue  of  filial  respect  was  in  those  days  much  more  highly 

810 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       811 

thought  of  than  that  of  filial  affection,  and  lack  of  discipline  in  the  home 
such  as  is  the  usual  rule  at  this  time  would  have  been  regarded  as  an 
indication  of  lack  of  character  on  the  part  of  parents. 

Wrestling  in  the  Early  Days 

While  I  may  not  in  any  sense  lay  claim  to  the  honor  of  being  a  pioneer 
in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  my  memory  takes  me  back  to  another  custom 
that  survived  from  pioneer  days.  Physical  strength  and  courage  was  then 
naturally  prized  much  more  highly  than  at  this  time,  and  one  of  the 
most  popular  sports  was  wrestling.  This  was  not  confined  to  the  young, 
by  any  means.  At  every  gathering  in  the  country  there  was  sure  to  be 
a  number  of  such  bouts,  and  quite  often  the  best  of  them  were  between 
men  with  well  grown  sons.  The  custom  was  that  the  man  who  was  thrown 
had  the  privilege  of  "calling-  out"  any  other  man  in  the  company  to 
compete  with  the  victor,  and  neither  he  nor  the  man  summoned  to  compete 
could  refuse  without  arousing  the  ire  and  perhaps  the  ridicule,  which  was 
more  feared,  of  the  crowd. 

Colonel  Rayen's  Personal  Appearance 

Few  people  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  >  or  at  least  the  eastern  portion  of 
it,  are  unfamiliar  with  the  name  of  Col.  William  Rayen.  I  can  recall 
Colonel  Rayen  quite  distinctly  as  a  genial  faced,  white  haired  old  gentle- 
man, who  sat  in  front  of  his  store  on  West  Federal  Street  on  pleasant 
days,  his  hands  folded  over  the  head  of  his  cane  and  his  keen  eyes  taking 
in  everything  that  went  on  about  him.  He  lived  in  the  old  Parmalee 
residence  on  the  north  side  of  Federal  Street  across  from  Spring  Common, 
which  was  torn  down  when  the  street  was  straightened.  Colonel  Rayen 
was  especially  popular  with  the  children,  of  which  he  had  none  of  his 
own,  and  they  alt  received  a  smile  and  friendly  word  from  him  in  passing. 
He  literally  knew  everybody,  and  if  a  strange  face  appeared,  he  made  it 
his  business  to  get  acquainted  with  the  newcomer,  whether  man  or 
woman,  boy  or  girl.  Colonel  Raven's  foundation  of  the  Rayen  High  School 
is  an  excellent  indication  of  the  character  of  the  man,  and  the  village  was 
much  richer  for  his  presence  in  it,  although  he  was  not  a  captain  of  in- 
dustry and  had  acquired  his  modest  fortune  in  mercantile  enterprises. 
In  his  later  days  he  was  usually  referred  to  as  "Judge,"  and  although  he 
deserved  this  title,  he  preferred  to  be  called  "Colonel." 

An  Early  Ironmaster 

Another  man  whom  I  can  recall  more  easily  than  Colonel  Rayen 
and  who  died  about  the  same  time  (1857),  was  Robert  Montgomery. 
Robert  Montgomery  did  not  build  the  first  blast  furnace  in  the  Mahoning 
Valley,  as  some  historians  have  stated,  but  he  was  certainly  a  pioneer  in 
this  industry.  He  was  a  man  of  great  courage  and  energy,  as  well  as 
considerable  shrewdness.    He  had  a  military  bearing,  in  spite  of  his  age, 


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812       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

and  opinions  that  could  be  learned  on  the  slightest  provocation.  He  lived 
on  a  farm  somewhat  east  of  Youngstown,  and  for  some  years  before  his 
death  was  a  justice  of  the  peace.  I  did  not  see  him  often,  as  at  that  time 
I  lived  at  Niles  and  visited  Youngstown  only  occasionally,  but  the  fact 
that  I  can  easily  recall  his  appearance  is  sufficient  to  show  that  he  must 
have  been  a  man  of  considerable  force.  Mrs.  Montgomery,  who  survived 
him  for  a  number  of  years,  was  one  of  the  splendid  women  among  the 
pioneers.  She  came  here  as  the  bride  of  John  Stark  Edwards,  and  mar- 
ried Mr.  Montgomery  after  her  first  husband's  death.  She  was  beloved 
by  the  young  people  of  the  village  and  her  home  was  a  place  of  great 
attraction  for  them.  She  was  Louisa  Maria  Morris,  daughter  of  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress  from  Vermont,  and  was  a  woman  of  education  and 
refinement  as  well  as  of  strong  character. 

A  Belle  of  Former  Days 

There  is  still  living  in  the  city  of  Youngstown  a  woman  who  is  well 
remembered  by  older  citizens  as  one  of  the  belles  of  the  town  in  her  youth, 
and  who,  in  spite  of  eighty-three  years,  is  still  handsome  and  vivacious, 
giving  little  indication  of  more  than  four  score  years  and  her  full  share 
of  sorrows  and  cares.  This  is  Mrs.  Pamela  Cook  Medbury  Ward  Weaver. 
Her  maiden  name  was  Pamela  Cook  Medbury,  and  her  father  was  Asahel 
Medbury,  one  of  the  first  journalists  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  She  re- 
tains her  excellent  memory  and  can  relate  many  interesting  events  occur- 
ring in  times  beyond  the  recollection  of  most  people  now  living. 

Sunday,  January  i,  1838,  in  Youngstown,  Ohio,  was  such  a  mild  day 
that  the  boys  were  going  barefooted  and  winter  seemed  to  have  passed. 

Doctor  Manning,  grandfather  of  Mr.  W.  E.  Manning,  was  attending 
divine  worship,  when  one  of  the  ushers  whispered  in  his  ear  and  he  left  the 
church  to  bring  into  the  world  Pamela  Cook  Medbury.  He  did  not  have 
very  far  to  go  because  the  Medbury  homestead  was  on  West  Federal 
Street  on  property  adjoining  the  old  town  hall,  on  which  grounds  sub- 
sequently stood  the  Loftus  Hotel.  Asahel  Medbury  and  Almira  Crandall 
Medbury,  her  parents,  were  of  those  pioneers  who  moved  to  Youngstown 
in  the  early  days,  coming  here  from  Plymouth,  Shenango  County,  New 
York,  in  1830.  Their  family  consisted  of  three  boys,  Sheldon,  Homer 
Tylie,  Charles  Dutton,  and  two  girls,  Alice  McKinney  and  Pamela  Cook. 
Many  of  our  older  residents  still  remember  Pamela  as  the  belle  of  Ma- 
honing County,  but  of  all  her  suitors  James  Duncan  Ward  was  the  lucky 
man.  She  married  him  on  December  1,  1859.  He  was  a  son  of  William 
Ward,  who  with  his  brother  James  Ward,  owned  the  Falcon  Iron  Works 
at  Niles,  Ohio.  Of  this  union  were  born  William  Duncan  Ward,  on  No- 
vember 6,  i860,  and  Lide  Morris,  on  January  13,  1863. 

James  Duncan  Ward  was  employed  at  the  Falcon  Iron  Works  in  the 
capacity  of  purchasing  agent,  and  in  those  days  the  position  of  purchasing 
agent  was  rather  different  from  what  it  is  at  present,  as  it  was  necessary 
for  him  to  go  out  and  get  his  materials  instead  of  having  a  salesman  call 
to  sell  them  to  him. 

The  old  Cleveland  &  Mahoning  Railroad  ran  through  Niles  to  Sharon 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       813 

and  the  early  morning  freight  train  was  often  used  by  Mr.  Ward  to  get 
over  to  that  town  in  search  of  coal  to  run  the  plant,  although  it  seldom 
stopped  at  Niles.  His  wife  tried  to  discourage  this  practice,  and  her 
last  words  to  him  were:  "I  expect  you  will  get  killed  there  yet."  Never- 
theless, one  morning  Mr.  Ward  attempted  to  board  this  train,  was  thrown 
under  the  wheels  and  both  of  his  legs  cut  off  above  the  knees.  He  lived 
a  short  time  only,  and  I  was  among  those  with  him  when  he  died.  He  was 
aged  only  twenty-six,  but  he  had  lived  a  useful  and  energetic  life.  He 
was  a  devout  Christian,  loved  his  home  and  prayed  nightly  with  his 
children.  It  was  recalled  that  the  night  before  his  death  he  had  quoted 
from  the  Seventeenth  Psalm  in  praying  with  these  children,  asking  God 
to  "keep  them  as  the  apple  of  Thine  eye." 

Mr.  Ward  was  a  member  of  the  famous  "Squirrel  Hunters,"  a  military 
organization  that  did  excellent  service  during  the  Civil  war.  One  of 
Mrs.  Weaver's  prized  possessions  is  the  engraved  certificate  which 
Governor  Tod  issued  to  the  members  of  this  organization  after  they 
disbanded. 

In  speaking  of  Mrs.  Ward's  father,  Asahel  Medbury,  it  is  interesting 
to  know  that  the  firm  of  Medbury  &  Holcomb  established  the  first  tinner's 
shop  in  Youngstown,  Ohio.  Later  Mr.  Medbury  became  postmaster  of 
this  town,  and  then  was  a  member  of  the  state  legislature.  Together  with 
John  M.  Webb,  he  founded  the  Ohio  Republican,  a  paper  which  exerted 
considerable  influence  in  this  part  of  the  country.  The  Ohio  Republican 
is  now  the  Youngstown  Daily  Vindicator. 

From  1859  to  1866  Mrs.  Ward  lived  in  Niles,  on  the  old  Ward  home- 
stead, where  the  McKinley  Memorial  now  stands. 

On  June  10,  1866,  Mrs.  Ward  married  Charles  Babcock  Weaver  of 
Sherburne,  New  York,  and  lived  in  Sherburne  for  six  years,  1866  to 
1872,  where  Mr.  Weaver  was  engaged  in  his  business  of  manufacturing 
hats  and  as  a  shoe  dealer.  In  1872  they  moved  to  Youngstown  and  Mr. 
Weaver  opened  a  shoe  store  at  Phelps  and  Federal  streets,  on  the  spot 
now  occupied  by  Frankle's  cigar  store.  Mr.  Weaver  died  in  September, 
1901. 

Recollections  of  the  Iron  and  Steel  Business 

If  I  were  asked  what  has  been  the  most  interesting  thing  in  the  history 
of  Youngstown  and  the  Mahoning  Valley,  I  should  say  without  hesitation 
that  is  was  the  development  of  the  iron  and  steel  business.  For  sixty 
years  this  has  been  my  principal  occupation  and  it  has  been  my  privilege 
to  keep  in  close  touch  with  the  progress  of  these  great  industries  here  as 
well  as  throughout  the  United  States  and,  to  some  extent,  throughout  the 
world. 

Looking  back  over  that  period  I  can  recall  so  many  interesting  incidents 
that  it  is  impossible  to  decide  which  deserve  to  be  mentioned  here.  My 
experience  began  in  the  small  iron  mill  of  James  Ward  &  Co.  at  Niles, 
in  1857.  We  secured  pig  iron  wherever  it  could  be  obtained.  Not  a  little 
of  our  supply  came  from  a  small  charcoal  furnace  in  Mercer  County, 
Pennsylvania,  and  was  hauled  to  the  mill  at  Niles  over  very  bad  roads  in 


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814       YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

wagons.  What  this  means  can  be  understood  best  if  we  consider  the 
task  of  hauling  in  wagons  the  pig  iron  needed  by  our  present  furnaces  a 
distance  of  thirty-five  miles,  even  with  improved  roads  and  motor  trucks. 

The  blast  furnaces  in  those  days  made  only  three  or  four  tons  of  iron 
each  working  day.  They  were  operated  only  six  days  a  week,  shutting 
down  over  Sundays  and  at  night.  One  of  the  troubles  well  remembered 
was  the  sudden  increase  in  the  number  of  church  holidays  when  foreign 
labor  first  began  to  be  employed  around  the  mills  and  blast  furnaces. 

There  was  a  great  difference  in  working  conditions.  The  owner  gen- 
erally knew  all  his  employes  by  name  and  was  able  to  keep  in  close  touch 
with  their  fortunes,  good  and  bad.  Viewed  from  our  present  standpoint, 
these  fortunes  were  generally  bad.  Wages  were  low  and  work  was  very 
irregular.  Men  worked  harder  and  worked  longer  hours.  Their  welfare 
received  little  consideration,  and  no  special  efforts  were  made  for  their 
safety.  They  had  no  hospitals  and  no  medical  attendance  except  what 
they  could  secure  for  themselves.  The  employers  were  then,  as  they  are 
now,  usually  good  men  with  warm  hearts,  but  they  could  do  little  for  their 
employes  because  they  had  not  then  learned  how  to  do  those  things  in 
this  line  which  are  now  common  in  all  large  plants. 

The  improvement  in  conditions  which  has  made  the  American  iron 
and  steel  industries  the  greatest  in  the  world,  increasing  our  production 
far  beyond  that  of  all  other  nations  combined,  and  at  the  same  time 
enabling  manufacturers  in  this  country  to  pay  the  highest  wages  ever 
paid  to  any  large  body  of  workmen  in  any  industry  at  any  time  in  history, 
has  been  gradual.  It  has,  in  my  opinion,  been  due  chiefly  to  three  causes, 
the  protective  tariff  system,  a  new  spirit  of  cooperation  and  understanding 
among  manufacturers,  and  finally,  the  remarkable  vision  and  ability  of 
leaders  in  the  industries. 

I  went  into  the  blast  furnace  business  at  Girard,  in  1866,  in  company 
with  men  whose  names  are  still  honored  in  this  community,  although  they 
have  long  been  dead.  Since  that  time  has  occurred  practically  all  the 
wonderful  improvement  in  blast  furnace  practice  which  enables  one  stack 
to  produce  more  iron  in  a  day  than  was  made  in  the  United  States  before 
that  time  in  the  same  period.  I  saw  the  invention  and  adoption  of  the 
Bessemer  and  the  open-hearth  steel  processes;  the  opening  of  the  Lake 
Superior  Ore  Region;  the  introduction  of  coke  as  a  fuel;  the  invention  of 
the  by-product  coke  process;  the  introduction  of  gas,  both  natural  and 
artificial,  in  steel  plants ;  the  development  of  markets  from  almost  nothing 
to  their  present  stage,  together  with  the  gradual  the  growth  of  trans- 
portation facilities  that  has  gone  with  these  things.  In  fact,  it  has  been 
my  privilege  to  watch  the  growth  of  industry  in  this  valley  from  what 
might  almost  be  regarded  as  its  true  beginning. 

So  much  for  the  practical  side.  In  the  matter  of  management  I  have 
been  equally  fortunate  in  the  way  of  experience.  The  formation  of  the 
first  large  combination  of  manufacturing  interests  in  the  country  involved 
interests  with  which  I  was  connected,  and  the  trials  and  problems  con- 
nected with  the  building  of  the  first  steel  plant  at  Youngstown  were  very 
familiar  to  me.  For  years  I  served  as  president  of  the  Bessemer  Pig 
Iron  Association,  and  for  even  longer  as  official  head  of  the  American 


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YOUXGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       815 

Pig  Iron  Association — two  bodies  which  I  may  be  permitted  to  class  as 
among  the  most  useful  and  beneficial  of  their  kind  in  the  history  of 
industry. 

The  celebrated  "Gary  Dinners,"  concerning  which  the  public  press 
manufactured  so  much  mystery,  were  not  mysterious  to  me,  for  I  was  a 
guest  at  every  one  of  them.  So  far  as  I  know,  no  other  guest  has  ever 
described  these  gatherings,  and  I  may  be  permitted  here  to  do  so  without 
the  accusation  of  misrepresenting  the  facts.  The  first  of  them  was  held 
November  20,  1907.  It  was  a  gathering  of  iron  and  steel  men  for  the 
purpose  of  honoring  Judge  Gary  because  he  had  recently  enunciated  a 
new  business  creed  at  a  time  when  nothing  else  seemed  able  to  save  the 
country  from  financial  and  industrial  disaster.  Business  had  been  un- 
usually good  from  1904  and  prosperity  seemed  to  be  at  its  height  at  the 
beginning  of  October  in  that  year.  The  vast  expansion  resulting  from 
this  condition  had  created  a  feeling  of  nervousness,  however,  and  when, 
on  October  7,  1907,  a  large  financial  concern  in  New  York  failed,  the 
country  was  plunged,  almost  overnight,  into  the  most  sudden  and  severe 
financial  depression  it  had  ever  experienced.  Credit  froze  up  and  distrust 
reigned  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other. 

By  the  first  of  October  normal  production  of  pig  iron  had  been  reduced 
more  than  half  a  million  tons.  The  situation  was  still  worse  on  December 
1,  and  by  the  end  of  the  year  only  139  blast  furnaces  out  of  398  then  in 
the  country  were  in  operation. 

When  the  depression  began,  Judge  Gary  had  made  public  statements 
to  the  effect  that  the  proper  course  among  business  men  was  "cooperation 
and  conciliation."  He  reiterated  these  at  the  dinner  in  his  honor,  and 
the  affair  immediately  became,  as  it  was  probably  originally  meant  to  be, 
a  gathering  for  the  consideration  of  ways  and  means  to  allay  the  general 
distrust,  restore  confidence  and  stabilize  business,  especially  the  iron  and 
steel  business.  The  keynote  of  all  the  speeches  was  an  effort  to  help  the 
other  fellow  and  prevent  the  necessity  for  throat-cutting  practices  which 
had  followed  every  previous  depression  of  this  character.  There  was  not 
a  word  spoken  there  that  the  general  public  could  not  have  heard  with 
approval.  No  thought  of  stifling  competition  or  reducing  production  was 
entertained.  Instead,  following  the  lead  of  Judge  Gary,  every  man  present 
resolved  to  do  all  that  he  could  to  avert  disaster  from  anyone  in  the  in- 
dustry, keep  the  wheels  turning  and  prevent  -ruin  and  stagnation  for  the 
iron  and  steel  industries  as  well  as  all  other  industries.  J.  A.  Campbell, 
president  of  the  Youngstown  Sheet  &  Tube  Company,  and  John  A. 
Topping,  chairman  of  the  Board  for  the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company, 
were  the  other  guests  from  this  district,  and  they  will  bear  me  out  in  this 
statement.  The  same  may  be  said  of  all  the  other  "Gary  Dinners."  They 
were  all  held  for  the  same  purpose,  and  at  none  of  them  was  a  word 
uttered  that  could  have  been  objected  to  by  any  individual  or  any  govern* 
ment  official,  no  matter  how  zealous  he  might  have  been  in  seeking  for 
evidence  of  unlawful  combination  in  restraint  of  trade. 

There  were  in  all  five  or  six  o£,  these  famous  dinners,  and  it  is  sur- 
prising, in  looking  back  over  subsequent  events,  to  discover  what  an  im- 
mense influence  they  had  in  reassuring  business  and  checking  the  panic 


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816       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

conditions  existing  at  the  time.  No  law  ever  did  so  much  to  protect  the 
weak  against  the  strong  and  finally  preserve  wholesome  competition  in 
industry.  Moreover,  out  of  these  gatherings  came  an  entirely  new  spirit 
in  the  industry,  since  reflected  to  a  great  extent  in  other  lines  of  endeavor 
in  this  country.  It  was  a  spirit  of  personal  acquaintance  and  friendship — 
of  consideration  for  others,  and  of  determination  to  introduce  into  business 
the  Golden  Rule.  Just  what  this  meant  can  hardly  be  fully  appreciated  by 
those  whose  memory  does  not  extend  back  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

In  the  old  days  the  iron  and  steel  business  was,  as  it  is  yet,  a  man's 
game,  in  which  those  with  the  greatest  strength  and  resourcefulness  were 
usually  the  winners.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  one  of  the  most  honored 
of  the  old  steelmasters  in  Youngstown  was  descended  from  a  clergyman,  it 
might  have  been  truly  said  that  the  iron  and  steel  business  in  those  days 
"was  no  game  for  a  minister's  son."  It  had  its  years  of  plenty  and  its 
years  of  famine,  and  when  the  latter  came  along  a  scramble  for  business 
began  which  recognized  few  courtesies  and  was  not  characterized  by  con- 
sideration. The  strong  had  no  regard  for  the  fate  of  the  weak,  and  there 
was  no  hesitation  about  getting  orders  anywhere  or  in  any  way  they  could 
be  secured,  with  the  result  that  trade  was  utterly  demoralized  and  hundreds 
of  men  thrown  into  idleness,  to  say  nothing  of  many  who  were  ruined. 

Under  the  new  policy  evolved  from  the  "Gary  Dinners,"  cut-throat 
methods  have  practically  disappeared  and  all  manufacturers  are  given  a 
chance  during  conditions  such  as  this.  As  a  result,  business  has  been 
stabilized  and  it  is  doubtful  if  the  old-time  spectacle  of  thousands  of 
workers  in  want  and  scores  of  plants  rusting  in  idleness  will  ever  be  seen 
in  this  country  again.  From  this  stabilization  has  come  a  tremendous 
influence  toward  progress,  and  the  majestic  development  of  recent  years 
is  largely  due  to  this  new  and  better  business  creed  in  the  greatest  of  all 
the  basic  industries. 

It  seems  to  me  that  even  the  personality  of  the  leaders  in  these  in- 
dustries has  been  improved  by  this  policy.  At  any  rate,  the  manufacturers 
of  iron  and  steel  now  exhibit  a  larger  degree  of  generosity,  of  culture  and 
of  public  spirit  than  was  the  rule  in  the  olden  time.  There  is  no  business 
in  the  country  today  in  which  such  vast  aggregations  of  capital  and  such 
tremendous  forces  are  in  the  hands  of  so  few  men,  and  there  is  no  other 
line  of  effort  in  which  leaders  enjoy  so  thoroughly  the  confidence  of  the 
public  or  suffer  less  from  criticism  on  the  ground  of  incompetence  or 
improper  motives.  Nor  in  any  other  industry  is  there  a  similar  feeling  of 
fellowship,  so  wide  a  personal  acquaintance  or  so  general  a  respect  for 
competitors. 

To  go  back  to  a  period  long  antedating  the  Gary  dinners,  or  even  the 
manufacture  of  steel  in  this  locality,  there  was  a  time  when  the  Mahoning 
Valley  was  far  from  being  the  prosperous  locality  that  it  is  now,  and  when 
people  here  lived  in  constant  apprehension  o^  some  business  disturbance 
which  would  bring  on  hard  times  and  cause  a  shut-down  of  the  mills. 
Added  to  this  were  interminable  and  frequent  disputes  over  wages.  The 
industries  were  then  weak  and  suffered  severely  from  these  conditions. 
Every  time  somebody  in  Congress  thought  to  start  an  investigation, 
whether  it  was  over  the  tariff  or  something  else,  the  industries  here  paid 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       817 

the  penalty.  The  financial  fabric  of  the  country  was  shaky,  and  any  un- 
usual disturbance  was  always  felt  here  first    and  continued  here  longest. 

These  conditions  continued  until  the  organization  of  the  United  States 
Steel  Corporation.  There  had  been  efforts  made  before  that  time  to  form 
combinations  that  would  strengthen  the  industry,  but  they  were  unsuccess- 
ful. The  Federal  Steel  Company  and  the  National  Steel  Company  were 
big  things  in  their  day,  and  the  men  who  formed  them  understood  the 
need  for  combination.  The  thing  they  did  not  understand  was  the  size 
of  the  industry  and  the  vastness  of  a  combination  that  would  achieve  their 
purpose. 

There  are  many  men  living  who  were  engaged  in  the  iron  and  steel 
industry  when  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  was  formed,  and  I 
think  that  everyone  of  them  except  the  group  actually  connected  with  that 
colossal  enterprise  (and  there  is  a  suspicion  that  even  some  of  these 
might  do  so  if  they  were  frank  enough)  will  agree  with  me  that  the  new 
giant  was  regarded  with  distrust  by  its  competitors  as  well  as  the  general 
public.  Few  men  had  then  enjoyed  the  vision  of  what  this  country  needed 
in  the  way  of  metal  products,  and  a  still  less  number  were  able  to  foresee 
a  policy  that  would  revolutionize  conditions  under  which  business  had  been 
carried  on.  Consequently,  some  of  the  properties  sold  to  the  corporation 
were  given  up  with  little  reluctance.  No  one  trained  in  the  business 
wanted  to  sell  himself  out  of  it,  but  many  did  so  simply  because  they 
feared  the  future.  .  Some  few  were  not  of  this  mind,  however,  and  were 
shrewd  enough  to  enlist  capital,  which  was  then  abundant  in  new  in- 
dependent enterprises,  and  among  these  are  now  some  of  the  largest  and 
most  successful  companies  in  the  country.  Likewise  those  who  held  on 
to  their  properties  were  abundantly  rewarded  for  their  courage  and  faith, 
and  all  of  them  will  bear  testimony  that  they  have  been  fairly  treated. by 
their  big  competitor. 

The  question  of  proper  tariffs  was  always  of  great  importance  to  the 
iron  and  steel  industry.  Reference  has  been  made  elsewhere  to  the 
troubles  of  the  early  ironmasters  when  English  competition  was  renewed 
after  the  Napoleonic  wars.  The  menace  of  foreign  competition  in  those 
days  was  due  chiefly  to  the  greater  efficiency  of  English  furnace  practice, 
acquired  in  longer  experience.  Later  the  situation  became  even  worse 
because  of  the  constant  advance  of  wages  in  America  and  the  greater 
cost  of  operating  blast  furnaces  and  rolling  mills  on  this  account.  A 
protective  tariff  was  essential  to  build  up  the  industry,  but  constant  effort 
and  watchfulness  were  necessary  in  order  to  prevent  the  reduction  of 
duties  to  a  point  that  would  be  ruinous.  In  this  work  the  leaders  of  the 
industry  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  were  active.  I  was  a  witness  before  the 
Ways  and  Means  Committee  of  every  Congress  after  1872,  and  many 
other  men,  including  those  who  were  employed  as  workmen,  were  also 
called  on  for  evidence.  Labor  leaders  rendered  valuable  assistance,  and 
the  valley  owes  a  debt  to  such  men  as  Phillip  Hagan,  Roger  Evans, 
Patrick  McEvey,  as  well  as  to  Richard  Brown,  H.  O.  Bonnell,  C.  H. 
Andrews,  Henry  Tod,  and,  above  all,  William  McKinley.  We  local 
people  stood  together  with  Mark  Hanna,  James  M.  Swank,  Abram  S. 
Hewitt  and  other  national  figures  in  the  fight  for  a  tariff  that  would  per- 

Vol.  1—51 


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818       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

mit  the  iron  industry  here  to  thrive.  We  met  with  many  discouragements, 
but  every  time  the  tariff  was  attacked,  we  were  on  the  firing  line. 

These  tariff  disturbances  were  invariably  reflected  in  Mahoning  Valley 
industries,  and  every  time  the  question  was  opened  fear  that  the  tariff  was 
to  be  reduced  reacted  on  business  and  brought  hard  times.  These  were 
always  accentuated  by  the  effort  of  everyone  to  get  business  enough  to 
keep  his  organization  together  and  prevent  his  employes  from  starving. 
During  one  of  these  periods  concerning  which  I  have  found  some  statistics, 
bar  iron  sold  at  90  cents  a  hundred,  Bessemer  pig  iron  at  $8.75,  and  the 
scale  for  puddlers  was  $4.00  per  ton.  Even  at  these  prices  no  business 
of  any  account  could  be  secured,  and  thousands  of  skilled  iron  workers  in 
Youngstown  plead  for  a  few  days  work  in  Mill  Creek  Park  in  the  dead 
of  winter  at  one  dollar  a  day. 

This  was  an  exceptional  occasion,  perhaps,  but  there  were  many  times 
when  conditions  were  almost  as  bad,  and  it  was  generally  due  to  "monkey- 
ing" with  the  tariff.  I  can  recall  the  time  when  three  or  four  of  the 
leading  manufacturing  plants  in  the  valley  were  in  the  hands  of  receivers 
at  once,  and  everyone  of  those  here  previous  to  1890  had  been,  at  one 
time  or  another,  in  financial  difficulty.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact,  however, 
that  everyone  of  those  located  in  or  about  Youngstown  was  finally  able  to 
pay  its  obligations  and  the  memorable  Ward  failure  at  Niles  was  the 
only  great  and  irreparable  disaster  of  its  kind  within  my  recollection. 

Morgan's  Raid 

An  incident  that  few  people  then  living  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  have 
forgotten  was  Morgan's  raid,  in  July,  1863.  It  was  one  of  the  stirring 
events  of  the  Civil  war  for  all  of  us. 

Morgan  had  crossed  the  Ohio,  probably  with  no  intention  of  stay- 
ing long,  but  the  river  became  flooded  and  he  could  not  get  back,  so  he 
moved  rtorthward  and  eastward,  while  the  state  officials  made  efforts 
to  get  together  a  force  sufficient  to  capture  his  command. 

One  Sunday  in  mid-summer,  when  the  weather  was  extremely  warm, 
a  horseman  rode  into  Niles  with  the  news  that  Morgan  had  crossed  into 
!olumbiana  County  and  was  headed  north,  of  course  directly  for  Niles. 
It  was  generally  believed  that  he  meant  to  raid  the  Mahoning  Valley, 
destroy  the  iron  mills  and  capture  the  money  in  the  banks.  The 
money  was  not  such  a  great  amount,  perhaps,  but  the  iron  mills  were 

immense  value  to  the  government,  as  from  them  and  from  the  blast 
furnaces  came  a  great  deal  of  material  needed  to  win  the  war. 

The  news  caused  great  excitement  at  Niles,  where  I  was  then  living. 
The  town  bell,  in  the  town  hall  then  on  the  present  site  of  the  McKinley 
Memorial,  was  rung  loudly,  and  within  half  an  hour  all  of  the  adult 
population  and  most  of  the  children  had  gathered  to  see  what  could 
be  done  to  check  the  progress  of  the  Morgan  band.  I  was  then  only  a 
boy,  but  the  first  thing  I  did  was  to  send  a  telegram  to  Governor  Tod  ask- 
ing for  authority  to  burn  the  wooden  bridge  across  the  slack-water  of 
the  canal  at  Niles.    Governor  Tod  replied  that  this  was  a  good  suggestion 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       819 

and  would  be  considered.  He  considered  it  long  enough  to  save  a  per- 
fectly good  and  much  needed  bridge. 

Then  we  proceeded  to  organize  a  force  to  meet  the  raiders  before 
they  got  to  the  town.  We  had  an  old  cannon,  used  in  celebrating  the 
Fourth  of  July,  and  a  few  guns  of  many  different  kinds  were  got 
together.  The  cannon  was  loaded  with  black  powder  and  small  pieces  of 
scrap  iron,  and  if  it  had  been  fired  off  there  would  certainly  have  been 
some  dead  gunners  as  a  result.  The  man  chosen  as  captain  of  this  "bat- 
tery" was  an  ex-officer  in  an  artillery  regiment  who  had  been  discharged  or 
was  home  on  a  visit.  I  was  selected  as  adjutant — an  entirely  new  and 
unknown  kind  of  artillery  officer  at  that  time.  We  gathered  about  thirty 
men,  most  of  them  either  too  young  or  too  old  for  regular  military 
service,  loaded  the  cannon  on  a  wagon  and  started  to  meet  John  Mor- 
gan. The  start  was  made  about  sundown,  and  it  was  dusk  before  we 
reached  the  country  home  of  Hon.  Eben  Newton,  some  distance  east 
of  Canfield.  Mr.  Newton  had  retired,  but  he  got  up  and  made  a  speech 
to  us  in  his  red  flannel  nightgown  and  red  nightcap.  He  seemed  to  think 
it  was  necessary  to  establish  the  fact  that  we  had  a  right  to  bear  arms, 
even  if  not  legally  organized  and  commissioned,  although  nobody  had 
thought  about  this  circumstance  before,  and  insisted  that  there  were  no 
legal  obstacles  in  the  way  of  our  capturing  Morgan's  band.  After  hear- 
ing the  speech  we  went  on  to  Canfield  and  there  found  a  fine  supper 
waiting  for  us  at  the  hotel.  It  turned  out  later  that  this  supper  had  been 
ordered  for  a  similar  party  from  Youngs  town,  but  we  enjoyed  it  just  the 
same. 

There  was  considerable  delay  at  Canfield.  Most  of  us,  especially  the 
younger  ones,  wanted  to  go  right  on,  but  the  captain  thought  that  it 
would  be  better  to  stay  at  Canfield  until  daylight.  Apparently  he  knew 
more  about  rebels  than  we  did.  He  carried  his  point  and  most  of  our 
party  slept  on  the  hay  in  barns  there  until  morning.  Then  there  was 
more  delay,  the  commanding  officer  believing  that  it  was  prudent  to  send 
out  scouts  and  learn  something  of  the  whereabouts  of  the  enemy  and 
the  nature  of  the  country  before  proceeding.  With  two  or  three  others  I 
went  on,  hoping  all  the  time  to  get  in  with  some  more  energetic  expe- 
dition. We  were  on  horseback  and  rode  in  the  general  direction  of  the 
Ohio  River,  and  it  was  a  good  thing  that  a  larger  party  had  intercepted 
the  raider  before  we  got  to  him,  as  otherwise  he  would  probably  have 
taken  us  prisoners  at  the  best.  We  had  learned  that,  in  the  meantime 
a  company  of  regular  militia  had  been  hurried  after  Morgan's  party, 
and,  with  my  scouts,  I  arrived  just  in  time  to  see  the  capture  of  the  raiders 
at  Salineville,  not  far  from  the  Columbiana  County  line. 

One  of  the  features  of  this  affair  concerning  which  few  people  were 
informed  was  the  sending  to  Cleveland  of  the  money  and  records  of 
the  banks  in  Youngstown.  This  was  done  on  a  special  train  which  passed 
through  Niles  about  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

Whether  or  not  there  was  much  real  danger  of  Morgan  ever  coming 
north  as  far  as  the  Mahoning  Valley  has  never  been  known.  He  had 
come  across  the  southwestern  part  of  the  state,  evidently  making   for 


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820       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Marietta  in  the  hope  that  he  would  be  able  to  cross  the  Ohio  there,  and  his 
original  command  had  been  greatly  reduced  in  numbers.  There  were 
stories  that  Morgan's  real  destination  was  Pittsburg,  where  he  expected 
to  capture  the  arsenal,  but  the  ease  with  which  he  was  captured  and  the 
condition  of  his  command  at  that  time  scarcely  justified  the  belief  that 
he  had  any  other  purpose  than  to  get  safely  back  across  the  Ohio,  which 
was  then  in  flood  and  had  trapped  him  in  a  country  where  he  was  without 
supplies  and  in  constant  danger  of  capture. 

Abraham  Lincoln's  Neighbor 

Gustavus  B.  Simonds,  who  was  one  of  the  partners  in  the  Lake  Su- 
perior Nut  &  Washer  Company,  a  concern  which  occupied  a  factory 
among  the  trees  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  just  west  of  where  the 
old  bridge  crossed  the  Mahoning  at  what  is  now  the  Market  Street  Via- 
duct, in  the  late  '6os,  was  a  very  interesting  figure.  He  came  here  from 
Springfield,  Illinois,  where  he  had  lived  next  door  to  Abraham  Lincoln. 
One  of  the  interesting  things  he  told  his  close  friends  was  of  the  family 
jars  in  the  Lincoln  household.  All  of  these  Mr.  Simonds  blamed  on  the 
temperamental  Mrs.  Lincoln,  saying  that  Mr.  Lincoln  never  quarrelled 
with  anybody,  not  even  his  wife.  Some  of  these  episodes  must  have  been 
pretty  lively  from  his  description. 

Mr.  Simonds  was  a  great  admirer  of  Lincoln  and  was  proud  of  the  fact 
that  he  had  been  neighbor  to  the  martyred  president  in  the  days  when  he 
was  a  struggling  lawyer. 

The  Old  Rolling  Mills 

People  who  are  familiar  with  the  steel  mills  of  today  can  have  little 
idea  of  what  the  original  mills  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  were  like.  Looking 
back  to  the  time  when  I  first  went  into  an  iron  works,  it  seems  impossible 
that  so  many  changes  could  have  been  made. 

In  1857  James  Ward,  Sr.,  came  into  the  company  store  at  Niles,  where 
my  father  had  charge,  and  told  him  that  the  shipping  clerk  in  the  mill 
was  "on  a  spree,"  and  that  he  would  have  to  borrow  one  of  the  clerks 
until  this  man  sobered  up.  Father  said :  "There  are  three  of  them ;  take 
your  pick  of  the  lot."  Mr.  Ward  looked  the  boys  over  and  chose  me, 
and  that  was  the  way  I  got  into  the  iron  business. 

The  mill  made  iron  bars  of  various  kinds.  One  of  its  products  was 
known  as  "Dandy  Tire,"  which  was  a  mixture  of  iron  scrap  and  puddled 
bar  iron  used  as  tires  for  wagons  and  buggies  and  had  a  great  reputation. 
The  first  bar  iron  made  west  of  Pittsburg  was  made  at  this  mill,  long 
before  my  time,  of  course.  Likewise  the  first  cut  nails  manufactured 
west  of  the  Alleghenies  were  made  there,  the  making  of  nails  having  be- 
gun at  Niles  even  before  they  were  made  at  Pittsburg. 

The  mill  was  owned  by  James  Ward,  William  Ward  and  Thomas 
Russell,  all  of  whom  were  practical  iron  workers.  James  Ward  at  first 
ran  the  engine  and  looked  after  the  clerical  work.    William  Ward  was  the 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       821 

heater,  and  Thomas  Russell  the  roller.  James  Ward  was,  however,  the 
leading  man  in  the  firm  and  did  most  of  the  managing. 

One  of  the  first  things  I  did  in  the  mill  had  reference  to  the  making 
of  these  bars.  It  had  been  the  custom  to  reheat  the  iron  for  each  bar 
separately  before  it  was  rolled,  and  no  one  had  thought  of  making  the 
"pile"  as  it  was  called,  of  just  the  right  weight  to  roll  into  a  bar  of  the 
size  wanted.  I  suggested  this,  and  it  was  found  that  the  table  I  got  up 
to  regulate  these  piles  saved  considerable  money,  as  in  this  way  not  so 
much  of  the  iron  was  wasted.  Before  that  time  there  was  always  more 
iron  than  was  needed,  and  it  had  to  be  reheated  and  reroiled.  Mr.  Ward 
appreciated  this  suggestion  and  it  helped  me  to  get  along  in  the  mills. 

The  plant  was  small  of  course.  It  had  no  fence  around  it  and  any- 
one could  go  in  and  talk  to  the  workmen  at  any  time.  There  was  no  time 
clock,  the  foreman  keeping  the  time  of  his  men.  The  men  themselves 
were  interested  in  their  work  and  in  the  success  of  the  plant.  Much  rivalry 
existed  among  them  as  to  who  could  turn  out  the  most  iron.  The  puddlers 
had  a  very  hot  job,  as  they  still  have,  and  I  have  seen  men  working  in 
front  of  the  furnaces  with  sweat  running  out  of  the  tops  of  their  shoes. 
•  They  drank  a  good  deal,  even  at  work,  and  were  in  the  habit  of  send- 
ing out  to  a  nearby  saloon  for  a  bucket  of  beer  whenever  they  wantd  it. 
Sometimes  they  drank  a  mixture  of  barley  flour  and  water,  but  more  gen- 
erally beer.  Nearly  always  these  men  stopped  at  a  saloon  on  their  way 
home  and  drank  a  glass  of  whiskey,  with  a  glass  of  beer.  This  was 
known  as  a  "Puddler  and  a  Helper."  Nobody  thought  drinking  was 
wrong  at  that  time,  when  whiskey  was  sold  from  a  barrel  in  the  store, 
much  as  cider  was  later  on. 

There  were  no  labor  unions  then — at  least  none  at  Niles.  There  was 
not  much  trouble  over  wages  or  conditions  of  work.  James  Ward 
knew  every  man  in  the  plant,  and  when  one  of  them  had  trouble  with  the 
foreman  he  would  go  to  the  office,  take  off  his  cap  and  go  in  to  see  Mr. 
Ward.  They  went  to  him  with  other  troubles,  too,  and  most  of  them 
came  out  with  brighter  faces. 

The  men  were  paid  principally  in  store  goods.  It  was  this  way.  When 
a  man  went  to  work  in  the  mill  he  was  given  credit  at  the  store,  and 
many  of  them  bought  so  much  that  they  were  always  in  debt.  It  was  the 
custom  to  give  even  these  men  a  little  money  at  Christmas  and  the  Fourth 
of  July,  and  of  course  they  had  to  have  some  cash  occasionally  for  the 
doctor,  the  church  and  other  purposes.  But  there  was  little  money  in 
circulation  and  frequently  the  entire  payroll  of  the  mill  would  take  no 
more  than  fifty  dollars  in  cash.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  wages  were 
very  low,  the  prices  charged  for  foodstuffs  and  other  things  were  so  low 
in  comparison  with  those  of  the  present  that  it  was  about  as  easy  to 
make  a  living  then  as  now.  One  thing  that  helped  was  the  fact  that 
people  did  not  want  as  much  then  as  they  do  now.  The  old  Ward  mill 
employed  at  that  time  about  200  men,  and  it  was  surprising  the  amount 
of  bar  iron  they  got  out.  Of  course  everything  then  was  iron,  for  no 
steel  was  made  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  by  the  old  "blister"  process,  and 
no  other  process  was  known  in  those  days. 


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822       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 
School  Day  Recollections 

There  is  probably  no  other  way  in  which  the  passing  years  have 
changed  educational  methods  so  much  as  in  the  matter  of  school  buildings 
and  books.  There  has  certainly  been  less  progress  made  in  the  degree 
of  success  with  which  knowledge  was  imparted,  for,  in  spite  of  short 
terms  and  rude  accommodations,  a  scarcity  of  books  and  sometimes  dif- 
ficulty in  securing  teachers,  boys  and  girls  then  seemed  to  learn  about  as 
much  as  they  do  now.  There  were  not  so  many  studies,  but  the  founda- 
tion of  an  education  was  well  built,  something  that  is  probably  the  best 
thing  that  any  school  can  do,  since  real  education  cannot  be  wholly  ob- 
tained in  schools  and  must  come  in  part  from  the  desire  of  the  pupil  for 
knowledge. 

The  early  schools  were  generally,  so  far  as  I  can  recall,  of  frame 
construction,  one  story  in  height  and  with  only  one  door,  that  being  al- 
ways in  the  end.  The  seats,  usually  a  home-made  combination  of  desk 
and  bench,  ran  around  the  room,  with  an  opening  at  one  end  as  a  passage 
to  the  door,  and  a  wider  gap  at  the  other,  in  which  the  teacher 
sat  at  a  pine  desk  placed  in  front  of  a  blackboard.  At  first  the  room 
was  warmed  with  a  huge  fireplace,  for  which  the  pupils  were  expected 
to  carry  wood.  Later,  a  big,  round-bellied  stove  was  placed  in  the  center 
of  the  room,  and  this  also  the  pupils  were  expected  to  fire  with  wood,  or 
coal,  when  that  fuel  came  into  use. 

Water  for  drinking  was  carried  from  a  spring  or  well  in  a  wooden 
pail,  and  when  one  of  the  pupils  wished  a  drink,  he  would  hold  up  his 
hand  and  thus  get  permission  to  visit  the  pail.  The  last  one  to  find 
enough  for  a  drink  had  always  the  privilege  of  taking  the  pail  and  go- 
ing for  a  fresh  supply,  so  that  the  pupils,  always  anxious  to  get  out  of 
school,  would  learn  to  watch  the  bucket  and  time  their  thirstiness  in  such 
a  way  as  to  get  the  trip  outside. 

Teachers  were  furnished  boarding  as  a  part  of  their  compensation, 
and  the  families  sending  children  to  school  were  expected  to  furnish 
lodging  and  board  for  the  teacher  during  a  certain  portion  of  the  time, 
usually  depending  on  the  number  of  children  sent  to  school.  This  was 
known  as  "boarding  'round."  It  is  a  tribute  to  the  earnestness  of  par- 
ents in  the  cause  of  education  to  say  that  they  were  generally  glad  to  thus 
take  care  of  the  teacher,  since  during  the  time  he  spent  at  any  house  he 
was  expected  to  and  did  give  special  instruction  to  the  children.  Some- 
times there  was  little  room  in  the  home  for  an  extra  guest,  but  that 
made  little  difference,  as  children  in  those  days  could  sleep  on  the  floor  as 
well  as  in  a  bed,  and  were  as  much  at  home  in  the  attic  as  in  the  guest 
room. 

The  teachers  were  sometimes  rather  poorly  taught  themselves,  and  it 
was  not  infrequent  that  their  chief  recommendation  was  ability  to  main- 
tain discipline,  in  which  a  fearsome  birch  located  immediately  over  the 
blackboard  was  supposed  to  assist.  Teachers  were  usually  selected  by 
the  more  prominent  citizens,  and  these  same  men  conducted  whatever 
examinations  were  had  to  determine  the  fitness  of  the  pedagogue.  One  of 
these  teachers  was  said  to  have  passed  chiefly  because  he  was  able  to 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       823 

spell  "rhubarb,"  a  word  which  had  always  "stumped"  the  leading  member 
of  the  board. 

The  principal  studies  were  spelling,  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic, 
and  classes  in  each  of  these  were  held  daily.  Sometimes  there  were  high 
and  low  classes,  but  more  generally  there  was  but  one,  the  teacher  help- 
ing along  any  backward  pupil  so  that  he  could  keep  somewhere  in  sight 
of  the  others.  The  books  were  furnished  by  the  pupils,  and  so  scarce 
were  these  that  they  were  frequently  made  to  do  double  duty,  being  loaned 
from  family  to  family. 

While  occasionally  men  engaged  as  teachers  were  unfit  for  the  task, 
most  of  those  whom  I  can  recall  were  conscientious  and  devoted  in  their 
efforts  to  instruct  their  charges,  taking  great  pride  in  children  who  re- 
sponded to  their  teaching  and  showing  patience  with  those  who  did  not. 

It  seems  to  me  that  one  great  difference  between  the  old  days  and 
the  present  was  the  esteem  in  which  learning  was  held  among  the  people. 
Children  were  proud  of  their  attainments  and  parents  watched  their  prog- 
ress with  a  jealous  eye.  Nobody  in  those  days  ever  heard  of  overworking 
the  pupil,  and  home  study  was  general,  instead  of  the  present  plan  of 
confining  it  to  the  schoolroom.  Considering  the  number  of  men  who,  with 
these  limited  opportunities,  acquired  a  start  and  a  taste  for  learning  that 
later  enabled  them  to  educate  themselves  fairly  well  while  they  were  en- 
gaged in  other  occupations,  the  old-time  schools  seem  to  me  to  have  been 
a  great  success. 

One  difference  between  these  times  and  those  of  fifty  or  sixty  years 
ago  is  the  number  of  women  engaged  in  teaching.  In  those  days  the 
teacher  was  almost  invariably  a  man.  Usually  he  was  an  elderly  man 
and  not  infrequently  a  deep  scholar,  with  a  love  of  learning  and  a  fatherly 
interest  in  the  progress  of  his  pupils  as  well  as  in  the  general  welfare  of 
the  community. 

Skating  and  Racing  on  the  Mahoning 

Thousands  of  people  now  living  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  have  never 
seen  ice  on  the  river  below  the  city  of  Niles.  Yet  there  was  a  time  when 
the  Mahoning  froze  over  each  winter  and  furnished,  not  only  excellent 
skating,  but  also  a  good  driveway  for  sleighs  and  sleds  during  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  winter. 

The  reason  for  this  change  is  not  any  considerable  variation  in  the 
temperature  of  the  winters,  although  there  is  little  question  that  we  do 
not  now  have  as  much  snow  and  probably  not  quite  as  low  temperatures  as 
those  of  fifty  years  ago.  The  water  of  the  Mahoning  is  now  pumped 
through  steel  mills  and  used  in  cooling  furnaces  and  rolls  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  its  temperature  is  raised  appreciably  during  the  winter.  One 
of  the  large  plants  uses  more  than  200,000,000  gallons  of  water  in  this 
way  every  day.  All  of  it  flows  back  into  the  river  again,  and  the  result 
is  that  no  ice  forms  on  the  stream  in  winter  and  during  the  summer 
months  it  becomes  so  warm  in  places  that  the  boys  cannot  swim  in  it. 

But  before  the  steel  business  reached  its  present  importance,  there 
was  good  skating  on  the  river  at  Niles  during  most  of  the  winter,  especially 


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824       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

on  the  reach  known  as  the  "slack  water."  The  boys  made  free  use  of  this 
ice,  and  skating  parties  were  a  source  of  much  enjoyment.  The  skates 
we  used  were  made  by  the  local  blacksmith.  A  good  pair  always  had 
runners  fashioned  from  old  files,  and  they  were  the  only  part  of  the  skates 
in  which  steel  was  used,  the  rest  being  made  of  iron.  They  were  fashioned 
with  a  great  deal  of  skill,  but  were  nevertheless  heavy  as  compared  with 
the  modern  skate,  and  one  trouble  with  them  was  their  tendency  to  keep 
the  feet  cold.  There  were  then  none  of  the  present  devices  for  fastening 
the  skate,  and  we  used  straps.  A  good  pair  of  skate  straps  was  quite  a 
possession,  and  much  trading  was  done  among  the  boys  in  this  line. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  driving  on  the  ice  in  the  river.  It  is  a 
matter  of  record  that  races  between  Warren  and  Youngstown  were  run 
on  this  ice  and  some  very  good  time  made.  Of  course  it  was  neces- 
sary to  leave  the  river  at  several  points,  where  dams  had  been  erected, 
but  a  sort  of  portage  around  these  places  was  provided.  Usually  these 
races  were  between  the  owners  of  fast  horses,  in  which  there  was  much 
rivalry  at  both  Warren  and  Youngstown  in  the  early  days.  One  party 
would  wager  the  other  the  price  of  dinner,  and  those  dinners  would  seem 
strange  in  these  days  of  national  prohibition.  It  was  great  sport,  calculated 
to  induce  hardiness  and  spirit,  and  it  furnished  a  better  form  of  amusement 
than  most  of  those  now  available  in  this  locality. 

Old  Time  Sports 

In  these  days  when  we  have  base  ball,  foot  ball,  basket  ball,  alley 
ball,  volley  ball — and  every  other  kind  of  ball  except  highballs,  together 
with  motion  pictures,  theatres,  musicals  and  many  other  kinds  of  amuse- 
ment, it  may  be  interesting  to  recall  the  sport  which  was  at  one  time  the 
principal  source  of  masculine  recreation  in  the  Mahoning  Valley.  This  was 
the  game  now  known  as  "pitching  quoits."  We  called  it  "pitching  horse- 
shoes," for  the  reason  that  it  was  carried  on  with  old  horse-shoes  in  the 
absence  of  the  round,  perforated  disks  used  in  the  game  of  quoits.  In 
all  other  respects  it  was  very  much  the  same,  however. 

It  seems  astonishing  to  look  back  and  contemplate  the  amount  of  time 
put  in  at  this  game  in  early  days  and  the  fascination  it  then  had  for  men 
and  boys  alike.  Nobody  was  too  busy  then  for  a  try  at  it,  and  remarkable 
skill  was  developed  by  long  practice  and  keen  interest.  There  was  such 
rivalry  that  even  towns  quarrelled  with  one  another  over  the  relative 
prowess  of  their  champion  horse-shoe  pitchers  and  not  a  little  money 
frequently  changed  hands  over  inter-community  games. 

Sometimes  on  a  Sunday  afternoon — we  pitched  horseshoes  on  Sunday, 
I  am  sorry  to  say,  because  all  of  our  week  days  were  generally  needed  in 
the  task  of  making  a  living — half  the  men  and  boys  of  Niles  would  gather 
and  indulge  in  this  game,  perhaps  a  dozen  groups  being  centered  around 
as  many  sets  of  pitchers. 

Within  the  past  few  years  there  seems  to  have  been  a  revival  of  this 
old  game,  and  on  a  recent  visit  to  Niles  I  saw  men  pitching  horse-shoes 
on  practically  the  same  spot  where  some  of  the  great  games  went  on  sixty 
years  ago,  and  I  am  told  there  is  a  "Horseshoe  Club"  there.    Interest  in 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       825 

this  pastime  seems  now  to  be  more  individual,  however,  and  there  are  no 
longer  the  bitter  contests  between  individuals,  groups  or  communities  that 
were  common  in  the  olden  time. 

"Town  Ball"  was  also  a  favorite  sport  many  years  ago,  although  it 
did  not  come  into  general  use  until  somewhat  later.  This  was  somewhat 
like  base  ball.  The  teams  were  selected  usually  by  lot.  The  most  com- 
mon method  was  to  have  each  leader  choose  a  man  alternately,  the  first 
choice  being  decided  in  various  ways,  usually  by  taking  handholds  on  a 
tyat,  the  last  hold  by  which  the  contestant  could  throw  the  bat  over  his 
shoulder  giving  the  first  choice  of  the  available  players. 

Shooting  Matches  were  also  common,  these  giving  an  opportunity  to 
display  skill  with  the  rifle  as  well  as  to  enjoy  a  mild  sort  of  gambling,  in 
which  all  men  of  all  times  have  always  been  eager.  Turkeys,  chickens 
and  all  sorts  of  property  formed  the  prizes.  The  range  was  usually  a 
hundred  yards,  and  it  testifies  to  the  general  proficiency  in  the  use  of 
a  gun  in  those  days  to  say  that  almost  anyone  had  a  reasonable  chance  of 
winning.  An  entrance  fee  was  charged  sufficient  to  pay  a  fair  price  for 
the  prizes,  and  a  good  dinner  was  generally  served  to  the  contestants. 
Some  remarkable  scores  were  made  with  the  old,  long-barrelled  muzzle- 
loading  rifles  used. 

Youngstown's  Town  Pump 

There  are  many  people  still  living  in  Youngstown  who  can  recall  the 
Town  Pump.  It  was  located  on  the  north  side  of  the  street  in  the  Public 
Square,  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  fountain,  which  replaced  it  some 
years  ago,  having  been  donated  by  a  well  known  woman  who  provided 
for  it  in  her  will.  The  pump  was  originally  oi;  wood,  but  when  this  was 
worn  out,  an  iron  pump  took  its  place.  About  the  first  thing  to  lead  people 
to  suspect  that  Youngstown  was  becoming  a  city  was  the  necessity  to 
chain  the  drinking  cups  in  order  to  prevent  greedy  or  needy  persons  from 
carrying  them  off.  At  first  there  was  one  tin  cup,  hung  on  a  nail  at  the 
side  of  the  pump.  Later  this  cup,  which  was  much  like  a  small  sauce  pan, 
with  a  handle  at  one  side,  was  replaced  with  two  sheet  iron  cups,  and  later 
still  these  gave  way  to  large  tin  cups,  additional  ones  being  added  as  the 
village  grew  until  finally  there  were  four.  All  of  these  were  chained  to 
the  pump.  The  chains  were  strong  enough,  but  occasionally  they  would 
be  broken  off  and  the  cup  carried  away.  This,  it  should  be  said,  was 
usually  done  by  some  hilarious  individual  who  regarded  the  pump  as  an 
offensive  insinuation  after  imbibing  too  freely  in  refreshments  more  potent 
than  it  furnished.  The  police  records  of  old  days — and  even  those  of 
days  not  so  old — contain  docket  entries  showing  that  men  had  been 
arrested  for  breaking  the  cups  off  the  town  pump. 

Governor  Tod's  Refusal  of  a  Cabinet  Position 

An  incident  that  will  always  stand  prominent  in  my  memory,  was  the 
receipt  by  Governor  Tod  of  a  telegram  from  Abraham  Lincoln  in  1864, 
offering  him  the  position  of  secretary  of  the  treasury,  made  vacant  by 


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826       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

the  resignation  of  Salmon  P.  Chase.  The  telegram  was  brought  to  Brfer 
Hill  on  a  switching  engine.  I  happened  to  be  in  Governor  Tod's  office 
when  the  message  was  delivered.  He  opened  the  envelope,  read  the 
message  and  handed  it  to  me  to  read.  His  face  changed  suddenly,  but  he 
made  no  comment.  I  said,  "Governor,  I  take  it  for  granted  that  you 
will  accept  this  honor."  He  instantly  replied,  "No,  I  will  decline  it.  It 
means  if  I  undertake  this  job,  that  in  a  short  time  I  will  be  brought  home 
from  Washington  in  a  coffin."*  In  declining  the  honor,  I  think  Governor 
Tod  had  in  mind,  not  only  his  health,  but  other  things.  He  had  been 
refused,  and  unjustly,  a  nomination  for  the  second  term  of  Governor  of 
Ohio,  for  which  he  was  entitled.  I  think  he  had  in  mind  that  the  authori- 
ties at  Washington  agreed  to  the  deal  by  which  he  was  robbed  of  renom- 
ination.  It  seemed  very  strange,  that,  after  80  of  the  88  counties  in  Ohio 
had  been  instructed  to  vote  for  Tod  for  the  second  term,  he  should  have 
been  turned  down,  without  some  influence  from  Washington.  I  never 
heard  the  Governor  express  himself  on  this  question  in  a  way  to  create 
this  impression,  but  I  do  know  that  he  felt  keenly  the  fact  that  he  was  not 
renominated  after  hi3  patriotic  record  as  first  War  Governor  of  Ohio. 

Bearing  on  this  question,  I  some  years  ago  wrote  a  letter  to  Ex-Gov. 
J.  D.  Cox,  asking  him  specifically  if  he  could  give  me  any  information  as 
to  why  Tod  was  not  renominated.  As  a  matter  of  interest  I  am  copying 
below  the  reply  of  Ex-Governor  Cox  to  my  letter. 

LAW  SCHOOL 
of  the 
CINCINNATI  COLLEGE  Cincinnati,  O.,  17  June,  1896. 

Jacob  D.  Cox 
Dean  of  the  Faculty 

My  dear  Sir: — 

I  wish  I  could  satisfactorily  answer  your  question  why  Gov.  Tod  was 
not  nominated  for  a  second  term.  I  was  in  active  field  service  in  the  army 
at  the  time  and  not  in  active  touch  with  the  politicians — yet,  my  under- 
standing was  that  both  Gov.  Tod  and  Gov.  Brough  found  the  jealousies 
aroused  in  the  organization  of  new  regiments  and  in  the  numerous  promo- 
tions and  appointments  in  the  old  ones,  were  so  numerous  and  so  virulent, 
that  both  those  Governors  made  such  large  numbers  of  personal  enemies 
among  influential  men  as  to  find  the  nominating  convention  impressed  with 
the  idea  that  they  were  not  "available"  for  a  second  term. 

No  one  who  did  not  see  it  can  appreciate  the  embarrassing  nature  of 
this  duty  of  appointment.  Thousands  of  appointments  had  to  be  made, 
and  several  were  usually  offended  for  every  one  appointed.  The  governor 
therefore  was  making  enemies  by  wholesale  every  month,  and  when  a 
convention  met,  these  would  be  either  in  the  body  of  the  convention  or  in 
the  lobby,  active  in  hostility.  Disappointed  military  ambition  was  keenly 
felt  and  bitterly  resented.  I  therefore,  really  think,  that  there  was  no 
strong  reason  but  this,  why  Gov.  Tod  did  not  have  a  second  term. 

Am  glad  to  be  reminded  by  your  letter  of  old  associations  and  friend- 
ships, I  remain, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Jos.  G.  Butler,  Jr.  Esq.  J*  D*  C°X' 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       827 
Early  Blast  Furnace  Experience 

When  a  young  man  I  was  called  as  a  witness  in  a  lawsuit  at  Canfield. 
After  the  lawyers  had  asked  all  the  questions  they  could  think  of,  Judge 
Tuttle,  who  was  presiding,  asked  when  I  had  my  first  knowledge  of  the  iron 
business.  My  reply  was  that  I  had  been  born  within  twenty  feet  of  a 
blast  furnace.  The  court  thought  this  was  a  joke,  but  it  is  an  actual  fact. 
The  furnace  "honored"  in  this  way  was  a  small  stack  built  by  my  father 
about  1837  or  1838,  near  Sheakleyville,  in  Mercer  County,  Pennsylvania. 
He  called  it  "Temperance  Furnace,"  after  my  mother,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Temperance  Orwig.  This  furnace  was  later  sold  by  the  builder  and  the 
new  owners  called  it  "Harry  of  the  West/'  after  Henry  Clay,  that  much 
beloved  but  unlucky  statesman  of  the  olden  time. 

When  this  stack  was  sold,  our  family  removed  to  Niles.  In  the 
meantime,  however,  I  had  arrived,  the  date  being  December  21,  1840.  In 
1853,  as  I  recall  it,  my  father  again  went  to  this  locality  to  manage  a 
blast  furnace  known  as  the  Tremont,  just  over  the  Mercer  line  in 
Lawrence  County.  Father  succeeded  William  McKinley,  whose  son 
afterward  became  president  of  the  United  States,  as  manager  at  this 
furnace.  It  was  a  small  charcoal  stack,  scheduled  to  make  400  tons  of 
iron  per  year,  and  was  one  of  800  such  furnaces  then  in  operation  in  the 
country.  Our  family  remained  at  this  point  only  one  year  and  lived 
at  New  Wilmington.  Father  tried  to  get  me  a  job  in  the  store,  but  the 
proprietor  said  that  I  would  "have  to  stand  on  a  stool  to  reach  the  scales," 
and  so  would  not  suit  very  well  for  such  work.  I  was,  however,  quite 
strong  for  my  age,  and  drove  a  cart  and  did  other  work  nearly  all  the 
time  we  were  at  that  place.  I  remember  going  with  my  father  to  the 
camps  where  they  made  charcoal  in  open  mounds.  The  growing  scarcity 
of  wood  for  this  purpose  was  what  led  to  the  abandonment  of  many  of 
these  old  furnaces.  In  August,  1919,  with  a  party  of  friends,  I  visited  this 
locality  and  was  greatly  interested  in  it.  The  ruins  of  the  old  stack  are 
still  to  be  seen,  and  there  is  a  large  dump  formed  of  cinder  from  the 
furnace.  On  this  dump  I  picked  up  a  piece  of  charcoal  iron  which  had 
been  run  out  of  the  furnace  in  sheet  form  about  12  by  15  inches  in  size. 
The  spring  at  this  old  furnace  for  many  years  supplied  the  village  of 
New  Wilmington  with  water,  but  it  is  now  abandoned. 

When  we  moved  back  to  Niles  in  1854,  I  was  assigned  the  duty  of 
chaperoning  our  fresh  cow  on  the  journey,  and  drove  the  animal  through 
Youngstown,  riding  our  pony.  This  caravan  stopped  at  New  Bedford  for 
luncheon  and  I  can  recall  that  all  I  had  to  eat  was  coffee,  bread  and. 
molasses.  The  animals  fared  even  worse,  as  they  had  nothing  but  water. 
Wre  reached  Youngstown  about  dusk  and  "put  up"  at  the  Old  Mansion 
House,  located  at  the  head  of  Federal  Street.  Norman  Andrews  kept  the 
hotel.  His  son,  Chauncey  H.  Andrews,  greeted  me  at  the  hotel  and  ac- 
companied me  to  the  barn,  helping  me  to  feed  and  "bed  down"  my  stock 
for  the  night.  It  was  in  February  and  I  was  somewhat  chilled  with  the 
long  ride,  so  Mr.  Andrews  took  me  into  the  bar  and  gave  me  a  mug  of 
Smith's  ale,  which  warmed  me  up  quickly.  After  a  good,  hot  supper  and 
a  fine  night's  rest,  I  went  on  to  Niles  and  delivered  the  pony  and  cow  to 


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828       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Mr.  Swank,  who  then  kept  the  hotel  in  that  village.  I  recall  that  Mr. 
Swank  scolded  me  for  feeding  the  animals  so  liberally  with  hay.  The 
family  arrived  the  same  evening  with  the  remainder  of  our  household 
establishment. 

It  is  worth  mentioning  that  I  was  frequently  a  guest  at  this  old  hotel 
afterward  when  the  circumstances  were  quite  different,  such,  for  in- 
stance, as  dinners  held  to  celebrate  some  successful  business  achievement 
like  the  building  of  a  blast  furnace  or  the  starting  of  a  new  mill.  It  is 
also  interesting  to  observe  that  Chauncey  H.  Andrews,  who  then  dis- 
pensed wayside  hospitality  there,  was  afterward  one  of  the  most  forceful 
and  successful  business  men  in  this  community  and  had  a  great  deal  to 
do  with  the  development  of  coal  mines  as  well  as  the  building  of  railroads, 
mills  and  other  enterprises  here  and  elsewhere. 

The  McKinley  Failure 

In  1892  Grover  Cleveland  was  elected  President  of  the  United  States, 
probably  because  of  a  financial  depression  which  was  already  beginning 
to  be  felt,  but  which  did  not  reach  its  full  development  until  the  latter 
part  of  1893,  in  which  year  he  assumed  office.  William  McKinley  was  then 
Governor  of  Ohio.  He  was  well  known  here,  of  course,  and  had  many 
warm  friends,  among  whom  was  Robert  L.  Walker,  a  resident  of  Poland, 
who  was  heavily  interested  in  mining  and  other  enterprises.  Walker  be- 
came financially  involved  in  February,  1893,  anc*  ^  was  men  discovered 
that  Governor  McKinley  had  endorsed  about  $90,000  worth  of  his  paper. 
McKinley  was  already  regarded  as  a  potential  candidate  for  president,  and 
the  fact  that  he  was  in  this  position  seemed  likely  to  cost  him  not  only  all 
his  property,  but  also  his  political  future. 

The  news  of  Walker's  failure  reached  Governor  McKinley  at  Buffalo, 
while  he  was  on  his  way  to  New  York,  where  he  was  to  speak  at  the  annual 
banquet  of  the  Ohio  Society.  He  recognized  the  gravity  of  the  situation, 
abandoned  his  trip  and  came  to  Youngstown  to  see  what  could  be  done 
to  save  the  situation.  Gen.  James  L.  Botsford  had  been  his  companion 
in  the  army  and  was  a  close  personal  friend,  and  to  Botsford's  home  the 
Governor  went  on  his  arrival  here,  late  at  night. 

Governor  McKinley  had  but  little  idea  of  the  amount  of  his  joint 
obligations  with  Walker.  He  had  been  advanced  money  to  attend  law 
school  by  the  latter  when  he  came  home  from  the  army,  and  the  two 
had  been  close  political  and  personal  friends.  It  proved  that,  instead  of 
being  involved  for  a  few  thousands,  he  was  obligated  to  an  extent  that 
made  it  seem  impossible  for  his  friends  here  to  assist  him  as  they  would 
have  done  without  hesitation  had  it  been  within  their  available  means. 
Through  Myron  T.  Herrick,  of  Cleveland,  Herman  H.  Kohlsaat,  of  Chi- 
cago, and  a  number  of  local  people,  arrangements  were  finally  made  by 
which  a  sum  sufficient  to  take  care  of  the  obligations  was  raised. 

The  matter  got  into  the  newspapers  eventually,  in  spite  of  every  effort 
to  prevent  this.  Mark  A.  Hanna  was  said  to  have  advanced  the  money  to 
McKinley,  and  much  ado  was  made  of  it  during  the  presidential  campaign 
in  which  he  was  elected,  several  years  later.     This  was  a  misstatement, 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       829 

as  Hanna  was  at  that  time  in  Milwaukee,  making  a  desperate  fight  to  save 
his  own  financial  reputation,  which  was  endangered  by  his  being  in- 
volved in  the  great  Schlessinger  failure.  He  had  nothing  to  do  with 
McKinley's  affairs,  having  all  he  could  do  to  care  for  his  own  at  that 
time.  Neither  was  there  any  political  deal  whatever  connected  with  the 
assistance  rendered  to  Governor  McKinley.  He  was  helped  by  his  personal 
friends,  who  knew  that  he  was  innocent  of  any  wrongdoing  and  that  the 
affair  was  a  misfortune  into  which  he  had  fallen  because  of  his  generous 
nature  and  the  gratitude  he  felt  for  favors  rendered  to  him  by  Robert 
A.  Walker.  The  whole  aflfair  was  only  one  of  many  disasters  occurring 
in  that  strenuous  time,  and  the  part  taken  by  McKinley's  friends  was 
simply  another  illustration  of  the  affection  and  esteem  in  which  he  was 
held  among  them. 

Boots  and  Bootjacks 

There  are  a  lot  of  people  now  who  never  saw  a  boot,  at  least  not 
what  was  known  as  a  boot  in  the  early  days.  And  there  are  probably  even 
more  who  would  not  recognize  a  bootjack,  although  that  was  once  a  very 
important  toilet  requisite  in  the  Mahoning  Valley,  used  alike  by  the 
wealthy  and  the  poor.  In  the  early  days  there  were  no  shoes  worn  by  men, 
and  the  footgear  for  both  men  and  women  was  made  by  local  shoemakers. 
Work  boots  and  shoes  for  women's  everyday  wear  were  made  of  heavy 
cow  skin.  For  Sunday  wear  those  who  could  afford  two  pairs  had  them 
made  of  calf  skin.  These  "fine"  boots,  as  they  were  called,  were  some- 
times ornamented  with  red  tops,  and  the  shoes  frequntly  had  semi-circular 
copper  plates  set  in  over  the  sole  at  the  toes,  the  idea  being  to  prevent 
wear  at  that  point,  rather  than  for  ornament.  In  those  days  the  dandy 
was  very  particular  about  his  "fine"  boots,  and  spent  a  good  deal  of  time 
shining  them,  especially  before  he  started  on  a  courting  expedition.  The 
common  kind  were  never  shined,  but  were  frequently  treated  to  a  bath 
of  mutton  tallow  or  some  other  form  of  grease  to  make  the  leather  water- 
proof and  keep  it  soft.     All  had  heavy  soles  put  on  with  pegs  or  nails. 

The  old  shoemaker  shop  was  a  sort  of  gathering  place  for  the  chil- 
dren. We  used  to  sit  for  hours  and  watch  the  shoemaker  driving  pegs — 
a  thing  which  he  did  with  almost  unbelievable  skill  and  rapidity,  taking 
them,  one  after  another,  from  his  mouth.  Youngsters  in  those  days  usually 
had  to  wait  for  the  mending  of  boots  because  their  parents  seldom  had 
more  than  one  pair  They  took  great  care  of  their  footwear,  and  I 
can  well  remember  seeing  people  from  the  country  sitting  along  the  road 
close  to  town  putting  on  their  shoes,  which  they  had  carried  to  save  the 
wear  until  they  entered  the  village.  Some  of  the  more  economical  even 
went  barefooted  clear  to  the  church  on  Sundays,  putting  on  their  foot- 
wear only  when  they  reached  the  door  and  taking  it  off  before  they  started 
home.  In  the  summer  all  children  and  many  grown  people  went  bare- 
footed. 

The  bootjack  referred  to  above  was  a  contrivance  something  like  a 
clothes  pin  with  short  legs  near  one  end.  It  was  usually  about  a  foot 
in  length,  with  the  horns  at  one  end  elevated  so  as  to  bring  them  several 


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830       YOUNGSTOWX  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

inches  from  the  floor.  It  was  used  by  standing  on  the  jack  with  one  foot, 
inserting  the  heel  in  the  prongs  and  pulling  upward  and  backward.  The 
jaws  held  the  boot  until  the  foot  was  puHed  out,  something  that  required 
a  good  deal  of  effort  if  the  boots  were  tight-fitting  or  wet.  These  boot- 
jacks were  to  be  found  in  every  home.  Most  of  them  were  home-made,  but 
some  were  of  cast  iron.  I  recall  seeing  one  made  to  resemble  a  huge  beetle 
and  painted  green,  with  stripes  and  eyes,  feet,  long  horns  and  ail  the  other 
trimmings  of  a  real  beetle.  This  was  regarded  as  quite  an  ornament  and 
occupied  a  position  of  honor  in  front  of  the  fireplace. 

Community  Fishing 

One  of  the  things  that  the  first  settlers  in  the  Western  Reserve  speak 
about  most  frequently  in  the  meagre  records  they  have  left  is  the  abun- 
dance of  fish  in  the  Mahoning  River.  This  stream  was  them  much  larger 
than  it  is  now.  Even  in  the  early  '50s  it  was  bank  full  for  most  of  the 
year.  The  water  was  beautifully  clear  and  it  was  then  full  of  fish. 
Varieties  most  numerous  were  pike,  bass  and  salmon.  When  I  was  a  boy 
I  caught  a  pike  in  the  river  at  Niles  which  weighed  forty-two  pounds.  It 
was  so  big  that  I  had  to  call  for  help  to  land  it. 

The  people  of  Niles  at  one  time  organized  a  sort  of  club  among  them- 
selves for  the  purpose  of  buying  and  operating  a  community  seine.  In 
this  club  were,  among  others,  my  father  and  the  father  of  President 
McKinley.  Once  a  week  they  would  gather,  about  fifteen  or  twenty  men 
being  in  the  club,  and  seine  the  river  or  creek,  securing  quantities  of  fine 
fish.  These  were  great  occasions  for  the  boys  oP  the  village  and  we  en- 
joyed them  almost  as  much  as  a  circus. 

The  fish  taken  at  these  times  would  be  sufficient  to  last  for  a  week  or 
so,  and  those  that  could  not  be  used  at  once  were  salted  down.  This 
scheme  helped  to  reduce  the  high  cost  of  living,  which  troubled  our  an- 
cestors much  as  it  troubles  us.  It  also  helped  to  reduce  the  number  of 
fish  in  the  Mahoning  River,  although  the  final  cause  of  their  complete 
disappearance  was  the  fouling  of  the  water  by  sulphur  from  the  coal 
mines  and  later  by  refuse  from  steel  mills.  There  are  now  no  fish  to  be 
found  in  the  Mahoning  River  below  Newton  Falls,  although  they  may  still 
be  taken  from  most  of  the  creeks  that  empty  into  it. 

Getting  Along  Without  Undertakers 

One  of  the  last  conveniences  essential  to  modern  life  to  be  enjoyed 
by  the  people  of  the  Mahoning  Valley  was  the  undertaker.  Perhaps  it 
were  better  to  say  that  the  undertaking  business  was  one  of  the  last 
lines  of  endeavor  to  be  taken  up  by  the  pioneers.  I  cannot  say  when 
the  first  undertaking  establishment  appeared  in  Youngstown,  but  there 
was  no  such  thing  at  Niles  when  I  was  a  boy.  When  anyone  died  there 
the  local  carpenter  made  the  coffin,  covering  it  with  black  cloth  if  the 
deceased  had  been  well  to  do,  or  if  he  had  been  poor,  merely  painting  it 
with  black.  The  wealthier  people  usually  sent  to  Cleveland  or  Pittsburg 
for  a  regular  coffin,  but  most  of  the  few  needed  in  those  days  were  made 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       831 

of  pine  boards  by  the  rolling  mill  carpenter.     Apparently  they  served 
the  purpose  just  as  well. 

In  most  cases  a  minister  was  available  to  conduct  the  services,  for 
the  pioneers  were  usually  good  church  people;  but  occasionally  the  last 
rites  were  in  charge  of  a  layman.  Perhaps  the  cases  of  this  kind  which 
I  recall  were  the  funerals  of  people  who  had  no  church  affiliation^  or 
perhaps  they  were  held  when  the  minister  was  absent.  At  any  rate,  there 
were  some  funerals  with  homemade  coffins  and  amateur  undertakers  and 
ministers.  There  is  no  record  that  any  of  the  people  thus  laid  to  rest 
did  not  sleep  well. 

Doing  Without  Dentists 

There  are  probably  few  people  now  living  in  Youngstown  who  can 
remember  when  the  local  blacksmith  was  also  the  local  dentist.  There 
was  such  a  time,  however,  and,  without  casting  any  insinuations  at  the 
usefulness  or  skill  of  the  modern  dentist,  it  may  be  said  that  people  had 
better  teeth  in  those  days  than  they  have  at  present. 

The  blacksmith-tooth  doctor  was  usually  equipped  with  a  special  pair 
of  pliers  for  this  branch  of  his  trade,  but  sometimes  he  merely  wiped  off 
one  of  the  regular  tools  on  his  apron  and  proceeded  with  the  work  of 
extraction  forthwith.  Of  course  there  were  no  such  things  as  fillings  or 
false  teeth  in  his  repertoire,  but  he  could  stop  a  toothache  most  ef- 
fectually. 

In  those  days  not  a  few  families  had  a  small  set  of  dental  tools  of 
their  own,  and  the  father  was  expected  to  use  them  when  occasion  arose 
and  thus  prevent  the  visit  to  the  blacksmith  shop.  Trips  to  the  dentist 
were  not  any  more  alluring  in  those  days  than  they  are  at  present,  and 
their  attractiveness  was  probably  not  improved  by  the  fact  that  the  patient 
usually  found  the  "dentist"  engaged  in  shoeing  a  horse.  Where  no  suit- 
able pliers  were  at  hand,  the  offending  tooth  was  often  removed  by  tying 
a  stout  string  to  it,  fastening  the  string  to  a  door  knob,  and  then  slamming 
the  door. 

After  the  blacksmiths  lost  this  branch  of  their  trade  it  was  taken  up 
by  physicians,  but  the  date  when  the  first  dentist  came  to  Mahoning 
Valley  has  escaped  my  recollection. 

Business  Eighty  Years  Ago 

I  am  rather  inclined  to  think  that  what  many  people  like  to  call  "the 
good  old  times/'  were  really  not  such  good  times  in  which  to  live,  after 
all.  In  looking  over  an  old  account  book  used  by  Henry  H.  Mason,  who 
kept  a  store  at  Niles  about  1842,  some  interesting  facts  concerning  busi- 
ness at  that  period  are  revealed.  Among  Mr.  Mason's  customers  were 
many  men  who  afterward  became  prominent  in  the  development  of  the 
Mahoning  Valley,  and  some  who  became  both  wealthy  and  famous.  These 
names  include  that  of  William  McKinley,  father  .of  President  McKinley ; 
James  Ward,  the  widely  known  ironmaster  at  Niles ;  Isaac  Heaton,  one  of 
the  pioneers  in  local  industry;  J.  G.  Butler,  my  own  father;  and  many 


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832       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

others  whose  descendants  are  now  prominent  in  the  locality.  The  mer- 
chandise they  bought,  as  well  as  the  quantities  in  which  they  bought  it 
and  the  prices  they  paid,  reflect  conditions  at  that  period  in  a  very  inter- 
esting manner. 

Niles  was  then  a  small  village,  but  apparently  an  active  one.  Mr. 
Mason's  store  was  connected  in  some  way  with  the  iron  business  of  the 
firm  of  Mason  &  Robbins,  although  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  ex- 
clusively a  "company  store."  Frequently  the  men  employed  in  the  iron 
works  of  the  above-named  firm  were  charged  with  purchases  to  the  full 
amount  of  their  earnings,  and  sometimes  they  were  also  charged  with 
small  cash  advances  against  these  earnings,  so  that  practically  the  entire 
payroll  of  the  mill  was  taken  care  of  in  this  way.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
store  also  helped  to  finance  the  iron  concern,  trading  goods  for  raw  ma- 
terial, occasionally  paying  its  obligations  in  cash.  Sometimes  it  also 
sold  iron  in  small  quantities.  Such  a  method  of  doing  business  would  seem 
strange  in  these  days,  but  it  was  common  enough  then.  One  of  the  entries 
indicating  this  plan  of  operation  reads : 

Cash  from  King,  Soule  &  King  for  Pig  Metal $112.00 

This  is  the  largest  entry  in  the  entire  book,  which  covered  operations 
for  almost  six  years.  The  first  entry  was  made  under  date  of  November  9, 
1842,  and  the  last  sale  recorded  July  19,  1848.  This  was  also  the  largest 
sale  of  merchandise  during  the  entire  period,  and  recorded  the  selling  of 
a  "two-horse  waggon"  to  Zachariah  Kerr  for  $45.00.  Incidentally 
Zachariah  paid  only  $20  in  cash  and  was  to  pay  the  remainder  "within 
ninety  days,"  a  task  he  did  not  accomplish  until  September  19,  1850,  two 
years  after  the  deal,  when  an  entry  notes  that  he  made  the  final  payment  of 

Many  entries  in  this  book  show  that  farmers  and  others  in  the  vicinity 
were  in  the  habit  of  paying  wages  and  other  obligations  with  an  order 
on  the  store  and  settling  the  obligation  later  by  bringing  in  produce  of 
one  kind  or  another.  The  carpenter  work  on  a  number  of  houses  at 
Niles,  was  evidently  paid  for  in  this  way. 

Page  after  page  of  this  old  book  is  filled  with  charges  in  amounts  rang- 
ing from  5  cents  to  $5.00,  only  an  occasional  transaction  exceeding  the 
latter  amount  being  found:  Evidently  people  were  careful  buyers  in 
those  days  and  their  wants  were  exceedingly  simple  as  compared  with  those 
at  present.  One  entry  charges,  under  date  of  May  30,  1844,  Hover  Ad- 
gate  with  the  use  of  a  boat  for  five  days  at  one  dollar  per  day.  There  is 
no  information  given  as  to  what  sort  of  a  craft  was  thus  leased,  or  the 
purpose  to  which  it  was  put.  Another  entry,  less  mysterious  but  even 
more  interesting  in  these  arid  days,  charges  Josiah  Robbins  with  "Four 
Gals.  Beavertown,"  at  75  cents  per  gallon.  A  later  entry  indicates  that 
a  then  very  prominent  resident  of  Niles  had  purchased  two  gallons  of 
"Malaga  Wine"  for  two  dollars.  Wines  and  liquors  were  then  articles  of 
common  merchandise  and  were  sold  regularly  in  most  stores.  Isaac 
Heaton,  who  then  lived  near  Niles  and  was  a  frequent  customer  of  the 
store,  was  not  among  the  buyers  of  this  class  of  merchandise,  however, 
as  he  had  already  organized  the  first  temperance  society  west  of  the  Alle- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       833 

ghany  Mountains.  In  one  occasion  Mr.  Heaton  purchased  a  "Fur  Hat," 
for  which  he  was  charged  $5.00. 

Entries  against  the  names  of  James  Ward,  William  McKinley,  Josiah 
Robbins,  Jacob  Robeson  and  others  of  the  more  wealthy  residents,  in- 
dicate that  their  wives  did  most  of  the  shopping  and  that  these  ladies  were 
partial  to  calico,  bombazine,  and  a  commodity  known  as  "sparables," 
whatever  that  might  have  been.  Calico  cost  22  cents  per  yard,  the  bom- 
bazine was  60  cents,  and  the  sparables  cost  i2l/2  cents  per  paper.  Sal- 
eratus  was  evidently  in  great  demand,  and  there  were  many  sales  of  log- 
wood, indigo,  and  copperas,  then  used  as  dyes. 

A  notable  feature  of  these  entries  is  the  large  number  of  school  books 
purchased,  and  apparently  every  customer  bought  these.  Boots  and 
shoes  cost  from  $1.00  to  $3.00.  Most  other  articles  were  expensive,  such 
materials  as  gingham,  drilling,  ticking,  muslin  and  similar  fabrics  selling 
for  about  twice  their  present  prices.  Wheat,  on  the  other  hand,  was  only 
66  cents  per  bushel,  lumber  about  $2.00  per  thousand  feet,  apples  25  cents 
per  bushel,  and  manufactured  articles,  except  cloth,  quite  cheap. 

Sometimes  a  new  customer  would  come  to  town  and  buy  an  outfit 
for  his  domestic  establishment.  This  was  usually  made  up  of  kitchen 
utensils,  a  few  dishes,  a  bed  or  two,  and  the  simplest  of  furniture. 
Usually  only  one  part  of  it  was  bought  at  a  time,  the  kitchen  equipment 
being  always  first.  This  cost  about  $10.00  or  $12.00,  and  the  remainder 
of  the  furnishings  were  priced  in  proportion.  Of  course  the  wealthier 
patrons  bought  most  of  this  sort  of  material  elsewhere,  since  the  choice 
was  limited  at  Niles. 

Lard  lamps  and  candle  snuffers  were  common  purchases,  the  lamp 
costing  42  cents  and  the  snuffers  38  cents.  Butter  sold  for  six  cents 
per  pound,  eggs  for  seven  cents  per  dozen,  lard  for  eight  cents.  Sugar 
was  9  cents  per  pound  and  molasses  50  cents  per  gallon.  Very  little  of 
either  of  these  articles  was  sold,  probably  because  much  sugar  was  made  in 
the  forests  of  Trumbull  County  and  sold  direct  by  the  farmers. 

In  one  entry  James  Heaton  is  charged  with  the  "makings"  for  a  suit, 
which  cost  him  $23.78 — more  than  the  same  material  would  cost  at  this, 
time.  Many  names  used  for  merchandise  then  are  now  unknown,  al- 
though we  still  have  some  of  the  same  designations  for  common  articles, 
such  as  "Castor  Oil,"  "Bobbinette,"  "Edging,"  "Insertion,"  etc.  The 
record  indicates  that  the  little  store  carried  a  bewildering  array  of  mer- 
chandise, covering  the  fields  now  occupied  by  hardware,  furniture,  drug, 
grocery,  shoe,  clothing  and  women's  stores. 

In  all  of  the  six  years  covered  by  this  account  book,  the  entire  business 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  as  large  in  volume  as  that  now  done  by  many 
stores  in  Youngstown  in  a  single  day.  Nevertheless,  it  was  a  good  store 
and  was  regarded  as  the  principal  emporium  in  the  village.  Its  business 
and  the  prices  charged  its  customers  indicate  that  we  have  progressed  far 
since  1842,  and  that,  contrary  to  the  claim  made  by  some  writers,  prices 
now  realized  for  products  of  the  soil  have  increased  much  more  than  those 
of  articles  manufactured.  The  explanation  for  this  lies  in  the  fact  that  ef- 
ficiency in  transportation  and  manufacture  has  increased  much  more 
rapidly  than  in  farming  so  that,  in  spite  of  the  much  higher  wages  paid  in 


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834       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

both  lines,  the  supply  of  manufactured  goods  is  much  larger  in  proportion 
to  the  population  than  is  the  supply  of  food  stuffs. 

Recollections  of  Presidential  Campaigns 

Boys  used  to  take  an  interest  in  politics  earlier  than  they  do  now.  I 
was  only  sixteen  years  of  age  when  the  Republican  party  was  founded, 
yet  took  an  active  interest  in  the  campaign  for  the  first  presidential  can- 
didate of  that  organization,  as  I  have  in  every  campaign  since  that  date. 
My  father  had  been  a  Whig,  and  this  may  have  been  one  reason  for  my 
youthful  leaning  in  politics,  but,  looking  back  to  1856,  it  seems  to  me  that 
everybody  around  Niles  and  most  of  those  I  knew  in  the  Mahoning 
Valley  were  for  Fremont,  the  "Pathfinder."  The  new  party  was  a  loosely 
formed  organization,  however,  and  in  spite  of  the  great  interest  aroused 
by  his  romantic  career,  Fremont  was  badly  defeated,  although  he  suc- 
ceeded in  anchoring  nearly  all  the  Western  States  in  the  Republican 
column,  where  they  stayed  for  many  years. 

Even  then  there  was  great  interest  in  the  slavery  question  and  the 
domineering  attitude  of  the  South  was  hotly  resented  in  the  North.  This 
feeling  increased  as  the  years  passed.  My  part  in  the  Fremont  campaign 
was  only  that  of  a  marcher  in  the  parades  and  an  interested  listener  to 
the  speeches.  Warren  was  the  center  of  excitement,  being  the  county  seat, 
and  many  men  and  boys  from  Niles  went  there  several  times  during  this 
campaign,  listening  to  fiery  speeches  by  Ben  Wade,  Giddings  and  other 
orators. 

When  the  campaign  of  i860  came  on  I  was  almost  old  enough  to 
vote,  lacking  only  one  month.  But  I  was  for  Lincoln  just  as  strong  as  if 
I  had  been  able  to  cast  a  ballot  for  him,  and  did  considerable  work  in 
getting  out  the  vote,  talking  to  doubtful  voters  and  working  generally  for 
the  Republican  ticket.  It  was  a  stormy  campaign,  with  much  bitterness, 
friends  and  even  brothers  being  separated  by  their  political  convictions. 
In  those  days  these  convictions  seem  to  have  meant  more  than  they  do 
now.  We  were  not  so  tolerant,  and  regarded  it  as  our  duty  to  see  that  our 
neighbors  voted  right,  or  at  least  that  they  were  informed  on  the  issues 
as  we  saw  them.  Lincoln  spoke  at  Columbus,  and  I  happened  to  be  there 
to  hear  him.  I  saw  him  after  his  election  when  he  visited  Cleveland,  and 
heard  him  make  a  speech  there  from  the  balcony  of  the  Weddell  House 
on  April  15,  1861.  He  was  on  his  way  to  Washington  for  the  inauguration 
and  was  given  a  non-partisan  reception.  He  was  driven  from  the  station 
to  the  Weddell  House  in  an  open  barouche.  In  spite  of  the  chilly  weather 
and  the  rain,  he  took  off  his  high  stove-pipe  hat  and  rode  bareheaded 
most  of  the  way,  bowing  to  the  people  gathered  along  the  route.  There 
had  been  so  much  feeling  over  the  election,  and  also  over  the  threatened 
refusal  of  the  South  to  abide  by  its  result,  that  everyone  was  deeply  in- 
terested in  Lincoln's  speech.  He  referred  to  the  talk  of  secession,  of  the 
crisis  in  national  affairs,  as  it  was  generally  called,  and  said  that  there 
was  no  crisis  except  in  the  minds  of  a  few.  Those  who  heard  him  were 
reassured,  but  there  was  much  excitement  and  a  good  deal  of  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  preceding  campaign  continued.    The  next  time  I  saw  Lincoln 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       835 

was  when  his  body  was  brought  through  Cleveland  in  April,  1865,  and 
lay  in  state  for  a  short  time  in  the  park  there.  In  the  meantime,  we  had 
gone  through  another  campaign  in  which  both  sides  were  embittered  by 
the  tremendous  tragedy  of  civil  war. 

In  those  days  many  devices  were  used  to  create  excitement  and  arouse 
partisan  enthusiasm.  One  of  these  was  the  "Liberty"  pole.  At  first  this 
was  "raised"  during  the  campaign,  although  later  it  became  a  part  of  the 
celebration  by  the  victors,  which  celebration  was  never  neglected.  The 
Democrats  always  used  a  hickory  tree  for  a  pole,  and  the  Republicans  made 
theirs  of  pine.  There  was  much  rivalry  as  to  which  could  secure  the  tallest 
pole  and  successfully  plant  it,  with  a  flag  on  its  top.  Occasionally,  where 
the  feeling  was  exceptionally  bitter,  these  poles  would  be  cut  down  by 
the  opposition,  and  then  there  was  pretty  nearly  sure  to  be  a  row.  These 
poles  were  put  up  all  over  the  country,  the  women  sometimes  making  the 
flags  out  of  muslin  and  using  red  flannel  for  the  stripes.  Another  feature 
of  the  campaigns  was  the  torchlight  procession.  The  marchers  were 
furnished  with  oil  torches  and  oilcloth  capes  and  carried  transparencies 
or  banners.  They  made  a  brave  showing  as  they  went  along  singing  the 
campaign  songs,  and  led  by  a  fife  and  drum  corps.  People  drove  miles  to 
see  these  parades  and  farmers  often  brought  their  whole  families  in 
wagons  to  enjoy  them.  After  the  procession  the  marchers  gathered  around 
a  stand  and  listened,  sometimes  for  hours,  to  impassioned  pleas  for  the 
various  candidates.  When  the  victory  had  been  greater  than  usual  or 
the  contest  unusually  spirited,  a  "ratification"  celebration  was  always 
held.  Generally  an  ox  was  roasted,  liquor  furnished  free  and  sometimes 
even  fireworks  were  displayed.  The  houses  along  the  route  of  the 
torchlight  parade  occupied  by  adherents  of  the  victorious  party  would 
be  brightly  illuminated  by  placing  tallow  candles  in  the  windows,  and  it 
was  thus  easy  to  pick  out  the  householders  belonging  to  the  two  principal 
parties  on  such  an  occasion. 

The  campaign  of  1864,  when  Lincoln  was  a  candidate  for  reelection 
and  McClellan  was  the  Democratic  candidate,  was  extremely  bitter.  The 
main  strength  of  McGellan  was  with  the  soldiers.  He  had  taken  great 
care  of  his  army  and  they  were  fond  of  him,  but  the  opposition  called 
him  "the  shovel  candidate,"  alleging  that  he  did  all  his  fighting  with 
shovels.  During  the  second  Lincoln  campaign  Governor  Tod  was  the 
principal  local  speaker  on  the  side  of  Lincoln.  He  had  been  elected  Gov- 
ernor as  the  "Union"  candidate,  and  had  great  influence  with  the  Demo- 
crats, since  he  had  been,  until  the  Union  was  threatened,  a  Democrat.  He 
made  many  speeches  in  Mahoning  and  Trumbull  counties,  and  proved 
himself  a  remarkable  orator.  \  book  could  be  written  about  this  cam- 
paign alone. 

The  next  campaign  was  that  in  which  General  Grant  was  elected,  in 
1868.  It  was  a  hot  fight,  as  there  was  much  dissatisfaction  over  the  John- 
son administration  and  much  scandal  over  some  of  the  affairs  at  Washing- 
ton. Grant's  military  reputation  made  his  election  certain,  however.  I  was 
very  active  in  this  campaign,  serving  on  the  county  committee  and  having 
charge  of  many  of  the  details.  Grant  was  recognized  as  a  better  soldier 
than  a  statesman,  but  here  in  the  Mahoning  Valley  we  were  much  interested 


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836       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

in  his  election,  both  because  he  represented  the  Republican  party  and  be- 
cause he  was  regarded,  to  some  extent  at  least,  as  from  this  part  of  the 
country. 

In  the  campaign  of  1872,  the  Republican  party  was  split  for  the  first 
time  by  the  nomination  of  Horace  Greeley  on  the  "Liberal  Republican" 
ticket.  There  had  been  some  scandals  during  Grant's  administration  and 
Greeley,  who  had  been  a  great  leader  for  many  years  but  had  been  un- 
able to  secure  a  regular  nomination,  agreed  to  lead  the  new  wing  of  the 
party.  The  result  was  a  most  exciting  campaign.  Greeley  had  been  led 
to  believe  that  he  would  be  elected  by  the  Democrats,  but  in  this  he  was 
mistaken,  and  his  defeat  broke  his  heart.  Grant  was  elected,  but  his  ad- 
ministration failed  to  take  warning,  and  when  the  next  campaign  came 
around,  in  1876,  conditions  made  the  contest  extremely  doubtful.  The 
friends  of  Grant  made  a  bad  situation  worse  by  threatening  to  run  him 
again  for  a  third  term,  and  there  was  fear  that  they  had  so  strong  a  ma- 
chine that  they  could  do  this.  Finally,  however,  the  chief  candidates  were 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  Republican,  and  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  Democrat.  The 
panic  of  1872  had  prostrated  the  country  and  there  was  much  dissatisfac- 
tion. Tilden  was  a  strong  man,  and  the  combination  of  circumstances  left 
the  result  in  doubt,  not  only  until  the  last  vote  was  cast,  but  for  weeks 
afterward,  if  not  even  to  this  day.  Hayes  was  finally  seated,  and  Tilden 
accepted  the  verdict,  chiefly,  I  have  always  believed,  because  he  feared 
that  it  was  the  only  course  to  prevent  civil  war.  Hayes  was  well  known 
in  this  section  and  visited  Youngstown  as  the  guest  of  Gen.  James  L. 
Botsford  after  he  was  elected.  He  had  also  been  here  on  a  number  of 
previous  occasions. 

In  1880,  Gen.  James  A.  Garfield  was  nominated  for  the  presidency 
by  the  Republican  party,  and  had  for  his  opponent  Gen.  Winfield  S.  Han- 
cock, a  sterling  Democrat  and  a  Union  soldier  of  the  highest  character. 
Garfield  was  born  on  the  Western  Reserve,  his  father  having  been  one  of 
the  pioneers.  He  lived  at  that  time  at  Hiram  and  frequently  visited  this 
section,  where  he  was  well  known.  He  was  a  brilliant  man,  but  there  was 
considerable  doubt  as  to  his  position  on  the  tariff  question.  The  country 
was  still  suffering  from  the  panic  of  1872,  there  was  much  dissatisfaction 
over  a  number  of  issues,  and  Democrats  were  still  sore  over  the  alleged 
"counting  out"  of  Tilden.  The  campaign  was  therefore  extremely  bitter 
and  the  result  was  in  grave  doubt  until  Gen.  Benjamin  Butler  became 
a  candidate  on  the  Greenback  ticket  and  swung  enough  support  from  Han- 
cock to  make  Garfield  an  easy  winner.  I  knew  General  Garfield  well 
before  he  was  elected  president  and  had  considerable  correspondence  with 
him  afterward,  principally  on  tariff  questions.  Of  course  I  did  every- 
thing possible  to  aid  in  his  election  and  was  shocked  inexpressibly,  as  * 
was  everyone  who  knew  him,  when  he  was  cut  down  by  an  assassin's 
bullet  in  1881,  leaving  his  high  office  to  his  vice-president,  Chester  A. 
Arthur.  I  was  a  spectator  at  the  convention  in  Chicago  at  which  General 
Garfield  was  nominated.  His  nomination  was  not  expected,  but  t  was 
strongly  for  him  and  kept  predicting  his  nomination  in  the  face  of  ridicule. 
An  unusual  combination  of  circumstances  finally  made  him  the  candidate. 

In  1884  the  campaign  between  Jas.  G.  Blaine  and  Grover  Cleveland 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       837 

resulted  in  the  election  of  Cleveland  after  a  most  exciting  contest.  Times 
were  bad,  there  was  a  general  desire  for  a  change,  and  many  accusations 
were  made  against  the  candidates  on  both  sides.  The  campaign  was  heated 
and  the  result  was  in  doubt  until  the  vote  was  counted.  There  is  hardly 
any  doubt,  however,  that  Blaine  would  have  been  elected  if  it  had  not  been 
for  the  ill-advised  action  of  a  clergyman  in  Brooklyn,  named  Burchard, 
who  preached  a  sermon  a  few  days  before  the  election  which  injected  into 
the  campaign  the  question  of  religious  prejudice  and  brought  about 
Blaine's  defeat.  I  was  a  strong  supporter  of  Blaine,  although  I  had  been 
and  am  yet  a  fervent  admirer  of  Grover  Cleveland,  who  was  one  of  the 
strongest  and  most  courageous  presidents  the  country  ever  had  and  who, 
on  a  number  of  occasions,  took  a  stand  on  important  issues  that  offended 
his  own  party.  During  this  campaign  Blaine,  who  was  a  powerful  and 
magnetic  orator,  spoke  at  Warren  and,  because  I  had  considerable  to  do 
with  the  Republican  organization  in  this  district,  I  talked  with  him  on  that 
occasion.  This  was  the  first  campaign  in  which  the  question  of  contribu- 
tions by  the  corporations  began  to  receive  serious  attention.  John  A. 
Logan  was  Blaine's  running  mate  in  this  campaign. 

In  1888  Benjamin  Harrison  was  the  Republican  candidate,  running 
against  Grover  Cleveland,  who  sought  a  second  term.  Cleveland's  firm 
stand  against  the  free  coinage  of  silver  and  other  heresies  popular  with 
the  Democrats,  together  with  his  determined  opposition  to  lawlessness 
and  a  number  of  other  circumstances,  among  which  was  the  contempt  he 
had  shown  for  politicians  in  the  distribution  of  offices,  made  his  defeat 
practically  certain.  Harrison  was  a  cold-blooded,  non-magnetic  man,  and 
his  campaign  aroused  only  moderate  interest  in  this  locality.  He  was  an 
able  president,  but  did  very  little  during  his  term  to  strengthen  his  party 
in  the  estimation  of  the  people,  so  that,  in  1892,  Grover  Cleveland,  who  had 
been  again  nominated  by  the  Democrats,  had  little  trouble  in  winning. 
This  election  was  more  largely  influenced  than  any  other,  unless  it  was  that 
of  1872,  by  the  condition  of  business.  Times  had  been  hard  for  several 
years  and  there  was  much  dissatisfaction.  The  campaign  was  lively  in 
this  locality,  principally  because  the  iron  and  steel  industries  were  in  such 
shape  that  the  election  of  a  Democrat  and  the  downward  revision  of  the 
tariff  threatened  ruin  for  them.  This  fact  spurred  the  leaders  to  renewed 
effort.  I  was  active  in  that  campaign  and  can  testify  that  a  good  fight 
was  made  by  the  Republicans  here  and  elsewhere,  but  conditions  were 
such  that  they  could  not  be  overcome  and  Cleveland  was  elected.  His  ad- 
ministration did  less  than  nothing  to  better  financial  or  industrial  condi- 
tions, which  were  more  deeply  seated  than  many  of  the  people  suspected, 
and  by  1896  the  country  was  ready  to  return  to  the  Republican  fold 
again. 

The  campaign  of  1896  was  a  memorable  one,  at  least  so  far  as  the 
Mahoning  Valley  was  concerned.  William  McKinley  was  nominated  by 
the  Republicans  and  William  J.  Bryan  was  the  Democratic  candidate.  In 
spite  of  the  fact  that  McKinley  was  a  native  of  this  section,  had  a  splendid 
record  and  had  thousands  of  warm  friends  here,  the  enthusiasm  aroused 
by  Bryan's  advocacy  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver  at  a  ratio  of  sixteen  to 
one,  together  with  his  ability  as  an  orator,  made  him  an  extremely  popular 


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838       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

candidate.  He  came  to  Youngstown  and  was  given  a  tremendous  greet- 
ing, the  public  square  being  packed  solidly  with  humanity.  I  could  not 
help  comparing  the  demonstration  in  honor  of  Governor  Cox  during  the 
recent  campaign  with  that  accorded  to  Bryan  in  1896,  and  considering 
that  Cox  was  an  Ohio  man,  it  seemed  to  indicate  a  falling  off  in  Demo- 
cratic enthusiasm  quite  remarkable.  Of  course  the  Republicans  were 
spurred  to  renewed  efforts  by  the  interest  shown  in  the  rival  camp,  and 
between  the  two  parties  some  form  of  excitement  was  going  on  con- 
stantly throughout  the  campaign.  The  Democrats  wore  a  badge  made  to 
resemble  a  field  daisy,  with  sixteen  petals  of  silver  and  a  gold  center,  and 
there  were  entirely  too  many  of  these  worn  during  the  campaign  for  the 
comfort  and  peace  of  mind  of  McKinley's  friends.  I  was  more  than  or- 
dinarily interested  in  this  campaign  because  of  the  great  issues  at  stake, 
my  warm  personal  friendship  for  McKinley,  and  my  pride  in  the  Repub- 
lican candidate.  I  had  been  a  delegate  to  the  convention  at  which  Mc- 
Kinley was  nominated  and  had  been  from  the  first  one  of  his  warmest  sup- 
porters. His  election  therefore  meant  a  great  deal  to  me  personally,  as 
well  as  to  the  country  at  large,  because  there  was  never  a  time  when 
the  protection  principles  which  he  championed  were  so  vital  to  prosperity 
and  the  continued  development  of  our  industries.  Nothing  for  which  I 
have  exerted  myself  ever  gave  me  more  deep  and  conscientious  satisfaction 
than  the  choice  of  McKinley  as  president  in  1896. 

Bryan  and  McKinley  were  rival  candidates  again  in  1900,  but  the  re- 
sult of  that  campaign  was  never  seriously  in  doubt  and  there  was  far  less 
enthusiasm  on  either  side  than  during  1896.  The  free  silver  craze  had  died 
out  to  some  extent,  and  the  successful  conclusion  of  the  Spanish- American 
war  had  strengthened  McKinley  to  such  a  degree  that  there  was  little 
hope  for  his  Democratic  opponent  from  the  start.  The  campaign  was 
vigorous,  however,  and  marked  by  numerous  parades  and  much  oratory. 
McKinley  and  his  running  mate,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  were  elected  by  good 
majorities.  President  McKinley  was  assassinated  at  Buffalo  in  1901. 
Roosevelt  became  president,  thus  securing  an  opportunity  to  impress  his 
strong  personality  on  the  country  in  such  a  way  as  to  eventually  make 
him  a  political  figure  of  great  importance,  as  well  as  to  firmly  establish 
his  name  among  those  of  great  Americans. 

In  1904  the  Republican  candidate  was  Theodore  Roosevelt,  who  had 
made  a  popular  president  while  serving  out  the  time  between  McKin- 
ley's death  and  the  next  election.  Alton  B.  Parker  was  the  Democratic 
candidate.  Parker  was  an  able  man,  but  he  was  entirely  too  conservative 
to  suit  the  ideas  of  the  Democrats  at  that  time,  since  they  had  not  yet 
recovered  from  the  populistic  and  free  silver  notions  of  the  Bryan  cam- 
paigns. Parker  was  opposed  by  some  of  the  more  radical  Democratic 
papers  and  made  a  poor  showing.  In  this  locality  he  was  given  a  very 
good  vote,  however,  and  his  campaign  was  more  lively  than  in  many  other 
districts.  This  campaign  was,  on  the  whole,  rather  quiet,  so  far  as  the 
Mahoning  Valley  was  concerned. 

The  campaign  of  1908  stands  out  in  my  memory  very  boldly.  It  was 
the  only  presidential  campaign  in  the  history  of  this  country,  I  believe,  that 
was  opened  and  closed  in  the  same  city.     Youngstown  enjoyed  this  dis- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       839 

tinction,  as  the  first  meeting  following  the  nomination  of  William  H.  Taft 
as  the  Republican  candidate  to  succeed  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  held  at 
Youngstown  on  September  5,  1908.  The  principal  speakers  were  Gov. 
Andrew  Harris,  Hon.  Charles  E.  Hughes  and  Senator  Albert  J.  Beveridge. 
The  campaign  was  closed  in  Youngstown  on  November  2,  when  Mr.  Taft 
was  the  principal  speaker.  The  campaign  was  vigorous,  but  lacked  the  ex- 
citement of  previous  affairs  of  the  kind  here,  as  the  old  time  spirit  was 
then  beginning  to  die  out  and  the  disposition  of  prominent  business  men 
to  pay  less  attention  to  politics  and  more  to  their  own  affairs  and  their 
amusements  was  beginning  to  be  felt.  Taft  was  not  enough  of  a  partisan 
to  arouse  much  enthusiasm,  and  while  he  was  victorious,  there  were,  even 
during  his  first  campaign,  signs  of  conditions  that  were  later  to  overwhelm 
him  in  a  defeat  that  he  did  not  deserve.  During  his  term  he  accomplished 
much  good,  but  failed  utterly  to  stem  the  tide  of  restlessness  which  was 
rising  in  the  Republican  party  and  which  was  later  to  manifest  itself  in 
a  most  pronounced  form. 

Taft  was  renominated  in  191 2,  after  an  exciting  convention  at  Chicago, 
in  which  the  so-called  progressive  element  of  the  party  demanded  the  se- 
lection of  Roosevelt.  The  result  was  a  party  split  which  swept  Woodrow 
Wilson  into  the  presidency  with  the  largest  plurality  given  any  man  up  to 
that  time.  Roosevelt  became  an  independent  candidate,  against  the  advice 
and  pleadings  of  his  best  friends,  and  made  a  wonderful  appeal  to  the 
voters,  especially  Republicans  of  less  conservative  tendencies.  He  had  re- 
turned from  a  vsit  to  Africa  and  a  trip  over  a  considerable  part  of  the 
world,  bringing  with  him  tributes  of  respect  and  admiration  bestowed  by 
kings  and  princes,  republics  and  public  men  in  many  lands.  He  repre- 
sented a  thoroughly  American  spirit  and  was  surrounded  by  the  glamour 
that  attends  travel  in  far  and  difficult  places.  Besides  this  lie  was  a  very 
forcible  and  magnetic  orator  and  made  a  strenuous  campaign.  Many  Re- 
publicans were  won  over  to  him,  while  apparently  the  Democrats  remained 
to  a  large  extent  loyal  to  their  ticket.  Taft  was  badly  beaten  and  Wilson 
elected.  This  election  proved  almost  a  tragedy  in  the  light  of  subsequent 
events,  the  World  war  beginning  in  1914  making  a  strong  and  wise  ad- 
ministration peculiarly  essential.  Nevertheless  the  result,  disappointing  as 
it  was  to  Republicans  generally,  was  the  logical  consequence  of  an  un- 
fortunate situation. 

In  19 1 6  Woodrow  Wilson  was  again  the  Democratic  candidate  and  his 
opponent  was  Charles  Evans  Hughes,  one  of  the  ablest  and  best  fitted 
men  nominated  for  a  generation.  The  campaign  was  marked  by  extreme 
earnestness  and  a  subdued  spirit  indicating  that  the  people  generally  realized 
the  gravity  of  the  problems  facing  their  country.  Undoubtedly  they  were 
inclined  to  a  change  of  administration,  but  hesitated  to  "swap  horses  while 
crossing  a  stream."  It  had  already  become  apparent  to  well  informed 
people  that  it  would  be  almost  impossible  for  the  United  States  to  avoid 
war  with  Germany  and  at  the  same  time  preserve  her  national  honor. 
Nevertheless,  there  was  a  universal  desire  for  peace,  and  the  Democrats 
conducted  their  campaign  for  Wilson  on  the  platform :  "He  kept  us  out  of 
war."  Naturally  the  administration  did  nothing  to  antagonize  this  prop- 
aganda and  preparations  for  war  that  should  have  been  made  under  the 


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840       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

circumstances  were  utterly  neglected,  with  the  resuh  that  we  entered  the 
most  momentous  struggle  in  our  history  almost  totally  unprepared.  At 
the  same  time  the  desire  for  peace  and  the  hesitation  to  change  leaders  at 
such  a  critical  time  resulted  in  the  election  of  Wilson.  Hughes  made  an 
able  campaign,  speaking  to  a  large  gathering  in  Youngstown  during  its 


*ty*<£\  ■"'* 


progress.    The  result  was  exceedingly  close,  many  states  giving  a  plurality 
for  the  Democratic  electors  of  only  a  few  hundred  votes. 

The  seventeenth  presidential  carnpaign  in  which  I  have  taken  part,  that 
of  1920,  has  just  closed  with  the  most  remarkable  Republican  victory  in 
more  than  a  generation.  The  two  candidates  were  both  from  Ohio.  War- 
ren G.  Harding  was  nominated  at  Chicago  and  James  M.  Cox  chosen  at 
San  Francisco.  The  campaign  in  this  state  was  naturally  more  exciting 
than  elsewhere,  but  it  was  not  marked  by  any  great  number  of  demonstra- 
tions.    The   situation  was   complicated   by  a  number  of   elements  and 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       841 

issues  and  was  puzzling  to  the  most  experienced  politicians.  It  was  evi- 
dent from  the  beginning  that  the  chances  were  largely  in  favor  of  the 
Republican  candidate,  but  his  tremendous  electoral  and  popular  majorities 
were  hardly  expected  by  even  his  most  enthusiastic  supporters.  For  the 
first  time  in  our  history  women  enjoyed  the  right  of  suffrage  and  exercised 
it  quite  generally.  The  principal  issue  was  the  question  whether  or  not 
this  country  should  enter  a  league  of  nations  on  the  plan  proposed  and  in- 
sisted upon  by  President  Wilson.  This  issue  was  complicated  by  the 
prohibition  question  and  by  a  number  of  others.  The  result,  however, 
seems  to  indicate  that  the  most  powerful  factor  was  disapproval  of  the 
dictatorial  attitude  of  the  Wilson  administration  and  a  general  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  people  to  return  to  a  spirit  of  government  more  in  accord 
with  the  Constitution  and  less  influenced  by  a  disposition  to  paternalism 
and  meddling  with  business.  I  was  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  conven- 
tion, and  from  the  beginning  a  strong  advocate  of  the  nomination  of 
Harding.  At  first  there  was  not  much  enthusiasm  for  his  nomination  and 
his  friends  in  the  convention  had  reason  to  feel  discouraged.  They  re- 
mained firm,  however,  and  developments  finally  made  his  nomination  seem 
logical  and  wise,  the  election  proving  his  choice  to  be  in  accord  with  the 
desires  of  the  country  to  a  remarkable  degree. 

I  have  attended  three  Republican  national  conventions  as  a  delegate 
from  this  district,  and  been  present  at  many  others  in  the  capacity  of  a 
spectator.  It  has  been  my  privilege  to  know  personally  many  presidents 
of  the  United  States  and  to  consult  with  a  number  of  them  on  questions 
of  national  policy.  But,  except  in  the  case  of  William  McKinley,  who 
had  been  my  boyhood  friend  and  an  intimate  associate  through  his  life- 
time, I  have  not  seen  any  man  honored  with  the  highest  gift  of  the 
American  people  in  whose  ability,  integrity  and  vision  I  have  had  such 
great  faith  as  in  that  of  Warren  G.  Harding,  or  with  whom  I  have  en- 
joyed a  longer  or  more  sincere  friendship.  Of  the  latter  a  suggestion 
may  be  found  in  the  photograph  reproduced  herewith.  The  auto- 
graph on  it  was  written  on  the  night  of  his  great  triumph,  at  an  hour 
when  he  was  being  overwhelmed  with  congratulations  and  must  have 
been  occupied  with  his  own  affairs  to  an  extent  that,  with  many  men,  would 
have  precluded  thought  of  others.  Owing  to  this,  the  photograph  of  the 
president-elect  is  one  of  my  prized  possessions,  and  I  may  be  excused  for 
presenting  it  herewith  as  evidence  that  ingratitude  is  not  one  of  the  traits 
of  the  man  whom  the  American  people  have  just  chosen  to  preside  over 
the  destinies  of  their  country  at  a  time  when  it  is  facing  the  solution  of 
many  and  grave  problems. 

Early  Days  in  Niles 

During  the  progress  of  this  work  the  author  was  visited  by  John  M. 
Woodruff,  of  Fostoria,  Ohio,  who  lived  in  Youngstown  in  1843  and  was 
later  a  boyhood  companion  at  Niles.  Mr.  Woodruff  has  furnished  the 
following  reminiscences  of  the  early  days,  which  are  inserted  in  this 
chapter  because  they  seem  to  fit  in  here : 

"I  was  born  on  August  19,  1836,  at  the  mouth  of  Black  River,  now 


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842       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

Lorain,  Ohio,  from  which  place  my  parents  moved  to  Columbiana  when 
I  was  two  years  old.  My  first  recollection  o£  anything  political  is  the 
campaign  of  1840,  when  William  Henry  Harrison  was  elected  President. 
During  this  campaign  I  marched  in  a  procession  on  its  way  to  New  Lisbon 
to  hold  a  political  meeting. 

"We  moved  to  Youngstown  in  1843,  and  there  I  made  the  acquaintance 
of  many  persons  and  have  a  distinct  recollection  of  them  and  of  many 
circumstances  connected  with  the  town.  Among  the  persons  I  then  knew 
in  Youngstown  were  Judge  Rayen  and  Norman  Andrews.  The  latter  kept 
a  hotel  near  the  old  covered  bridge.  One  of  his  sons  afterward  lost  his 
life  in  a  fire  in  New  York  City,  and  another  was  Chauncey  Andrews.  I 
knew  Caleb  Wick,  Sr.,  Paul  Wick,  Thomas  Wells  (who  had  a  warehouse 
for  canal  supplies),  Benjamin  Grierson  (who  afterward  became  famous 
as  a  cavalry  general  during  the  Civil  war),  Mr.  Lake  (who  had  a  tannery), 
Ames  &  Murray  (merchants),  Mr.  Medbury  (distiller).  During  that 
summer  there  came  from  Ireland  a  gentleman  named  McCurdy,  with  his 
family.  He  was  accredited  with  being  wealthy.  They  lived  opposite  us 
and  his  son,  John,  was  my  friend.  Young  Caleb  Wick  and  I  were  play- 
mates and  quite  fond  of  each  other. 

"Abram  Powers,  my  uncle,  lived  two  miles  above  Youngstown,  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  river.  He  owned  a  farm  which  sloped  gently  down 
to  the  bank  and  is  now  covered  with  mills  and  furnaces. 

"On  the  first  day  of  April,  1844,  we  moved,  via  canal  boat,  to  Niles, 
where  I  grew  to  young  manhood.  How  well  I  remember  the  day  we 
landed  and  marched  up  the  street  to  Ephraim  Woodworth's  tavern,  where 
we  remained  until  my  father  could  secure  a  place  of  residence. 

"At  that  time  Niles  was  a  small  village,  containing  not  more  than 
800  or  900  inhabitants.  There  were  three  stores,  a  rolling  mill,  a  blast 
furnace,  a  grist  mill,  \wo  churches — Methodist  and  Disciples.  A  Pres- 
byterian Church  was  built  soon  afterwards.  How  vivid  is  my  recollection 
of  the  little  white  school  house  and  the  hazel  nut  field  in  its  rear,  where  I 
spent  so  many  happy  days !  That  dear  old  school  house  was  the  scene  of 
many  pranks.  One  winter  "Santa  Anna,"  one  of  our  old  teachers — God 
rest  his  bones  in  peace — held  singing  or  some  other  kind  of  school  after 
night  and  excluded  us  little  devils.  The  building  was  one  story  high  and 
had  stout  board  shutters  which  were  kept  closed  in  the  evenings.  We 
propped  these  shut,  fastened  a  rope  to  the  door  so  it  could  not  be  opened, 
and  then  climbed  on  the  building  and  laid  a  board  over  the  top  of  the 
chimney,  after  which  we  gathered  in  my  father's  haymow,  where  we  could 
watch  what  transpired  in  safety.  Well,  that  was  a  corker!  I  laugh  yet 
when  I  think  of  the  things  they  said  and  did  when  they  found  the  doors 
and  windows  fastened.  In  this  were  'Ji™'  Drass,  Tom'  Evans,  'Tip' 
Butler,  'Bill'  Reiter,  'General*  Robison  and  'Dune'  Ward.  'Dune'  was 
my  lifelong  friend,  and  if  he  had  lived  would  have  made  his  mark;  but  he 
fell  under  the  wheels  of  a  train  and  his  young  life  went  out  just  as  he 
arrived  at  manhood. 

"I  recall  with  great  pleasure  a  reunion  held  some  years  ago — six  or 
seven — perhaps,  of  the  survivors  of  those  who  attended  that  little  old 
school  house.    This  was  the  first  intimation  I  had  of  Mr.  Butler's  inten- 


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YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY       843 

tion  to  build  a  memorial  to  the  name  of  President  McKinley.  I  thought 
it  a  Herculean  task  for  one  man  to  undertake,  but  I  did  not  understand 
his  resource  and  energy.  I  discouraged  him,  telling  him  that  McKinley 
had  a  monument  in  his  own  achievements,  and  he  said:  'Nevertheless, 
John,  it  will  be  built' — and  it  has  been.  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  placing 
my  name  on  the  register  of  visitors.  What  a  splendid  monument  it  is — 
not  only  to  McKinley,  but  to  Mr.  Butler  himself.  The  friendship  between 
these  two  men  should  be  as  celebrated  as  that  between  Damon  and  Pythias. 

" Speaking  of  McKinley,  there  seemed  to  run  between  our  lives  some- 
thing like  a  parallel.  We  attended  the  same  school ;  grew  up  together  at 
Niles ;  I  slept  many  years  in  the  room  in  which  he  was  born ;  at  the  call 
of  our  country  we  both  hastened  to  its  aid ;  we  both  rose  from  privates  to 
commissioned  officers;  he  died  on  the  same  street  in  Buffalo  on  which  I 
attended  school  in  1852;  we  had  been  both  wounded  in  the  same  part  of 
the  Brady  mine  at  Atlanta.  The  parallel  did  not  continue,  as  he  reached 
the  highest  pinnacle  of  fame  and  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen 
which  few  other  men  attained. 

"I  stood  a  few  days  ago — September  8,  1920 — on  the  spot  where  we 
played  together  as  boys,  and  what  thoughts  then  came  rushing  up  to  swell 
my  heart!    These  lines  occurred  to  me  and  I  gave  them  utterance  then: 

"I  am  sitting  today  on  the  old  playground 
Where  we  played  so  oft  together ; 
I  am  thinking  of  joys  when  we  were  boys 
In  the  days  that  are  gone  forever. 

"It  was  here  that  we  sat  in  the  merry  old  time 
And  dreamed  of  the  wide  world  before  us 
With  visions  and  hopes  of  the  coming  time 
As  bright  as  the  sun  that  shone  o'er  us." 

The  Soldiers'  Monument  at  Youngstown 

All  over  this  country,  monuments  were  erected  to  the  memory  of  those 
who  had  made  the  supreme  sacrifice  in  the  Civil  war.  As  few  communities 
then  in  existence  were  without  their  honored  dead,  so  few  are  now  without 
appropriate  memorials  to  these  heroes,  but  it  is  doubtful  if,  in  all  the  land, 
there  is  a  soldiers'  monument  with  a  more  interesting  history  than  that 
which  stands  on  Central  Square,  Youngstown,  and  which  is  now  a  bone 
of  contention  between  those  who  would  remove  it  to  make  way  for  modern 
needs  and  those  who  would  preserve  it  in  its  present  location  in  spite  of 
all  considerations. 

Governor  Tod  first  proposed  the  erection  of  a  soldiers'  monument  in 
Youngstown.  He  was  chairman  of  the  committee  to  raise  funds.  The 
first  steps  were  taken  in  that  direction  in  1864.  The  original  plan  was  to 
make  the  movement  a  popular  one  and  secure  funds  by  contributions  of 
one  dollar,  so  that  all  might  share  in  the  work.  As  there  were  only  about 
fifteen  hundred  families  in  the  township  at  that  time,  however,  this  plan 
was  soon  abandoned  because  it  was  impossible  to  build  a  proper  memorial 
with  the  sum  it  would  make  available.    A  second  subscription  brought  the 


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844       YOUNGSTOWN  AND  THE  MAHONING  VALLEY 

amount  in  hand  up  to  $6,000,  but  it  was  found  that  at  least  $10,000  would 
be  required.  Leading  citizens  having  agreed  to  make  up  the  deficit,  a 
meeting  was  called  and  a  contract  let  for  the  shaft,  which  was  to  be 
erected  in  tlie  old  cemetery,  later  used  as  a  site  for  the  courthouse  and 
now  owned  by  the  city  and  Erie  Railroad,  which  expects  to  use  it  for 
grade  elimination  purposes. 

Here  the  cornerstone  was  laid  with  Masonic  ceremonies  conducted  by 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  then  Governor  of  Ohio.  Before  the  monument  was 
erected  it  was  seen  that  its  site  would  be  needed  for  the  courthouse  and 
the  decision  reached  to  locate  it  in  Central  Square,  where  it  was  com- 
pleted and  unveiled  with  appropriate  ceremonies  on  July  4,  1870. 
Governor  Hayes  and  James  A.  Garfield,  both  later  to  become  President  of 
the  United  States,  were  present  and  delivered  orations. 

When  completed,  the  monument  cost  about  $15,000  and  a  dispute  arose 
over  the  transportation  of  the  granite  shaft  from  the  railroad  station  to 
the  "Diamond,"  as  it  was  then  called.  This  was  not  settled,  and  James 
Caldwell,  the  contractor,  secured  an  attachment  and  the  shaft  was  sold  to 
him  as  the  highest  bidder.  He  owned  it  for  twenty-two  years.  In  1892, 
when  McKinley  was  conducting  his  second  campaign  for  the  governorship, 
he  came  here  to  make  an  address  and  was  entertained  at  dinner  by  Henry 
Wick.  During  the  conversation  the  subject  was  brought  up  and  Major 
McKinley  suggested  that  some  action  should  be  taken  to  clear  up  the 
title  of  the  monument.  At  his  suggestion  a  committee,  consisting  of 
Judge  L.  W.  King,  Henry  Wick  and  Joseph  G.  Butler,  Jr.,  was  appointed 
to  provide  funds  and  secure  the  transfer  of  the  shaft  to  the  City  of 
Youngstown.  There  was  no  difficulty  in  raising  the  money  needed.  A 
settlement  was  made  with  Caldwell ;  the  monument  was  deeded  by  Cald- 
well to  Messrs.  Bonnell,  Butler  and  Wick  and  they  in  turn,  deeded  it  to 
Youngstown  Township,  where  the  title  now  rests.  General  Garfield,  then 
in  Congress,  secured  the  four  cannon  surrounding  the  monument. 


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FES  2  -  I960 


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